This is a small, typical mountain village in the alps. This shows the old main square. My hotel is just on the right (the table is just in front of it. Down this street is the castle, which at one time was alledgedly owned by a high level official in the German gpvernment during WWII. The castle is a conference venue now, and has been the site of the Austrian Physical Society winterschools on New Concepts in Condensed Matter Physics since 2000. The first public reports of the quantum Hall effect were presented at the first of these conferences.
The wheel and the small tower are an old Roman mile marker. The Roman path from Italy to Salzburg came through Mauterndorf, as the town lies at the foot of the Tauern Pass.
The view toward the Tauern Pass from just beside the castle (seen at the right of hte picture). The change in altitude cannot be appreciated from the long range of this photo.
One can begin to appreciate the steep streets and the climb from the town center up to the castle. Here, as in most old towns, the castle was located on top of the highest local hill, but had to be adjacent to the road up to the pass. If not, they could not enforce the tax payment on those traveling on the road.
Early morning view across the roofs of the town toward the valley. It is a gorgeous area and one can appreciate why scientists come here from around the world. Afternoons are free during the conference, so that participants can enjoy the local skiing. The week ends with a ski race among the participants and a gala awards dinner on Friday night.