Großglockner & Heiligenblut
Totally shocked I was, when I saw the consequences of climate change so clearly with my own eyes for the first time!!! It looks like someone pulled the stopper out of the bathtub.
Großglockner (3.798 m), Pasterze Glacier & Johannisberg (3.453 m), 1928. Photo: Kurt Hielscher.
Großglockner (3.798 m), Pasterze Glacier or what's left of it & Johannisberg (3.453 m), the 17th of July 2023. Photo: Casper Molenaar.
On arrival at the Kaiser Franz Josefs Höhe at 2.369m and the whole road of the stunning Großglocknerhochalpstrasse towards it, I just enjoyed the scenery and didn't think about what has been and never will come back. I simply felt lucky each time the clouds disappeared to provide me with a glimpse of the summit of Austria's highest mountain. It is still a beautiful place!
Waiting for the clouds to pass.
Almost a year ago I made the appointment with my oldest son to climb to the summit the summer of 2023 Also to make another photo made by Kurt Hielscher with a view on the Großglockner as seen from the summit of the Kleinglockner. It was a nice ambition, but in March I injured myself leaving me with a tendinitis in my foot. I still could hardly walk during the summer, so this famous mountainroad was the best way for me to enjoy the mountains in Austria on our way to Croatia. I just hope, I'll be fit enough again one day to try again, with my son. And fit I should be, because Kurt Hielscher, the mountaineer he was, is not to be underestimated neither the impressive Großglockner.
It was kinda windy up there.
View on the Panoramarestaurant Kaiser Franz-Josefs-Höhe with the Großglockner still covered in clouds.
In the Porsche Museum
Heiligenblut
After a long and impressive tour along the Grossglocknerhochalpstrasse, we ended the day in Heiligenblut with its characteristic Pfarrkirche
which tower dates back to 1430 AD but there already was a chapel starting 1271. The church was inaugurated in 1491.
After parking in the center I did not have the energy anymore to go further back up the mountain to exactly get into Kurt Hielscher's footsteps nor did my other familymembers. We even got grumpy to one another. So, I chose to match the mountains on both photos instead of the church. Nevertheless, Heiligenblut was a very nice finish of an exciting day and endpoint of this characteristic mountainous route, though the church was already closed at that time so we might need to go back with a good mood to fully enjoy the church and the scenery.
On the other side of the church, there's a terrace. The church was closed when we arrived.
Below: view from the Großglocknerhochalpstrasse, 17th of July 2023. Photo: Casper Molenaar.
