A wonderful trip to Lake Wolfgang in Austria, part 2 (including Salzburg!)

[caption id="attachment_610" align="aligncenter" width="940"] There were great views of the city from the top of the Fortress[/caption]

We had a brilliant time on holiday in Austria, near Lake Wolfgang (the Wolfgangsee) as you may have seen from Jessica's first post last week. Here she tells you about the rest of our terrific stay - including a trip to Sound of Music heaven...

Over to Jess:

Our wonderful holiday continued with a trip to Salzburg on Thursday

Today, we visited Salzburg, and were very lucky to have a tour around the city by Michaela our amazing guide. She took us to churches, statues and locations from where The Sound of Music was filmed.

[caption id="attachment_601" align="aligncenter" width="940"] These steps are in the Sound of Music - they're where the children sing "Do, ray, me"[/caption]

I especially liked walking through the pretty square where part of “Do Ray Me” was sung and you can see some Sound of Music references in our video!

[kad_youtube url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ivzOAzN7FY" width=460 height=325 ]

Salzburg is full of stunning Baroque architecture, and we loved looking at all the incredible buildings, especially all of the churches. There are lots of religious places to see in the city, but my favourite was the church where Mozart was baptised. It was absolutely beautiful, and the walls had lovely black and white decorations.

[caption id="attachment_608" align="aligncenter" width="940"] Mozart was baptised at the beautiful Salzburg Cathedral[/caption]

Mozart lived in Salzburg, and his presence was everywhere. Salzburg is the home of Mozart chocolates which (happily) were in almost every shop, while you can also visit his old house and see a statue of him.

[caption id="attachment_603" align="aligncenter" width="940"] This is where Mozart lived in Salzburg[/caption]

Michaela told us lots of facts about Salzburg, which I was fascinated by. I never knew that Salzburg used to be an independent country but was annexed to the Austrian Empire in 1816, or that Salzburg means “salt castle”. This name is because of all the salt mining done nearby. We also bought some delicious things to eat...

[caption id="attachment_599" align="aligncenter" width="940"] I was lucky enough to find a huge doughnut pretzl in the Salzburg market.[/caption]

After this, our family took the cable car up to the fortress, which had lovely views over the city and was also full of history.

Next, we took the bus to the lovely palace of Hellbrunn, built in the 17th century, and which has lovely grounds and even boasts the pavilion where the song “Sixteen Going on Seventeen” was filmed for The Sound of Music.

[caption id="attachment_600" align="aligncenter" width="768"] You may recognise this pavilion from the Sound of Music[/caption]

Instead of exploring the rooms, we opted to go to the trick fountains, which we all loved. My brother got absolutely soaked.

Hundreds of years ago, the Archbishop loved inviting friends to his palace, but always tried to liven up their visits. By placing surprising fountains around the gardens, he would shock them and get them soaking wet!

[caption id="attachment_604" align="aligncenter" width="768"] Robert was soaking after a tour of the water gardens at Hellbrun[/caption]

We got to walk around, sit on chairs and watch shows which ultimately left us covered with water! One example was when we were watching a show with small figures powered by water. Before starting, our guide told us to watch the cannons. Once the show had finished, we were quite confused - no water had come out the cannons! Just ask we started to walk away, water started to spew out from the steps behind us, giving us a shock…

Friday

[caption id="attachment_607" align="aligncenter" width="940"] The water was so green and so clear[/caption]

On Friday, we went cycling again. First of all, we went to tobogganing centre in Strobl, passing a clear blue lake with people swimming in it on the way. It was gorgeous, and I thought it was amazing how unpolluted it was! In London, a lake like that would be brown and full of rubbish!

[caption id="attachment_609" align="aligncenter" width="940"] The tobogganing was lots of fun[/caption]

The tobogganing was lots of fun, and Rob especially loved it. You went up really high before sliding down the hill very quickly, and half of the time you were practically riding on the wall. Each go took a very long time as going up the hill took aages. There were two different ways you could go down; one was short and fast, and one was longer and slightly slower. You also got to control how fast you went by pulling a lever on the board you were riding on.

Next, we cycled 14k to St. Gilgen at the top of the Wolfgangsee, which looked sublime. It was another hot day, and we quenched our thirst with lemonade and a really bitter lemon drink that everyone hated but me!

[caption id="attachment_605" align="aligncenter" width="940"] This swing in St Gilgen has a beautiful backdrop![/caption]

After a brilliant pizza, we took a look around the shops, got cream cakes from a bakery and took a ferry back to Strobl.

Saturday

Today we had a short cycle in the direction of Bad Ischl, passing beautiful mountains, trees and waterfalls on the way. The weather was not lovely, but an erdbeer torte in a cafe back in Strobl more than made up for it…

So that was our fabulous holiday for the summer. Even though we spent a lot of time running, swimming and cycling, I still felt really relaxed and refreshed throughout the week, which is something that does not normally happen to me. The holiday was very different to others I have been on, and is definitely one of my favourites. Funnily enough, I had never been cycling for longer than half an hour before, but the holiday really helped me to improve my confidence, and there were not too many parts of the journeys that were uphill.

[caption id="attachment_598" align="aligncenter" width="940"] We loved our cycling experience by Lake Wolfgang[/caption]

I would 100 percent recommend this holiday to anyone - there seemed to be something for the whole family and I honestly cannot think of anything bad about it! The sights were incredible, the food was fantastic and there was loads to see and do. I wish that we could go back next year!

Disclosure: our tour around Salzburg with Michaela Muhr, a licensed guide, was complimentary and you can book your tour via the Salzburg Experience website. All the views and opinions about the tour and the city are our own.

Disclosure: we were offered a discounted media rate for a Headwater cycling holiday to Austria. However, all our views are entirely our own.

For August departures this year, Headwater would have charged: £1038 for an adult self drive including Eurotunnel (child under 12 sharing £599), £1238 for an adult flying with with BA from Gatwick-Salzburg (child £819) and £1029 for an adult tour only (child £619). This is for half-board accommodation, including transfers, plus the bikes!

This week we're part of the Sunday Traveler (or traveller as we would write in the UK!) where you can link up and read about travels around the world. It's hosted by by the lovely Sarah-Jane at Chase the Donkey!

A family holiday cycling in Austria by St Wolfgangsee (Pt 1)

[kad_youtube url="http://youtu.be/4ivzOAzN7FY" width=460 height=320 ]

 

We had the most fantastic family holiday this summer, but it was a surprise to all of us how much we enjoyed it!

[caption id="attachment_488" align="aligncenter" width="940"] In St Wolfgang[/caption]

 

Although we like sport, we are not the most outdoorsy kind of family, which was why I was dubious when Catherine Crone of Headwater Holidays suggested trying out one of their cycling vacations. The company offers tailor-made walking and cycling tours, but, when I made it clear that our cycling experience consisted of little more than occasional sessions in the gym (me) and wobbly trips around the park (9-year-old Robert), she suggested a trip whereby the company offered you bikes and a hotel as a base and left you to decide how much or little cycling to do. We did far more than we thought we would, and we LOVED it!

Here's Jess to tell you more:

"This summer, my family and I spent a wonderful week in the Salzkammergut region of Austria by Lake Wolfgang, and had an incredible time. We flew from Gatwick to Salzburg, and then stayed in the Hotel Bergrose in Strobl, about an hour and a quarter from Salzburg and right at the end of the lake, or St Wolfgangsee. It was absolutely beautiful.

[caption id="attachment_487" align="aligncenter" width="940"] We stayed at the Hotel Bergrose near Strobl[/caption]

 

The hotel in itself was amazing; our family room had incredible views and was really spacious, and there was loads of space for relaxing. We frequently played on the table tennis table, enjoyed the swimming pool and spa and ate strudel outside by the river. The Hotel Bergrose is also a restaurant, and as we were staying on half-board evening meals were included in our stay. This was brilliant, and the food was delightful. We have never stayed in a place where a hotel is able to cope with all of our family’s strange dietary needs, but this hotel managed to prepare delicious four-course meals every night for all of us, despite my brother's allergies and the fact that none of us eat meat. I know that my parents really appreciated this.

As this was a Headwater holiday, our family were given bikes and talked with John, the rep for Austria. We were told about all of the best places to go, cycling routes and got to read a book by other people who had stayed in the hotel and their thoughts. This was really useful, and gave us a great idea of what to do during our stay.
As we did soooo much during our holiday, I have decided to break it down into days and two blog posts! We travelled on both Sundays (and we even cycled on our first day, to the nearby little village of Strobl).

[caption id="attachment_482" align="aligncenter" width="940"] Our bikes, resting by the Lake in Strobl[/caption]

Monday…

After a great breakfast, we all cycled 8km to the lovely town of St. Wolfgang. The sun was shining and it was a relatively easy ride with lots of cycle paths, so we had a great journey. After checking out some of the shops and eating cake from the bakeries, we decided to walk along and look at the views, which were stunning. The Wolfgangsee was really clear and sparkled in the sun, and the mountains were breathtaking.

[caption id="attachment_490" align="aligncenter" width="940"] Going up the cog railway[/caption]

Next, we took a trip up the cog railway to the top of a mountain, which was simply fantastic. The summit was 1,783m high and the views were the best I had seen in my life. The 360º views of lakes Wolfgangsee, Irrsee, Mondsee and Fuschlsee were phenomenal, and everything just seemed so tiny and surreal.

[caption id="attachment_491" align="aligncenter" width="940"] At the top of the mountains by Lake Wolfgang. We loved these views![/caption]

After the 35 minute journey down the mountain, we took the ferry back to Strobl, and then cycled onto our hotel.

Tuesday…

Today we took the 150 bus to Bad Ischl (mum and dad want me to point out that, although they didn't find Austria to be very expensive, at least compared to London, the public transport was pricey!) and had a look around. First of all we had sublime cake in the world-famous Zauner coffee house, and I had a triangle full of marzipan and chocolate, which was honestly one of the nicest things I have ever eaten.

[caption id="attachment_498" align="aligncenter" width="940"] Delicious cakes at the Zauner Coffee House in Bad Ischl[/caption]

After this, we visited the Kaiservilla, which was the summer home of the Emperor in the times of the Habsburg Empire, and was described by Franz Josef I as "heaven on earth" for himself and his family. We took a guided tour around the house, and were given interesting sheets in English, as the tour was in German.

[caption id="attachment_496" align="aligncenter" width="940"] At the Kaiservilla in Bad Ischl[/caption]

I thought that the house was lovely, and was fascinated by pretty much everything, especially the letters on the Emperor’s desk. I definitely did not expect him to live so frugally, and was surprised by how bare his room was.

Wednesday...

On Wednesday, we took the bus to the small town of Hallstatt where we visited the Salt Mines. First of all, we took the railway to the top of the mountain, which had astonishing views over the town. After walking through an exhibition about burials at the salt mine and some signs with facts about the workers, we got to the main entrance, where we donned strange suits and walked through a museum before starting our tour, which was in German and English.

[caption id="attachment_500" align="aligncenter" width="940"] We took a cable car up to the top of the mountain at Hallstatt[/caption]

We walked through a tunnel into a mountain, which was quite cold. It was really cool to see the salt stuck to the sides of the tunnel. The tour was seventy minutes long, and was full of videos which had English captions. We did feel that some things were lost in translation and would have also liked to know a bit more about the history of the mine, which was a shame. However, I really enjoyed learning about the techniques used to get salt, and how the mine was formed in the first place.

[caption id="attachment_493" align="aligncenter" width="940"] Ready to go down the slide (note my fashionable attire)[/caption]

The miners used to go down slides to get into the mine, which we also got to ride. Although I would have liked to go faster, they were still loads of fun. The second one was 64m long and they were both quite steep.
At the end of our visit, we took a train out of the mountain, which went very fast. It was actually one of my favourite parts of our trip to Hallstatt! Then we took the bus back to our hotel.

Read Part Two of our wonderful holiday - including a trip to the site of the Sound of Music, Salzburg. And please enjoy our video too.

Disclosure: we were offered a discounted media rate for a Headwater cycling holiday to Austria. However, all our views are entirely our own.

For more on European holidays, read our tips for visiting the Eiffel Tower, with kids.