Page 234, Kleinglockner as seen from Grossglockner at 3764m

Photo: Kurt Hielscher, 1928

For me Austria is about the mountains. As a kid I grew up with skiing in Vorarlberg, Montafon. Later I also went to Vienna several times with interrail or on my way hitchhiking to Slovakia and ofcourse I passed Austria a dozens of times on my way to my beloved Balkans. As a hiker I am more familiar with the French Alps, but I am sure Kurt Hielscher fell in love with Austria as a hiker and that's something I have to explore myself still here, because I never went into Kurt Hielscher's footsteps in Austria. And his footsteps are to be found on great heights, several above 3000 meters, so that will be really challenging for me. My age is not an excuse, because Kurt Hielscher was 47 when he published his Austria book, the same age as I have now. It will be a great challenge for me to capture some of these photos in the summer of 2022 and if I have the possibility to go earlier than that, there are lot of picturesque villages and beautiful images in the cities to rephotograph.