On the streets of Graz

Submitted by: www.draganzlatanovic.com

THE TYROL PANORAMA

The above photograph is taken from a rare panoramic painting of Innsbruck from 1896 that shows one of the most significant historic events in Tirol’s history. It’s artistic quality and exquisite detail still impress patrons today!

One of only 20 such paintings to survive, the magnificent circular Tirol Panorama depicts – on 1,000 square meters – a series of epic battles for freedom fought by Tyrolean soldiers against Napoleon’s army in 1806.

When you stand in the middle of the circular painting, surrounded by the landscape of Innsbruck as it presented itself in the early 1800s, you’ll feel as if you had taken a journey back in time. It’s seriously sooo cool :)!
The minute details of traditional costumes, uniforms, landscapes and buildings really make the painting come alive. The painting is sooo realistic, you’ll suddenly believe an amusing anecdote from when it was first revealed to the public in 1896: an elderly farmer jumped over the hand-rail on to the three-dimensional foreground of the painting, where he used his hat to try to extinguish a tin-foil fire that he thought was real. Can you imagine haha ;)!

After a long history of travel through Europe, the painting underwent extensive renovations, and is now housed at the Tirol Panorama in Innsbruck, alongside the Kaiserjäger Museum on Bergisel, where more than 200 years ago, with a battle against the Bavarian occupiers, the story began.

Why you definitely want to check this museum out while in Austria, see here: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g190445-d2153228-Reviews-Tirol_Panorama-Innsbruck_Tirol_Austrian_Alps.html

THERMEN LOVE

People from all over Europe come to Austria on a regular basis to enjoy it’s Thermen culture!

We Austrians are seriously big on Wellness, Saunas and all that good stuff. Every year we try to at least make one or two vacations for a few days (or over the weekend) to one of the countless beautiful Wellness Hotels in Austria. Austria’s Wellness culture is a culture of its own and just as popular among Austrians and surrounding European countries, as it is for Finish People to go to Finish saunas!

The Austrian Spa’s we are talking about are called THERMEN in German, or singular THERME. And believe us when we say, that you cannot compare the American spas to Austrian ones. It is something completely different.

There are literally hundreds and hundreds of Thermen throughout Austria. Part of the reason which makes the Austrian Thermen so popular throughout Europe is that pretty much almost two-thirds of landmass in Austria consists of the Alps, and as a result, 95% of the Thermen you can go to in Austria stem from Natural Healthy Mineral Hot Springs ;)!

In addition to that, the hotels are top end at a reasonable price. Whenever we go to a Therme, it is all about relaxation – in every way, and just enjoying life. Top-notch cooks from all over the country work at those Thermen and the food that you get to taste there is just as amazing as the Thermen Experience in itself. They usually have a bunch of fitness programs at every Therme, as well as hair stylists, masseurs/masseuses, skin experts, you name it! It’s all about Wellness.

In Austria we are furthermore pretty open about our bodies. So in contrast to some American Spas or Korean ones, to which we’ve been to, you will find that the genders intermingle in Thermen and that there is no separate male and female area in Austrian Saunas.

However, we do distinguish between naked and non-naked areas, so you can decide whichever one you prefer. A little tip though on the side in case you do want to enter the naked area that usually has the coolest and newest technology Saunas, Steam Rooms and other nice things: no one has ever asked us to leave the naked areas when we wore a bikini or bathing short. However, in most Thermen there are signs where it says that it is not allowed to wear any kind of swimwear. Why? Because the material of swimwear is supposedly not good for your skin when you enter steam rooms, saunas, etc.

Though what you can do in case you feel a little uncomfortable about the glances from the people around you who are walking around naked, just try and wrap a towel around you and just use the Therme like that ;).

FURTHER READS:

http://www.austria.info/us/rejuvanation/thermal-spas-1130913.html

http://www.austria.info/us/rejuvanation/alpine-spas-1130901.html

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/austria/travel-tips-and-articles/76040

http://www.wellnesshotel.com/en/

http://www.frommers.com/destinations/austria/1757020430.html

 

Photo of the day – Austria’s Weirdest Hotel

Ever thought about staying in sewer pipe over night?
Well, this is probably not one of the first things that comes to mind when trying to find a room or a hotel to stay for the night.

However, The Park Hotel in Linz invented a new kind of ‘hotel experience’ by creating rooms out of 8-feet long sewer pipes that have been redecorated in a seriously cool way to allow for proper accommodation.

The probably coolest thing of all is that the hotel’s rates are on a “pay as you wish” system. What does that mean? You can pretty much leave as much as you believe the room was worth after your stay ;).

To get more info or even book a link, check out the Park Hotel’s website: http://www.dasparkhotel.net/?lang=EN