Hallstatt, Austria

The drive from Salzburg to Hallstatt was easy. Once we arrived, we were required to put the car in an
carpark on the outskirts of town, as there are no cars allowed in Hallstatt, except for the guest transfer vehicles.

Hotel - Seehotel Gruner Baum

Our Hotel - Seehotel Gruner Baum a four-star superior hotel on the water's edge with panoramic views of Lake Hallstatt. The hotel has well-appointed rooms that have seen many well-known names visit. The hotel that is circa 1700's faces the historic market square. The Zum Salzbaron restaurant has an excellent view overlooking the lake and is known for serving fresh fish caught daily from the lake.

Hallstatt is a very small town but well known for its tranquility, panoramic views and it summer & winter activities(there are some ski slopes nearby).

Every time we travelled to another mountain on lake district; we were stagger by the natural beauty of the region. The Austrian mountains are where you experience the moments that take your breath away.

The sun peaking over th mountains made thee scenery even more spectacular then before. 

I would wholeheartedly recomend a visit to Hallstatt just to sit and enjoy the view. There isn't alot to do in winter in the town itself but skiing is an option not far away. Would love to re-visit in summer when the water sports are available, another place for my re-visit list.

We were sorry we only managed to stay one night, we would have loved to hang around and enjoy our surroundings but we had to be off to the final leg of our Austrian Journey and headed for Vienna, Austria's capital.

Lech Austria

There are a lot of great deals and packages for holidays, but for some reason, the holiday deals that come out of England are fantastic in value. We were referred to a company called Ski Total that is English. The package we chose consisted of staying in Lech am Alberg, Austria, one of their most up-market ski resorts for seven nights accommodation, return flights and half board, at a very reasonable price. We understood our accommodation would be basic, but knowing the hotel from a previous trip many years ago; we decided to be nostalgic and stay there.


The company's organisation was good, but they did have restrictions and limits on luggage although they weren't as strict at the airport. We flew from London into Friedrichshafen Germany flying 'Fly Niki' (not a bad budget airline and you get a snack!) and then were bused to Lech am Alberg, dropping off other guests at different resorts along the way. From the bus, we were taken by taxi to our accommodation. The Hotel was exactly as we remembered it; nothing had changed! Looking around it did need some TLC, but it was adequate accommodation although there are none of the little niceties you get these days in most every hotel. In its heyday, this Hotel was one of the most sort-after accommodation in Lech and was known for its fabulous restaurant & food, sadly this in no more.

We settled in, were given some supper as we arrived late and got ready to head out the next day.
The cost of a daily lift pass was approximately 50Euro (or best value was six days for the price of 5).
It had just snowed enough to allow more runs to open, although not all were ready and the season had a late start. The ski runs are mainly beginner to intermediate skill, and there are some off-piste areas for the advanced skier. The resort does make snow as snowfalls average about 2.5metres a year, which doesn't compare to other resorts.
Lech itself is very pretty typically Austrian ski resort, home of the rich and beautiful. You will see the latest in designer ski gear at this particular resort. Apres and nightlife in Lech may not be as predominant as St Anton, but it hits the spot.

Lech Apres Nightlife

We found the best coffee at Baristro', an excellent seed-encrusted chicken salad at Pfefferkorn'  a delicious Salzburg nockerl at the Berg Hotel in OberLech and great apple strudel with warm vanilla custard at all the rest & coffee break places on the slopes. The food in Lech is excellent but can be pricey so if you're after a quick cheaper meal head for the butcher and have their Lerberkase rolls (I have to say they hit the spot!)

Lech am Alberg easily connects to Zurs & St Anton with a free bus that runs half hourly, so if the weather closes in head to the other resorts and check them out.
Next from Beautiful Lech am Alberg to the city of Innsbruck.

Austrian Ski Trip

This trip is mainly in Austria and centred on Skiing the Spectacular mountains as well as visiting some of the beautiful cities from one end of Austria to the other.

The trip begins in London as the flight with Qantas in a A380 Business Class was well priced and we needed to be in the UK to pick up another package deal for skiing.

As we were going to ski at many different resorts and didn't want to continually find and hire equipment, the decision to bring all our gear including skis was made. The first step was to work out the luggage. The ski bag we decided on has wheels so that we were able to drag it along without having to carry them. Due to restrictions on internal flights we had limits on what we could pack.
Ski gear and winter clothes do take up a lot of room in your luggage. Boots & helmets, ski equipment and your everyday winter clothes quickly add weight and take up room.

My tip if you're packing for winter regardless of whether it's a sightseeing trip or a ski trip is that you pack everything and I mean everything, that is interchangeable, so that it can be layered and worn whether skiing or just sightseeing. Also, as outer ski gear takes up space, it's easier if you put then in space saver bags to get all the puffiness out of them to allow room for other essentials.  Pack items like socks, or thermals in bags inside your shoes or ski-boots to save room, do this for your helmets too.

Advise the airline that you will have your skis with you, this can be done online under sports equipment with the airline you have booked. You will need to take any oversized baggage to different bag drop then your luggage but it will be at the carousel when you arrive.  Depending on the airline the skis can be part of your 23 Kg weight and with others, it's another piece of luggage and charged extra. It's best to determine this before booking so you know what to expect. With British Airways, even though we were well underweight and the skis combined with our suitcases were within weight range, we were charged 70Euro for the skis as an extra bag.

The map below shows the road trip that we took. This trip took 4 1/2 weeks or a calendar month.

Road Trip

Next post is on arriving in London.