Holiday in Saalbach Austria
We booked a walking holiday with Leger holidays in Saalbach Austria starting on the 1st of June 2010 for nine days. On the first day we got up at about six in the morning and had a taxi to take us from Hythe to Southampton railway station at about 07.10. We were due to meet our coach at 08.10 and arrived just after 07.30. The weather was overcast and started to rain as we stood at the bus stop. Fortunately the coach was early so we did not get wet; we had plenty of opportunity for that later. This coach, number 134, was a feeder coach which changed to a tour coach at Dover so it was as comfortable as any we had.
Several hours later we arrived at Dover and began the coach changeover to coach number 132 which we had for the rest of our holiday. By this time it was raining steadily and we were not the only coach holiday changing coaches. The reception area became more and more crowded by people trying to escape the rain so that we were packed like sardines in a can. Soon however we were allowed to board our tour coach.
This is where we first met our driver and courier who were a married couple called Shaznlez. They were both able to drive the coach and also quite good at making coffee but as for couriering they were not so good. Shaz had a high pitched laugh that would detect a bat at fifty paces so we tried our best during the tour not to make her laugh. It was at this time that we realised that our coach consisted of two tour parties. We had some clue from the label on the front which read ‘Sel em Zee and the Gems of Austria’ and out of a total of thirty or so only eleven were actually walkers, the rest were touring daily on the coach.
Our channel crossing was uneventful but the highlight was a meal of fish and chips. This was so heavy that we did not need any other food for the rest of the holiday. We got back on the coach at Calais which took us straight to Brussels in Belgium. Our destination was the Crowne Plaza hotel near Brussels airport. This was a surprisingly nice hotel with triple glazing so you could not hear any plane noise. It was built in the shape of a boat only bigger with the rooms round the edge and an atrium in the middle going up for seven floors including the basement. The lifts, which all worked, had glass walls so you could view the atrium as you went up and down. We did not arrive there until 20.30 and we had to get up early the next morning so we had a quick drink and went to bed.
Day two, which was a Sunday, involved thirteen hours on a coach so we had to get up early once again. The journey went from Brussels through the whole of Germany and a short way into Austria. Germany was relatively flat but we were held up by several roadwork’s; one of which had an accident in the opposite lane which delayed us further. It was not until we entered Austria that the scenery became mountainous and we also had to endure some heavy rain showers. We arrived at the Berger Sport hotel in Saalbach around 20.30 and had to quickly go to our rooms before coming down for dinner. The dinner, as with all our meals, was very good and it was here that we met our dining companions for the holiday. They were two ladies from Norfolk called Ann and Gillian who were quite nice and normal in their conversation. We were glad to get to our bed after such a long day in the coach.
Our hotel was a clean but old building that had been in the Berger family for forty years or more. The family were a cross between the Munsters and Fawlty towers. They put on an act of pleasing us but you always suspected that guests were something they put up with under suffrage. Our room was quite small in that you had to walk sideways round the bed and the bathroom was a converted wardrobe so you had to open the door to bend over the sink. There were no tea making things in the room and the lounge was locked until 18.00. There was also nowhere to dry clothes as we found out after our first days walk.
Day three was the Monday and the first walking day. Whilst everyone else went for a tour on the coach we eleven intrepid walkers gathered in the hotel reception at 08.30 as instructed by the hotel receptionist. The guide dutifully arrived at 09.30 as per our original instructions; the receptionist having got the time wrong. Since Shaznlez had gone on the coach we had our own local guide for our walks. Astrid was the name of our guide and if that does not sound very Austrian it is because she was Danish. She had come to Austria for a holiday six years ago and decided to stay. Astrid was about twenty to thirty years of age and slender like a mountain goat. She did not say a great deal but what she did say was always useful and to the point. We were to think highly of her capabilities before the end of the week. When she arrived at the hotel she brought with her tickets in the form of a plastic card, one for each of us, with which we had only to wave at any bus driver or cable car to allow us to travel.
Saalbach is situated in a valley which runs east to west with an opening to the east but surrounded on the north, south and west by high mountains. Our first walk was to the west of the valley in an area called Lengau and to reach it we travelled on the local bus as far as it would go to the west. When we got off the bus we climbed steadily along the valley over first tarmac, then gravel then rocky paths. The weather when we set out was dull with drizzle which we had expected from our hotel and had dressed accordingly. As we climbed higher however the drizzle became more persistent and began to change to sleet. At last we reached a wooden alpine lodge that served meals and drinks. The meal of goulash soup was good and very welcome. When we came to continue our walk the slushy rain had changed to wet snow. We had reached the highest point of our walk however and we turned round to walk back along the other side of the valley towards Saalbach. The walk was quite strenuous for anyone unused to hills, as we were, but we enjoyed being out in the open air despite the rain and snow.
In the evening we were told of some entertainment that had been laid on for the next three nights for an additional charge of eleven euros which included drinks. We were also invited to a welcoming party by the hotel management which had the incentive of a glass of champagne. Unfortunately it included the singing of two songs which had been printed out for us to sing the words. The songs were ‘We love to go a wandering’ and ‘Eidelweiss’.
Day four, the Tuesday, promised more of the same wet weather with cloud and snow on the mountain tops. Our original itinerary meant we should have gone by cable car up the mountain to the north of the village but this cable car was shut and not due to open until the Thursday; two days hence. The clouds were also way below the mountain top so we would have seen nothing anyway. Astrid decided that we should go on the cable car from Hinterglemm half way up the mountain to Winklerhof on the south side of the valley. We were due to go on this walk on the last day of our holiday. These cable cars run singly along the wire and slow down at the top and bottom where the doors open for you to get on and off. At the top it was drizzling and misty with some lying snow but it was good enough for walking. There were manmade ponds near the cable car exit which filled during the summer and were used for artificial snow making in the winter. Further along we came to an alpine garden display which consisted of a walkway alongside of which were planted named alpine plants. I would have found this very useful but it had quite a lot of wet snow and the cold weather meant that most of the flowers had died off.
The idea of the walk was that we caught the bus to Hinterglemm, went up in the cable car and walked back down to Saalbach. As we descended towards the valley bottom the snow disappeared and although it was very damp the alpine meadows were very impressive. I felt quite satisfied with myself that I could name most of the wildflowers having seen them in Britain but when I consulted a guide that we picked up at the flower garden I realised that most of the flowers were similar but not identical to the ones at home.
At dinner that evening we met our new waiter who we immediately christened ‘Manuel’. The similarity to the Fawlty towers character was striking in that all his energy seemed to be in action and none in his brain. He had apparently spent some time in England working for Gordon Ramsey. In order to improve his English he said ‘Good morning Mr Ramsey’ whenever he met him. To which Mr Ramsey always replied with ‘f**k off’. It was not long before Manuel had sufficient English to allow him to return to Austria.
Tonight was the first night of our entertainment but I forgot that we were having a free drink and ordered beers when we arrived so I was pleasantly surprised to find an extra drink on the table. The entertainment was a group of three men and three women in alpine costumes performing local folk dances and routines such as blowing alpine horns and maypole dances. They were very good at involving the audience and anyone that helped got a glass of Schnapps as a reward.
Day five was a day off for the walkers who joined the rest of the tour for a visit to Saltsburg. Unfortunately the rain which started off as drizzle became heavier as the day wore on. The coach could not go to the city centre but parked some distance away. Thanks to Shaznlez who told us to ‘follow the yellow signs to the city centre’ we only got mildly wet by the time we got there. Because it was so wet we decided to go round the City Museum which cost us seven euros each. It was quite a modern place but we did not have enough time to do it justice and left hoping the rain had eased off for a walk round the centre. This was not the case however so we spent a lot of time sheltering from the rain before returning to the coach. We did get a piece of fruit cake covered in pastry from the market which was to come in useful later. As a special treat Shaznlez took the coach to a small village beside a lake in the afternoon rain. Again we had to leave the coach outside the village and walk in the rain to the centre. When we got there a funeral was in progress and the church bells were ringing so we decided to find a cafe and have a break. The church was famous as the wedding church in ‘Sound of Music’. As it turned out the cafe we went to was the highlight of our day but we were glad when we got back to the hotel to dry out.
The second evening’s entertainment was a man on keyboards with a woman singer. When we took our seats I didn’t bother buying drinks because I hoped for another free drink. This was not forthcoming however so I had to get an order while the entertainment was in progress. Although not brilliantly performed the songs were familiar and we were able to sing along and dance together after a fashion.
During the night the rain continued and the fire callout sirens woke us up in the early hours apparently to attend to some local flooding. As usual the reality was not as bad as the dreams and the morning arrived with slightly better weather. Day six, the Thursday, was also a local public holiday with parades that we observed from our balcony after breakfast. Unfortunately the local supermarket, which was one of the few shops usually open, had also closed for the holiday so we were unable to get sandwiches for our lunch. Luckily we had our fruit cake in pastry which we took with us on our walk.
The walk was one of the longest and toughest of our holiday. We took the cable car from Saalbach, which had just reopened, up the north side of the valley. The cable car in this case consisted of six cars in tandem that stopped and waited at the stops until people got on before starting again. In this case there were two stops, one in the middle and one at the top, and we got off at the top. The weather was still drizzle with cloud and lying snow on the mountains so we could not see any of the scenery until we were about half way down. The idea of the walk was to go from the cable car stop at Kohlmaskopf eastwards and downhill to Winselm then down to Saalbach. We found the terrain quite difficult through the pine woods and Astrid gave us her walking stick which came in very useful. We stopped at a mountain hut which was deserted apart from us and ate our fruit cake at the table whilst looking out to the mist and the only sign of life which was the tinkle of bells on the alpine cattle. After the first days walk our number was reduced by three down to eight and after the second another two gave up so there was only six of us left, and Astrid, for this walk.
Things looked up after we left the hut. For one thing we were lower down and for another we reached a gravel track which made the going easier. The rain had also stopped before we reached the lodge at Winselm which had just opened for drinks and food. I had a piece of Apfel Stroudel but it was micro waved so did not taste as good as the recommendations. The rest of our walk was on hard tracks and roads which although it pulled on our downhill muscles was quite straightforward.
The evening’s entertainment was an ‘Elvis lookalike’. He looked like you would suppose Elvis looked like if he were still alive today; even fatter and more wrinkled. He could have imitated Roy Orbison just as well. The first part of his act was general songs, the second, after he had changed into his Elvis costume was Elvis songs, and the third was Tom Jones. If you disregarded his appearance his voice was not too bad and we were able to sing along for most of his numbers. I was particularly disappointed that he did not do ‘Wooden Heart’ until after I had gone to bed.
Day seven, the Friday, was the last day of our holiday in Saalbach and it promised to be the best weather of the week. We had already decided not to do the scheduled walk which was similar to the walk of the previous day but on exiting from the cable car we would have turned east instead of west and walked along a ridge before returning to the middle cable car stop. The remaining four walkers did this walk but the cloud level was still below the mountain tops when they arrived so they went back up in the cable car to the top in order to see the views after the cloud had cleared.
We decided to repeat the walk in the valley from Lengau that we had done in the poor weather of the first day of our holiday. This proved to be a wise decision as not only was the weather warm and sunny but the adventure playground and associated eating place were open. We therefore caught the local bus, using our travel card, and got off at Lengau to start the walk up the valley. The sun was shining and the temperature climbed slowly as the day wore on so we were able to take off our Berghaus coats and jumpers to walk in short sleeves. Although the rain had stopped water was still rushing in torrents along the streams and the ground at the side of the paths was running water like a wet sponge.
We stopped for lunch at the same place as previously and had the same Goulash soup. The difference was that we were able to eat outside in the sunshine alongside the flowering daffodils overlooking the full length of the valley below. On our return down the valley we encountered a group of people who hooked themselves on to a cable running across the valley and after pushing off whizzed across suspended on the cable. Another cable stretched from the far side so they could return only about fifty metres from where they started off. As it was a hot day we were glad to see the lodge serving the adventure playground open so that we could have a cold drink. This made us slightly late however so we had to rush back to catch the bus which ran at hourly intervals. In the event the bus was late so we reached the stop with time to spare.
A Harley Davidson rally was in progress over the last two or three days of our holiday and we frequently came across numbers of machines and their riders scattered along the roads and tracks as we went along.
When we got back to the hotel another coach load of people had arrived. This meant that the waiters were very busy for the evening meal. We got our main course alright but the sweets were a long time coming. When they did arrive Ann and Gillian got ice-cream instead of fruit salad. When Manuel was questioned he explained that ice cream was in fact fruit in the same way that black is in fact white. They eventually got what they had ordered but Manuel may be on the move sooner than he expected.
The next day saw our return journey of thirteen hours to Brussels. This was only compensated for by the fact that we returned to the Crowne Plaza hotel.
Our last day started with warm sunshine and a late breakfast call so we had the opportunity of walking in the park at the back of the hotel. This was particularly pleasant with the ducks and the croaking frogs around the large pools. The coach trip to Calais was relatively short but soon after we left the hotel the rain started and became quite heavy. We changed back to our feeder coach at a tax free supermarket just outside Calais. We did not buy anything ourselves to save carrying it back home so we just walked through the shop and waited for our coach. This coach was delayed slightly by flooding just outside Paris but it had a quick turnaround and we were one of the first to arrive at Calais. The ferry crossing and feeder coach return home took until about 20.30 so it was a long and weary day.
Thus ended our walking holiday in Austria.
