Austria in the snow

We're recently back from a trip to Austria, where my sister in law has an apartment. I've blogged about trips to Austria before as we've visited a couple of times previously - just search the blog for "Austria", but never visited in the winter.

This time we chose to go in January, along with our adult daughter, and another sister in law and her daughter who goes most years to go skiing.

We aren't skiers - I've never skied in my life, although I always fancied it, but at nearing mid 60's and with at least half a false knee, I'm not sure it's a great idea now, but more of that later.

My brother in law had put me on his car's insurance so we could go off exploring whilst they went skiing, but it was still a surprise to exit Salzburg airport the evening we arrived to be handed the keys by him with a "Well, you might as well drive" the hour or so's journey from Salzburg to Rauris in -14º temps and mostly pitch black!

Still, we made it ok. As previous blogs have noted, Rauris is a small rural village with decent skiing in the winter. The apartment has 3 bedrooms and is nice and comfortable with good views of the mountains

There were nine of us in all (over two apartments), comprising four skiers and 5 non skiers. The skiers obviously did their thing whilst the rest of us walked, took cable cars up the mountains to alms, enjoyed the views, the food, the beer and the aprés ski. We generally met up with the skiers at around lunchtime in one of the mountain alms for something to eat and some refreshment. A couple of meals out in the evening went down well, and one evening we did a long toboggan ride (about 5km in all down a mountain "road", although snowed over and with 4ft -6 ft snow banks each side it wasn't your typical road! 

Sunday

We stayed in Rauris, pottered around the village

Looking down the Rauris valley

Rauris chuch and village

Monday

We drove over to Angertal near Bad Hofgastein in the next valley, and took the cable car up the Stubnerkogel to around 2,200m (7,200ft) where the views were glorious 

The gang above Bad Hofgastein

The Gastein valley

The 140m long & 28m high
Stubnerkogel suspension bridge

Tuesday

Tuesday dawned wet and dull Whilst the skiers went off somewhere we drove to Zell am See for a walk by the lake and a browse in the town (and coffee and cake!) One of our party who shall remain nameless (not me) had an altercation with an automatically cleaning toilet (basically got trapped inside when it started cleaning!!!). No harm done, but it was very funny!

The Grand Hotel Zell am See

The offending automatic toilet

Zell am See 

Ice patterns

Wednesday

A brighter day than Tuesday, but a thaw was setting in as the temp rose to around freezing We wandered around Rauris in the morning, had a lazy lunch waiting for the skiers to return before going off on our toboggan trip at the Ammererhof Hotel at the top of the valley. Great fun! I only crashed twice too!

The Ammererhof Hotel

A bit snowy up here!

Ready for the off

Tally Ho!

Made it in one piece - just!

Thursday

A pretty lazy day. Anne and I went for a walk around Rauris, before coming back for lunch and generally loafing about. The skiers returned about 4pm and we went over to the local aprés ski all for a bit of a session. Good fun was had by all!

One of the two rivers in Rauris

The oldest building in Rauris.
Still not sure what it is/was

Apres ski!

Shots

Apres ski giggles

Cheers!

Friday

By now the temperature was above freezing, and the thaw was well and truly set in. What had been snow all over at ground level (970m above sea level, but still ground level), was now mostly gone apart from the snow cannoned nursery slopes and ski run finish. There was plenty of snow higher up though. We took the cable car up the mountain, and did a walk on a snowy trail back to an all for lunch before descending back by cable car.

My wife's niece on the slopes

Starting our snowy walk at about 1,700m

Mountains and valleys

The snow's deep up here

Tilly's Trail

Snow angel

All in all we had a great time. I was, I have to admit, quite jealous of the skiers. Despite my reservations on age and dodgy knees, when I saw the age and condition of some people on the slopes, I reckon I could give it a go. Who knows, maybe next year?

As an aside, what was truly magnificent was seeing the children on the slopes, some so small, but fearless and technically quite brilliant at skiing. Ah, sometimes I wish I was younger!!!

All photos here are from my iPhone. A fuller set taken with my "proper" cameras is available on my Flickr pages here.

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Seidlwinkl and Rauris: Austria Part 6

On our penultimate day, we took a walk up the Seidlwinkl valley, about further up the valley from Rauris.

The Seidlwinkl is alleged to be one of the prettiest valleys in Austria, and accessible only during the non snowy season. Once the white stuff falls, that's it, you can't get up there. We drove to the car park and a couple of the party waited for a regular mini bus that goes up the stony tracks to the three alms that are in the valley, and we'd meet them at the first one. The initial climb is fairly steep and gives you a good work out, but after a kilometre or two the valley flattens and widens, sided by steep mountains.

A waterfall in the Seidlwinkl

There are numerous waterfalls cascading down the valley sides, into the icy clear river that tumbles its way down the valley. Soon after the track flattens and the valley widens you are greeted by the sight of the Gollenhenalm, the first alm in the valley. Here we met up with those who caught the mini bus, and has a nice coffee/hot chocolate. It's a small alm, that also serves cake and food. These are generally family owned/leased, and run in the summer months, but of course as this valley closes in the winter, the family move out for the duration. 

Gollehenalm - the first alm in the valley

After being suitably refreshed we continued down the track towards our next destination, the Palfneralm. In the meadows alongside the river, cowbells clanged as the herd munched their lush green grass. Soon, they'd also be moved out of the valley for the winter.

It was a sturdier bridge than it looks!

After about 30 minutes walking along a mostly flattish track, we arrived at the Palfneralm. This is the second of three (or maybe four) that run into the valley, but this was as far as we were going today.

Palfneralm 

 

By now it was time for a snack, and we variously ordered goulash/noodle soup, bread meat and cheese, apple strudel and of course a refreshing drink of choice - usually the local Steigl beer for the boys, or Radler (like a lager shandy using cloudy lemonade), or Almdudler, a sparkly type herbal drink.

The food was wonderful, home made and delicious. Following the meal, the alms hostess plied us with a complimentary schnapps made from infused cranberries - really nice - so much so, a couple of bottles were purchased for later consumption!

After we were sated, it was a gentle walk back down the valley to pick up the cars.

The Seidlwinkl valley near Palfneralm

The Seidlwinkl

And then, before you could say what a week that's been, it was our last day. We reprised our first day trip up the Hochenbalm in Rauris, but exactly a week after our first trip up, all the snow had gone - at least up to 1,700m were we got to.

What a difference a week makes.
Exactly 7 days apart - top our first day, bottom 7 days later

The lack of snow, at least meant we were able to sit outside at the alm and enjoy our refreshments - in fact, it was pretty warm!

Luckily not deep (here at least)

There might have been no snow, but there was also less cloud, so the views whereas always, fabulous. as we walked down from the top cable car station to the middle station, catching glimpses of Rauris four to five hundred metres below. There was even the opportunity for a rest now and again!

A quick lie down to catch breath

Walking down to mid station

We have walked all the way down from this spot before, but it's a long old walk, and frankly we were glad to jump into the cable cars at mid station and see Rauris getting closer

Almost at mid station

So that, pretty much was that. We had a fabulous time. Drank far too much, ate probably too much, but walked plenty to combat both the former sins. The fresh mountain air did us all good, and the company was fabulous. 

This was my second time here, and we'll definitely be back - I've only come in summer/early autumn, so I'd love to come in the winter when it's proper snowy (although Anne I think is less keen).

It's a beautiful part of the world, and we enjoyed ourselves immensely.

You'll be pleased to know, dear reader, that our trip back was wholly uneventful. Our flight times on our home journey meant we had a six hour stop wait over at Frankfurt, so no danger of missing our connecting flight, and plenty of time for getting sustenance. I must remember next time though, that if we go via Frankfurt again we need at least 2 hours between connecting flights. 50 minutes just won't cut it!

Thanks for following these posts. For now, auf weidersehen!

Twitter: @Statto1927 

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Going up. Dienten and Steinbochalm: Austria Part 5

Most of our walking in Austria thus far had been either on level ground or downhill, with occasional exceptions, given the age and fitness of most of or crew, that was no bad thing. Today, our destination was Dienten, a small skiing village in the Hochkönig range about half an hour from Rauris, and ultimately the Steinbockalm at 1,634m. My wife's brother in law, who's had their apartment in Rauris for about 12 years, assured us that whilst this walk was "up", it wasn't that long (about two and a half miles) and wasn't that steep, and the path was good. A couple of the party who struggle a little with extortion decided to catch the cable car up, and meet us at the top.

We drove through the pretty village of Dienten, onto the parking place to begin our walk. Starting through the fir trees, we began to climb steadily from our starting point at 1,290m. The views across to the Hochkönig were fabulous and we stopped (frequently) to admire the sights and catch our breath. 

An alpine church near Dienten

Where we started

The view on the way up

I can't lie, it was an exerting walk. Despite the relative shortness of the walk, and a good, if stony track of just under two and a half miles, we climbed 344 metres, or just over 1,100 feet. There were very few flat sections and some reasonably steep bits, and we were very glad to reach the top. However, as usual, the views were worth it!

Where we finished!

Cable car pylon

Wedding ready

At the top, there's a small chapel next to the alm. and preparations were underway for a wedding  - we saw some guests arriving via cable car, whilst others took the easier way and had come up the same track we'd walked, but in a taxi. Should have flagged one down.

A well deserved refreshment break

As mountain top alms go, this one was a bit posher than most we'd visited, but was nonetheless pristine, with excellent options. Of course no walk with this crowd is completed without a refreshment break, and so we imbibed of various soups and alcoholic and no-alcoholic beverages before contemplating the walk back down.

At the Steinbockalm

Austrian mountain tracks are generally very well signposted

One thing that was very apparent during our various walks was the excellent signage. Most paths were superbly way marked, and signed would regularly indicate how far (in time) it was to the next hut or alm. No count this is even more useful in the winter when the tracks are less obvious and there's snow on the ground, but it good to see, with little chance of getting really lost.

The walk down was much easier than coming up - in fact even those that went up in the cable car walked down, and the sunny day and glorious views made for a pleasant descent.

It was MUCH easier coming down.

Twitter: @Statto1927 

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The Großglockner High Alpine Road: Austria Part 4

Almost the highest point of the High Alpine Road

Today was one of the (many) highlights of the week for me, as we took the trip up the Goßglockner High Alpine Road. Rather than me trying to explain, it, this is taken from their website.

The mountain pass road with a total of 48 km and 36 turns leads deep into the centre of Austria’s largest national park with an area of 1,800 km² that extends across the provinces of Salzburg, Tyrol and Carinthia. The highest point of the mountain road is the Edelweissspitze located at just above 2,500 m. Several 3,000 m peaks open up to the wandering gaze, but the largest of them all is the Grossglockner. The striking mountain towers above the entire region at 3,798 m, and is at the same time the highest summit of the Alpine Republic.

At this point, and especially in relation to todays trip, I have to thank my brother in law Paul and his brother Mark, who drove us to all our destinations this week, as in addition to Paul picking us up and dropping us off at Salzburg for our outward and return journeys home. We're very grateful to them.

For a couple of days prior the website had been advising no cyclists or motorbikes, with cars and motorhomes requiring snow chains, but today it looked like 4 greens, as the snow continued to melt.

The entrance to the valley where the high alpine road begins

Turning into a valley just before Zell am See, the road meanders through the valley floor before starting to climb steeply. After a mile or two of climbing, we hit the first proper "bend" marked appropriately with a blue sign saying "Kehre 1". Only 35 to go. The views were truly staggering as we climbed higher through the hairpins. There was plenty of traffic, so the going was slow (also because of the massively steep drops off the side of the road), although we did get overtaken at one point by a twat in a Ferrari who was clearly hell bent in showing off. There were plenty of opportunities for stopping an admiring the glorious views.

At a couple of points there are tunnels in the mountains

Considering the altitude of the road, the environment it sits in and the amount of traffic it gets, the road was seriously well maintained and smooth. Where meltwater was running off across the road, there was a slight concern that it might have frozen into a thin sheet of ice, but luckily that wasn't the case.

Seriously gorgeous views!

The Gang

High up amongst the peaks

Finally, we reached the end of the road at a huge set of buildings, housing a massive car park, shops, restuarants and a visitor centre. It was very busy, but likely not as bad as it gets mid summer. We treated ourselves to the no obligatory coffee and a huge meringue/strudel type pudding, before having a wander. The view is dominated opposite by Großglockner, the 3,978m peak, the highest in Austria and the adjacent Pasterze glacier.

Grossglockner (the pointy peak centre) 3,978m
at the Pasterze glacier

However, what we all wanted to see, my wife in particular was a marmot, a large species of ground squirrel that lives high in the alps. And we weren't disappointed! A couple were roaming about just below the parking area, no doubt feeding of scraps that tourists might "accidentally" drop. But up behind the buildings as the terrain became more remote, we saw a couple sunning themselves on rocks. Difficult to capture on photos as I didn't have a long lens for my camera, but I'm pretty pleased with this one.

Its a Marmot!

The drive down was just as spectacular and we stopped off in another alm/restaurant, the Fuschertorl (well it would be rude not to), for another coffee. All the alms we experienced are rather unique, and this one was curious for its range of (in some cases rather badly) stuffed animals, including a rabbit or hare that had added bandages and was walking on it's hind legs with a crutch, some taxidermy chickens in a wooden cage plus the inevitable marmot!

I was rather sad to be leaving the highest mountains behind, but thankful that the weather had allowed us up there, and was suitably good that we were able to experience the fantastic views.

Just a note - You can't just drive in here - there's a cost (€38 for the car) unless you have a special pass for the area (a Sommercard), and there is a toll complex at the entrance to the valley proper.

All Austria photos available from Flickr (see link below)

Twitter: @Statto1927 

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