Swarovski Kristallwelten

We woke up late that morning. After we all finished up my home cooking breakfast, the time was nearly 9 am. We then packed everything and left the lovely Haruof Apartment that we have stayed for 2 nights.

And good to say that it was another beautiful day. Boy, can't believe we had had 3 wonderful good days in a row, though the weather forecast said the exact opposite. In fact, we feel that each good day we had had since day 3 was an extra bonus. For this, we feel very grateful.

From here, we would drive away from Austria and heading to Germany to continue the rest of our trip.

We drove through a summit pass. I've forgotten what it is called because it's not the highlight of our trip.

There is nothing too special about this pass, except a giant waterfall we saw at road side.

The Krimmler Wasserfälle (waterfall), with a total height of 380 meters, is the highest waterfall in Austria. This tiered waterfall are formed from the Krimmler Ache river and are located near the village of Krimml in the Hohe Tauern National Park in Salzburgerland.

It's quite a long way to go before we would reach our next destination. When we saw some people walking up the stairs, we stopped and joined them.

Up there is this reservoir and a refreshment bar near the lake side. Other than that, it's nothing too special about this place.

I think husband and I have a problem now, ever since we have visited the Grossblockner High Alpine Road 2 days ago, that place has some how, become a new benchmark to us. Gosh, this is NOT good !!

One thing about the flowers here...whenever I take a closer look at the flowers, there sure got many bees flying around it. One can simply capture a photo with bees working on flowers, no problem.




another example...





For quite a long time, we were driving on the road with scenery like this one...

Ask my feelings about Salzburger region, Austria...

1. I see tourists more than local people.

2. Although they have vast prairie, but raising livestock or farming is obviously not their business.

3. I didn't see anybody working out there. In fact, besides the groceries stores or restaurants or small shops, there isn't any factory or commercial office that seems to offer jobs to the local people.

4. Guest house and apartment are everywhere.

Life here is pretty simple. It seems to me that any one can turn their house into a guesthouse, and waiting for some one to knock on their door and hand them the money. Besides foods and basic necessities, basically they don't need to buy or upgrade many side items, for example jewelery, furniture, electrical appliances etc. So, why bother to live a busy life to make more money?

At noon time, finally we arrived at my personal highlight, Swarovski Kristallwelten. Husband know I'm a big fans of crystal, so he is kind enough to include this place into his plan.

To be honest, I have high expectation about this trip. First, I thought I could visit the manufacturing plant to get to know more about how crystals are polished and cut. Secondly, I wanted to do some shopping here. In fact, I have prepared some cash for it.

Swarovski crystals are made in Wattens in th foothills of the Austrian Alps, not far from Innsbruck. Gorgeous alpine peaks loom over the idyllic setting of the Swarovski crystal plant.

The fine optically pure-prisms are manufactured under the most careful security, so that the 100-year-old secrets of production will not be imitated by competitors. Therefore, tourists are not allowed to enter the plant and see the crystals being manufactured. How disappointed, my 1st wish couldn't be fulfilled !

YES TO ALL is made by crystals. Absolutely glittering twinkling beautiful under the sun shine.



Too bad my camera couldn't capture the shinning effect.

Since the plant is not opened to the public, they compensate the tourists by offering us an underground exhibition chamber, which is located behind this waterfall. Entrance fee is €9.5 for adult. Children below 12 is free admission.

The compound around the exhibition chamber is spacious and pleasant.

Before our needs can be met, we have to meet their needs first.

An anoconda is displayed at the ticketing counter...

its skin was made of big crystal stones.

Finally we entered the subterranean landscape made of thousands of crystals, a journey that drifts between dream and reality, where one will encounter fairy tale characters and mystical creatures.

These underground Chamber of Wonder, built under the aegis of multi-media artist Andre Heller in 1995, house of collection of fantastic installations and glittering works by great artists. Since its first opening, the Crystal Worlds have enchanted young and old from all over the world with ever changing, sparkling installations.

As soon as we entered the Crystal World, this super giant crystal had captured every one's attention.

The Centenar, at 300,000 karats, is the largest cut crystal in the world.

The size of Centenar is bigger than our head.

Jim Whiting's mechanical theatre. Clothes, figures and other everyday items are brought to life, dancing and flying as if by magic. This macabre, surreal beautiful show combines magical transformation with the artist's love of mechanical precision.

Crystal Dome. Here, a thousand beams of refracted light dance around the facet walls to the sound of music by Brian Eno. This sea of mirrors gives the impression of a space that never ends. Standing in the crystalline Chamber of Wonder, with its geodetic dome made up of 595 elements, is like standing at the very heart of a giant crystal.

The trick : now you see it, now you don't

This one is called Glittering Winterdreams. Alexander McQueen, fashion designer and Tord Boontje, light artist, created this crystal tree from thousands of Swarovski crystals mounted on polished steel. Both design-icons repeatedly experiment with Swarovski crystal. They participated, for example, in the international, much acclaimed 'Runway Rocks" and 'Crystal Palace' projects of Nadja Swarovski-Adams.

It's Soooo...beautiful. I like this piece the most.

A crystalline fairytale world. The space presents an iridescent and magical scenario by stage and costume designer Susanne Schmogner. Your imagination can roam free in this world, with scents created by Jane Haidacher. Here angels are made of flowers, the sun dances with the moon and there is even a crystal devouring plant.

This display screen is made of thousands of small crystals, and no wonder the image is super glamerous.

A place that feels like music, this is Brian Eno's artistic intention. In "55 Million Crystals", Eno has captured the transience of music in a video installation by creating a fleeting visual impression. Music for the eye of the beholder !

A kaleidoscope of sound and vision. A spiral comprising 48 polygons sweeps vistiors away and into a world of crystalls. The formation, fascination and scientific importance of crystals are documented in pictures, graphics, illustrations and animation. At the heart of the installation, the mystic nature of this sparkling material is revealed.

Crystal Forest. In this installation by Fabrizio Plessi, the nature and technology are melte into an artistic and poetic whole. Each tree is fitted with an artificial core in the form of a video installation, breathing life into its rough wooden exterior. One walk through this magical forest accompanied by the mysterious glow of the siphonophora "Leviathan", a light installation by Thomas Feuerstein.

Timeless Swarovski show room. 12 film sequences and exhibits show members of the largest Swarovski family, celebrities closely linked to the company and its outstanding innovations.

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Chris Levine's light installation, D-Cube, the largest cut crystal cube, honours the founder of the company, Daniel Swarovski I. This is the beginning of a journey through a hundred years, ending with the present day.

Alfred Phillippe for Trifari (1936), for display only.

Bracelet and hair slide : Coh and Rosenberger (1939), for display only.

for display only.

for display only.

for display only.

for display only.

At the end of the exhibition hall is the Swarovski's largest retail shop, the place I hope I can do some 1st hand shopping.

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This place presents almost the entire range of Swarovski's crystal products, imbedded in a transition from night to day. Under a night-time canopy or in bright daylight, the legendary Silver Crystal figurines compete for your attention with gorgeous jewellery pieces and artistic objects.

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Frisson Bag Gold, Price : €2800 (too expensive for my liking)

Pagola Vase Tall limited edition (100pcs), Price : €3400 (not my target at all)

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Pagola Bowl limited edition (100pcs), Price : €4250 (target for the flirty rich customers huh?)

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The size of this necklace and bracelet are XXL, suitable for ang-moh only. Furthermore, it's too too expensive for my liking.

It's beautiful, but not good to be placed in my home.

This too, it will become the very-expensive toy for the boys. Unless I put it into a safety box, I'm sure the wings will be broken in less than 72 hours.

Those are pencils with crystal head. Very beautiful, price also acceptable €2.9, but kind of hard to decide if to-use or not-to-use it after buying it.

My target is actually jewelery piece, something simple but elegant. There aren't many designs that suit my taste, for they are either too bulky / too fancy / too out dated / too expensive for my liking.

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There are also countless loose cyrstal elements of the CRYSTALLIZED - Swarovski Elements Collection, which is good to experiment with your own creativity.

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I stood there for a long time, and unbelievably end up didn't know which one to buy. The obstacles is : what am I going to do with those crystals stone? Frankly speaking, I should have bought some since the price is not expensive (average €10-20). Even though I can't find anyone to make it into my desired end products, it's still a good thing to keep it for viewing pleasure.

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I AM SO REGRET FOR NOT BUYING ANY OF THEM !

Out of so many designs, I like this ear rings. It fits all my requirement, simple-elegant-not expensive (€11). I like the way it only presents the cutting of a clear cyrstal. Also, the shape is not as cube as it seems to be. At certain angle, the shape will become a hexagon.

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Frankly speaking, I was a bit disappointed that the designs of the jewelery are not as good as I thought it is. I think the one I see in HK is far more trendy or classic than the one that are sold here. Also, though some said the price in this retail shop is 50% cheaper, I doubt it too. Anyway, I don't have much references for it either.

Ok, enough for the shopping. We felt very tired walking and decided to take some rest in the nearby CAFE-terra. Renowned designers and architects, Conran & Partners created this cafe a homage to the surrounding scenery. This time, we ordered a plate of curry rice and spagetti.

Also, my favourite applestrudel that tastes good at any time, any place.

While waiting for the foods to come, I checked my purchase. (Funny scene : other customers did the exact same thing like I did, while waiting for their foods).

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Every Swarovski's product will be packaged that well, no matter how small it is. I feel I have bought a precious item. Happy now.

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The more I see it, the more I like it.


As conclusion, this trip could be more interesting should they made it more educational than purely artistic. After all, not many people are born to be artistic, like my husband. He just felt this trip BORING.

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