It all happened 5 years ago when I saw a beautiful article of Carinthia in a magazine. Maybe the text was a little bit religious but it showed the beauty of this place.
When our kind Lord created the world, he came in Carinthia.
In addition, when he saw the beautiful things he created there he decided to live there very quietly but there were so many other places where still was nothing and that deserved nevertheless also something.
With the death in his heart, the good Lord traveled outside Carinthia. Tears of nostalgia flowed then from his divined eyes and see; all these tears have united to small lakes and lie there now glittering under God's happy sun. Is that no tangible certainty that Carinthia is God's elected country?
I did a lot of research of this beautiful place on the Internet, books, and magazines. Of course, I was also informed by other persons who visited this place and their opinions were almost very positive. Therefore, I made the decision to travel to Carinthia and I never complained that I made this choice.
Carinthia found his origin in the Keltian word "carant" and it means friendship. Doesn't that sound beautiful?
In September 2002, we made this trip for 10 days with a group. The weather was good and that made the trip very agreeable. We made this trip by bus with almost 20 travelers. The first place we visited was St. Johan in Tirol. It gave us the first impression about Austria and the nice people who live there. It is a little city with a sociable market with painted houses, terraces and a white yellow church with two baroque towers.
We drove further through the Grossglockner High Alpine Road. This mountain road leads to glaciers and the eternal snow. The Grossglockner has a height of 3798m and is the highest mountain in Austria. We could see many beautiful mountain pastures, water falls and flowers on this road.
We ended our day in the city Berg in the Hotel Waldpension Putz where we should stay for the next days. In my opinion this is the best hotel that you can find in that place:
Hotel Waldpension Putz, Tratten 17, 9771 Berg im Drautal.
The hospitality in this hotel is very good. There is a swimming pool inside and there are many accommodations to do some sports. The cuisine is very good and you have choice every day between two kinds of meals: one with fish and another with some meat. Typical food for this area are the Schnitzel, goulash and of course as dessert the Apple strudel.
The hotel is situated on a good place to do some excursions.
Carinthia is well known for its beautiful lakes:
1) The Weissensee
2) The Worthersee
3) The Millstattersee
4) The Ossiachersee
These lakes have a constant temperature of 20 degrees or more which is agreeable.
In my opinion, the Worthersee is the most beautiful lake and has the nicest temperature of the four lakes. It is situated in the town Portschach, 15 km west of the capital Klagenfurt.
Portschach is a very beautiful city, situated on a peninsula in the lake Worthersee. The Promenade of this lake is very special because of the beautiful flowers. You can take a very long walk with a view of all kinds of flowers you can imagine. The rural church reflects in the water and is one of the most beautiful sights and photographed views of Austria.
Nevertheless, Carinthia has more to offer than only lakes. It is a good place to walk and we did one day a long walk to Dellach in Drautal where we could enjoy all kinds of views: beautiful houses decorated with flowers, cows which are typical for the area of Carinthia and beautiful waterfalls. The way was always hiking over some rocks and you need good sports shoes to do this trip.
The most important reason that travelers visit Austria and especially Carinthia are the beautiful mountains and his beautiful glaciers.
The Maltatal and the Molltaler Glacier are in my opinion the most beautiful places for mountain hikers.
With a mountain train you are in only 8 minutes in the Molltaler region on a height of 2300m. It is a good place for mountain hikers to do beautiful walks in this area. If the weather is good, you can go to a height of 3.122m. However, it happens very often that this is not possible for safety reasons because the sight is not clear enough.
In winter, it is a good place for skiing. That is one of the reasons that many people come to this place to practice this sport during this time of year. When you prefer walking this season offers beautiful sights and occasions for walking.
Carinthia has many national parks and the National Park Nockberge is one that you have to see. The Nockalm Road is situated in that park and you can see there the beautiful Nock Mountains. Nock Mountains are a unique kind of Alpine mountains. The landscape is very beautiful with all these trees and plants. Many local farmers show their work in extraordinary farms. It is a good opportunity to buy there some local products like cheese and all kind of meats. Nockberge is the perfect region for hiking and seeing the beauty of the flowers and some animals like marmots and cows; more beautiful than we can find in other countries.
I made in my life many travels but I will keep this one always in my good memories. The last day when we drove home, we made a last stop in Krimml, a place in Tirol. The Krimml Waterfalls are "a must see" for every tourist who travels in this area. These Falls have a height of about 400m and are the most impressive waterfalls in Europe that attracts many visitors.
If you want to visit Carinthia: the most important question is, which is the best period to visit this place? I can tell you that every season is good to visit this place but it depends of what you like to do there. If you are going for skiing the best period is from January until March. The nature with the blooming flowers and plants are most beautiful in spring, especially May and June. Of course, the temperature will be higher in summer but then there is also more risk for much rain. September is often the best period to have a very wide panoramic view.
Carinthia is a beautiful place to visit regardless of the season as each one is beautiful.