Day 12
Leaving picturesque Hallstatt was probably the hardest departure on our tour. We headed towards Vienna stopping near the city of Linz to visit the Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp. Our visit to the concentration camp was a surreal and sobering experience. Mauthausen was operational from August 1938 to May 1945 with a death toll reaching an estimate of 320,000. Mauthausen was an operational quarry, forcing the prisoners at the camp to carry heavy stones up a long stairway know as the 'stairway to Hell.' We were given time to spend walking around the camp on our own with the assist of an audio guide, taking in the somber exhibits at our own speed. After leaving the camp we made a quick stop for lunch before continuing our drive into Vienna.
When we arrived in Vienna we departed our 'home away from home', otherwise known as our tour bus, for the last time. We said a bittersweet goodbye to our driver Yunis and headed down the street towards our hotel. Nica provided us with an orientation walk of the city that evening and pointed out multiple locations for dinner on our own that night. We ate dinner with a few of our fellow tour mates that evening in a restaurant hidden at the bottom of a stairwell, the food was excellent and if it weren't for the expert guidance of our tour guide Nica we would have passed the restaurant without notice. After dinner we strolled through the nighttime streets of Vienna, stopping in for gelato at a shop around the corner from our hotel. We climbed into bed that night knowing that our amazing experience was about to come to an end.
Copyright 2016 Karly Eller