Have you ever heard the name Grossglockner? Maybe yes if you are from Austria or live around the Alps in Europe. We must admit that we had not heard about it before and we want to share with you how we discovered the most beautiful road in Europe.
Everything started with my obsession to memorize the satellite images of the zone that we want to visit. In that exploration, using Google Earth, I saw this:
Finally I realized that there was a hostel at the highest point of the road, at 2,600 m, where we could sleep. Moreover, I found those two huts and I decided there was no better place to spend a night. We modified the plans for the previous day just to be able to sleep there. And fortunately we could. Here starts the story that brought us to the Grossglockner road.
First thing you have to know is that you have to pay a toll to pass through the road and it is not full time opened. Just check it here for times and prices.
After the toll we started the ascent. It was impossible not to stop every 5 minutes just to take photos and videos of the picturesque landscapes of green, white, blue and grey. The highest mountains in Austria are full of white patches of snow that never get molten. We did it in August and we could play a little bit with snow balls in one of our stops.
The road has a total of 48 km and 36 turns leads directly into the centre of Austria’s largest national park with an area of 1,800 km² that extends across the provinces of Salzburg, Tyrol and Carinthia. The highest point of the mountain road is the Edelweiss Spitze located at just above 2,500 m. Several 3,000 m peaks open up to the wandering gaze, but the largest of them all is the Grossglockner. The striking mountain towers above the entire region at 3,798 m, and is at the same time the highest summit of Austria.
The hotspot, or maybe we should say the “coldspot”, is the Franz Josep Glacier. Yes, the same name as the one in New Zealand that we described in a different post.
The views of the glacier are astonishing and you can do some excursions around it.
And after the glacier we went to the Edelweiss Spitze to have a hot soup, typical food and a nice sleep. When we left the restaurant in the inn we went by walk using a lantern directly to our hut. Just a small bathroom, a table and a bunk. All made of wood. No luxury, just charm and warm in the cold night at almost 2,600 m. The road was already closed, we were just us in a tiny hut at the top of the Alps. Alone. Romantic.
We slept comfortably and in the morning, when we opened the curtains, we received a present.
I couldn’t wait to put my trousers, my T-shirt and jump to the outside and cold world to enjoy the unique moment.
Mapping The Map 
The mountains are just gorgeous. Your post shows that you don’t need anything fancy to be romantic. I would love to spend a weekend there. Thanks for sharing on #TheWeeklyPostcard.
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You start knowing us 🙂 Thanks for your comment!
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I’ve never heard of it! What a stunning setting and especially cool to wake up to views like that.
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Yes! It is a beautiful place to stay. Thanks for your comment 🙂
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Wow, inspiring stuff. I can’t wait to take my children to the Alps, the scenery in so breathtaking.
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Yes Annabel! Your kids will enjoy the scenery, the nature and the activities you can do there. It is a great place for families also. And… We slept in the smallest hut, but there are two. The other one is familiy size and more comfortable 🙂
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Great, I’ll bear that in mind!
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How fun! I’ll be hiking through Switzerland this summer, and there are two mountain huts on my itinerary. I can’t wait to see the Alps!
#TheWeeklyPostcard
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We have never been to Switzerland and we are sure you will enjoy beautiful landscapes as we did in Austria. Hope you can share it with us after your adventure there 🙂 Happy travels!
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Wow, what an experience – looks beautiful! #TheWeeklyPostcard
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Yes, unforgetable! Thanks for your comment 🙂
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How amazing to wake up to that view!!!
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Yes, just unforgettable 🙂
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Wow, that’s a gorgeous view to greet you in the morning. It’s fantastic that you changed your plans and that there was a free hut for you! Looks like an unforgettable experience. What was the altitude like? Was the air thin? #wanderfulwednesday
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Yes, the air was thin. Although we didn’t do much execise it was really different from the valley 🙂 Thanks for your comment!
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What amazing scenery! How lucky to wake up to a view like that. Also to see a glacier from so far above, you must have been up so high!
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Yes! It was a fantastic experience! I think we have never slept somewhere higher than that xD Thanks for your comment 🙂
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We imagine the views up there are amazing! We also imagine it gets pretty cold, but that’s probably why the road is only open part time. Cool find – thanks for sharing it on #TheWeeklyPostcard!
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Yes! There is too much snow half of the year, so the road has to remain closed. Thanks for your comment 🙂
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What a way to explore. I’d love to do this some time.
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Hi Laura! We always use a first approach using satellite images from Google Earth. Actually we ara at this stage with the summer travel we are planning. It is one of the most remote areas in the planet and we never use travel agencies 🙂 Glad you liked it! Thanks
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Coming from Germany, I’ve heard of the mountain before but never visited. There’s in fact so many amazing places I’ve yet to visit Austria but Grossglockner and this glacier seem definitely to be the highlights of the country!!
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Austria is a country full of hotspots if you love nature. The Grossglockner alpine road is the perfect place to drive among incredible landscapes. Thank you for your comment!
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So cool that you found this via Google Earth! What a crazy world we live in now, isn’t it? haha .. This reminds me a bit of the movie Lion, which I just watched! Oh, technology! Looks like a really cool (pun intended) place to stay 😀
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Yes! We are lucky to be able to use advanced technology to plan, enjoy and record our travels. But the wiser thing is to know when not to use them to avoid loosing the magic! 😉 Thanks for your comment 🙂
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I’ve always wanted to do something like this as there are similar huts in Italy, what an adventure! I like the idea of staying without luxuries for a night. (just one though!)
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We’ve been in Italy three times but never in the italian Alps. We have it in our bucket list and sure we will be able to live great experiences there too! Thanks for your comment 😊
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It seems like you had a blast. The scenery is truly picturesque! When’s the best time of the year to visit Grossglockner?
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We think that the best time is in summer since the weather is not so cold and we loved the contrast of snow and green. Moreover the road closes in winter. Thanks for your comment!
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