The Schlossberg Grottenbahn

I've already shown you many of the sights on top of the Schlossberg, so today I'm instead going to take you into its heart (cue Greig's In the Hall of the Mountain King). An extensive system of tunnels and caverns have been hollowed out of the mountain's depths, and though these burrows once served as air-raid sanctuaries for Grazers in WWII, today they just offer an easy lift to the top of the Schloss via the ABSOLUTE COOLEST elevator I've ever seen in my life, or--for the more imaginatively inclined traveller--a surreal train ride through a series of fairytale dioramas and animated scenes of magical and totally-tripped-out revelry.

First to the elevator. For 60 cents you can hitch a ride and save yourself the sweat and strain of walking up all the stairs outside the Schlossberg. I generally prefer taking the stairs but after seeing this baby, I'm not so sure...

When one of the elevators leaves its station with a full load of passengers, it looks more like a spaceship or a vehicle from Tron than a regular old system of weights and pulleys. I didn't actually ride it today, but am really tempted to give it a go later on!

The loading platform for the Fairyland Grottenbahn is located a little nearer the cave entrance and after changing my mind about 8 times I finally decided it would be worth the 3,50 to check it out. My friend Pauline and I were the only adults on the ride who weren't minding a child and I felt a little self conscious at first, but once the operator pulled our little engine up to the entrance of the grotto, I forgot all my embarrassment and was squirming in my seat like a 6 year old. The train snaked around the corner and bumbled on down a psycedelically lit hallway. The further we went the more chilly and dank the air became. Parents pulled hoods over their children's heads and some took advantage of the blankets draped over the back of each car. I wish I had a better grasp of German because our teenage engineer was speaking the whole time. I caught a few of the safety messages--the usual, keep you arms in the car and don't stand up--but became more interested in his announcing when the first animated dioramas began to appear inside little hollows of the tunnel walls.

Some were obvious enough to anyone familiar with the usual litany of childhood fairy tales. See if you can figure them out...

Others were simply cute and fun...

...kinda wacky (what in the world...?)

...slightly scary...

...a little demented...

...and...um...is that viagra?!

Obviously there were sneaky tidbits hiding out here and there for the adults to smile about on their own.