Thurs 2nd Aug - Ice caves (Eisriesenwelt, Werfen)

Change of plan, we decided that perhaps the ice caves were worth going back for so we packed up made some sandwiches and headed back to Werfen, we went past the castle from yesterday and followed the signs for the cave.  Having spent 20mins trying to find the perfect view of the castle; today we found it in spades along the road to the ice caves, there is a snack stop with the perfect view.


The ice caves involve lots of walking, you park in the car park then walk 20 mins to the visitor centre where you buy the tickets to the gondola, a super steep gondola, like something out of a James bond movie, followed by another 20 minute walk up to the cave.  Even before you get to the cave the views are spectacular; you have an option of going through a cool tunnel through the mountain, Rich opted for the hot outdoor path but the kids and I had great fun inside the tunnel :0)
As you arrive at the cave mouth you can feel a cold wind rushing at you - time to get the fleeces on (should've brought long trousers!).
Our guide got us in line and handed out the lamps, they were all lit but as soon as the door opened the wind blew them all out!
We walked up 700 small steps, past iced waterfalls, ice walls, huge sculpture like stalagmites.  They really were magnificent and got better and more interesting the deeper you went into the cave.  The guide burns magnesium to help light the sights.  Towards the end you walk through an ice tunnel which was beautiful, my favourite part, completely surrounded by naturally moulded ice.
When we came to the end the wind blasted us out of the cave and back into the sunshine - finally our hands defrosted!
The walk back down was lovely, we actually enjoyed the warmth and found an amazing viewpoint to eat our lunch before taking the gondola down.

From here we made our way east to see the 5 fingers at Hallstatt another death defying viewpoint!
It took longer than we expected & we were all pretty tired, not a time to rush a viewpoint so  instead we found a campsite.  First one we came to was full - luckily as the owner was soo rude, the 2nd one was lovely, right on the lake and gorgeous surroundings, lovely staff and just perfect (very pricey mind you but for 1 night?)
So we got set up, swam in the lake.  Thunderstorm came and went, another omelette supper with JUST enough gas to cook all 4 before it ran out, then back out to the beach for an evening view, of course Amelie was soon back in the water & the windsurf board was in use again!
A south Korean lad was down with his 3 friends & found much hilarity in our 2 kids, helped them tie the rope to a log and kept pushing them away "why you keep coming back?"
Ultimately they HAD to have their photos taken with the kids - such a stereotype!
At last the kids were cold and tired so back to the van for an apple supper & bed - luxury!