Students on the trip were very "tired" the day that we left the Alps, so that made it interesting considering we had an action packed day in store for us! Burg Liechtenstein is a castle in southern Austria that is right on the edge of Vienna's forest (Wienerwald). Unfortunately the castle was closed for repairs, like everything else in Vienna. It seems that all of Austria is in a constant state of repair, although I was definitely impressed by what I saw! This is the first castle that I have ever been close to so it was strange to think about the people that would have lived behind the walls in the 12th century. The castle was actually severely damaged during the Turkish sieges and was not rebuilt until 1884.
The Seegrotte tour was a really interesting tour and connects with the Nazi history that will be learning about later on the trip. The group traveled to Hinterbrühl, which is a small town in lower Austria. The tour guide said that The Seegrotte is a system of caves that includes Europe's largest underground lake. According to Wikipedia, "During the Second World War, a satellite camp of Mauthausen concentration camp was opened inside the caverns, producing parts for the He 162 jet fighter."
The lake formed after a mining accident in which a water line through a mountain was hit, flooding the cave. I'm sure that there were a lot of casualties that took place in the mine which is why I also find it rather interesting that Disney decided to later film the movie The Three Musketeers down there. That fact, to me, is rather creepy. We also found out after the tour that a couple of years back one of the boats that we were riding in flipped over and killed some tourists. On a better note the cave is very beautiful and I love the way that the reflection off of the water mirrors the interior of the cavern.
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