“Are you sure? A weekend in SalzburgerLand?” It was this questioning tone that reinforced the sceptical raised eyebrow. When I spoke of a short holiday on the water, my beloved thought rather about a beach, kiting and chilling than Baroque fountains in the City of Mozart and thundering waterfalls in the National Park. I hit him with his own weapon and his favourite saying – “Those who won’t jump will never fly.”
And one thing became finally clear as we stood on the Falkenstein Wall high above Lake Wolfgang, ready for a cliff jump from a height of 12 metres. This spin through SalzburgerLand had very little in common with the summer holidays of our grandparents. This here was cool and even breath-taking. Only when he popped up out of the 22 degree fresh water, did the air seem to pour back into his lungs. From here on, it was clear that this holiday on and in the water was completely different and much better than expected.
Lake Wolfgang wouldn’t let us go so quickly
The locals recommended that we take a stroll on the “most beautiful lake-side promenade in the Salzkammergut” in Strobl. While we enjoyed our ice cream, we watched how the bright red Schafberg Railway corkscrewed its way towards the summit. Empress Sissi once took a seat here on one of the chair-bearers, however we continued on to the Postalm. The second largest Alpine pastures area in Europe had prepared a pleasant fresh air bed for us and invited us to spread out the blanket, and to stretch out our legs and just do nothing.
©SalzburgerLand Tourismus
Woken by the gentle hum of the bees, we left the Postalm heading South-East. In the Tennengau region, we had reserved a table for a really fine dinner in one of the best restaurants in Austria. Andreas Döllerer makes the Alpine culinary heritage in a unique tasty way in Golling Gourmets. Simply awesome!
© SalzburgerLand tourism – the idyllic Bluntau Valley in Golling
The Bluntau Valley, Lakes Jägersee, Tappenkarsee & Moorsee in Goldegg
The next day, he recommended we take a morning run around one of his personal favourite places. In the Bluntau Valley, at the foot of the little Göll, Döllerers signature fish, the Bluntau Saibling (Char) is bred in the crystal clear spring waters. After eleven kilometres at a sporty pace and a magnificent breakfast, we continued towards the “Innergebirg” over the Pass Lueg pass, fought for against the French, into the Salzburg Sports World. As every action-packed road trip also needs its romantic side, we took this with a rowing tour on Lake Jägersee. This is the starting point for a hike to the Lake Tappenkarsee, the largest mountain lake in the Alps.
However, our sporty workload was already done. Thus, we enjoyed the day in the nostalgic bath house on the Lake Moorsee in Goldegg with a leisurely swim in the velvety soft water and a dinner in the restaurant “Pike! R120” in the Seehof Hotel. Stylish and almost poetically beautiful, the day slid into night in the Blue Salon.
© SalzburgerLand Tourism – Lake Jägersee in Kleinarl invites you on a romantic boat ride
Zell am See-Kaprun, Krimml, Mittersill
After so much poetry, my travel companion once again called for action which is on offer in the Zell am See-Kaprun region. There is the 40 minute ride with the Kitzsteinhorn cable car up to over 3,000 metres above sea level and into the eternal ice of the glacier. From the “Top of Salzburg” observation deck, we viewed our next holiday destinations. The “old world Majesty” of the 3,657 metre high Großvenediger in the Hohe Tauern Mountains, the bright blue Lake Zeller where the ships look like little toys, or the 790km away city of Paris. Up here, everything seemed possible!
While I floated back down to the valley in the cable car, he switched to two wheels in the Alpine Centre for the Summer Down-Hill run. The Geißstein Trail to the Häuslalm guaranteed a wild ride and the perfect adrenaline cure! Before we returned to Zell am See, we opted for one last high point – the Krimml Waterfalls, the highest waterfalls in Central Europe. We drove through idyllic villages in the National Park and past the Mittersill-Stuhlfelden Golf Club, one of over 40 Golf Alpin courses in the region. Even from afar, we could see the gigantic waterfalls and hear the roar. With full force, the waters whipped around our ears and in just a few seconds soaked us to the skin. An energy kick that was seemingly intoxicating. And to describe it with the words of my loved one, it was “simply mega”.
