Austria 1928
Page 234, Kleinglockner as seen from Großglockner at 3764m.
Photo: Kurt Hielscher, 1928
A start was made during the summer of 2023 driving the famous Großglocknerhochalpstrasse, where it was quite shocking to see that the Pasterze Glacier had disappeared. That day we ended in Heiligenblut, but we also visited places like Millstatt, Gmünd and Kuchl & Golling an der Salzach.
For me Austria is about 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 still have to explore here, because I never really went into Kurt Hielscher's footsteps in Austria before 2023. And his footsteps are to be found on the heighest peaks like the Großglockner 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, but I have to be careful because time is running fast. Next to the heights, there are lot of picturesque villages and beautiful images in the cities Kurt Hielscher published in his photo album of Austria, and so for me to rephotograph.
Church of St. Vincent in Heiligenblut.
Großglockner (3.798 m), Pasterze Glacier & Johannisberg (3.453 m) in black&white, 17th of July 2023. Photo: Casper Molenaar.
Graz in the summer of 2024.
Below: on our way at the Großglocknerhochalpstrasse.
