THIS PLACE IS JUST SURREAL. THERE IS NOT AND NEVER WAS ANY MEDIOCRITY IN BAD GASTEIN AS WE DISCOVER ON A WALK THROUGH DOWNTOWN BAD GASTEIN.
The Melange (strong coffee with hot frothed milk) tastes good and revives our spirits. The next few days are roughly planned: Bad Gastein and surroundings, hiking and culinary highlights, combined with excellent weather. But for now, we enjoy our coffee with a view of the train station with its incoming and departing trains. Drink up and off we go into town!
Gründerzeit architecture frames the narrow street leading down to the terrace of Villa Solitude. The first panoramic view is of the Gasteiner Ache (a river) and the mighty looking waterfall. It divides the town into two parts, cutting through a row of glamourous belle-epoque buildings. The Grand Hotel de l’Europe is one of these fine specimens. Built in 1909 it was once known as the biggest and most luxurious building in Europe. The futuristic and prize-winning Congress Center, designed by star architect Gerhard Garstenauer, lies in sharp contrast to the belle-epoque building, attracting many meetings to Bad Gastein since 1975. We descend from the terrace and walk across to the roaring waterfall. The Ache once made Bad Gastein the first electrically illuminated spa town in Austria. Nowadays, the stately but now decommissioned Jugendstil power station is a landmark building and is used as a summer residence for young artists with the label ”summer.frische.kunst”. The works of graffiti artist Mirko Reisser, alias DAIM, decorate the old walls. Vernissages, as well as rave parties, are held between the old retired turbines.
We continue to Straubinger Platz (town square). K.u.k. (Imperial and Royal) nostalgia hangs in the air. The Gründerzeit buildings remind us of Paris and Vienna. It is not hard to imagine the upper-class going-ons that took place here at the beginning of the 20th -century.
THE FORMER MONTE CARLO OF THE ALPS HAS OBTAINED AN AURA OF SOPHISTICATION – AN ENJOYABLE JOURNEY IN TIME.
There is truly no mediocrity in Bad Gastein. With these commanding impressions the road leads us to the Café Gamskar via the Kaiser Promenade. Locals promise the best views over Bad Gastein from here. You can attest to this, whilst enjoying a sundowner and planning your next days.
All 96Hours in Bad Gastein Features – written by Rene Fleissner and Jana Kohler, photographed by Daniel Sostaric, Andre Kratzer and Thomas Taurer – are published in collaboration with Kora Group.
