Matrei in Osttirol

Here is a large set of photographs from a visit to a little town in Austria called Matrei in Tyrol (Matrei im Osttirol). We visited it back in 2008 and stayed there for a few days, taking daytrips to various cities and places around the Hohe Tauern mountain range of the Central Eastern Alps.

The photos are of the town itself, of the surrounding countryside (including the Klaunz, Glanz, Hinterburg and Strummerhof settlements), and of a hike up and down Inner-Klaunzer Berg, the mountain that rises right next to Matrei. (You can see photos taken at the top of that mountain in this post.) There are also a few photographs of the exterior of Castle Weißenstein, which we would have liked to visit but was not open to the public.

We stayed at Hotel Goldried, which has spartan interiors but good views of the town and a funicular that you can operate yourself. It’s right next to the ski slopes, in case you should visit in winter. And on some evenings, you’ll get to see and hear people singing Austrian folk songs, which was a surreal experience for us. We were coming down from the top of the mountain, tired and sweaty, and as as we approached the town, we could hear songs echoing in the valley below. Not crappy modern music blaring from a loudspeaker, but songs sung by people and laughter, lots of it. Night had fallen around us, and in the dark, the hotel’s open door shone like a beacon, music spilling out of it. Exhausted, we stumbled in and saw a full restaurant swinging back and forth on their chairs, singing a folk song in unison. Those Austrians! 🙂

We came back late in the evening from a hike in the mountains and sure enough there was singing going on at our hotel. I think it went on every night. They sang and laughed together.
A view of a neighboring mountain, Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
At a little country church near Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
At a little country church near Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
At a little country church near Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
At a little country church near Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
At a little country church near Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
At a little country church near Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
At a little country church near Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
At a little country church near Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
At a little country church near Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
At a little country church near Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
At a little country church near Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
At a little country church near Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
At a little country church near Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
At a little country church near Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
At a little country church near Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Near Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
At a little country church near Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
At a little country church near Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
At a little country church near Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
At a little country church near Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
At a little country church near Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Near Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Near Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Near Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Near Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Near Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Near Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Near Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Near Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Near Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Near Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Near Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Near Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
A view of Matrei from the Hotel Goldried
In a forest near Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Hotel Goldried, Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
The organ of the Matrei cathedral, in Osttirol, Austria.
A panoramic photo (made of three individual 12 megapixel photos) showing the main ceiling mural of the Matrei cathedral, in Osttirol, Austria. The scene depicted is that of the feeding of the multitudes, where Jesus Christ multiplies a few loaves of bread and some fish to feed over 5,000 people. The resolution of this panorama is 4209×5974 pixels.
A mural which depicts the ascension of a saint is depicted on the ceiling of the Matrei cathedral in Osttirol, Austria.
The nativity scene is painted on the altar of the Matrei cathedral, in Osttirol, Austria.
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Another view (this one being a longer exposure) of what used to be a troublesome river for Matrei.
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
A view of Matrei from Goldried Mountain, specifically from the Goldriedbergbahnen, a winding road that lets one ascend and descend the mountain. Part of it is paved, and most of it is unpaved.
A view of Matrei from Goldried Mountain, specifically from the Goldriedbergbahnen, a winding road that lets one ascend and descend the mountain. Part of it is paved, and most of it is unpaved.
A view of Matrei from Goldried Mountain, specifically from the Goldriedbergbahnen, a winding road that lets one ascend and descend the mountain. Part of it is paved, and most of it is unpaved.
A view of Matrei from Goldried Mountain, specifically from the Goldriedbergbahnen, a winding road that lets one ascend and descend the mountain. Part of it is paved, and most of it is unpaved.
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
A view of a lonely cable car on Goldried Mountain, in Osttirol, Austria. Goldried Bergbahnen road, near Matrei, i.o.
Near Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Near Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Near Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Near Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Near Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Near Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Near Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Near Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Near Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Near Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Near Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Near Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Near Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Near Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
A view of the farms in and around the valley of Matrei, in Osttirol, Austria, taken from Goldried Mountain. Goldried Bergbahnen road, near Matrei, i.o.
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Hotel Goldried, Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
Hotel Goldried, Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
The moon rises in the sky as the night air stars to fill the valley. The last rays of sun can be glimpsed over the mountain peak, casting an orange glow on the clouds.
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria
A view of the village of Matrei i.o. from the Hotel Goldried.
The evening sunlight casts long shadows in the valley of Matrei i.o. and its surrounding villages. Goldried Bergbahnen road, near Matrei, i.o.
Matrei in Osttirol, Austria

These were taken in November of 2010, so let’s say it was eight years ago or so. Things may look different now — hopefully better, given how much tourism this little town gets each year.

It was one of our typical jaunts through the medieval fortress, along its walls and back down the stairs toward the bottom of the hill. Still, the images show different spots from the ones you’ve seen here and here.

Should you want to know more about the town, click here and here. Enjoy the photographs!

Evening in the medieval city of Sighisoara, in Transilvania, Romania

Places

More images from Sighisoara

Places

Around the town in 2009

This is a gallery of photographs taken in and around Medias in the summer of 2009 (68 photos in total). As I look back on these photos, it’s interesting to see how the town has changed and stayed the same during this time. It’s definitely changed since 2006, when I took these other photos. Enjoy!

An older apartment building on a bright summer day, Medias, Romania.

Margarethenkirche, Medias, Romania

Medias, Romania

The towers of the medieval city of Medias, Romania are visible in the distance on a bright summer day. Houses and villas from downtown can also be seen.

A cityscape of the city of Medias, Romania, showing the older, medieval buildings of the city. The clocktower is indeed leaning.

Walking in the city of Medias, Romania, on a clear summer night. The city’s main clock tower is visible above the rooflines of the buildings in the foreground.

Medias, Romania

Relics from communist times, Medias, Romania

Medias, Romania

Historic district, Medias, Romania

Medias, Romania

Historic district, Medias, Romania

Houses and villas from the city of Medias, Romania, on a bright summer day.

Historic district, Medias, Romania

Medias Medieval Festival

Doesn’t this fellow look like the mutt from “Lady and the Tramp”?

Medias, Romania

Historic district, Medias, Romania

Medias, Romania

Walking in the city of Medias, Romania, on a clear summer evening. The city’s main clock tower is visible above the rooflines of the buildings in the foreground.

Inside Margarethenkirche, Medias, Romania

Medias, Romania

A distant hillside visible from inside the historic city center in Medias, Romania. The rooftop of one of the old German houses is visible in the foreground.

A cityscape of the city of Medias, Romania, showing some of the city’s apartment buildings.

Inside the medieval city walls, Medias, Romania

Medias, Romania

One of the towers marking an old medieval entrance to the fortified part of the city of Medias, Romania.

Medias, Romania

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Medias, Romania

Margarethenkirche, Medias, Romania

Historic district, Medias, Romania

Margarethenkirche, Medias, Romania

Historic district, Medias, Romania

Medias Medieval Festival

Historic district, Medias, Romania

Dusk, a watch tower at the Roth school, Medias, Romania.

Medias, Romania

Historic district, Medias, Romania

Old brick chimneys on the roof of one of the old houses in the historic city center, Medias, Romania.

Houses and villas from the city of Medias, Romania, on a bright summer day.

Historic district, Medias, Romania

A man walks down a street in the historic city center, Medias, Romania.

I used the following cameras and lenses to take these photographs: an Olympus C770 UZ, a Nokia N95 (my mobile phone at the time), a Canon EOS 5D, a Canon EOS Rebel XTi, a Canon PowerShot G10, a Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS lens and a Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 lens.

Olympus Camedia C-770 UltraZoom

Nokia N95

Canon EOS 5D

Canon EOS Rebel XTi

Canon PowerShot G10

Canon EF 24-105mm f4L IS USM Lens

Canon EF 50mm f1.4 USM Lens

Places

Blue hour and snowfall!

This past Sunday morning, I woke up to a beautiful snowfall and luckily for me, about 10 minutes before the blue hour (which actually lasts less than an hour). I tiptoed down the stairs so I wouldn’t wake up my wife and child, put some clothes and shoes on, and because it was snowing heavily, I took my Canon 7D (my only weather-sealed camera), along with the 10-22mm EF-S lens (which is also weather-sealed). I wanted an ultra-wide perspective to the photos and also the ability to shoot without a tripod at low shutter speeds. An ultra-wide lens lets you do that because of the “reciprocal rule”: as long as the shutter speed matches the focal length, you should get a good photo (provided you have steady hands). A 10-22mm lens would let me use shutter speeds as low as 1/10th of a second, which is just what I did on some of the photos. Enjoy the gallery!

Taken during a mid-February snowfall in Medias, Romania

For those of you who love looking at camera gear (I know I do), here is a photo of the camera and lens I used.

Canon EOS 7D

Canon EF-S 10-22mm f:3.5-4.5 Lens

Places

A walk through town before daybreak

To celebrate the acquisition of a new camera (well, the acquisition is new, the camera isn’t), I took a pre-dawn walk through town. It was cold and somewhat rainy. Water got on my lens a couple of times and I’d forgotten to bring a lens cloth, so you’ll see some weird light artifacts on some of the photos. That’s from the partially wiped lens… I was hoping dawn would come soon and I’d get some nice photos of the “blue hour”. As it turned out, my battery ran out of juice and I got pretty cold before that happened. But it was really nice to walk through town with few to no people around me. I am after all an introvert, so the more time I spend alone, the better I feel.

I am quite pleased with my acquisition. It’s a camera I used and reviewed in the past (eight years ago, actually): the Olympus PEN E-P2. I loved that little camera and I should have bought it back then. After quietly pining for it all this time, I found it online a few days ago at an unbeatable price, second-hand, in great condition: about 100 euros for the body, plus another 100 euros for the viewfinder (yes, I got the VF-2!) and about 200 euros for a wonderful little lens for it, the M.Zuiko Digital ED 12-50mm f/3.5-6.3 EZ (it’s a 2x crop factor so a 24-100mm 35mm equivalent).

Olympus PEN E-P2 Mirrorless Camera

Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 12-50mm f:3.5-6.3 EZ Lens

Now I have the E-P2 and the E-PL1, which I bought several years ago with the two kit lenses offered at the time, the 14-42mm and the 40-150mm. Yay!

I took the photos without a tripod, relying on the camera’s optical image stabilization technology, which shifts the sensor on a 3-way axis in order to keep the shot steady. I shot at 1/10, 1/15 and 1/20, keeping the ISO at 1600 and the aperture wide open. Given that the lens goes from f/3.5 to f/6.3 when it’s at its longest focal length, that means some of the photos are darker. I squeezed every bit of light out of them in post processing, but having shot both RAW and JPG simultaneously, I can tell you the camera’s built-in noise reduction and image processing is so good (for its time), I could have just shot directly in JPG and uploaded them SOOC (straight out of the camera). Enjoy the photos!