Our first stop on our “sur le continent” tour, is Austria. The Austrian Lake District weaves its way into the Tyrol and we’ve flown into Salzburg. Why here? Angelka’s next door neighbours, as she grew up, were Ian and Rae Lawson. For many years they had walking holidays in this region and it was their favourite place. Rae is sadly no longer with us however, Ian has given us copious notes, including best beer with a view… let’s go!
You immediately notice the clean, fresh air, the tidiness everywhere, the sense of well-being! Snow topped mountains dominate the skyline with bulging cumulus nimbus adding great height to the vista.
It’s been a while since I’ve driven on the right, thinking it wrong to have to start the car with my foot on the accelerator, doh, it’s the clutch! I’m not a fan of American vernacular, however, the word discombobulate sums up, accurately, that feeling of herding your possessions at the beginning of a trip. So far, I thought I’d left my passport at Gatwick security, it was deeper in a pocket that I thought and, lost the car keys, under a suitcase… we will get there, just need to standardise the equipment!
Once in the car, you realise Austria lies in the middle of Europe as vehicles fly by with Polish, German and Italian registration plates.
The mountains that border our journey are covered in trees, to the peaks, everywhere is so green, the roads perfect, is their an Austrian word for pothole? For some reason I’d not connected chalets with being here but, the countryside is quintessential “Sound of Music” with open pastures.
We make it into the bowl of Wolfgangsee, which is a lake surrounded by picture post card villages, one of which, St Wolfgang, we are staying in. The hotel has the feel of a spa break, in fact there’s a wider range of massages, than dishes on the menu! The dress code is your bathrobe and it’s pet friendly, with lots of dogs curled up around their owner’s feet.
An aborted attempt to hike to the summit of the mountain that towers over the village, had us strolling the lanes in search of apfelstruden, walking the lake shore and, generally, being very enchanted and enjoying our good luck to be here before the tourist rush of the summer. Frescos adorn the walls of buildings, it’s all very quaint, however, modernity from clever architecture blends the old with the new. Despite this being a tourist destination it does feel like there are lots of locals and it’s a very relaxed environment. We enjoy a delightful, lakeside al fresco dinner before meandering into the market square where a Bavarian brass ensemble of some 40 musicians were striking up stirring tunes to the gathered masses, hanging off balconies and vantage points. Utterly charming! Angelka, at this point, it purring like a tractor!
Our second day coincides with a public holiday, “Fronleichnam”, or Corpus Christi. We followed the crowds, all wearing versions of national dress, bands marching, children carrying baskets of rose petals, men with blunder-bus shotguns, is this a wedding? The village appears to be there in its entirety and it would appear to be a religious event as a priest conducts, what appears to be, a Roman Catholic service with lots of audience participation. There is, clearly, a national pride, an identity, why else would you wear lederhosen into your dotage? It’s a very smart look, a Nero collared worsted jacket, velvet lapels and suede shorts, long socks, smart shoes and, a small worsted hat with feather. The female look is skirt, blouse, bustiere, formal shoes, some a skull cap type doily with their children wearing minime uniform, too. Apparently, the look comes at €400 which suggests a commitment to the national identity, possibly more so in the villages and towns, than the city. This is a delightful village, very little tourism, surprisingly.
Today, we are meandering to an overnight stay in Fuschl, a triathlon Mecca, on another “see”. The route takes us to Hallstatt, another picture postcard village, however, this one, inundated by Asian tourists. How do, and why, Japanese/Chinese flock here? It’s very similar to St Wolfgang, our first stop, yet, this is the daddy! It is a UNESCO site, perhaps that’s the attraction! While it’s quaint and charming, it’s no better than St Wolfgang, perhaps it’s because Hallstatt is the photo that always features.
From here, we head to Five Fingers, a metal construction on the top of the mountain, with five fingers projecting over the valley 2500 metres below. It’s two cable car rides which we share with locals, perhaps tourists can’t walk uphill? One has a huge pack on his back, we thought a camper. We walked to the same spot, yet, his tent becomes a parachute and off he flies, a paraglider! Extraordinary to watch his flight while perched, precariously, above the lakeside valley looking down on Hallstatt. The air, the views, the experience, just spectacular!
We head for our overnight at Fuschl. This hotel is a filler, there’s not a great selection, unless you plump for the very expensive. There’s a bespoke triathlete’s hotel, Jacob, owned by a local legend, with training facilities, like a section of the lake and with huge cycle paths everywhere, safe cycling and running. It doesn’t matter if you are B&B or 5*, each double bed has single quilts. There are other countries that have this idiosyncrasy but, as to the reasons why?!
The reason we are here is to follow Ian’s instruction to walk to “Mozartblick”, a route of 7pms to the next village, Ste Gilgen, over the mountain range. One disappointment with Austria is the consistency of signage. They’d recently redeveloped the centre of the village and not bothered to put the signs back up! The upside of getting lost, before we started, was stumbling across the very unassuming HQ of Red Bull energy drinks. It’s a cutting edge architectural design but, no signage which doesn’t stop tens of cars stopping to take pictures! They are based in the village because of the quality of the Alpine water and, it’s abundance.
We have a lovely hike, dappled sunlight in the forest, open countryside, a comfortable gradient on a hot day, finding a hotel, Hochlachenhof, tucked away for solitude and the point, rather than the place, Mozartblick, with a stunning view over the other end of the lake to St Wolfgang, watching the ferries, paragliders and, gentle life below in Ste Gilgen. It is another picturesque town, traditional buildings, 17th century graffiti on the walls and lots of tourist paraphernalia. Did the first person to think of a fridge magnet make gazillions? The cable car begins at the paragliding school, looking at where they are flying, it’s a tempting way to spend a few days. We actually find a flat white, or so it said. The most expensive one to date, €5.20, but, that’s just an observation, through wet eyes!
From Ste Gilgen, we caught the bus back to the hotel, collected the car and drive a very circuitous route, taking in another lake, (see) back to Salzburg Airport. Our last point of interest is Hanger 7, Red Bull’s museum to the sports/aviation sponsorship. Opened 20 years ago, it is an architectural design of a hanger made from metal and glass, housing racing cars, aeroplanes, bikes, a cocktail bar and Michelin restaurant. Its free, a point only made because you’d happily pay, and beautifully laid out, it’s sexy to move around such speed! A couple of awesome cocktails, collect the bags and a tram ride to downtown Salzburg for a last night in Austria, before heading to Lisbon.
Austria is well healed, neat, tidy, organised and it’s national identity and pride is evident in the way it is “loved”. It was wonderful to enjoy it before the tourist season kicks in, with great weather and ease of getting around. Their Lake District is quite stunning, charming, and great for both the active, the very active and the, somewhat, more docile. We really enjoyed it, it was shoehorned on to the beginning of our trip, so glad it made the cut!!