Day 5 Werfen Ice Caves
Cool day, literally. We navigated local trains and a shuttle to the world's largest ice cave in Werfen, just south of Salzburg. Original plan was for a day trip to Hallstatt, another UNESCO World Heritage Site. Travel to and from was too inconvenient without a car. We would not have time to visit our primary interests: the Hallstatt ice caves and salt caves. Plan B, the Werfen Ice Caves, turned out to be a significant upgrade, since they have well earned bragging rights. Werfen Ice Caves consist of 45 km of limestone caves. In warm months snow melt drips through cracks. The limestone retains the cold, re-freezing the water. Airflow from other cracks shape the ice, like wind shapes sandstone at the Natural Arches NP. Each year creates a new layer. There's a wall containing over 2000 years of history. Each year the guides return to find the ice structures a little changed. One of the neatest features is that we experienced the cave like the first explorer...