Mountainmaniac

As early as the beginning of the 20th century, the Rax mountain range was a popular alpine resort for nature-loving Viennese. Its development for tourism culminated in 1926 with the opening of Austria's first passenger cable car, which allowed passengers to ascend more than 1000 meters (3280 ft)  in altitude in just 8 minutes. Numerous trails and via ferratas also lead to the expansive Rax plateau, and these have lost none of their appeal. On the contrary: today, it is not only city dwellers who flock to the Rax, especially on weekends and holidays, but also mountaineers from Austria's eastern neighboring countries. A possible starting point for a hike to the Ottohaus , a mountain refuge built at the end of the 19th century and named after Archduke Otto, is the Hotel Knappenhof in Reichenau an der Rax. There are usually a few parking spaces along the access road to the hotel that are not reserved for hotel guests. Arriving early is definitely an advantage. From here, you fir...