Bad Gastein

The Bad Gastein Railway Station at the city centre. As guided by the Jagger Haus Bavarian waitress we went up and up and up almost a 500 ft steep  early morning climb over 500 yards and reached the city center of  Bad Gastein. Being a Sunday the grocery store was closed so we decided to explore the town on foot.

The Stubnerkogel Cableway  Station came into view which takes hikers and skiers  to the Stubnerkogel at a height of   7400 feet. Bad Gastein  itself is at a height  of 3000 ft. feet. The sight of cable cars ascending into the mountains was irresistible and within 15 minutes the tickets(using the Gastein discount card) had been purchased  and we were waiting to get into the next car.

The cable cars seat 6 people ,are very comfortable while giving  a breathtaking view  of the Austrian Alps as they  climb to Stubnerkogel. An Austrian Engineer once travelled in one of the  Indian cable cars and declared upon coming out that one day the Cable car would fall. Six months later it failed and the Indian Air force had to pluck the passengers from the cable car suspended almost 5000 feet above the ground.

The view from inside the cable cars. There is a midway stop for hikers to get out and hike  up or down hill. The Alps are a beautiful sight and suspended from the cable car we had a 360 degree view as we slowly climbed into the mountains As we ascended the vegetation changed from tall pine trees to shrubs to grass and finally bare mountains and in the distance we could see the snow covered mountains.

The  Stubnerkogel  Chairlift which follows the ski slopes and operates only during the Ski Season. Along the way there are poles which spray artificial snow to maintain the  level of snow. When  snow fall takes place and the skiing season is at its peak, the chairlift runs 24 hours taking the avid skiers up into the mountains from where they ski down again and again unmindful of the cold temperature.  Skiing through clumps of trees requires a much higher level of skill as compared to just skiing down a plain slope. Smashing into a  pine tree trunk at 40 Kmph may not be too good for health and comfort.

Hotel Bellevue Mondi -RCI Resort at Bad gastein

Hotel Bellevue Mondi Bad Gastein Austria

Our RCI resort at Bad Gastein was Hotel Bellevue of the Mondi group of Hotels. The group has 5 hotels in the area which are absolutely jam packed during the Skiing season which starts from Nov  and continues up to March. Built in 1831 as a Spa the Bellevue is a luxury hotel catering to  ski guests. The restaurant serves good food along with excellent beer  during the daily dinner buffet. 

Jagerhaus Restaurant, Bellevue Mondi, Bad Gastein, Austria

At the back of the resort about 200 ft below is another Resort Restaurant called Jagger Haus which served excellent Austrian beer. The waitress in Bavarian dress was surprised that my wife refused the beer ,preferring the water instead. She did not know that it was the holy fasting period of Nav Durge when Indians are supposed to fast for 9 days. We needed to purchase some groceries and the helpful waitress guided us by pointing upwards and said go up and up and up............. We had to do just that ,and it was a steep climb.

Inside Hotel Bellevue Mondi-Bad Gastein, Austria Our unit No 1002 ,on the ground floor consisted of a Living room on the upper level and a bedroom on the lower level. On the ground floor was our kitchen and dining area. Resort Suite Hotel bellevue Mondi, Bad Gastein, Austria  Extremely comfortable. It was one the good accomodations we have enjoyed courtesy RCI. The balcony of the living room ,opening in front of tall pine trees, was the perfect place to enjoy the October Alpine weather. Excellent Weather In Bad Gastein with Stiegl,Austria Bellevue Mondi was established in the ninteenth century as an upper class spa for water treatement.Water treatment was the only sucessful cure for rheumatism ,arthritis and blood pressure etc and therefore the rich and the famous of Europe came to Bad Gastein to take the waters and get relief. By the twentieth century medical science had provided better and sure shot cures for most of the diseases and Bad Gastein changed to a Ski Resort and accordingly Bellevue Mondi changed from a Spa to a modern hotel with all weather swimming pools instead of spas. All Weather Swimming Pool of Bellevue Hotel Mondi, Bad Gastein, Austria