Just a few finishing touches, then it's complete.

The “Starburst” chandelier is Lobmeyrs most famous item.

All over the world, this renowned Viennese company's chandeliers transform ordinary rooms into ballrooms.

The manufacturer has a reputation for its extraordinary lighting designs, 200 of which are sold in more than 40 countries every year.

The company has been handcrafting chandeliers since 1850.

So beautiful.

The team is united by a passion for craft.

This one is perfect.

I've always been fascinated by light.

We used traditional craft techniques and then we have the light.

So there's a lot of variety to our work.

Matthias Reichart builds a frame for the chandelier and then makes the pipe fittings.

The pieces of pipe I cut are used for the chandelier, for the beams, and also for the pipes for the illumination.

After being cut to size, the pieces are firmly attached together.

For example, in this step called “brazing.” Then the surfaces are finished elsewhere.

Afterwards, they go to Erik Mervo.

He is responsible for the assembly and the electrical parts.

All the cable connections are discreetly hidden in the chandelier sphere.

Once the frame is finished, the work begins on hanging crystals.

This particular piece consists of 16 lamps and about 500 glass stones.

The chandelier weighs 16 kilograms and it will be shipped to the United States.

That's also a challenge for us.

Because we export a lot, we always have to meet the specific electrical requirements for that country.

That means the right sockets for that country, the wiring, everything has to fit the regulations of that country.

It would definitely be a lot easier if we could just put wax candles on each one.

They would work everywhere.

Before the chandelier goes out to the customer, the boss has one last look.

We'll do the safety tests for the USA tomorrow.

This one has really turned out beautifully.

The company has high profile customers all over the world.

Star interior designer Ferris Rafauli ordered a custom -sized “Starburst” chandelier for Canadian rapper Drake.

He supervised the installation at Drake's luxury mansion in Toronto, along with a team from Lobmeyr.

The chandelier we made for Drake was this model, but considerably larger at 3.8 meters, and it is the second largest chandelier of its kind next to the original at the Metropolitan Opera in New York.

The original was designed in Vienna in the 1960s for the Metropolitan Opera House.

In the 19th century, Lobmeyr decorated King Ludwig II Herrenchiemsee castle in southern Germany.

Lobmeyr chandeliers also decorate one of the small ballrooms in Vienna's Imperial palace, the Hofburg.

As well as the auditorium of the Vienna State Opera and the Athens Concert Hall.

A chandelier is a grand object for a room, a very dominant part of the architecture.

But it is just that one detail needed to complete the overall assemblage.

But that one detail comes at a price.

The cost of a Viennese chandelier starts in the five digit range, and from there the sky's the limit.

Fine craftsmanship for an exclusive clientele.

Works of art in glass.

Every side reveals a different subject.

The artist calls these installations anamorphic cubes.

I'm Thomas Medicus.

I'm an artist, and I mostly work with glass.

Most of the anamorphic cubes consist of 144 strips.

Four images are scattered across these strips and fragments, so if you walk around the cube or turn it.

New images come together every 90 degrees Thomas Medicus has sold his cubes as far afield as the US and Canada.

Glass has fascinated the artist ever since he learned how to work with it at a glass working technical school.

It's harder to work with glass intuitively than, for instance, with clay or a canvas.

At the same time, it's a material that's very closely bound to the refraction of light, and it displays many ambiguities.

It has something ethereal about it because it's so transparent.

The anamorphic cubes contain four images and the two opposite each other have to fill out precisely the same area.

So when you view one of them, it covers up the one behind it.

The difficulty is to develop images that depict different things but still cover the same area.

You have to make certain compromises, so the two images always share certain aspects, but sometimes they lead you up a blind alley.

Then I realize it's not going to work and I have to try something else.

Thomas Medicus has got very different works on display in his hometown, Innsbruck, Austria.

For example, this installation titled “Cone Eye”.

“Cone Eye” started out in a very small format.

And one day I drove past the entrance to a parking garage, and it occurred to me that it could serve as a kind of massive display case.

I see the sculpture in itself as a work that looks back at you.

You look at it and it looks back.

I'd say that in general, art doesn't come into being until a viewer gazes at it Another recent project is this installation in a decommissioned hydroelectric plant.

The reflections make the old turbine hall and the viewers themselves a part of the artwork.

The installation hanging there attempts to redefine the space from an industrial one to an artistic one.

Because it's now listed as a historic site, and the turbines are very dominant, it was important to take up the theme of the space itself.

[sound of knife cutting glass] In late summer or early autumn, the artist hopes to unveil his newest glass cube in Innsbruck.

In the meantime, he's got a lot of fragments to cut out and paint.

What's fascinating about painting glass is that it's a very old technique dating back to the Middle Ages.

I think it's exciting to integrate a very old craft into something new, to make use of this old technique that's tried and tested for something contemporary.

Thomas Medicus anamorphic glass art plays with perspectives and perceptions.

Ultimately, the art is in the eye of the beholder.

This small village behind me is home to only 800 people.

Yet every year more than 1 million tourists visited.

It's one of the most popular attractions in Austria.

This is Hallstatt.

Hallstatt is nestled in the Upper Austrian Alps, in the idyllic Salzkammergut region.

This tiny village is considered one of the top most Instagrammable places.

Since 1997, it's also been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site as part of the Hallstatt-Dachstein landscape.

Austria has an excellent railroad network with high speed trains and scenic views.

So if you want to travel to Hallstatt by train, you can do so from any other Austrian city pretty effortlessly.

You'll arrive at Hallstatt Bahnhof, where a ferry is already waiting to pick you up and take you across the lake.

The ferry ride is barely ten minutes.

But it's like an attraction in itself as it offers unique perspectives to take postcard worthy pictures.

Of course, Hallstatt is also accessible by car.

If you're coming by car here, do remember that there are no regular cars allowed inside the Hallstatt area.

You should park your car right outside the village.

But don't worry, it's not a problem because the whole area here is quite small.

It will take you only 20 minutes to walk from one end to the other end of Hallstatt.

Because Hallstatt is so small, you don't have to worry about getting lost.

Part of the village's charm are the beautiful, traditional wooden houses and narrow alleys with hidden stairways.

So you should definitely take the time to explore and discover all the different corners and unique viewpoints.

So narrow.

But keep in mind that the beautiful town is not just a tourist attraction, but a place where people live.

As you enjoy strolling through the narrow streets and along the lakeside, you'll eventually reach the heart of the village, which is almost impossible to miss - The market square.

In historic times, this used to be the main trading center.

Today you will find many cafes, restaurants, bars and hotels right here.

But Hallstatt is known for more than just the stunning natural landscape and pretty views.

It's also famous for something completely different, something that sometimes called white gold - salt.

The weather can change here very quickly.

One day it's sunny and the other day it's like this, raining the whole day.

But today would be a good day to go inside the salt mine, actually.

The Salz Welten salt mine is one the most important attractions.

The miners used to take slides like this to get into the mine.

It's very fast.

With a history of 7000 years, it's the oldest salt mine in the world.

A guided tour tells us how salt deposits formed, how people first started mining them and how salt is being extracted today.

So we learned a lot about salt back there.

But there's also an interesting viewpoint here called the World Heritage Skywalk behind me.

It's 360m above the rooftops of Hallstatt.

Wow, what an amazing view.

The skywalk gets its name from the 12 meter platform that extends from the mountains, and appears to be floating in the sky.

It provides an amazing bird's eye view of the World Heritage Site.

No wonder the idyllic village of Hallstatt draws enthusiastic visitors from across the globe.

Along Wörthersee, or Lake Wörth, in Austria, the sister ships Lorelei and Loretto lie at anchor.

For 70 years, the two ran in regular service before they were decommissioned in 1995.

The association Nostalgiebahnen, Nostalgia railways, in Carinthia managed to save the ships from being scrapped.

Hansgeorg Prix is repairing damage to the propeller shaft.

This year we are replacing the screws on the rudder quadrant at the rear of the Loretto, which moves the rudder blade.

The ship is 96 years old after all.

There are components that are subject to natural aging and we replace them in good time.

The further back you work, the narrower it gets.

But we know that and you can get used to that.

Nicole Heintschel is one of the few women in the association Trained as a skipper, she's been supporting the team as a sailor for several years.

And she takes part in the annual test drive in spring to inspect the ship.

You have a lot of responsibility as the captain, but you enjoy a certain freedom on this ship and on the lake, too.

Just like other pilots feel free in the sky.

We have our freedom on the water.

During the test run through the eastern bay of Lake Wörthersee, however, it quickly becomes apparent that something is wrong.

The ship does not gain sufficient speed.

Captain Willi Drumbl has a suspicion.

Mario, check if there's maybe something in the propeller.

But the sailor can't find any problem.

The ship has to head back to the dock, and there's not much time because tourist season is about to start at the lake.

And for many tourists, no visit is complete without taking a ride on the historical Loretto or Lorelei ships.

The association Nostalgiebahnen in Carinthia is one of the biggest companies for historical means of transport and technology in Austria.

Since 1990, members have not only been maintaining the ships, but organizing trips and running a transportation museum.

The team is having a meeting in the workshop in Ferlach.

Now we'll have to see.

How fast do you think the fire department can send a diver to check out what's going on?

We're in close contact with the fire department, and I expect it'll be taken care of in a day or two.

So there's a good chance we'll get it done fast.

We have some long trips ahead of us.

This has to get fixed because we have days planned when we'll need both ships.

A few days later, Fireman Sylvester Kraßnig takes a closer look at the hull and propeller of the old Lorelei.

And he quickly spots what's caused the engine's power to drop.

A rope has gotten tangled in the propeller.

That's good news, because engine damage would have been much worse.

Now he just has to visually inspect the ship's hull.

Everything's tip-top!

And the hull?

Looks great.

It's a beauty of a ship, even from below.

The association members dedication has paid off.

The ships can set off right on time, and they're ready for the first passengers of the season to board.

In St.

Veit on Lake Wörther in Austria, a vintage train association known as “Nostalgiebahnen in Kärnten” looks after historic trains.

A steam engine is about to be transported to another location.

It's just the job for Herbert Tschudnig and his sons, Michael and Thomas With the summer season getting underway, we've got to make sure all the rolling stock is good to go and that maintenance has been taken care of.

Not just technically.

The trains have to be comfortable, too.

In the different cars you need to make sure the seat cushions aren't torn and get all the cobwebs out of the corners so that the guests enjoy their trips with us.

They do a final check before transferring the train.

Michael Tschudnig has to fill up the oil tank to ensure everything runs smoothly and safely.

The oil is needed so the side rods work without a hitch.

Then wood and coal are used to raise the steam.

The trip takes about an hour.

The destination is the engine shed in Weizelsdorf.

That's where locomotives are prepared for the season.

We've managed to take on this location.

Here we're in the center between two routes.

This is a very important building because in winter the locomotives have to be kept frost free and protected from the weather.

This is where the coal for running the trains is stored.

Each season the association gets through around 25 tons.

And it's a special fuel... unlike back in the day, this coal is low in sulfur and produces fewer particulates.

The spruced up steam engine will soon set off with its first passengers.

But without volunteers to help, the train couldn't leave the station.

We'd like to get the engine ready to go for tomorrow.

You too will do the cleaning so that it looks good again.

David, could you sand down the rust?

Dieter, handle the shunter.

Okay.

That's fine.

Two friends, David Mickl and Nico Begusch, know their jobs in the meantime.

I'll polish up the engine.

I'll sand the rust off and the coupling as well.

So it's quite a bit.

I also shine the locomotive.

Mostly on Fridays, so everything is sorted on Saturday to heat up the boiler.

Yep, Nico and I polish the loco.

The next day they're ready to depart.

The locomotive is under steam and the cars are coupled on.

Then it's all aboard for the season's first passengers.

Nico is on this trip, too, giving it all he's got as an assistant stoker.

A 12 kilometer trip down memory lane on one of the last steam trains in Austria is something special for more than just those along for the ride.