Into the clouds

We could have been disappointed by the weather today if it were not for the Internet, which insisted that the weather will be great from tomorrow on. Actually, when we looked out of the window at our dramatic view, it wasn't raining, but the weather app. assured us that it was raining and who would argue with that?

We descended a floor for breakfast. It was as expected. Rolls, cheese, ham, spam, jam and plenty of coffee. Some breakfasts have also offered cereal but it is pretty clear that this is only provided by places that are willing to pander to the taste of those parts of the world where cereal is a breakfast staple. As we sat down, Gertrude, our host walked in and proudly placed freshly boiled eggs in front of us. Kate ate hers. Suffice it to say that my body would not thank me for furnishing it with an egg.

We are staying here for a week and the thoughts that Gertrude was going to present me with an egg every morning, emboldened me to take action. I explained that I don't really like eggs. Apologetically. I'm English. If you don't like something, you apologise for your obvious shortcomings.

We stepped out into the rain which wasn't, and headed for today's destination. It is called Großglockner Hochalpenstraße. Say that with a mouth full of Schnitzel...

Großglockner Hochalpenstraße is a high Alpine Pass which drives as near as tarmac can get, to Austria's highest mountain, Großglockner. After ascending a fair way, we came to a toll which you had to pay if you wanted to use the next 35 kilometres of road.

We had a think. It was €40. We paid up. Was it worth it? Oh my goodness, it was worth every cent.

This was by far and away the most exciting drive of my life. The road took 39 hairpins as well as inumerous other bends. It was steep with sometimes sheer drops to one side. It just carried on going up and up. Occasionally we would summit the odd coll, then drop for a while, then up and up again.

We realised we were taking a bit of a gamble as we disappeared into the cloud on what was a pretty empty road. Visibility sometimes kept our speed to about 20 mph. Less on the hairpins. We just hoped and prayed that the sun might make an appearance at an opportune moment and make this epic drive worthwhile.

And then, the clouds parted to reveal stunning scenery. The tarmac eventually gave up, after bridges and tunnels and those 'semi tunnel' things built into the side of the mountain, at 2,400 metres. The very end of the road was marked by the thing you'd expect least; driving straight into and up a multi storey car park. This place is obviously packed in good weather. We were glad we hadn't come yesterday. You emerge from the multi storey on to a large paved area with a boat in the middle. Again, not the first thing you'd expect to see. One thing we did expect to see was a café. And guess what?..

After the obligatory coffee we explored a little more. The surprises kept coming. We wandered through a door and found ourselves in a car museum. Of course...

Cars old and new were there to inspect. Through another door, and it was motorbikes. It was as if, having charged us 40 euros, they were doing everything they could think of to justify the charge. Of course, there was also a plethora of exhibitions about wildlife in the Alps, sustainability, men who first climbed the high peaks and how the road we had driven was the best in Europe. Then there was the gift shop. Pens with your name on, mugs with your name on, doilys with your name on. (Well probably, the Austrians love a good doily) They were also selling sandwiches. We assumed there would be a hefty mark up on price. But no, about £2:50 for a crackin ham and cheese baguette!

Not that you could have had anything else. It has to be said that the Austrians are not adventurous when it comes to food. If it isn't Schnitzel, Strudel, Stroisel, ham, cheese, bread or beer, then they don't want to know. Austrian food on one website is described at beige. When you see people tucking in to a meal of Frankfurters (sorry, I forgot them) with a pile of sauerkrout and a white bread bun, I think that's a fair summary.

No wonder we've only seen one French car here so far. How would they cope?

We finished our 'top of the world' experience by climbing up a sort of glass tower above the visitor's centre where we were told even more about the habits of the White Hare, Ibex and Marmot before we headed down to Zell am See to do some shopping for a meal back at the air bnb.

We stopped at a superstore called Hofer. It was like Aldi caught on a bad day. (Sorry all you Aldi shoppers)

We eventually managed to put a meal together by buying up the only two pieces of fresh fish in the whole of Austria and headed for home.

We have walked into Zell properly, this evening. It's a lot bigger than we thought. For somewhere with such a posh reputation, it's verging on tat. But then that's what we tourists do to a place. We make demands and the entrepreneurs cash in. If somebody starts serving Schnitzel-free meals, they'll make a killing.