The Austrians themselves do pretty much everything to promote their country, from a purely tourist perspective. It has long been known that artificial snow is constantly fluttering through the air there in winter, but in summer too, people make the most of what the sun, moon and traditions have to offer. Just a few weeks ago, for example, the so-called Sacred Heart fires were lit in Tyrol, in the name of the Lord, and anyone not yet completely clouded by campfire smoke must have sensed that this was perhaps not done on behalf of, but certainly with the blessing of, the local marketing offices. Now, just two weeks later, the Alps are to be lit in the glow of the so-called solstice fires. Even UNESCO has been inspired by them. It has listed the mountain fires of the Tyrolean Zugspitze region as an intangible world cultural heritage since 2010.
Further east in Austria, where there are no real mountains but not only spring lets its blue ribbon called the Danube flow through the country, you can take part in summer solstice boat trips. The sheer number of syllables alone puts any Swedish Midsummer far in the shade. Various websites promise that on the longest day of the year the “Wachau shores will be transformed into burning seas of light”. Countless small and large ships then set off “for a spectacle of fire and light”. In the same area, the MS Mariandl In July, well beyond the solstice, there is also a “sunset cruise with fireworks”.
With this view, we continue to Obertauern, where there is naturally no Danube, but a Grünwaldsee at almost 2000 meters. On July 20th, a full moon swim takes place there, during which – no joke – you have to swim around a shining full moon anchored in the lake. The route is only 100 meters long, but even in July, the mountain water is usually only ten to 15 degrees Celsius by moonlight. The lunar calendar recommends an invigorating swim and planting root and winter vegetables on the same day. Nevertheless, only a full moon party with beer drinking is planned in the Hochalm afterwards.
On this year’s solstice celebration Saturday (the solstice itself actually takes place a little earlier), when the intangible cultural heritage is carried across the mountain stage with the help of the Alpine pyromaniacs, there is also a full moon. Below, we are ringing in the days that are already getting shorter, and above, the Earth’s satellite is shining. It is a constellation that will be similar again in 2027. The question is whether the moon and the solstice will cannibalize each other in terms of tourism – or whether someone will soon be able to do so between Lake Constance and MS Mariandl dares to set off for new shores through the burning sea of lights at the first full moon solstice spectacle. But that is still up in the air.
