Hello From Austria: A Country Drive And How Determination And Willpower Can Move Mountains II
After a lovely lunch at my friend Andreas place, her whole family and I embarked on another adventure: a guided tour of the Katerloch, a limestone cave that features the largest number of dripstones in all of Austria. Following a beautiful 15 minute drive through serene rolling hills surrounding the hamlet of Drntal we arrived at the entrance of the cave.
A group of about 20 or 25 people was already waiting, and the owner of the cave, a young man by the name of Fritz Geissler, was ready to take us on our guided tour. At 30 Euros, the guided tour is not exactly an inexpensive venture, but Fritz explained to us that the upkeep of the cave is costly and the price acts as an important filter that keeps out undesirable visitors who might not have a real interest in this natural wonder. His concerns are justified since over the last decades visitors have done considerable damage to the cave and broken off dripstones to take home as a souvenir.
We started to congregate at the entrance of the cave and Fritz explained that the name of the cave Katerloch is composed of the...