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.

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?

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Why I LOVE Haus Hepi

Obertraun Austria

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.
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Salzburg Austria City Tour: Part 2

Salzburg Austria

Our third day in Salzburg didn’t go as planned, & I blame it solely on a cantankerous bus driver (& maybe a little bit on my husband).

The original plan was to hop on a bus to Hellbrunn Schloss, a quirky pleasure palace about 20min from the city. We timed it so that we could get in free with our Salzburg Card, which was good for 24 hours from the first time you use it. Our hotel concierge told us exactly what bus to get on & when to get on it. All was going smoothly until the bus arrived & I told Eric to hop on it. Now here’s the problem: Eric is a smart man & he generally listens to me, but when the back door of that bus opened instead of the front door, my poor logical husband just couldn’t wrap his head around that. We had just been chewed out two days hence for not using the correct door & Eric knew that door was supposed to be the exit (not the entrance). So despite my frantic urging to “just get on it,” we missed the bus. In fact, the bus driver shut the door in my face as I was trying to step on — I even banged on the door before he took off…don’t think he liked that too much.
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