With hot weather on our
side and only a couple of rain showers, we returned from the Austrian Tyrol
at the end of June 2013 with another full length travelogue of
the region. New music has been composed by Barnaby Smith and it's
a 140-minute spectacular!
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Part
one ~ Introduction + Kitzbühel and the Hohe Tauern
National Park
Introduced by Tyrol Tourism representative Holger Gassler. Starts with a walking trail around Medieval
Kitzbühel, the Tyrol's
top resort. We timed our our visit to coincide with the AlpenRallye Classic
Car
event being held there, so were treated to a wonderful show in the main
street of almost 200 beautiful machines.
 
In a rental car we take a scenic
drive along the Gerlos Pass to the amazing Krimml Falls. Pretty
Alpbach is
next on our tour in the National Park, then we drive on to the popular
resort of Zell am See on the lake. Surrounded by snowcapped mountains it
makes for a perfect summer vacation. From here we take the amazing High
Alpine Road with dozens of hairpin bends up into the snow, then ride on to the
spectacular Grossglockner Glacier.
Part two ~ The
Steam train Journey from Mayrhofen to Pertisau
The chapter begins with a walk around the top Tyrolean resort of Mayrhofen. After sampling Schnapps we start our spectacular steam journey, firstly
on the narrow-gauge Zillertal line, pulled by a magnificent
hundred-year-old locomotive; the refreshment car is a glitzy Crystal
Wagon. At the end of the scenic Ziller Valley is the town of
Jenbach where we change for the the Achensee steam railway.
 
With a fleet of four little rack and pinion locomotives this is the oldest
cog railway in the world. We talk to the director about its fascinating
history and how the line is run. Occupying a priveliged position at the
front of the train we enjoy a superb ride up the steep slopes to reach the
Achensee. Here a lake steamer comes to meet the train to take us on a
relaxing lake cruise. We disembark at Pertisau, one of the most scenic
resorts in the Tyrol, and historically, the choice of many writers to take
their vacations.
After a literary detective tour of the village, Dave and I take the
cable-car to start a scenic mountain hike above the resort. An Alpine farm
gives us refreshment before we descend through mountain forest back to the
lake.
Useful
links
www.tyrol.com
www.innsbruck.info
OEBB
~ AUSTRIA'S Bus and Rail Network
Zillertal
Steam Railway
Achensee
Steam Railway
The
Kitzbühel AlpenRallye
The
High Alpine Road
Schloss
Tratzberg
www.tiroler-abend.com
The Gundolf Family Tyrolean evening shows
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Part Three ~
The Inn Valley &
Schloss Tratzberg
Our modern rail journey through the
Inn Valley starts at medieval Kufstein with a midday rendition from
the
Largest Open-Air Organ in the World; the console is far below a huge circular
tower in the castle.
 
Next down the line is Rattenburg an interesting, but solemn place
with a fascinating history. The railway town of Jenbach is the stop
for beautiful
Schloss Tratzberg, an amazing and wonderfully preserved medieval
castle. We are priveliged to meet Count Ulrich Goess-Enzenberg who tells of
the life and times of his magnificent ancestral home.
 
Finally we make a weird
and wonderful stop at Swarovski Crystalworld so see a unique
living art exhibition with a glittering and perhaps unparallelled gift shop
in the whole of the Tyrol!
Part Four ~ Innsbruck
& the Stubai Valley
 
Begins with a 3 Km walking tour around
the Tyrol's Imperial capital, taking in the Palace, Imperial Tomb, Golden
Roof, and the Bergisel Olympic Ski Jump. We talk to Nicholas Boekdrukker the
tourism representative for Innsbruck, who gives an interesting insight to
the city. Dave and I then take a modern city tram, which rattles its way
deep into the mountain scenery. The end of the line is Fulpmes, the
start of a lovely walk through the
meadows and villages of the Stubai Valley. Enjoying the sights and smells
of the Austrian mountain countryside we return to Innsbruck on the tram for
our evening's entertainment.
We have booked seats for a
traditional thigh-slapping Tyrolean Folk Evening hosted by the Family Gundolf.
A wonderful end to a lovely part of Europe!
 
GP025 Footloose in the Austrian Tyrol ©2013
Running time: 140 minutes
Aspect 16:9
We consider this film to be Exempt from Classification
Reproduced as DVD-R (PAL-all regions) viewable on almost all DVD players, including overseas.
We have found with feedback from customers in USA and Canada that our films generally work on NTSC players too, with few
exceptions ...any computer with DVD software will play also.
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