Austria 2: Wolfgangsee

 8 - 11 June 2023

Ain't no mountain high enough

Upon arrival here there was just time to walk down to the lake (3 mins) 

St Wolfgang from campsite near Abersee

and admire our surroundings before making plans for Thursday. A cycle ride to St Gilgen (6 km) where there is a supermarket and tourist office seemed a good idea. However, overnight (why do you always think of things overnight?) I realised that as Thursday was a bank holiday for Corpus Christi, the supermarket was likely to be closed, confirmed by Google. Instead we cycled in the opposite direction to Strobl (5 km) along an old railway line (Salzkammergutlokalbahn). E bikes are incredibly popular here; a camping neighbour said that anyone over 60 who cycles has an ebike! 

 We had not travelled far when we came across an enterprising lady who had a Kaffee und Kuchen van outside her house. Too good an opportunity to miss, so we enjoyed our refreshment overlooking the countryside and listening to a cuckoo singing its heart out.

We wrenched ourselves away to finish the ride to Strobl, a small, pretty little town, where lots of people were in traditional costume, as part of the bank holiday celebrations. After visiting the tourist office and looking around the town we homed in on a pub/restaurant which looked very popular with the locals for menu of the day. 

Strobl

We had received our free Wolfgangseekarte from site reception which gives a tiny reduction at a number of attractions.  There are also other opportunities for discounted tickets and it gets very confusing.

We got up especially early on Friday in order to be in time for the first ferry across the lake to then ride on the Schafbergbahn cog railway. The low cloud over the Schafberg was a bit worrying but we set off regardless and even managed to join the first train of the day. The Schafberg is 1783 metres high and the average gradient of the railway is 26%. Three of its eight locos are steam, originals from the late 1890's.  Each train carries 90 passengers. Once we reached the top the low cloud had burned off and the views were spectacular. We were pleased we had caught the first train as it gave us chance to appreciate the surroundings without crowds of other folk. Many photographs of the five lakes (Wolfgangsee, Mondsee, Fuschlsee, Attersee and Irrsee) were taken. 

Mondsee

At the summit

We had looked at the train timetable the day before and it seemed a little sparse but they must expand this basic framework according to demand. Trains were running up and down like yoyos and even the train with Christmas livery was operating. 

The summit station

Once back on the lakeside we ambled around the town for a short while, stumbling on a wonderful ice cream shop. 

Salzburg - Ice cream shop through arch on the right!

We weren't able to look inside the church as there was a funeral service taking place and I felt sorry for those mourners who were standing just outside the door suffering distraction from the passing tourists.

 As we approached the ferry it was about to leave, perfect timing, rather busy with 13 cyclists in matching attire and all their bikes. But we were back to base quickly with gins and tonic while dinner cooked in the Remoska.

Next day we did a bike ride to the western end of the lake to St Gilgen, one of the more popular towns on the Wolfgangsee.  More of the cycle path was alongside the road than we had realised (but we think we missed a turning) but it was fairly flat. In St Gilgen there was a village festival complete with a number of brass bands, bars, food stalls, with people in national dress. All very jolly.

Away from the melee we found a restaurant for lunch where I had delicious grilled perch WITH VEGETABLES.  Most dishes are served with just potatoes of some form or with salad if you are lucky!

On our final day here we took a twenty minute walk towards Strobl which brings you to the departure point at Gschwendt, one of stops for the Wolfgangsee boat ride. It was a lovely sunny day with some breeze.  There were two Australian couples sitting near us who were doing an interesting European tour. We got off at the stop before St Gilgen so that could walk to the stop there and just before the town we found a pretty little cove for a picnic lunch.

Along the way were interesting information boards one of which told us that the Brunnwinkl is perhaps the most idyllic bay at Lake Wolfgangsee.  The Brunnwind, a strong wind coming from the north to northwest just after noon in summer fair weather, provides the best sailing conditions. Hence the location of a sailing club here.

We have seen several nice looking campsites along the lake but upon research they only offer seasonal pitches. Once we got back to our site, we found a lot of vacant pitches as many campers had left at the end of the holiday weekend.