Day 6 - Monday 7 May

The boys had a wake-up time of 06:45am this morning and had to be ready for breakfast at 07:30am.  

We departed for Werfen, 40km south of Salzburg - about an hour's drive - where we were going to visit Eisriesenwelt.  The Eisriesenwel (German for "World of the Ice Giants") is a natural limestone and ice cave inside the Hochkogel mountain in the Alps.  It is the largest ice cave in the world, extending more than 42 km and visited by about 200,000 tourists every year.  Although the cave has a length of 42 km, only the first kilometer, the area that tourists are allowed to visit, is covered in ice.  The rest of the cave is formed of limestone.  Eisriesenwelt was formed by the Salzach river, which eroded passageways into the mountain.  The ice formations in the cave we formed by thawing snow which drained into the cave and froze during winter.  Since the entrance to the cave is open year-round, chilly winter winds blow into the cave and freeze the snow inside.  In summer, a cold wind from inside the cave blows toward the entrance and prevents the formations from melting.

Entrance to the cave

Looking down from the cave onto the trail, which is the only way of access to the cave

Ice Formations

Ice Formations

To get to the start of Eisriesenwelt, you have to drive quite a way up a long, winding road, and then take a cable car even higher up the mountain.  The cable car drive lasts about 3 minutes.  We had one little Drakie who is extremely scared of heights, but he was very brave and survived the cable car drive with a few Rescue tablets from Mrs. Louw, as well as by holding on very tight to Chef's leg. :) As soon as you arrive at the top of the cable car ride, it is still a 20minute, very steep walk up to where the actual cave is.  But wait, there's more - 700 more steps to be exact.  Inside the cave, you have to climb 700 steps, up, and again going down, with the tour guide pointing out the different formations along the way.  All the boys stepped up to the challenge, and thankfully they all came out in one piece on the other side.  Inside the cave, the temperature is 0 degrees Celcius, so most of us could not feel our toes or fingers by the end of the tour, and our legs were jelly from all the steps, not to mention our knees....well, maybe that was only the staff. :)  The boys all agreed that it was quite an adventure, and appreciated the fact that it was something that they would never be able to experience in South Africa.

We had lunch at 12:30pm, in the restaurant at the foot of the cave.  The boys had all worked up quite an appetite and devoured their burgers and chips.  They were also introduced to the "national drink of Austria", Almdudler, and loved it.  Almdudler is a sweetened carbonated beverage made of herbal extracts.  Its popularity in Austria is second only to Coca-Cola.  About 80 million litres of the beverage are produced per year.

After lunch, we walked back to our bus and departed for Borrobäum High School in Salzburg, where we were to have a workshop at 14:30.  Borrobäum is a private high school - the teachers are paid by the state, but the governing body maintains the school buildings and all other aspects of the school. The school fees are 130 euros per month (about R1900), which is about the same as the school fees at a South African state school.  It is a beautiful school, with lush grounds and spacious classrooms, all kitted out with the latest technological equipment.  The Drakies taught the learners of Borrobäum Jikela Ngapha and Asimbonga, and also gave a short concert to the school afterward. The workshop was very well received and fun was had by all.

At 16:00pm, we said goodbye to our new friends at Borrobäum and went to Salzburg, where the boys had free time to explore the city centre and do some shopping.  We met back at the bus at 19:00pm and drove straight back to our hotel where we were to have supper at 20:30pm.

The boys had a rehearsal after supper, from 21:00-22:00, to work on some of the pieces that we have to perform at the Choir Festival in Switzerland. Lights-out time was at 22:30pm, and I can promise you that the boys won't have any trouble falling asleep after their icy adventure today...

Tomorrow is a traveling day.  We are leaving for Switzerland at 08:00am tomorrow morning, and then it is about 680km to Switzerland.  We are due to arrive in Basel at 17:00pm tomorrow afternoon.