I think one of the best hikes this
year was the ascend to the Schafberg mountain at Wolfgangsee.
Wolfgansee is located about 25km from Austrian
Salzburg.
On a sunny day, the area looks like movie decorations,
so perfect it is - the turquoise colour lake with the perfectly shaped
mountains around it, and wonderful pretty towns with half-wooden houses framed
with blooming gardens. Alpine Idyll - they call it. And you know what -
actually it is!
Only after visiting the place I
have found out that there was this musical comedy called Im weißen
Rößl (The White Horse Inn). The movie is a love story involving the head waiter
of the White Horse Inn in St. Wolfgang who is desperately in love
with the owner of the inn (the inn is actually there,
although the façade is strangely of red colour :). In
the movie all the caracters look so perfect, smiley and sing beautifully ;) ,
that it feels waaay too much. But, to be honest, as I had spent 3 days in the area
I felt like in that movie) So many people are so smiley and perfect looking,
wearing national costumes, I even met a group of people singing in café on top
of the mountain, imagine that like this perfect family with perfect looking
kids singing all together. This is something where you say “really?:)” yes,
really. Perfect location (on a sunny day, and even when it is not sunny the
rain and clouds are also quite special here), perfectly looking locals with
blond hair, blue eyes and white perfect smiles, flowers everywhere. Feels like
you are in this advertisement for Milka chocolate.
Back to the topic of my perfect
hike ;), what I did with a friend was a 14km hike (about 1300m vertical) to the
Schafberg summit starting in St. Wolfgang not far from the old train station,
going up through the forest to the beautiful and icy cold mountain lake Mönichsee,
there were several quite steep partially rope-secured sections which were
marked black, with breathtaking panoramic views of the Austrian Alps and the
lakes of the area. It was a warm and dry day, so it was not dangerous, just
really exhausting, but the beer in the café on top (seen on the photo) was the
best beer of this year! J I must say, I wouldn’t have done this hike if it was
wet, I could see how it could be really slippery in some areas.
I can also recommend quite a nice
hike/walk from St. Wolfgan towards St. Gilgen, thorugh Wolkensteinkirche, it
leads you partially through forest, and then along the lake with really
beautiful views. See below J You can come back from St. Gilgen by boat.
And one more – the easy but with reeeeaaaaly
picturesque views of the lake - 2 hour walk is Bürglstein Rundwanderweg.
