May 29 Werfen

Got up early to make the most of our day and we were first in line at the Ice Caves. After a twisty, turvy drive up the mountain, there was a 20 minute walk, a cable car, another 20 minute walk around the top of the mountain to the entrance of the cave. It is 0 degrees year round in the cave but you don't feel cold because there are 1,400 steps and I gotta tell you...it was hard to so with the high altitude but worth every step. The ice formations were breath taking but no photos were allowed. On the way back down the sun came out and we stopped for a hot chocolate and a beer. Our second adventure was a fortress, only 10 minutes away. Again, up by cable car and since the hourly tour had just departed, we took the time to have a nice lunch. Upon emerging from the restaurant we immediately noticed that the weather had changed with the wind picking up and the temperature dropping. We nevertheless finished the tour, saw the museums and waited for the "Birds of Prey" demonstration. The eagles and falcons were amazing flying over our head but because of the wind they soared away and didn't seem to want to return. We left the fortress immediately after that to head to my cousin's house in Graz.