Let’s get this out of the way.
If you’re looking for the top 10 Instagram-able places…this is not where you’ll find it.
If you’re looking for the best places to visit, I’ll post some of my most favorite links below for you to check out.
I’m no photographer…so my photos are like what anyone with a smart phone clicks. Some are good. Some…uhhh…not so much.
So…if the above are what you’re looking for in my Travelogue section – honestly, you won’t find them here.
What I have are stories – most of them are directly connected to the places I visit and the people I meet. Some aren’t. Most stories are about good and happy experiences. A very few…not so much. I’ll be honest about all my experiences – with humor and no malice.
These are stories that have affected and changed me. I hope you like them as much as I’ve enjoyed experiencing them. Enjoy!!
Wattens, Austria: Wandering Among The Most Breathtaking Swarovski Crystals
By the messy optimist
When you’re anywhere in Austria – you’re looking or walking side-by-side with your mouths wide open at some of the most beautiful and breathtaking landscapes and countryside you can ever imagine. And when you’re in Wattens – you’re trying hard to shine (and failing miserably) among the most breathtaking crystals at the Swarovski Museum there.
I’ve been lucky enough to go to Austria multiple times. Each time I’ve spent time in a specific city and tried to do as much of the country as I could. I obviously did Vienna and did it extensively. I also went to Wattens and Innsbruck. I was all set to go to Salzburg as well but fell sick at the very last minute and had to bail.
BUT – good news? I will return and do a tour of Salzburg and then hop on over to Munich, Germany soon.
To get back to Wattens – I took a very long and scenic route by bus to get there. By the time I arrived I was completely stunned and awed by the breathtaking countryside of Austria. Keeping my eyes glued to the glass window of my travel coach and taking in the luscious mountainous vistas felt like I was pigging out on an limitless supply of my favorite desserts. (And that would be semiya paal payasam – a southern Indian milk and vermicelli delicacy and ice cream – ANY ice cream). You pig out so much and you just cannot stop – you’re full, your insides are about to burst but you still cannot stop stuffing your face with the deliciousness.
That’s the Austrian countryside for you.
Honestly, by the time I arrived in Wattens – I was almost tired and fatigued with all that beauty from the Austrian countryside. FYI – all those pictures will be up with my blog post on Innsbruck, Austria – so look for them there. I decided that for my post on Wattens – I will stick exclusively to the ones I took of the Swarovski Crystals inside the famed Swarovski museum there. I figured…they needed their own pride of place all by themselves!
The Swarovski Crystal Museum
So – I wasted NO time, mind you. Once I got to Wattens, I made my way to my hotel, dumped my bags and immediately made my way to the museum.
And I absolutely HATE sounding like a broken record but inside the Swarowski Crystal Museum is a once-in-lifetime smorgasbord of all things spectacularly beautiful.
What to see?
Where to look?
Which of the crystals to ooh and aah and envy over?
From all the colors of the rainbow to just white crystals – and I’m really not that big of a jewelery lover – but even I fell in love with all of them. If you’re into gemstones and jewelery – this is a must-see museum.
If the closest thing to being an athlete is to walk in their footsteps in a stadium (and I did that when I was in Madrid and walked in Gareth Bale and Ronaldo’s footsteps at Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernebeu Stadium) – then the closest I felt like a trillion dollars was when I imagined I was Meghan Markle even as I was being awed by the sights and sounds and dazzling colors of the Swarowski Crystal Museum.
And while walking through the Swarowski museum made me yearn for a time when I could actually afford one of those crystals – I was able to buy a tiny crystal chain.
So there’s that.
And, sorry NOT sorry – once I finished with the museum – I went back and looked through it all over again.
And I did practically nothing else when I was in Wattens.
So, for those of you who want to do a little bit more than just drool over unaffordable crystals – Let Tripadvisor help you figure that out.
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g1572395-Activities-Wattens_Tirol_Austrian_Alps.html
