We would normally have a free day today but as it is a Sunday it will be very quiet in Nauders with the few shops all closed.
We have decided to go to the Kaunertal Glacier which is a beautiful drive finishing over 8,000 feet above sea level at a glacier where there is summer ski-ing.
The weather looks a bit dodgy with lots of cloud around and the chance of rain but it is supposed to improve as the day goes on.
Charly thinks we should stay in Nauders and do our walk this afternoon but I’m not sure and want to chance the mountain. We can do our walk tomorrow and enjoy Nauders in the sunshine as it should be a sunny day.
We are not going out until 11:00 to hopefully give us the best of the day.
I pop in the Tourist Information Centre and come face to face with Patricia, Charly and Chrystal’s youngest daughter. She now works in here and has done since June.
We are away by eleven and the cloud seems to be lifting and you can see most of the mountain tops as we drive towards the Kaunertal.
We arrive at the toll booth and pay €6 per person to drive on the Kaunertal High Alpine road. It is worth every penny, or will be if we can see anything!
There are 29 hairpin bends and after four of them we come to a large reservoir that is dammed at one end. Passing the quarry where the stone for the dam has come from we stop for photos and a coffee. Brian makes drinks on the coach but they have now built a cafe and toilets which will be handy on future trips.
We can’t quite see the top of the mountain ahead of us but we hope all will be clear by the time we arrive at the top.
The drive from here is spectacular and we manage to reach the very last bend just at the top as the mist descends. I would have settled for that this morning.
We pass lots of cows and goats and at one hairpin bend Brian has to jump out and move three goats from the road so I can drive past!
It is misty at the top but you can see and it does appear to be lifting.
The massive cafe is empty when we walk in for our lunch and you are spoilt for choice with seating. Normally in the summer there would be lots of skiers but with the weather as it is there aren’t any today.
There used to be a chairlift here but now that has been taken down and they now have a gondola cable car. Even though it is cloudy some of us decide to have a ride, both for something to do and also I want to know what it is all about.
After about ten minutes we arrive at a very cloudy top and nobody wants to get out but at the last minute Hollie and I jump out of the gondola to see what is up here. I’m glad we did because the clouds clear and the sun comes out!
A very short walk from the gondola is a decked platform with a red line down the middle that denotes the border between Austria and Italy. You can have one foot in each country at the same time. There is also a plaque showing both countries where you can have your photograph taken.
The views into Italy are stunning and we can see the Reschensee (Reschen Lake) that is situated just north of Nauders.
What a great place and we are so pleased we have stopped here. Hollie has great fun stepping from Austria to Italy and back again. It is definitely sunnier in Italy!
When we return to the bottom you can’t see the coach for mist and cloud!
The drive down is not quite so spectacular because the cloud has come down and it is raining for the most part although by the time we have reached the reservoir it is a lot clearer and the sun is starting to come out.
Charly has told about a beautiful little church that has recently been restored to its former glory and is well worth a visit. The church is called Kaltenbrunn and is in the village of Feichten, one of the many pretty villages we have driven through today.
Charly is right the church is worth a visit as it is lovely inside and out. The inside is bright with its white walls and ceiling bedecked with gorgeous paintings and alter covered in gold. The graveyard outside is as pretty as you could wish to see and a nice place to be laid to rest.
By the time we return to Nauders the sun is out and we have had a great day.
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