Why I LOVE Salzkammergut
I know it’s a bit of a mouthful, but truly the Salzkammergut region of Austria will make you believe that Heaven might possibly exist on earth.
Salzkammergut Hikers Paradise
Lake water so clear you can see the bottom. Forests with moss covered rocks & happy cows coming down a mountain with flowers festooned on their heads. Mountain huts welcoming the weary hiker with warm food & a beer or schnapps. A culture of people who seem happy to take life at a slower pace. A place where tradition is genuinely portrayed by the architecture, clothing & local celebrations. What ISN’T there to love about this place?
Nestled at the north central part of Austria near the alps, the pristine lake region of Salzkammergut is a hiker’s paradise! From easy flat walks along pristine alpine lakes to challenging long distance hikes along mountain peaks — this place has it all. Which is another reason why we chose to stay at Haus Hepi in Obertraun.
Hiking Base Obertraun
Obertraun is located in the southern part of this region, about 1.5 hours from Salzburg. It’s a small village with one grocery store, a church, a bakery, an excellent recreation complex, & quaint homes. What really makes it stand out for me (besides the totally awesome Haus Hepi) is that the train & bus stop is within easy walking distance & it doesn’t feel like a tourist town. You could spend two weeks in this one town without a vehicle & never get bored because hiking trails are all around you & beautiful towns are either across the lake or within a quick bus ride.
On our first full day in Obertraun, we walked through town, past an amazing bike arena, through a forest up to the Dachstein Cable Car. This was about a 40min walk with some ascent but it wasn’t difficult & it gave us a chance to see the town. You can also take the bus, if you’re trying to save your stamina or your knees.
Once we arrived at the cable car station, we purchased our Panorama tickets for the ride up. The tickets cost €30 per person (ouch), but that’s our fault because we could have gotten a discount had we heeded our innkeeper’s advice. So, two cable car rides up & a short walk to the 5 Fingers lookout & we had views like this…
The walk to 5 Fingers was full of tourists and not the greatest walk but it offered amazing views of Hallstatt and Obertraun far below. Certainly not worth €60 but what WAS worth that cable car price was our next walk.
Heading back towards the cable car, we took the Heilbronn Circular Trail which was a 3hr, 8km walk around the mountain & up to the 3rd cable car, which we took down. That hike was AMAZING! It began with a steep descent then turned into windy paths with snow & breathtaking views.
Then we reached Heilbronner Kreuz, a cross marking the death of 13 students & teachers from Heilbronn Germany in 1954. Once we rounded this part of the mountain the sun began to shine, the snow disappeared, & green trees & meadows began to appear.
We saw some crude alpine huts (didn’t look comfy but they did look warm, dry & clean). Three hours seemed like a short hike to me when we first began walking, but by the time we hiked the last trek up to the cable car, I realized three hours was just fine.
Thoroughly awed by what we had seen that day, we took the cable cars back down the mountain & walked back for dinner. Visited with our innkeeper’s mom & “the Brits,” then settled in for some German television. Got hooked on a gameshow called Spiel Fuer Dein Land (Play for Your Country), which had German-speaking celebrity representing their respective countries answering questions about the Deutschland. Then we switched to German QVC and watched a guy gyrate on a mini trampoline and fell asleep to the German MTV equivalent. I blame lack of sleep & high altitude for our entertainment choices.
Why I LOVE Haus Hepi
Have you ever stayed at a place where you thought, “I could live here” or “I would like to be adopted by these people?” Well that is EXACTLY how we felt after a five night stay at Haus Hepi in Obertraun, Austria.
A year ago when I began planning a trip “somewhere” in Europe, I knew two things: we wanted beautiful landscapes for hiking & a place to stay that felt like home. I looked at farm stays all across Bavaria & Iceland, coastal cottages in Portugal, villas in Costa Rica. I used a lot of non-English search terms, trying to find lodging that only the locals would know about…and that’s when I discovered Haus Hepi. I had never heard of Obertraun, but Haus Hepi’s site said they had a hiking package which included customized advice on hiking itineraries plus transportation from Salzburg plus the option to add dinner prepared by a professional chef. PERFECT! I built the rest of our two week trip around this place, & boy am I SOOOOOO glad I did.
My love for Haus Hepi began when I first contacted them via email about a possible reservation & it increased through the phone conversations that ensued. It was so easy to talk with them & ask questions about transportation & international payments & they chatted like we were old friends. My respect increased with the taxi that they scheduled for us. The driver was prompt, very friendly (didn’t speak English but that was no problem), & got us to Obertraun with no tense muscles or thanking God for bringing us to our destination alive. It was a pleasant drive.
Upon arrival, we were greeted by our hosts Larry & Lisa Hepi, who originally hail from the UK & have lived in Austria for the past 14 years. Before “retiring” to bucolic Austria, Larry was an executive chef in England & Germany & Lisa was in hospitality management. They immediately made us feel welcome & Larry sat down with us over water & coffee to introduce us to the area with a welcome packet, complete with topographical maps, bus & train schedules, & local attractions. He was FULL of useful knowledge & eager to share it but recognized we were probably missing half of what he was saying because we were travel weary. So, he graciously let us go with the knowledge that we would see him again for dinner at 7. We passed out in our room shortly thereafter.
My undying adoration of Haus Hepi began with dinner that first evening. Pan fried pork schnitzel with chantarelle & chive sauce. For dessert, apple strudel with homemade walnut ice cream. OH. MY. GOODNESS!
Larry had provided us with a menu in our welcome packet, but words on a sheet do not prepare you for the meals that he creates. He is a SUPERB chef who clearly understands how to pair seasonal ingredients in a way that presents as gourmet but tastes like comfort food. Beer, wine, & coffee were included in the meals & best of all…WATER! We wouldn’t fully appreciate this unlimited access to H2O until later in our trip, but looking back it was an oasis amidst water-hoarding Europe.
Our room was a typical Euro style bedroom & bath, so nothing fancy. But it had a balcony with gorgeous views & a radiator in the bathroom which worked great for drying unmentionables. For larger clothing, Lisa offered their outdoor boiler room for us to dry clothes & that worked wonderfully! We had access to a guest living area, complete with Ikea Poang chairs (which made Eric happy) & complimentary espresso, tea & water. Eric enjoyed perusing their travel books & I enjoyed basking under the skylights munching on Viennese hazelnut wafers.
But back to my love for Haus Hepi. Each morning we were greeted by a cheery Lisa & four of the jolliest Brits & Irish lady I’ve ever had the pleasure to meet — Vic, Pam, Shirley and Lauren. Shirley is Larry’s mum, Vic & Pam are his aunt & uncle, & Lauren is the friend from Ireland. It was a hoot listening to them at meals each day (they probably thought we were quiet but the truth was we just enjoyed listening to their accents & lively chatter). They made us feel part of the family & we truly lucked out being there at the same time as them.
As we finished breakfast, Larry would arrive to help us plan our day (whether that meant hiking up a mountain, adapting to rainy weather, visiting neighboring towns for artwork, bus/train routes…you name it). Lisa would also give advice, & the one time we didn’t heed her suggestion…we missed out on a good lunch because of it. We learned quickly to do everything they suggested — they never steered us wrong.
One word of warning: if you don’t arrive in your own vehicle, be prepared for a climb every time you leave Haus Hepi. The bus & train station are VERY close, but they are at the bottom of a steep little hill. The good news is, you always have a warm welcome & hearty food waiting for you at the top.
Salzburg Austria City Tour: Part 1
Anyone who grew up watching Sound of Music has a certain expectation of Austria — pristine landscapes, luxurious palaces, beautiful music, really old buildings…and I am happy to say it’s all true! Eric & I recently returned from a two week trip to Austria & southern Germany.
The first day of our trip began with a flight to Munich followed by a train to Salzburg. I had purchased a Bayern ticket before we left the US, so all we had to do was find the next train to Salzburg & locate the correct platform. Easy Peasy. The 10 minute bus ride in Salzburg to our hotel is what gave us a near apoplexy. I had looked up a possible route before we left home, so I knew we needed “Bus Line 2,” but I DIDN’T know there would be different kinds of kiosks & homeless teens asking us for money while we’re trying to figure out how to buy a ticket — that was our first panic attack. The second panic set in after we purchased the ticket & realized it didn’t say what bus or platform to use. I thankfully remembered seeing the bus # on the kiosk screen, but we still had to guess on the platform
Then came the final meltdown — my internet service wouldn’t work on my phone so guess who had NO map of the city & no idea when to get off the bus for the hotel. The bus driver was no help whatsoever & just as Eric is glaring at me & I’m mentally cursing myself for being so unprepared…Hotel Hofwirt appeared through our window so we got off at the next stop and walked back. The bus driver sent us off in style by chewing us out in German for exiting through the wrong door.
Hotel Hofwirt was a good hotel for the price & location. It wasn’t in Altstadt (old city) so price was cheaper. It was modern & we had a lot of fun trying to figure out how to turn on the lights before discovering that inserting our room key into a special slot did the trick. Hotel staff were helpful & the breakfast was a great buffet assortment of cold meats, cheese, yogurt and toppings, eggs, cereals & breads, pastries, juice/water/milk & self-serve espresso machines. This was pretty much the standard formula for every breakfast we had in Austria & southern Germany. I truly appreciated that they had TWO espresso machines, so we never had to wait in line for coffee like we did at other hotels.
We were too tired for sightseeing, so we took a leisurely walk to Die Weisse which had a wonderful outdoor seating area & served huge portions of traditional German food. We met a young couple from Orlando who had the same issues with Salzburg buses — so my pride felt a little less bruised after Day 1.
On day 2, we walked for 8 hours! Which was good, because we ate our way through pastries that day. We learned quickly that there is a bakery & coffee shop around every corner of Austria & southern Germany. Our first taste was Bäckerei Holztrattner. We originally planned to eat at Cafe Tomaselli, but it was packed so we settled on this little gem of a cafe on a quiet passageway. It only had 3 tables & was cozy, had delicious pastries, & didn’t feel touristy.
We fell in love with Cafe Sacher and people watching along the river. It’s a tourist hot spot but SO worth a visit just for the glamour & the Sacher Torte! For a cozy stop away from crowds, we liked Cafe Habakuk (it was closer to our hotel & just as delicious as the other cafes).
We walked all over the old parts of Salzburg, using a free walking tour that I found online. We also purchased Salzburg Cards at our hotel, which I recommend if you’re planning to see at least 2 places that charge entry fees. It saves you the hassle of purchasing tickets at each individual place AND it gives you free easy access to toilets — who needs to pay 50 cents for a public toilet when you can walk into the closest museum & flash that SC for a “quick pass.”
Of all the places we visited that day, Eric’s favorite was the Hohensalzburg Fortress & my favorite was the grand trio of Old Residenz Palace, Cathedral & DomQuartier.
We paired Hohensalzburg Fortress with a walk around the top of Mt. Monchsberg, which you could easily spend half a day walking. We also loved just strolling the streets & narrow passageways, especially the old market (Alter Markt), Goldgasse, & Steingasse.
If you love architectural elements like I do, then find the street Linzer-Gasse & look for the old narrow passage called Steingasse (about 1 block from the river). It’s full of medieval doors & door handles & is mostly residential.
Day 2 also included lunch at Triangel, a fun place in the heart of old Salzburg with excellent food & a cozy atmosphere. But the most bizarre part of our day occurred in late afternoon, when we noticed polizei in swat gear lining up along the major streets of Altstadt. Had to have been at least 50 polizei present. Locals didn’t seem fazed when smoke started showing up on the city horizon or when loud booming sounds began. We laughed when we found out it was the Marseilles football team, who had a polizei escort while they paraded down Altstadt singing in French and setting off firecrackers in red and blue. Apparently it happens every time the French come to town. Marseilles lost the next day, in case anyone’s curious.
