atop the zwölferhorn

the zwölferhorn, which means something like “the twelfth peak” in german, is a mountain of 1,522m in height that looms over tiny st. gilgen. the village is, in fact, where you go to take the cable car to the top. when i was first researching the area a few months ago i was thinking no way, no how am i ever getting on that cable car! for some reason, i’ve developed a crippling dislike of heights in the last three years or so (good thing i got some swiss travels out of the way before then….) and was thinking i would have to forgo this trip.
and then, right before we left, i decided i wasn’t going to let a little heights stop me. plus, there is a christmas market up there at the top that is open every single day, including holidays. with the christmas market (which was bound to be adorable, right?) as the carrot dangling in front of me, alex and i took the cable car to the top on our first full day in st. gilgen, which happened to be a stunningly sunny and clear christmas eve day.

glorious views of the wolfgangsee on the way up! it was a smooth ride.

at the top, BAM, there was snow. i guess that’s what happens on the tops of mountains in december. i slid and slipped my way in my boots (which i had prior to this, thought to be quite trusty) up to a large wooden viewing platform to see this unbelievable view of the dachstein alps. WOW. the sun was facing us, and sitting on that bench on the top of the mountain, the heat was warm enough to wear only a t-shirt. unbelievable moment.

there are several paths and some great hiking ontop of the zwölferhorn, but it was snowy and i had footwear limitations. although there were a lot of snow hikers with the proper boots and ski poles just tearing it up! we walked on the pillstein trail for awhile out to arnika hütte and stopped to marvel our luck with this weather on christmas eve. and being in austria. and feeling fortunate.

walking in the snow for awhile can sure numb your limbs a bit, so after walking around in the snow for an hour or two, i was fully expecting a big ol’ mug of gluhwein and a snack at the cute little christmas market at the top. raclette, which i have never had before, and it was heeeavenly. melty, crispy alpine cheese on bread! served by friendly austrian! st. bernard dogs! christmas carols on the speaker! file this in “magical moments”.

the way back i was much less nervous coming down. something about being on the top of a mountain for awhile helps acclimate you to the sensation, that goodness.

in case you missed part one of my st. gilgen christmas, well here ya go.

happy first travel tuesday of the year! every week, the co-hosts spotlight a post that stood out from the past week, and man it was hard to choose because i so enjoyed reading about everyone’s travel memories from last year… but i loved van’s honest post about her goals for the coming year. she has some fantastic trips she’s hoping to make happen this year including greenland and denmark, wow!

if you’re a blogger, now’s the time to link up your travel post with us & meet some new travelers like yourself! here’s how it works: share a post about travel, link back to co-hosts bonnie, courtney, yalanda, & myself (cynthia) using the button below. add your link & hop around.

{TIPS} one post per person (save others for future tuesdays!). share the love on social media with the #traveltuesday hashtag. only properly linked posts will be featured! the last tuesday of the month will be an (optional) themed prompt.