
At my hotel in Dorfgastein I had a fun bedside lamp. One can turn on and off the light just by touching anywhere at the metal. Any ideas how this works?
You only see what you know (Goethe)

At my hotel in Dorfgastein I had a fun bedside lamp. One can turn on and off the light just by touching anywhere at the metal. Any ideas how this works?

On a hiking tour near Klammstein, I come across an interesting place. Below Klammstein Castle (Burg Klammstein) there is a tunnel for bikers and walkers only. The structure is part of a cycle route along the Gastein Valley (Gasteinertal).

I often pass Klammstein Castle (Burg Klammstein) on my train journeys through the Gastein Valley (Gasteinertal). In earlier times, this fortification blocked the valley in the north.

One reason to visit the restaurant of Hotel Klammstein was the ‘Pfandlwoche’. In this period the restaurant offered especially dishes served in pans (‘Pfandl’). I had a pan with mushrooms and dumplings. The owner of the restaurant told me the mushrooms were collected in the woods around the hotel.

At the restaurant of Hotel Klammstein, I tried nettle soup as a starter. It was a great alternative to all these noodle soups you often get in rural areas. The hotel owner told me that she collects the stinging nettle at certain places around the hotel.

The hotel is situated at a street between Zell am See and Kaprun. The train station of the Pinzgau Railway is near the hotel so one can have a ride to the Krimml Wasserfälle on the spot. The hotel offers a spa area in the basement of a second building opposite the street.

Right next to the Zell am See railway station, I had this view of the Zeller See (Lake Zell) and the nearby mountains. During the cold winter months, it is frozen and used for winter sports like skating. In earlier times, it even supplied breweries with ice to cool their products.

Fun! On my trip to Zell am See, I stayed at the Hotel Tauernstüberl. This hotel used socks as “Do Not Disturb” signs at its room doors. This sock is a kind of pun. In German, “You are a lazy sock” means someone is a bit lazy.

You find this sundial on a building in the Austrian city of Zell am See. A rooster and an owl represent morning and evening. Whereas the painting seems modern, the town offers several buildings dating back to the Middle Ages.

The hotel is situated in Kaprun not far away from the car museum Vötter. The origins of the building date back to the 15th century so it is known as the oldest inn of Kaprun. The rooms are in rural style.

At the Museum of Local History (Kaprun Museum), I was told about influences that have shaped Kaprun and its surroundings.

A steam locomotive known as Mh.3 seen in Krimml. The locomotive was built in 1906 and is still in operation along the railroad of the Pinzgauer Lokalbahn. These classic train trips are organized by Club 399.