Grossglockner. Which isn't gross at all.

One of the funny things in German is that gross means large, while, in English, gross means nasty or disgusting. Some of my German-speaking colleagues find my use of the word gross to be quite funny, and I always have to think twice when I hear gross used in German conversation.

So, during our time in Austria, we visited the Grossglockner (large glacier) in the Hohe Tauern Nationalpark. The glacier's claim to fame is that it is "the largest glacier in the Eastern Alps"! It also has been receding significantly in the past few years, and it is projected to totally disappear within the next 100 years, so we decided we'd better see it while we could. The other attraction with this glacier was the drive to get there, which is supposed to be one of the most pretty (and curvy) drives in the Alps.

Between all of the motorcycles, cyclists and cars, it definitely was a wild and wooly ride at times, but totally beautiful.

One we were at the top, we were able to walk down onto the glacier! As we were down there, a big chuck broke off, which was pretty interesting (and loud).

The station that we came from was at the top of the cliff.

The park was really beautiful, of course, and I quite enjoyed the outing. As an avid observer of people, it was also interesting to observe all of the different slices of humankind that were there. Since Austria is further east, there were many more people from Eastern European countries than you find in Switzerland. I also thought it was really interesting also to observe the cycling and motorcycling sub-cultures, since both were out in force. Even just their costumes are so strange- spandex on the one hand, and Teenage-Mutant-Ninja-Turtles-wannabe on the other. And I have no idea why biking up 2500 meters on a busy road with crazy traffic is fun, although I guess going down would be quite fun. Or why it would be a good idea to be a chain-smoker and a mountain-pass cyclist. Anyways, I found it super interesting!

The drive back was just as pretty, and I was really thankful that I wasn't the one driving!

The voyage to Zell am See.

We left the Wallis early in the morning to make our way to Zell am See in Austria, since we had to go over two passes (the Furka and the Oberalp) as we drove through Switzerland, then drive through Lichtenstein (all 10 minutes of it), and then get through a bunch of Austria. It was definitely a long drive, with the Oberalp pass being especially nerve-wracking.

Once we got into to Austria, one of the first things we did was to stop at a mall for a coffee break. It was such a delight to discover how cheap things are outside of Switzerland! Coffee was half the price, and clothes were so much less expensive- even at the same stores! Especially since the Swiss Franc has been so strong and things feel even more expensive in Switzerland, it was fun to buy a couple of things and not to cringe at the total.

We finally arrived in Zell am See and were able to walk around the lake a little bit before going into town for dinner.

Views from our balcony.

Dad and I found some yummy dark beer for dinner, and then we wandered around the city and found the best melon gelato that I've had outside of Rome. Yum!

Visiting the Aletsch, Part II.

On our last day in the Wallis, we decided to take a cable car up to the Eggishorn. From this point, you can see Konkordiaplatz, where three smaller glaciers melt together to become the Aletschgletscher. (I'm really not sure how you decide where one glacier ends and another begins, but apparently Konkordiaplatz is where this happens.)

Paragliders littered the air by the Eggishorn.

Konkordiaplatz is there somewhere.

Dad and I took the short, stiff hike up to the real Eggishorn to get a better view. At the top, it really felt like we were in a fishbowl of the Alps- they made a complete ring around us, and we were high enough to see all around us. It was probably the most beautiful place I've been (although competition is getting stiffer by the minute).

At the top!

Getting up close and personal with the Matterhorn.

One of the many reasons that we decided to stay for a week in the Wallis was to give us the chance to see the Matterhorn. And, given my history with the Matterhorn and bad weather, we wanted to give ourselves time in the area so that we could be almost sure of having at least one day of good weather in which to see the famous mountain.

We ended up having good weather basically the whole week, but I think that we ended up choosing the nicest day to go hike around the Matterhorn.

Finally seeing the Matterhorn!

The sky was clear, the temperature was perfect, the sun was warm and friendly, and all of the mountains were out. (Although the Matterhorn did decide to be the only mountain in the area with a cloud hovering around it all day long.)

We stopped for a picnic lunch by the Stellisee, with beautiful views of the Matterhorn and all of the mountains in the valley.

My favorite part of the hike that we did was the part through the pine forest. With the warmth of the sun to release the aromas, the smell of the larch and pines was really heavenly.

Having a break for a Coke.

Taking the train at the end of the day.

 Really, if you could bottle up a day in the mountains, this would have been the perfect day.