Emerald Fuschlsee
A mere twenty kilometres from Salzburg, the famous city of Mozart, we find Fuschlsee, one of the most beautiful Austrian lakes. It spreads out among meadows, forests and majestic mountains. You can walk around it in three and a half hours, but it would be a sin to miss out on a romantic cruise across it waters to enjoy the surrounding landscape. The lake’s symbol is Fuschl chateau, which was the backdrop for a film about Empress Elisabeth of Austria, nicknamed Sissi. It serves today as a luxury hotel, which has a famous restaurant whose specialty is fresh fish, including the brown trout and brook trout found in the 67 m deep lake, whose water is drinkable. The Fuschlsee area is ideal for hiking, cycling, swimming, relaxing and enjoying new experiences. Visit the idyllic Holleralm pastures and its black elderberry bushes – the area’s name is derived from the local German word for elderberry. At Latschen-Alm at an elevation of 1,407 m, you can experience wonderful cheese gnocchi served with bacon dumplings or bio-quality lamb. Bio-quality and unusual experiences are also offered to you at Mayerlehenhütte on Gruberalm, where you can enjoy pleasant dreams and rest your head on a pillow of hay.
Collecting Experiences
Austrians know how to create the conditions for a perfect family holiday. The Fuschlsee region is no exception. Families with children can have fun along the forest climbing path in Faistenau, fly down to the valley on the summer bobsleigh track in Fuschl am See or hike on the magical mill and fairy-tale path in Ebenau. You can also try canyoning, archery and horse-riding. The cherry on the cake is Waldhof Golf Club and its views of the emerald-coloured lake. This nine-hole course with its own golf school is a perfect place for beginners and experienced players. Here you can also find the legendary Golf & Country Club Schloss Fuschl, one of the oldest and most renowned courses in Austria.
Healing Salzburg State
Austria is a country of lakes, and no expense has been spared in keeping them beautiful in the Salzkammergut. You can draw energy from the trees. Forests take up an incredible half of the federal state of Salzburg, making it one of the greenest in Austria and among the top ten greenest regions in Europe. Forests and trees are important symbols for the state of Salzburg. The original inhabitants of this Alpine area – Celts – believed in their power. You can familiarise yourself with their knowledge, for example, at the Celtic village in Uttendorf or at certified cottages where natural products for traditional European healing are produced.
World Heritage
In high season, around seven thousand mostly Asian tourists a day visit the 774 residents of Hallstatt, which is under UNESCO protection. The Chinese like this Austria town so much that they even built a copy of it at home. In this case, it is true that you can never replace the original. This was still the case even at the end of the nineteenth century, when there was no way to get to Hallstatt other than by boat. The first land route was built here with the aid of explosives only in 1890. People walked along narrow pathways, and some of the upper houses were entered through the attic, which is still the case today. Although Hallstatt is under the pressure of tourism, it does not give the impression of a Potemkin village serving only to please visitors. People really live here. The rich soil deposits were the reason this hard-to-reach location attracted humans thousands of years ago. Evidently people already in the Neolithic Period went to the hills above the lake as a source for important minerals. Salt is literally hidden even in the word Hallstatt. According to linguists, the roots of this name can be found in the Greek syllable “hal”, derived from the River Halys, the “Salt River” in Asia Minor.
Slide into the Oldest Salt Mine
Learning about the seven-thousand-year history of “white gold” extraction here is easy today. A cable car will take you up to Salzberg (1,030 m), provided you don’t want to walk yourself, which would take about an hour. At the top, you will see the Rudolf Tower, built in 1282 by Duke Albert I, who named it after his father Rudolf I. Its previous function was defensive, and during the Salt War it served as a strong point against Archbishop of Salzburg Conrad IV. Today it is a restaurant. The tour of the oldest salt mines in the world is an experience, but you don’t have to walk down the steps – you can simply do what the miners did and go down the slide. The guide recommends not braking, leaning out or catching hold of anything. The second slide is 64 m long, which means it is unique, being the longest wooden slide in Europe. You can also cycle around Hallstatt lake or swim in its waters. You can extend your trip out to the nearby spa town of Bad Ischl, where Emperor Franz Joseph I and his beloved Sissi had their summer residence. Just ten kilometres from Bad Ischl is St. Wolfgang, one of the most enchanting towns in Austria. Here, you can board the steepest cog railway in the country and enjoy a 30-minute ride to the top of Schafberg, where you can enjoy the most beautiful views in the Salzkammergut.
