Antony Gormley: Britain's greatest sculptor comes to Austria
Antony Gormley: Britain's greatest sculptor comes to Austria
Antony Gormley: Britain's greatest sculptor comes to Austria
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<strong>Austria</strong>’s<br />
hidden<br />
treasures<br />
summer<br />
2010<br />
+<br />
Gourmet cuisine<br />
Fine wines<br />
6 most<br />
romantic<br />
places<br />
<strong>An<strong>to</strong>ny</strong> <strong>Gormley</strong>:<br />
Britain’s <strong>greatest</strong> <strong>sculp<strong>to</strong>r</strong><br />
<strong>comes</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>Austria</strong><br />
Architecture ★ Cuisine ★ Relaxation ★ Spas ★ Families ★ City breaks ★<br />
Action & Adventure★ Wellbeing ★ Water world ★ and more
Environment<br />
This page: Weissensee<br />
in Carinthia is the perfect<br />
place for water-sports,<br />
swimming and fishing.<br />
Feel good<strong>Austria</strong><br />
Holiday decisions for thinking people in<br />
the 21st century are increasingly being<br />
influenced by thoughts for the environment.<br />
How do you get around when you get <strong>to</strong> your<br />
destination? What effect is the trip that you are<br />
taking having on the local environment? What<br />
about the endorsement fac<strong>to</strong>r – is your visit<br />
supporting enlightened local policies? And<br />
will the money you spend during your holiday<br />
end up helping sustainable <strong>to</strong>urism, or will<br />
it end up boosting the share price of a large<br />
hotel corporation?<br />
If you are the thoughtful type, then you<br />
may already know that <strong>Austria</strong>, home of<br />
Sigmund Freud, is nothing if not a thoughtful<br />
country and in many ways it leads the world<br />
in the depth of its environmental philosophies.<br />
It has an instant advantage, of course, in<br />
that at between 90 minutes and two hours’<br />
flight from most UK destinations, it is nearer<br />
even than the Mediterranean, let alone longhaul<br />
destinations; yet Vienna, for example, has<br />
a balmy average daily maximum temperature<br />
of 25°C (77°F) and nine hours’ sun in July.<br />
And across the country there is a fascinating<br />
02 a u s t r i a ’ s hi d d e n t r e a s u r e s<br />
is not just a pretty place: it also leads<br />
the world in eco-<strong>to</strong>urism, so you and<br />
your conscience can have a perfect holiday<br />
symbiosis of green thinking and fabulous<br />
holiday opportunities. <strong>Austria</strong> leads the<br />
world in highly-organised ‘Soft Mobility’<br />
zones: these are areas which have organised<br />
advanced networks of private transport for<br />
<strong>to</strong>urists which mean that you don’t need<br />
<strong>to</strong> use a car when you’re on holiday in a<br />
lovely rural area. The scheme in the resort<br />
of Werfenweng, 45km outside Salzburg, offers<br />
complimentary services such as use of the<br />
soft mobility fleet of E-cars, Bi-Gas cars,<br />
E-scooters, bicycles, a shuttle service <strong>to</strong> the<br />
local train station and <strong>to</strong>wn, speedy go-karts<br />
for small children, a private chauffeur on<br />
call daily from 9am <strong>to</strong> 10pm, a guided<br />
Nordic walking <strong>to</strong>ur, and entrance <strong>to</strong> the<br />
local leisure park – all free if you sign up,<br />
stay in one of 38 local participating hotels,<br />
and pay 5 euros for a ‘Soft Mobility’ card.<br />
Oh, and you have <strong>to</strong> either arrive by train<br />
or leave your rental car keys with the <strong>to</strong>urist<br />
office when you get your card.<br />
This isn’t the only area in <strong>Austria</strong> with<br />
such an advanced ‘Soft Mobility’ Scheme:<br />
17 destinations have joined <strong>to</strong>gether <strong>to</strong><br />
form ‘Alpine Pearls’, an association offering<br />
similar benefits across the country.<br />
Or what about swimming in a lake<br />
which is so pure you can drink from it<br />
while you swim? The nature reserve at<br />
Weissensee in Carinthia is the highest<br />
‘swimming lake’ in <strong>Austria</strong>, at 930m above<br />
sea level, and because of the strictness of<br />
the local environmental regulations it’s<br />
certified as drinking water.<br />
Or there’s the plethora of locally-grown<br />
and organic food available across <strong>Austria</strong>;<br />
or the eco-friendly National Association of<br />
Nature Parks, 44 of them, where every visit<br />
contributes <strong>to</strong> the upkeep of the landscape.<br />
Nobody, however thoughtful, wants <strong>to</strong><br />
go on holiday <strong>to</strong> wear a hair shirt – it’s your<br />
hard-earned money and rest time, after all,<br />
and this is what makes <strong>Austria</strong> so glorious:<br />
its natural advantage is its nature, and its<br />
his<strong>to</strong>ry: all of which creates zero carbon<br />
footprint. The fact that you can actually<br />
help preserve a pristine environment by<br />
having a fabulous holiday – well, that<br />
sounds <strong>to</strong>o good <strong>to</strong> be true. Except it’s not.■A<br />
Österreich Werbung / bArtl
Update<br />
The latest news from all over <strong>Austria</strong><br />
Monastic Mysteries Uncovered<br />
A visit <strong>to</strong> one of <strong>Austria</strong>’s impressive monasteries is always a truly spiritual experience: the sense<br />
of his<strong>to</strong>ry, the calm, the architecture and the (usually spectacular) settings combine <strong>to</strong> instil a<br />
healing calm and awe. They are also living museums of Baroque and Rococo art and architecture, and<br />
you can now discover these treasures with an English language guided <strong>to</strong>ur via the Klösterreich<br />
association of 20 abbeys and monasteries. www.kloesterreich.at<br />
Natural Indulgence<br />
On the easternmost edge of <strong>Austria</strong>,<br />
in a climatic zone of its own<br />
and ringed by forest, lies Lake<br />
Neusiedl, one of the country’s<br />
gems that remains little-known <strong>to</strong><br />
British visi<strong>to</strong>rs. The area is famed<br />
for its wine and cuisine, and now<br />
it has a resort hotel <strong>to</strong> match in St.<br />
Martins Therme & Lodge, which<br />
opened last autumn. St. Martin’s<br />
feels very much at one with nature:<br />
it sits within a natural sanctuary<br />
where you can find over 400<br />
Avant-Garde Alert<br />
To experience one of the world’s most<br />
creative festivals of avant-garde and<br />
contemporary art and culture, look no further<br />
than the Steirischer Herbst. This is a rolling,<br />
constantly evolving festival of dance, visual art,<br />
performance art, music, literature and theatre<br />
that takes place in the southern city of Graz every<br />
autumn: this year’s dates are 23 September until<br />
17 Oc<strong>to</strong>ber. www.steirischerherbst.at<br />
Take a harmonious<br />
holiday<br />
In an era when we are increasingly<br />
aware of the environmental effects of<br />
our holidays, a nature reserve like the<br />
Biosphere Reserve of Grosses Walsertal<br />
is an example of the future of travel. Its<br />
mot<strong>to</strong> is <strong>to</strong> ‘make use of nature without<br />
causing harm’; or in a nutshell,<br />
sustainable development, where<br />
traveller, resident and nature can exist<br />
in perfect harmony. It helps that the<br />
setting is stunning – the valley is edged<br />
by high mountains (perfect for hiking),<br />
covered with deep meadows and forests<br />
– and it’s famous for its wildflowers and<br />
herbs. www.grosseswalsertal.at<br />
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON NEWS<br />
AND EVENTS THROUGHOUT AUSTRIA<br />
VISIT WWW.AUSTRIA.INFO<br />
News<br />
species of birds, at the edge of a<br />
National Park. The design is best<br />
described as ‘contemporary-<br />
natural’ with plenty of wood<br />
and s<strong>to</strong>ne; and the Thermal Bath<br />
and Spa is rapidly establishing<br />
itself as one of Europe’s best:<br />
the numerous baths and pools<br />
are filled with water pumped<br />
straight from a mineral spring.<br />
www.stmartins.at<br />
a u s t r i a ’ s hi d d e n t r e a s u r e s 03
Q+A<br />
<strong>An<strong>to</strong>ny</strong> <strong>Gormley</strong><br />
This summer, <strong>An<strong>to</strong>ny</strong> <strong>Gormley</strong>, one of Britain’s foremost contemporary<br />
<strong>sculp<strong>to</strong>r</strong>s, is planning <strong>to</strong> unveil his work ‘Horizon Field’ in the Vorarlberg<br />
area, under the auspices of the Kunsthaus Bregenz. ‘Horizon Field’<br />
consists of 100, 630 kilo, cast iron body forms that will be placed<br />
throughout the Vorarlberg region. Crea<strong>to</strong>r of the Angel of the North,<br />
<strong>Gormley</strong> is famous for his work with body forms and his investigation<br />
of the human predicament and our interaction with our environment.<br />
What inspired you <strong>to</strong> create ‘Horizon Field’<br />
in <strong>Austria</strong>?<br />
I’ve had a long and fruitful relationship<br />
with <strong>Austria</strong>; I did my first exhibition there<br />
with Thaddaeus Ropac in Salzburg in 1993<br />
and the Modern Art Gallery in Vienna has<br />
a piece of mine. The original idea was <strong>to</strong><br />
create ‘Horizon Field’ in the mountains at the<br />
same time as my current show in the Kunsthaus<br />
Bregenz. The inspiration behind the mountain<br />
project came from a work I created in 1997,<br />
in Cuxhaven in northern Germany, entitled<br />
‘Another Place’. This consisted of 100 body<br />
forms across kilometres of coastline and<br />
for about a kilometre out <strong>to</strong> sea. Ever since<br />
this I have wanted <strong>to</strong> make something in the<br />
mountains. ‘Another Place’ dealt with the idea<br />
of visibility and invisibility, in relation <strong>to</strong> a<br />
horizon between the sea and the sky, but I<br />
thought that perhaps the works could carry<br />
04 a u s t r i a ’ s hi d d e n t r e a s u r e s<br />
their own horizon, which is why the new<br />
piece is called ‘Horizon Field’. The works are<br />
rigorously horizontal and stretch over a much<br />
larger area than ‘Another Place’ but with the<br />
same 100 body forms.<br />
What originally drew you <strong>to</strong>wards the idea<br />
of working with the human form?<br />
I wanted <strong>to</strong> find the lost subject of art;<br />
human ‘being’. We got so obsessed with the<br />
notion of the au<strong>to</strong>nomous object that we<br />
forgot about this lost subject: the human<br />
predicament.<br />
Does your work challenge our traditional<br />
relationship with the material world?<br />
Sculpture is a form of physical thinking: it<br />
introduces <strong>to</strong>tally unnecessary things in<strong>to</strong> the<br />
world. There is no function other than the<br />
reflexivity that they produce. When you see<br />
Left: Test display in<br />
the resort of Lech<br />
for the planned<br />
Horizon Field project<br />
in the Vorarlberg;<br />
<strong>An<strong>to</strong>ny</strong> <strong>Gormley</strong><br />
in the Kunsthaus<br />
Bregenz.<br />
an unmediated image in the snow or against<br />
the sky – a still but three-dimensional mass,<br />
evidently the result of human making that<br />
has been placed in this environment, far from<br />
the realm of the urban – these very physical,<br />
material, man-made things can be examined<br />
afresh. I hope it is not <strong>to</strong>o far-fetched, but<br />
perhaps they become a reversal of the normal<br />
figure-ground relationship that you might<br />
find in a painting. The subject matter of so<br />
much western painting has used landscape as<br />
a backdrop. Traditional figure compositions use<br />
this ground <strong>to</strong> reinforce narrative sense and<br />
give the viewer an idea of what is happening.<br />
I propose that something like ‘Horizon Field’<br />
reverses that expectation and function. The<br />
mountains, the sky, the snow, become the<br />
body, and these abstracted body forms become<br />
holes on which we project a persona, a selfhood.<br />
The dialectic between material and
INTERVIEW: LAUREN STEVENTON; ©ANTONy GORmLEy, KUNSThAUS BREGENz; mARKUS TRETTER<br />
immaterial is reversed: I like sculpture <strong>to</strong><br />
undermine the dialectic between the imagined<br />
and the real.<br />
How would you say your understanding of<br />
the relationship between the self and the<br />
environment developed?<br />
I like the idea of the body as an example<br />
of a collective condition. At first I just used<br />
my own, but then I realized that you could<br />
engage other bodies, and I think that’s what<br />
‘Horizon Field’ is about: the bodies that<br />
perceive, move around, through and apart<br />
from this relational field become part of<br />
it. I’m about <strong>to</strong> explore ‘Event Horizon’ in<br />
New York – 27 body forms on the skyline of<br />
buildings around central Manhattan, and<br />
four on the ground. I don’t think the work<br />
is about contemplating bodies, but about<br />
how they interfere with perception: the city<br />
be<strong>comes</strong> re-examined and the inhabitants<br />
have <strong>to</strong> modify their behavior in relation <strong>to</strong><br />
this ‘infection’. If you’re walking down a street<br />
where there is an object that shares certain<br />
characteristics with you but it’s made of iron<br />
and it’s more static, you become more aware<br />
of your own passage through time and space<br />
and question your own ‘inhabiting’. The<br />
relationship between the things that you can<br />
<strong>to</strong>uch, the things that you can see and the<br />
things you imagine is key. My experiment<br />
is similar <strong>to</strong> a chemical catalyst; a reaction<br />
begins that perhaps allows people <strong>to</strong> be in<br />
and see their environment differently.<br />
Does this relationship change in a city landscape<br />
such as New York compared <strong>to</strong> the<br />
mountainous landscape in <strong>Austria</strong>?<br />
Mountains have also become playgrounds,<br />
haven’t they? Certainly I’ve got some very<br />
Interview<br />
I like sculpture<br />
<strong>to</strong> undermine<br />
the dialectic<br />
between the<br />
imagined and<br />
the real<br />
wild positions for these works but a lot of<br />
them are in locations where people walk, ski,<br />
mountain bike, climb. Broadly speaking the<br />
question that the work asks is where does the<br />
human project fit within space at large and<br />
the different <strong>to</strong>pographies of the earth? In the<br />
Vorarlberg we’ve got some extreme positions;<br />
on the edge of a cliff, familiar <strong>to</strong> the mountaineer<br />
who likes <strong>to</strong> face a physical challenge,<br />
but others will be much more integrated in<strong>to</strong><br />
areas of seasonal grazing and the making of<br />
hay and still others will be simply on exposed<br />
low hills between the mountains. It’s very<br />
important <strong>to</strong> me that this is neither the realm<br />
of the Gods, nor the realm of the village, but<br />
somewhere in between. I’m imagining all this<br />
but the whole point is <strong>to</strong> do it and see how<br />
these works both confront and contest, but<br />
also perhaps become familiar within these<br />
environments.■A www.an<strong>to</strong>nygormley.com<br />
a u s t r i a ’ s hi d d e n t r e a s u r e s 05
Back <strong>to</strong> nature<br />
The Alpbachtal, a sunny valley with a heart-rendingly pretty village at its heart, is a living museum<br />
of traditional farming practices, swathed in wildflowers and <strong>to</strong>pped by the most gorgeous open views.<br />
Stay a while in a traditional farm guesthouse, eating local produce and steeping yourselves in<br />
traditional cus<strong>to</strong>ms, and you’ll feel a <strong>to</strong>nic for the soul<br />
They make milk,<br />
haymilk cheese, and<br />
butter so creamy and<br />
juicy it tastes<br />
like the air in the<br />
summer meadows
WORLD PICTURES/PHOTOSHOT<br />
Alpbachtal<br />
uman beings are not urban creatures. We<br />
Hstarted moving <strong>to</strong> big cities in earnest less<br />
than 200 years ago; for the other 100,000 years<br />
of our his<strong>to</strong>ry, we were rural, Arcadian creatures,<br />
and this is hardwired in<strong>to</strong> the genetic map of<br />
even the most ardent London sophisticate.<br />
So it’s no wonder that visiting the Alpbachtal<br />
is a <strong>to</strong>nic for the soul. For here is a region<br />
where hundreds of years of perfect rural<br />
his<strong>to</strong>ry are perfectly preserved, tended for in<br />
farms, museums and a thousand traditional<br />
ways of doing things that have been lost <strong>to</strong> the<br />
modern rat racer.<br />
The area has long been famed as a broad,<br />
sun-kissed bowl of a valley centred on a<br />
village, Alpbach, that is frequently cited as the<br />
most beautiful in the Alps. Arrive in Alpbach<br />
during the summer months and you are likely<br />
<strong>to</strong> feel that you are being feted by a magisterial<br />
exhibition of wildflowers: butterfly orchids,<br />
Alpine roses, delicate white pasque flowers,<br />
gentle buttery oxlips, proud primulas: the<br />
welcome parade can be glorious. Although the<br />
village itself and the ancient farmsteads that<br />
surround it have the most perfect displays of<br />
flowers, nature’s show, on a good week, will<br />
outdo them all, the colours scattering up the<br />
gentle mountainside like a child’s drawing.<br />
Home grown breakfast<br />
It’s a fitting start for the natural his<strong>to</strong>ry show<br />
that the Alpbachtal combines so effortlessly<br />
with a scenic holiday. The area has more<br />
than 100 small working farms, many of them<br />
owned by the same family for hundreds of<br />
years. Without any need for a ‘green agenda’<br />
imposed by government, these farms live in<br />
perfect sympathy with their surroundings.<br />
The farmers know, from their forebears, how<br />
<strong>to</strong> treat the soil, lives<strong>to</strong>ck and surroundings<br />
so both farm and environment thrive. They<br />
make milk, haymilk cheese, and butter so<br />
creamy and juicy it tastes like the air in the<br />
summer meadows; pears and apples grow<br />
in abundance (and some of them end up as<br />
another highly ‘natural’ local drink, schnapps,<br />
or fruit brandy).<br />
And this is where you should stay when<br />
you are in the Alpbachtal: on a working farm<br />
guesthouse. Banish any thoughts of sharing a<br />
farmhouse with a family that makes you feel<br />
This page: Summertime views over the Alpbachtal.<br />
Next page, from left <strong>to</strong> right: detail from an Imperial<br />
building in the <strong>to</strong>wn of Rattenberg; Almabtrieb,<br />
the running of the cows from summer pasture <strong>to</strong> valley.<br />
a u s t r i a ’ s hi d d e n t r e a s u r e s 07
Alpbachtal<br />
guilty at their working hours (you may enjoy<br />
going back <strong>to</strong> your anthropological roots, but<br />
farmers do get up very early): the guesthouses<br />
all follow the revered <strong>Austria</strong>n hospitality<br />
tradition: wooden walls, perfectly plumped<br />
duvets on your beds, pristine bathrooms,<br />
terraces with, more often than not, views<br />
down and across the valley <strong>to</strong> the mountains<br />
beyond. Some have facilities like saunas and<br />
steam rooms, though the most invigorating<br />
thing you can possibly do in the guesthouse is<br />
gaze at the view of a landscape thriving with<br />
human and animal activity (and plant life), yet<br />
barely changed for centuries – and free of any<br />
reminders of urban blight.<br />
Oh, and you must also have breakfast.<br />
Breakfast in an Alpbachtal guesthouse really<br />
is something else. The view is just the starter:<br />
freshly milked milk, just-laid eggs, cheese<br />
made in that barn over there, the offer (usually<br />
politely declined) of a schnapps made by the<br />
owner’s brother <strong>to</strong> give the day a kick-start.<br />
Carpet of flowers<br />
The village itself lies on a sunny, southfacing<br />
shelf just above the valley; you hike<br />
there through flower-filled meadows, past<br />
contented-looking cows (no wonder the milk’s<br />
so good). Every building in Alpbach is perfect,<br />
wooden, flower-bedecked – except the one<br />
with a swirling glass cone. This, you discover,<br />
is the congress centre and it’s refreshing <strong>to</strong><br />
know that even the modern building has an<br />
organic structure that blends with, and doesn’t<br />
fight, the glories of nature outside.<br />
Beautiful walks <strong>to</strong> a fairytale village in a<br />
kind of children’s s<strong>to</strong>rybook farm paradise<br />
may sound like enough for a perfect break, but<br />
this is just scratching the surface. The idea of<br />
a museum might sound strange in an outdoor<br />
wonderland, but the Museum of Tirolean<br />
Farms is an outdoor one: you can stroll<br />
through 14 res<strong>to</strong>red farmsteads, representing<br />
different parts of the Tirol region over the<br />
centuries: each comprises real farm buildings,<br />
<strong>to</strong>ols and furniture, lovingly res<strong>to</strong>red here.<br />
There is also a tiny museum of mountain<br />
farmer his<strong>to</strong>ry nearby: a personal labour<br />
of love by a local farmer, which contains a<br />
canopy bed from the 19th century.<br />
AND ANOThER ThING...<br />
If you want a holiday that will<br />
refresh your mind and body<br />
within a beautiful country and<br />
mountain setting, look no<br />
further than Naturidyll, a<br />
group of independent, family<br />
-run hotels all over <strong>Austria</strong>.<br />
Whether you are after an<br />
adventure or a relaxing trip,<br />
they will tailor make it for you.<br />
www.naturidyll.com<br />
08 a u s t r i a ’ s hi d d e n t r e a s u r e s<br />
What <strong>to</strong> do and Where <strong>to</strong> do it...<br />
EVENTS<br />
l From the 13th - 16th May, be sure not <strong>to</strong> miss<br />
the ‘Rolling Oldies’ Music Festival in Reith<br />
im Alpbachtal, where 10 live bands shall be<br />
performing music from the Fifties through <strong>to</strong> the<br />
Seventies. The line up includes the Jungle Tigers,<br />
Lola, Red Jacket and Overtime.<br />
l The mountain peaks of the Alpbachtal come<br />
alight (literally) on the 19th June, celebrating<br />
Midsummer Night. Take a gondola up <strong>to</strong> the<br />
Wiedersbergerhorn and watch the bonfires<br />
being lit from the Hornboden restaurant where,<br />
for this special evening, live music is played and<br />
local culinary delicacies and drinks are served.<br />
l From the 7th - 8th August, one of <strong>Austria</strong>’s<br />
most popular summer attractions, the NIVEA<br />
Family Festival, is heading <strong>to</strong> Reith, and <strong>to</strong><br />
raise money for this briliant charity there will be a<br />
rural arcadia<br />
At the foot of the Alpbachtal is the <strong>to</strong>wn of<br />
Rattenberg: well, we say <strong>to</strong>wn, and officially<br />
that’s what it is, complete with <strong>to</strong>wn hall, but<br />
with a population of under 500 it has fewer<br />
inhabitants than some streets in Britain.<br />
Rattenberg has a pedestrian high street fronted<br />
by Imperial buildings painted in pastel colours,<br />
and is famed for its crystal shops – this is Europe’s<br />
centre of crystal making – with the ruins of<br />
Rattenberg castle on the Schlossberg.<br />
Once the valley has been explored, you can<br />
venture upwards on the summer cable cars.<br />
The Wiedersbergerhornbahn climbs <strong>to</strong> 1850m:<br />
this is high pastureland, above the treeline,<br />
where the air is rarefied and bees and butterflies<br />
compete for attention with the high wildflowers.<br />
The Reitherkogelbahn zips you <strong>to</strong> the <strong>to</strong>p<br />
of another mountain in eight minutes, with<br />
views overlooking the neighbouring Inn and<br />
Ziller valleys; there’s even a natural childrens’<br />
adventure play area – the Juppi Zauberwald.<br />
The Sonnwendjochbahn takes you <strong>to</strong> a place<br />
that looks like an illustration in one of those<br />
fairy books from childhood (and if you’ve<br />
never had one, you’ve missed out) – a high<br />
mountain rose garden, all colours and scents<br />
blending in the air. There’s some serious hiking<br />
and climbing <strong>to</strong> be had here, as well as gentle strolls.<br />
But the Alpbachtal is about more than<br />
mere walks: it’s a stroll for the soul, exercise<br />
for the deepest anthropological links in our<br />
range of attractions for young and old including<br />
face painting for children, sports activities, handicrafts,<br />
games, <strong>to</strong>mbola, live music and more.<br />
l Take part in the age old <strong>Austria</strong>n tradition of<br />
driving down the cattle from the alpine<br />
pastures <strong>to</strong> the <strong>to</strong>wn, at Reith, on the 18th and<br />
25th September. You’ll also have the chance <strong>to</strong><br />
experience the local farmer’s festival, a must.<br />
GOOD TO KNOW<br />
l The Alpbachtal Seenland Card is great<br />
value and the best way <strong>to</strong> explore the region. If<br />
you are staying for more than one night, you can<br />
obtain one from where you are staying. Among<br />
the fantastic benefits available, some include free<br />
use of the 3 summer cable cars, all bus services,<br />
the indoor swimming pool, bathing lake, the<br />
Open Air Museum of Tirolean Farmhouses and<br />
many more reductions throughout the region.<br />
collective memory. It’s a place where you feel at<br />
home, not just because of the justly renowned<br />
hospitality, but because it offers a perfect gaze<br />
at how we all were, not <strong>to</strong>o long ago: and it<br />
will make you think twice and gaze out of<br />
your window in awe of your memories when<br />
you finally have <strong>to</strong> return home.■A<br />
FaCts & Figures<br />
l Alpbachtal<br />
For more information please contact:<br />
Alpbachtal Seenland Tourismus<br />
Zentrum 1<br />
A-6233 Kramsach/Tirol<br />
Tel: +43 (0) 5336 600 600<br />
Fax: +43 (0) 5336 600 699<br />
Email: info@alpbachtal.at<br />
www.alpbachtal.at<br />
NEAREST AIRpORTS<br />
Innsbruck 30 miles (48 km)<br />
Munich 90 miles (145 km)<br />
Salzburg 90 miles (145 km)<br />
ALpbAcHTAL SeenLAnd TOuRISMuS
As any parent knows, on a family holiday,<br />
if the children are happy, you are happy.<br />
Which is why we devote so much time seeking<br />
out ‘family friendly’ accommodation; and why<br />
there is so much scope for disappointment<br />
when the friendliness turns out simply <strong>to</strong> be<br />
a corporate message, rather than anything<br />
more heartfelt. A family that genuinely feels<br />
welcomed is a long way <strong>to</strong>wards having a<br />
fantastic holiday.<br />
Which is where the Salzburger Land’s Family<br />
Hotels come in. These are 25 independent<br />
hotels, mainly family-owned, scattered around<br />
the scenic highlands of the region around<br />
Salzburg. They are all individual, private village,<br />
small <strong>to</strong>wn and country hotels; the one thing<br />
they have in common is that they have been<br />
certified by the Salzburger Land State Board of<br />
Tourism as being perfect for families.<br />
Salzburger Land<br />
Family wonderland<br />
If nature is the <strong>greatest</strong> playground of all, the hills of the Salzburger Land, and its family-oriented hotels, offer<br />
the perfect combination of personal welcome and nature-based adventures for all the clan<br />
Some are small, perfectly formed and cosy;<br />
others have facilities like spas, swimming pools,<br />
paddling pools, kids’ cinemas, rope courses,<br />
Alpine feng-shui gardens and bouncy castles.<br />
It might be that on day one, the kids are<br />
still stuck <strong>to</strong> their Wiis and desperately trying<br />
<strong>to</strong> find an internet connection <strong>to</strong> keep up on<br />
Bebo; by the next day, it’s pretty much a<br />
certainty that nature’s far richer attractions<br />
will have taken over.<br />
The <strong>greatest</strong> of all kids’ clubs, after all, is<br />
nature itself. More adventurous and grown-up<br />
children can go mountain biking, white-water<br />
rafting, night hiking in the mountains and<br />
learn how <strong>to</strong> rock climb; others can play<br />
farmer - milking cows, collecting eggs from<br />
the hens and making cheese. Somewhere in<br />
the middle of all this adventure, there’s also<br />
pony trekking and panning for gold.<br />
a u s t r i a ’ s hi d d e n t r e a s u r e s 09
Salzburger Land<br />
Family nights<br />
Even babies are catered for with baby massage<br />
(every parent knows a contented baby is a quiet<br />
baby), and walking trails suitable for prams.<br />
Take just a couple of these experiences.<br />
A night hike in the mountains, for example.<br />
Wrapped up warm and under the auspices of<br />
an experienced guide, and armed with <strong>to</strong>rches,<br />
you’ll set out on a path that may seem familiar<br />
by day but seems thrillingly mysterious by<br />
night. Creatures rustle and scuttle – was that<br />
an owl up there? A marmot zipping across the<br />
path in a black blur?<br />
High up, an eerie glow rises up just above<br />
the distant mountain<strong>to</strong>ps. What would that<br />
be, do you think, the guide asks. A UFO? A<br />
lost city on <strong>to</strong>p of the mountains? No, it’s the<br />
glow of moonlight on the glaciers up there,<br />
where it’s light as day at midnight on a clear<br />
summer’s night. And then there are the stars,<br />
revealed without their blanket of cloud or<br />
10 a u s t r i a ’ s hi d d e n t r e a s u r e s<br />
pollution, clearer still because of the altitude:<br />
they spot Jupiter, and maybe Venus, and is that<br />
Saturn? These are real planets, not games, and<br />
the childrens’ imaginations are ablaze.<br />
All the hotels have professional childcare<br />
services and access <strong>to</strong> guides for their activities,<br />
which means you will also be able <strong>to</strong> spend<br />
some blessed ‘grown up’ time <strong>to</strong>gether – or<br />
maybe just time on your own. And don’t worry<br />
about leaving the moni<strong>to</strong>r/changing mat/milk<br />
bottle at home; they’ll always have one for you.<br />
And when your children have partaken of<br />
all these activities, after a few days, it might<br />
Facts & Figures<br />
salzburger land<br />
l Salzburg<br />
For more information please contact:<br />
Salzburger Land Tourismus<br />
Wiener Bundesstrasse 23, P.O.Box 1<br />
A-5300 Hallwang bei Salzburg<br />
Tel: +43 (0) 662 66880<br />
Fax: +43 (0) 662 668866<br />
Email: info@salzburgerland.com<br />
www.salzburgerland.com<br />
NEArEST AirPOrTS<br />
Salzburg local<br />
Linz 75 miles (121 km)<br />
Munich 116 miles (188 km)<br />
be time <strong>to</strong> visit Schnitza’s Holzpark. This is a<br />
new adventure park with an <strong>Austria</strong>n twist;<br />
everything revolves around a wooden theme,<br />
with wood carving (including huge wooden<br />
animals), wooden bowling, a wooden<br />
balancing course…<br />
Or for older children, there’s the famous<br />
(or is that infamous?) Wagraini’s Grafenberg, a<br />
water and mountain adventure park with one<br />
of the highest swings in the world, 9m tall, and<br />
a panoply of jungle ropes, balance challenges,<br />
enormous slides, a 25m rope suspension<br />
bridge and numerous other devices carefully<br />
crafted <strong>to</strong> wear your children out and give you<br />
a good night’s sleep.<br />
And at the end of your holiday, prepare<br />
yourself for a very strange noise: the sound of<br />
your children rejecting the electronic devices<br />
they used <strong>to</strong> use for recreation and asking<br />
when they can come back and do everything<br />
they have just experienced all over again… ■A<br />
ANd ANOTHEr THiNg...<br />
Kinderhotels is the ultimate<br />
hotel group for families,<br />
operating all over <strong>Austria</strong>.<br />
Holidays are tailored<br />
with children in mind with<br />
every childcare facility at your<br />
disposal, from equipment <strong>to</strong><br />
healthy ‘baby food buffets’,<br />
and lots of adventure and play<br />
areas and fun parks.<br />
www.kinderhotels.co.uk<br />
ÖsterreicH Werbung / bArtl; robert HArding
Previous page: Forever blowing bubbles in the Salzburger<br />
Land. This spread, clockwise from left: stay mountainside;<br />
Lake Zell is backed by the 1965m Schmittenhöhe mountain;<br />
games on Lake Obertrumer; a family hike; Salzburg’s<br />
traditional Harvest Festival; cycling past waterfalls.<br />
What <strong>to</strong> do and<br />
Where <strong>to</strong> do it...<br />
EVENTS<br />
Children can go<br />
mountain biking,<br />
white-water rafting<br />
and learn how <strong>to</strong><br />
rock climb<br />
l June 20th sees the opening of Summer in<br />
the Hills 2010 (Salzburger Almsommer) at<br />
the 200 year-old Saalalm in the mountains of<br />
Saalbach Hinterglemm. There are traditional<br />
handicrafts and a fun and varied programme<br />
for children. From there, spend the day hiking<br />
between the local mountain huts and tuck<br />
in<strong>to</strong> traditional foods such as Troadsupp’n,<br />
(grain soup) and Hoargneist-Nidei (sauerkraut<br />
and pota<strong>to</strong> loaves) accompanied by live<br />
music from alphorn and wind musicians.<br />
l The world’s biggest ice cave promises an<br />
array of incredible impressions deep within<br />
the mountain at the World of Giants,<br />
Werfen. Warm clothing is essential for this<br />
excursion high above the village of Werfen<br />
amid the impressive mountain range of the<br />
Tennengebirge, reached by road then cable<br />
car. Here you’ll find the entrance <strong>to</strong> the<br />
world’s biggest explored ice cave. Discovered<br />
in 1879, this 42km cave system is filled with<br />
breathtaking ice formations.<br />
GOOD TO KNOW<br />
The SalzburgerLand Card gives you free<br />
admission <strong>to</strong> over 190 sights and attractions<br />
throughout the region including museums,<br />
castles and palaces, buses and trains, wildlife<br />
and adventure parks and the mountain<br />
lifts. Pay just €43 for a 6-day card or €52 for<br />
a 12-day card and what’s more, for children<br />
between the ages of 6 -15, it’s half price.<br />
a u s t r i a ’ s hi d d e n t r e a s u r e s 11
River deep,<br />
mountain high<br />
The Tirol is dominated by one of the world’s <strong>greatest</strong> trails, the Eagle Walk. This spectacular path<br />
runs over mountain<strong>to</strong>ps and along glacier edges, past shimmering lakes and down through thick forest.<br />
Take a deep breath and escape from the world for as long as you dare
To experience the<br />
thrill of the mountains<br />
properly you must<br />
do so on foot<br />
LAURIN MOSER; MARLENA KOENIG; PATRICE KUNTE; PhOTOShOT<br />
Tirol<br />
Have the Alps been tamed? Perhaps they<br />
have, in our minds: we fly over them,<br />
drive under or through them, and ski on them<br />
in winter. But in fact they are anything but.<br />
This is, after all, a mountain range that rises<br />
through the heart of Europe, splitting it north<br />
from south, linguistically, meteorologically,<br />
geographically and culturally.<br />
They rise far higher, and longer, than any<br />
other mountains in western Europe, and it’s<br />
useful <strong>to</strong> bear in mind that it’s only for the last<br />
150 years or so of their existence that they have<br />
been conquered by mountaineers; for aeons<br />
before, they s<strong>to</strong>od, mighty and forbidding,<br />
<strong>to</strong>wering above the inhabitants of their valleys.<br />
And they are still forbidding now. We have<br />
made ingenious incisions in<strong>to</strong> some of the<br />
Alps by way of high-altitude cable cars and some<br />
spectacular mountain restaurants, where, on a<br />
sunny day, even a child can be whisked up <strong>to</strong> a<br />
point on a mountain that his or her forebears<br />
might only have dreamed of visiting.<br />
Mountain thrills<br />
But away from the transport technology, the<br />
mountains are still as dramatic and – we should<br />
say it – threatening as they always were. Visit<br />
the high Alps, like any mountain range in the<br />
world, and you must be prepared: in high<br />
summer, when the village on the valley floor<br />
is sweltering in sunshine, a little wind and a<br />
high-altitude cloud can suddenly plunge you<br />
in<strong>to</strong> icy wintertime.<br />
That is the thrill of the mountains, and <strong>to</strong><br />
experience the mountains properly you must<br />
do so on foot. No railways or cable cars; no<br />
This spread, from left <strong>to</strong> right: View from the Eagle Walk’s<br />
trail in the Stubaier Alps with the Zillertal Alps in the<br />
background; hiking in the Karwendel mountain range.<br />
a u s t r i a ’ s hi d d e n t r e a s u r e s 13
Tirol<br />
the eagle walk<br />
2010 sees the fifth anniversary of the<br />
inauguration of the Eagle Walk. Check out<br />
the offical website, www.adlerweg.at, for<br />
the latest news and developments, and<br />
information on how <strong>to</strong> find a guide.<br />
Depending on your ability, you can ask<br />
your guide <strong>to</strong> take you along the straightforward<br />
Red and Blue-marked trails for<br />
the length of your walk (see below); or,<br />
if you are an experienced hiker, climber<br />
or scrambler, you can challenge yourself.<br />
The most challenging sections <strong>to</strong> go for<br />
include the segment from Steinberg am<br />
Rofan <strong>to</strong> Schafsteigsattel and Erfurter<br />
Hut, and the hardest and highest part<br />
on the trail from the Karwendelhaus <strong>to</strong><br />
the Birkkarspitze, Hallerangerhaus<br />
and Hallerangeralm.<br />
sophisticated restaurants populated by urbane<br />
<strong>to</strong>urists. The best way is <strong>to</strong> make an itinerary,<br />
and walk a high mountain trail for a few days.<br />
Challenging heights<br />
The best place <strong>to</strong> do this is in the Tirol, and<br />
its most famous, and challenging, itinerary<br />
is the Eagle Walk. This, in its complete form,<br />
comprises a 126-stage, 1470 km route along<br />
and around from the length of this province.<br />
The main route, excluding all the variations, is<br />
280km long and split in<strong>to</strong> 23 stages. You don’t<br />
have <strong>to</strong> do all of it, or even most of it, and you<br />
can also make your own variations on whichever<br />
part you do attack. Regional side routes,<br />
recently added, mean you can branch off the<br />
main walk in<strong>to</strong> the province’s great valleys.<br />
Each stage of the route is marked for<br />
difficulty in a way that will be familiar <strong>to</strong><br />
skiers: grading starts at blue, for beginners,<br />
through <strong>to</strong> red, for intermediates, and black,<br />
for experts. In reality, you can do the whole<br />
of the main walk while sticking <strong>to</strong> blue and<br />
red paths, meaning anyone who is reasonably<br />
fit, and, ideally, has a little hiking experience,<br />
can do the whole walk. (To tackle the Black<br />
branches of the route, which are optional, you<br />
do need <strong>to</strong> be an experienced hiker.)<br />
The trail is clearly marked all the way along<br />
but far better done in the company of a guide,<br />
because they will be a mine of interest.<br />
AND ANoTHER THINg...<br />
For the ultimate hiking holiday,<br />
Europa Wanderhotels are the<br />
specialists. With 38 dedicated<br />
hiking hotels all over <strong>Austria</strong>,<br />
you’ll be spoilt for choice. Hire<br />
equipment and guides directly<br />
and there are wellness facilities<br />
<strong>to</strong> enjoy after all that excercise.<br />
www.wanderhotels.com<br />
14 a u s t r i a ’ s hi d d e n t r e a s u r e s<br />
This page from <strong>to</strong>p: Hiking along the trails of the<br />
Rofangebirge - each stage of the Eagle Walk is<br />
graded according <strong>to</strong> difficulty; re-energise yourself<br />
along the way with fresh mountain spring water.<br />
Wherever you pick up the route, you will<br />
start in a low valley of meadows; then you<br />
are likely <strong>to</strong> pass through Alpine forests, and<br />
climb above the treeline <strong>to</strong> a sparse, wonderful<br />
world of short grass, lichens and streams, with<br />
exposed rocks and peaks never far away.<br />
And then you spot a patch of snow, a<br />
remnant of winter incongruously lying nearby<br />
on a hot summer’s day. Determined <strong>to</strong> make a<br />
snowball, one of your companions runs <strong>to</strong>wards<br />
it, then slows down and struggles along: meanwhile<br />
he is barely getting nearer <strong>to</strong> it. This is a<br />
‘snow mirage’: the snow is much further away<br />
than it appears, and it’s amusing <strong>to</strong> watch your<br />
friends realise this and turn back while you<br />
take a well-earned breather on a rock.<br />
Anyone used <strong>to</strong> the somewhat barren<br />
experience of hiking in Britain is in for a<br />
very pleasant surprise here. For in these high<br />
mountains, at over 2000m altitude, there is<br />
plenty of life, human and otherwise.<br />
The trail is dotted with huts, many of them<br />
the summer homes of farmers tending <strong>to</strong> their<br />
animals in high pasture, where you are welcome<br />
<strong>to</strong> stay. Arrive at one of these huts after several<br />
long hours of hiking, a fabulous panorama<br />
stretching below you and an icy evening breeze<br />
starting <strong>to</strong> waft down from the glacier, and<br />
you’ll be greeted with plates of ham, homemade<br />
bread, deliciously soft beer, and schnapps.<br />
You’ll eat at a communal table with the farmers<br />
and other hikers; and you’ll often share a<br />
dormi<strong>to</strong>ry with your companions.<br />
Starts are early: despite the schnapps<br />
and beer, your happily weary body doesn’t<br />
keep you up late, and you may be pleasantly<br />
surprised <strong>to</strong> find yourself delighted <strong>to</strong> rise with<br />
the farmer, at sunrise, <strong>to</strong> a breakfast of ham,<br />
eggs and coffee, before you start the long day.<br />
Often you’ll find yourself meeting the same<br />
people all the way along the trail. And at some<br />
point, you will head down the mountainside,<br />
in<strong>to</strong> the valley with all its modern civilisation;<br />
and you’ll look up at the Alps and their ridges<br />
and ravines, and say: “Did I really walk along<br />
those? Did anyone?” ■A<br />
FaCts & Figures<br />
Tirol<br />
l Innsbruck<br />
Eagle Walk<br />
For more information please contact:<br />
Tirol and its Leading Resorts<br />
Maria-Theresien-Strasse 55<br />
A-6010 Innsbruck<br />
Tel: +43 (0) 512 72720<br />
Fax: +43 (0) 512 72727<br />
Email: info@tirol.at<br />
www.visittirol.co.uk<br />
NEAREST AIRpoRTS<br />
Innsbruck local<br />
Salzburg 113 miles (182 km)<br />
Munich 129 miles (208 km)
The Kunsthaus art museum<br />
was built in Graz in 2003<br />
and is nicknamed ‘the<br />
friendly alien’.<br />
3 things <strong>to</strong> do in…graz<br />
<strong>Austria</strong>’s southernmost city bathes in a sunny<br />
climate, and combines his<strong>to</strong>ry and gastronomy<br />
with an irresistible ambience.<br />
TAkE A HikE<br />
Graz may be the second-biggest city in <strong>Austria</strong><br />
(after Vienna) but it’s also intensely pedestrianfriendly.<br />
Situated in the south of the country,<br />
the light and the climate have a Mediterranean<br />
quality, as does the pace of life. It’s a place where<br />
you wander from square <strong>to</strong> square, sitting in<br />
cafés, admiring the architecture, dominated<br />
by Renaissance treasures, and enhanced by<br />
contemporary marvels such as the Kunsthaus<br />
art museum. More than anything else, this is<br />
a place <strong>to</strong> wander and discover courtyards,<br />
terraces and squares where sitting and watching<br />
the world go by will be irresistible.<br />
iNdulGE iN THE GAsTrONOmy<br />
Graz is known as ‘<strong>Austria</strong>’s delicatessen’: its<br />
geographical position at the confluence of the<br />
Alpine and Mediterranean climate zones means<br />
that everything from mountain beef and milk<br />
City Cool<br />
Graz, Innsbruck and Salzburg, three<br />
of <strong>Austria</strong>’s great cities, have a unique<br />
combination of culture, his<strong>to</strong>ry,<br />
activities, gastronomy and other<br />
attractions. Here, we pinpoint<br />
the very best ways <strong>to</strong> experience<br />
the best of each of them<br />
<strong>to</strong> Mediterranean vegetables are grown locally.<br />
The best introduction is a visit <strong>to</strong> one of the<br />
farmers’ markets in the Old Town on a weekend.<br />
They feature only local produce. Throughout<br />
the summer, cherries, peaches and apricots are<br />
sold in abundance; as autumn starts you’ll spot<br />
varieties of mushrooms and blackberries, and,<br />
one of the most well-known local specialities,<br />
pumpkins. And if that’s all <strong>to</strong>o much, ask your<br />
hotel for a ‘Graz picnic basket’ of regional<br />
delicacies which you can take out <strong>to</strong> a romantic<br />
spot on the Schlossberg and enjoy in utter peace.<br />
AbsOrb THE culTurE<br />
Graz was a cradle of the Renaissance, with<br />
influences from surrounding regions in Italy<br />
as well as the Austro-Hungarian empire <strong>to</strong><br />
the north. The <strong>to</strong>wn centre at the foot of the<br />
Schlossberg is redolent of this, with its grand<br />
residences, churches and Renaissance detailing;<br />
but it’s also offset by the best of contemporary<br />
culture, like the Kunsthaus museum with its<br />
cutting-edge art exhibitions. There is also an<br />
array of festivals throughout the year in fine art,<br />
music, literature and design.<br />
Facts & Figures<br />
Graz<br />
l Graz<br />
For more information please contact:<br />
Graz Tourist Office<br />
Herrengasse 16<br />
A-8010 Graz<br />
Tel: +43 (0) 316 80750<br />
Fax: +43 (0) 316 807515<br />
Email: info@graz<strong>to</strong>urismus.at<br />
www.visitgraz.com<br />
NEArEsT AirpOrTs<br />
Graz local<br />
Vienna 124 miles (200 km)<br />
a u s t r i a ’ s hi d d e n t r e a s u r e s 15
Salzburg<br />
Salzburg’s enchanting<br />
Mirabell Gardens.<br />
3 things <strong>to</strong> do in… salzburg<br />
Mozart’s home<strong>to</strong>wn is dripping with cultural<br />
beauty and his<strong>to</strong>ry; yet it also has compelling<br />
contemporary sights <strong>to</strong> see.<br />
iMMErSE yourSElF iN MuSic<br />
Everyone knows Salzburg was the home of<br />
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and there is no<br />
more glorious a place <strong>to</strong> hear a Mozart concer<strong>to</strong><br />
or a sinfonia concertante than in one of the<br />
city’s theatres or music rooms. But there’s a lot<br />
more music <strong>to</strong> be had in Salzburg, not forgetting<br />
the Salzburg Festival: one of the world’s leading<br />
cultural festivals, it combines opera, drama and<br />
musical concerts across the spectrum from dark<br />
plays <strong>to</strong> childrens’ concerts.<br />
AdMirE THE ArcHiTEcTurE<br />
Salzburg’s old <strong>to</strong>wn is a perennial festival of<br />
fabulous, colourful, romantic Baroque-era<br />
architecture. You can make an itinerary of sites<br />
<strong>to</strong> visit, like the Cathedral, the Hohensalzburg<br />
Castle, and the Residenz Palace; or you can<br />
simply wander the streets, each one a Baroque<br />
showcase, and admire the city as it happens.<br />
16 a u s t r i a ’ s hi d d e n t r e a s u r e s<br />
And you mustn’t leave Mozart’s house, the<br />
Franziskaner Church and the Mirabell Palace<br />
off your list. But it’s not just Baroque: Salzburg<br />
is home <strong>to</strong> one of the world’s most renowned<br />
pieces of contemporary architecture, Hangar-7,<br />
just outside the city centre. This is a combination<br />
of dramatic architectural showcase, aviation<br />
museum, and contemporary art gallery, with an<br />
ever-changing roster of shows, and avant-garde<br />
restaurant, showcasing chefs from around the<br />
world. The contrast with the old city centre<br />
couldn’t be more striking, but Hangar-7 is a<br />
destination in itself.<br />
SHop!<br />
Even the shopping in Salzburg is spectacular.<br />
The Europark shopping centre, on the edge of<br />
the city, was designed by award-winning Italian<br />
architect Massimiliano Fuksas <strong>to</strong> provide<br />
floods of natural light and <strong>to</strong> blend in with its<br />
environment. It has 130 shops for every budget<br />
and taste, with a particular emphasis on fashion<br />
brands, and is also home <strong>to</strong> the Oval, a theatre<br />
at its heart, which seats 250 and has a rolling<br />
programme of cabaret, theatre, jazz and films.<br />
Facts & Figures<br />
l Salzburg<br />
For more information please contact:<br />
Salzburg Tourismus GmbH<br />
Auerspergstrasse 6<br />
5020 Salzburg<br />
Tel: + 43 (0)662 889870<br />
Fax: + 43 (0) 662 8898732<br />
Email: <strong>to</strong>urist@salzburg.info<br />
www.salzburg.info<br />
NEArEST AirporTS<br />
Salzburg local<br />
Munich 112 miles (180km)
Innsbruckpho<strong>to</strong>.com; tVb Innsbruck<br />
3 things <strong>to</strong> do in… innsbruck<br />
The capital of the Tirol is surrounded by<br />
mountains and combines urban culture with<br />
the best outdoor activities.<br />
GET CulTural<br />
Innsbruck established itself as one of the great<br />
cultural centres of Europe more than 500 years<br />
ago, when the Habsburg emperor Maximillian<br />
I resided there. The old <strong>to</strong>wn centre is oozing<br />
with Baroque his<strong>to</strong>ry, whether you’re wandering<br />
the mazy backstreets or visiting sights like the<br />
Hofkirche (the Habsburg imperial church),<br />
the Goldenes Dachl, the famous golden-roofed<br />
building created for the Emperor, or other<br />
monuments. There’s also the stunning Schloss<br />
Ambras, above the city, created by another<br />
resident Emperor, Archduke Ferdinand II, in<br />
the late 16th century.<br />
ENjoy ThE GrEaT ouTdoors<br />
Even in <strong>Austria</strong>, Innsbruck is unique in its<br />
combination of his<strong>to</strong>ric city feel within the<br />
old <strong>to</strong>wn, and high mountains all around.<br />
You can take all manner of daytrips out <strong>to</strong> the<br />
mountainsides, though two stick in the mind,<br />
at opposite ends of the spectrum. First up is<br />
the Olympic Bobsleigh run at Igls, just outside<br />
<strong>to</strong>wn. This is one of the <strong>greatest</strong> bobsleigh runs<br />
in the world and is open from June <strong>to</strong> August:<br />
your average speed down the run will be more<br />
than 60 mph… You can then calm down<br />
with a round or two at the nearby Innsbruck-<br />
Igls Golf Club, with three courses of varying<br />
difficulties, all with fabulous views down over<br />
the valley, and some fine restaurants and ‘19th<br />
hole’ bars.<br />
GET dowN wITh ThE kIds<br />
Innsbruck offers the best of both city and country<br />
life for children. You can start by exploring the<br />
city, sitting on a terrace with some home-made<br />
ice-cream; then make a trip by bus <strong>to</strong> the<br />
Alpenzoo (Alpine zoo) which is full of ‘local’<br />
animals like otters, ibex, eagles, as well as a petting<br />
area of mountain piglets and lambs. Then there<br />
are the guided childrens’ <strong>to</strong>urs at Ambras Castle<br />
– teaching about childrens’ lives at the castle<br />
400 years ago, as well as water parks, adventure<br />
playgrounds, treehouses and more. ■A<br />
Facts & Figures<br />
l Innsbruck<br />
Innsbruck<br />
For more information please contact:<br />
Innsbruck Tourismus<br />
Burggraben 3<br />
6021 Innsbruck<br />
Tel: + 43 (0)512 59850<br />
Fax: + 43 (0)512 59850107<br />
Email: office@innsbruck.info<br />
www.innsbruck.info<br />
NEarEsT aIrporTs<br />
Innsbruck local<br />
Clockwise from <strong>to</strong>p: the Zaha Hadid<br />
designed Bergisel ski jump; the<br />
Golden Roof; view of church domes<br />
over central Innsbruck; the Column<br />
of Anna on Maria Theresien Strasse.<br />
a u s t r i a ’ s hi d d e n t r e a s u r e s 17
Alternative view<br />
Main picture: the Nordpark cable<br />
railway interior. Right, from <strong>to</strong>p:<br />
the Bergisel ski jump; exterior<br />
view of the Nordpark cable railway.
Modernist movement<br />
When Zaha Hadid, one of the<br />
world’s foremost renowned<br />
contemporary architects, designed<br />
a mountain railway and other<br />
holiday infrastructure above the<br />
Tirolean capital of Innsbruck, she<br />
changed the way humans and<br />
mountains interact for good. The<br />
forms of her creations are organic,<br />
as if shaped by the same elements<br />
that created the mountains<br />
millions of years ago: the result<br />
is a mountain railway and a ski<br />
jump that are at once modern<br />
and harmonious. Hadid says of<br />
the railway: “Each station has its<br />
own unique context, <strong>to</strong>pography,<br />
altitude and circulation. We studied<br />
natural phenomena such as glacial<br />
moraines and ice movements as<br />
we wanted each station <strong>to</strong> use<br />
the fluid language of natural ice<br />
formations, like a frozen stream<br />
on the mountainside.”<br />
www.nordkette.com<br />
a u s t r i a ’ s hi d d e n t r e a s u r e s 19<br />
H É l È nE bInET, © ZAHA HADID ARCHITECTS; InnSbRUCK TOURISMUS
Making a splash<br />
Water makes a perfect holiday, and Zell am See-Kaprun has water in abundance, amid the<br />
surprisingly warm ripples of its mountain lake, and, high up, the year-round snows of its glacier.<br />
A wealth of activities means it all makes for a most relaxing summer holiday<br />
20 a u s t r i a ’ s hi d d e n t r e a s u r e s
The water in the lake<br />
is pure enough<br />
<strong>to</strong> drink and in<br />
summer reaches a<br />
balmy 24 degrees<br />
Zell am See-Kaprun<br />
What is it about water? There’s nothing<br />
quite so exhilarating as waking up,<br />
pulling the curtains, and seeing an Alpine lake<br />
spread before you.<br />
At Zell am See-Kaprun, you have the best<br />
of water in both of its forms: firstly the lake<br />
itself, Lake Zell; and, thousands of metres<br />
above, the glacier and year-round snowfields<br />
of the Kitzsteinhorn mountain.<br />
On your first day in Zell am See-Kaprun,<br />
you will wake up in your spa hotel <strong>to</strong> a double<br />
dose of sunlight, from above and also from<br />
the shimmering reflection in the lake. You may<br />
feel like diving straight in, and you’re most<br />
welcome <strong>to</strong>, as you’ll get a delightful surprise:<br />
the water in the lake is drinking water quality,<br />
and in summer it reaches a balmy 24°C – as<br />
warm as the Mediterranean.<br />
Family challenge<br />
But it’s more likely you’ll feel tempted <strong>to</strong> make<br />
a conquest first. At 3203m, the Kitzsteinhorn<br />
is a serious Alp – more than three times the<br />
height of Snowdon – but the good news is that<br />
it’s also a friendly one, a conquest the whole<br />
family can make. A local guide will take you:<br />
the first part of the climb, through forest and<br />
along grassland paths, is an upward stroll, and<br />
the final part, steeper and rocky, requires the<br />
whole family <strong>to</strong> be roped <strong>to</strong>gether. It doesn’t<br />
require special technical expertise though: just<br />
determination <strong>to</strong> make it <strong>to</strong> the <strong>to</strong>p, at which<br />
point any children, and most adults present<br />
will feel a frisson of joy at having conquered<br />
what is likely <strong>to</strong> be their first 3000m peak, and<br />
in true mountaineer style.<br />
That joy then quickly turns <strong>to</strong> awe. You<br />
are on the roof of Europe here; turn 360° on<br />
your booted heel and you will see more than<br />
30 peaks of more than 3000m rising around<br />
you, with <strong>Austria</strong>’s highest mountain, the<br />
mass of ice and rock that is Grossglockner,<br />
rising almost next door. The sky is a deep,<br />
concentrated blue, the sun shines upwards<br />
off a hundred glaciers; if you’ve brought your<br />
children with you you might tell them that<br />
underneath each of those peaks is a valley,<br />
containing villages, <strong>to</strong>wns, roads, churches: it<br />
all looks like a giant <strong>to</strong>y from here.<br />
And climbing is just part of the joy. The<br />
mountain’s altitude means it plays host <strong>to</strong><br />
a u s t r i a ’ s hi d d e n t r e a s u r e s 21
Zell am See-Kaprun<br />
Previous page: Lake Zell at Zell am See-Kaprun is delightfully<br />
warm in the summer. This page, clockwise from left:<br />
Lake Zell is the perfect spot for watersports; canoeing on<br />
the lake; enjoying a spot of lakeside volleyball.<br />
summer snowfields: come back another day<br />
on the Gletscherjet 1 cable car and spend the<br />
day skiing, snowboarding and even skating<br />
on the ice rink. The Mooserboden lakes, pure,<br />
deep, and green, lie nearby.<br />
Spa therapy<br />
The thrill of playing (for adults and children<br />
alike) at such altitude shouldn’t be discounted:<br />
the air is thin, pure, clean; the sun is strong<br />
(don’t forget your Fac<strong>to</strong>r 30), so you will tan<br />
in minutes; the only noise on the glacier is<br />
of summer meltwater trickling off in unseen<br />
underground streams.<br />
Heading back home, you descend the<br />
mountainside in<strong>to</strong> the valley, where you realise<br />
the aromas of pine needles and wildflowers<br />
that scent the air were missing at the purity of<br />
altitude. You s<strong>to</strong>p off at a farm shop and buy<br />
some local cheese, and schnapps, pear brandy,<br />
and some ‘children’s schnapps’ (lemonade) for<br />
the offspring.<br />
The next morning your hotel spa’s therapist<br />
gives you a soothing massage, welcome after<br />
all that exercise for muscles that you are not<br />
used <strong>to</strong> using back home; they also devise a<br />
nutrition and wellness plan for you for your<br />
stay. This is a spa, <strong>Austria</strong>n style, where they<br />
don’t do things by halves: look after your body<br />
and your body will look after you, they say.<br />
And still, you have only just scratched the<br />
surface of this region. Swimming and waterskiing<br />
in Lake Zell are activities for a whole day;<br />
you might take a few minutes <strong>to</strong> look up at the<br />
mountain and reflect with some disbelief how<br />
high you climbed earlier in your trip – you are<br />
indeed a member of the 3000m club.<br />
22 a u s t r i a ’ s hi d d e n t r e a s u r e s<br />
What <strong>to</strong> do and Where <strong>to</strong> do it...<br />
EVENTS<br />
l The Gössl Dirndl Flying Day makes for an<br />
al<strong>to</strong>gether more quirky experience on the 3rd<br />
July. Plucky participants dress in traditional,<br />
regional costumes from manufacturer Gössl<br />
before plunging from a platform in<strong>to</strong> the<br />
refreshing water of Lake Zell.<br />
l While Zell am See-Kaprun’s Lake Festival<br />
offers plenty of daytime entertainment, with live<br />
bands and traditional food, it’s most famous for<br />
its impressive fireworks which draw the event<br />
<strong>to</strong> a close. For the best panoramic views jump<br />
on board the MS Schmittenhöhe and watch the<br />
pyrotechnic spectacle, without the crowds, from<br />
the middle of the lake. Be sure <strong>to</strong> catch it on 17th<br />
- 18th July and 7th – 8th August.<br />
l Kaprun Castle will be host <strong>to</strong> the annual<br />
Fortress Festival from the 24th - 26th July,<br />
one of the largest events of its kind in <strong>Austria</strong>.<br />
great heights<br />
On another morning you set off for Europe’s<br />
highest waterfalls, the Krimmler Falls; they<br />
burst forth seemingly from within the heart of<br />
a forest, down a series of giant rock steps for<br />
380m (that’s the height of two BT Towers). A<br />
carefully-carved path, created by the <strong>Austria</strong>n<br />
Alpine Association, takes you <strong>to</strong> the <strong>to</strong>p in<br />
around an hour, all the time accompanied by<br />
the roar of the water.<br />
And then there’s the Grossglockner Alpine<br />
Road. If you are a keen driver, mo<strong>to</strong>rbike rider<br />
or the hardiest kind of cyclist, you will have<br />
heard of this legendary strip of tarmac, which<br />
winds up <strong>to</strong> an altitude of 2504m through<br />
<strong>Austria</strong>’s highest mountain massif in a series<br />
of hundreds of hairpin bends, each one<br />
seemingly revealing a more hair-raising view.<br />
This being <strong>Austria</strong>, it’s child-friendly <strong>to</strong>o,<br />
with a series of children’s playgrounds located<br />
along the route, all beautifully decorated with<br />
images of the road’s mascot, Marmie the<br />
Marmot (marmots are the elusive and furry<br />
Alpine rodents).<br />
If you’ve caught the hiking bug, there’s a<br />
famous trail, the Alexander Enzinger Way; if<br />
his<strong>to</strong>ry and culture is your thing, then the<br />
panoramically located Imperial-era Sissi<br />
Chapel above Zell am See-Kaprun, dedicated<br />
<strong>to</strong> the Hapsburg Empress Elisabeth, is a must<br />
<strong>to</strong> visit. And always there’s the smooth service,<br />
AND ANOTHEr THiNG...<br />
Zell am See-Kaprun isn’t the<br />
only place for watersports fans.<br />
Located in central <strong>Austria</strong>, the<br />
region of Salzkammergut<br />
boasts three lakes for every<br />
water activity imaginable, from<br />
water-skiing <strong>to</strong> windsurfing.<br />
You can even scuba dive.<br />
www.salzkammergut.at<br />
Expect a thoroughly medieval affair with jugglers,<br />
knights and ancient craftsmanship.<br />
l <strong>Austria</strong>n-born composers Mozart and Strauss<br />
brought musical fame <strong>to</strong> their homeland during<br />
the 18th and 19th century. Celebrate their legacy<br />
and head <strong>to</strong> the 2000m summit of Schmittenhöhe<br />
between the 30th July and 8th August <strong>to</strong> enjoy<br />
classical music concerts from highly renowned<br />
orchestras as part of the Hochkultur - There is<br />
Music in the Air event.<br />
GOOD TO KNOW<br />
Feel the power of nature and visit the Sigmund<br />
Thun Klamm, a mountain gorge 32m deep and<br />
320 feet long, near Kaprun, only a 1.5km walk<br />
from the city centre. The gorge was formed by<br />
melting snow from several glaciers and dates<br />
back <strong>to</strong> the Ice Age. Don’t miss the guided<br />
nature <strong>to</strong>urs through the gorge every Monday<br />
throughout July and August.<br />
warm welcome, spa and culinary delights of<br />
your hotel when you return.<br />
At the end of your stay, the likelihood is<br />
that you’ll gaze out over the lake, look up at<br />
the mountains…and decide <strong>to</strong> return next<br />
year <strong>to</strong> conquer Grossglockner itself. ■A<br />
FactS & FigureS<br />
l Zell Am See-Kaprun<br />
For more information please contact:<br />
Zell am See-Kaprun Tourismus<br />
Brucker Bundesstr. 1a<br />
A-5700 Zell am See<br />
Tel: +43 (0) 6542 770<br />
Fax: +43 (0) 6542 72032<br />
Email: welcome@zellamsee-kaprun.com<br />
www.zellamsee-kaprun.com<br />
NEArEST AirpOrTS<br />
Salzburg 50 miles (80 km)<br />
innsbruck 87 miles (140 km)<br />
Munich 136 miles (220km)
This page: Old and new stand side<br />
by side in Bregenzerwald: the<br />
village hall in Andelsbuch next <strong>to</strong><br />
a typical ‘Wälderhaus’.<br />
The art<br />
of living<br />
Contemporary architecture, modern<br />
restaurants, slick spas with the<br />
most natural of products; this lovely<br />
valley in Vorarlberg has it all<br />
Bregenzerwald - Vorarlberg<br />
a u s t r i a ’ s hi d d e n t r e a s u r e s 23
and another thing...<br />
Wine enthusiasts must pay<br />
a visit <strong>to</strong> the Loisium, ‘The<br />
Adventure World of Wine’.<br />
Located in Langenlois in Lower<br />
<strong>Austria</strong>, here you will learn<br />
everything there is <strong>to</strong> know<br />
about wine. Sample it <strong>to</strong>o!<br />
www.loisium.at<br />
If you think about modern buildings and<br />
holidays <strong>to</strong>gether, you might be forgiven for<br />
thinking of hastily-constructed and soulless<br />
concrete boxes. And yet it is within buildings<br />
that we spend so much of our holiday time,<br />
sleeping, talking, eating and simply relaxing; <strong>to</strong><br />
be in a human construction that is harmonious<br />
and pleasing is surely as important as the<br />
landscape outside it.<br />
A beautiful, thought-provoking and crafted<br />
building, that appeals <strong>to</strong> the soul, doesn’t have<br />
<strong>to</strong> be an old edifice. Bregenzerwald, a deeply<br />
beautiful valley that runs throughVorarlberg in<br />
northwestern <strong>Austria</strong>, has an ancient tradition<br />
of wood carving and architecture using wood.<br />
In 1999, the ‘Werkraum Bregenzerwald’ was<br />
formed, an association for the trade craftsmen<br />
in the region, offering its members support<br />
in product and design innovation, marketing<br />
and training. It has meant that the culture of<br />
Bregenzerwald has kept on thriving.<br />
Take a stroll around one of its 22 old<br />
villages and you might think you’ve stepped<br />
in<strong>to</strong> a Brothers Grimm fairytale of intricately<br />
designed woodwork and painstaking detail.<br />
But take a stroll around another village and<br />
you are as likely <strong>to</strong> come across a spectacular<br />
modern building as you are a Hansel and Gretel<br />
cottage. Expanses of glass and wood, minimal<br />
use of steel: the craftspeople here have carved a<br />
24 a u s t r i a ’ s hi d d e n t r e a s u r e s<br />
niche for themselves in the modern architectural<br />
world as foremost proponents of an uplifting,<br />
naturally lit style of building that combines the<br />
traditional and contemporary <strong>to</strong> beautiful effect.<br />
As one leading architectural writer commented,<br />
the buildings “have been built using hardly any<br />
materials”, making them “surprisingly rich in<br />
spatial and functional qualities”. In layman’s<br />
terms, that means great mental wellbeing on a<br />
holiday in a place where physical wellbeing is a<br />
given. Hotels like the Sonne Lifestyle Resort in<br />
Mellau lift your spirits the moment you walk in.<br />
There’s another feelgood fac<strong>to</strong>r at work <strong>to</strong>o:<br />
all the contemporary buildings here are world<br />
leaders in the use of renewable energy using<br />
geothermal energy, solar cells, and different<br />
local materials.<br />
Culinary delights<br />
So: you feel in harmony with nature. And very<br />
soon, nature starts <strong>to</strong> feel in harmony with<br />
you. Because you’re eating it. Firstly, in the<br />
form of the highly-regarded local cheeses; the<br />
best-known product of the region is the tangy<br />
mountain cheese, Bergkäse; myriad other<br />
cheeses come in the form of delicacies such as<br />
Bachensteiner, a red, semi-soft and Alpzieger, a<br />
greenish cheese dotted with more than 40 local<br />
herbs. ‘Sig’ is the local equivalent of caramel.<br />
Secondly, in the form of local herbs, which grow<br />
This spread, clockwise from left: The reception of the<br />
Sonne Lifestyle resort in Mellau; the Women’s Museum in<br />
Hittisau; the Angelika Kauffmann Hall in Schwarzenberg;<br />
a traditional and a modern house in the Bregenzerwald.<br />
in the Holdamoos meadow, known throughout<br />
the country as a source of rare wild herbs.<br />
All the elements of the Bregenzerwald come<br />
<strong>to</strong>gether in the form of ‘MundArt’, eight of the<br />
area’s most prized restaurants, which, reflecting<br />
the architectural movement’s contemporary<br />
take on traditional crafts, interpret traditional<br />
dishes with modern flair. Light purees and<br />
foams combine with traditional noodles, roasts<br />
and dumplings <strong>to</strong> make highly creative cuisine.<br />
But the local food products are not just<br />
good <strong>to</strong> eat. They are good <strong>to</strong> apply, <strong>to</strong>o. As<br />
natural as any skin product can get, local farmer<br />
Ingo Metzler’s whey-based skincare products<br />
would be a hit with London fashionistas if they<br />
could get hold of them. Whey, a byproduct of<br />
cheesemaking, is fat and protein free and contains<br />
nutrients and vitamins amazing for the skin.<br />
And the ultimate escape for those seeking<br />
skin rescue? The spas at numerous hotels in<br />
the area; the respected German travel magazine<br />
Geo Saison recently voted the spa at the Hotel<br />
Post in Bezau <strong>to</strong>p of its ‘wellness’ category,<br />
praising the spa’s ‘luxurious simplicity’. In a<br />
way, that perfectly sums up the whole of the<br />
Bregenzerwald spirit. ■A
© CHrISTopH LIngg; pETEr MATHIS/ArCHIV SCHUBErTIADE<br />
Facts & Figures<br />
l Bregenzerwald<br />
Vorarlberg<br />
For more information please contact:<br />
Bregenzerwald Tourismus<br />
Gerbe 1135<br />
A-6863 Egg, Vorarlberg<br />
Tel: +43 (0) 5512 2365<br />
Fax: +43 (0) 5512 3010<br />
Email: info@bregenzerwald.at<br />
www.bregenzerwald.at/uk<br />
www.vorarlberg.travel/en<br />
NEArEST AirpOrTS<br />
Friedrichshafen 32 miles (52 km)<br />
Zurich 81 miles (130 km)<br />
What <strong>to</strong> do and<br />
Where <strong>to</strong> do it...<br />
EVENTS<br />
l The renowned annual Schubertiade festival,<br />
dedicated <strong>to</strong> the memory of composer Franz<br />
Schubert, held in the village of Schwarzenberg,<br />
takes place in the Angelika Kauffmann Hall. It’s<br />
become a meeting place for an international<br />
audience of lieder and chamber-music<br />
devotees. It prides itself on its intimate and<br />
distinguished atmosphere which in turn has<br />
attracted world-class singers and musicians <strong>to</strong><br />
perform at this event year after year.<br />
l Every Tuesday between the middle of July<br />
and the end of August the village square of<br />
picturesque Bezau <strong>comes</strong> alive with ‘Bezau<br />
Beatz’ as jazz, blues, pop and classical artists<br />
take <strong>to</strong> the stage <strong>to</strong> perform <strong>to</strong> the crowd.<br />
GOOD TO KNOW<br />
The Women’s Museum in Hittisau, a perfect<br />
example of contemporary architecture, is the<br />
only Women’s Museum in <strong>Austria</strong>. All of the<br />
exhibitions here offer an exposé of the world<br />
of women, both from the past and in the<br />
present and it holds different exhibitions on the<br />
subjects of cultural his<strong>to</strong>ry, contemporary art<br />
and social policy all year round.<br />
Bregenzerwald - Vorarlberg<br />
a u s t r i a ’ s hi d d e n t r e a s u r e s 25
Lake Constance - Vorarlberg<br />
This spread, clockwise from<br />
left: Giuseppe Verdi’s Aïda at<br />
the Bregenz Festival 2009;<br />
the <strong>to</strong>wn of Bregenz on the<br />
shore of Lake Constance.<br />
High culture<br />
Where in the world combines cutting-edge opera, contemporary art and world-leading architecture with<br />
views across one of Europe’s great lakes? Lake Constance, in Vorarlberg, that’s where<br />
If you plan a holiday <strong>to</strong> go <strong>to</strong> a world-class<br />
opera and art galleries, you generally do so<br />
on the assumption that you’ll be visiting a big<br />
city, without the diversions of, say, spectacular<br />
mountain views or waterside dining by an<br />
Alpine lake.<br />
Conversely, if you were on a holiday that<br />
involved gazing in awe at a view of 240 Alpine<br />
peaks ranged across several countries, you<br />
would be forgiven for assuming that there<br />
wouldn’t be an option <strong>to</strong> see one of the world’s<br />
great orchestras performing Aïda, or walking<br />
around a world renowned contemporary art<br />
museum just a few minutes later.<br />
However, you would be wrong. Because in<br />
the region of Lake Constance in Vorarlberg, you<br />
can do all of these and more. How? Read on...<br />
To opera lovers, the name of Bregenz,<br />
<strong>Austria</strong>’s northwesternmost city, conjures up<br />
one thing: the Bregenz Festival. Every summer,<br />
the world renowned Vienna Symphony<br />
Orchestra decamps en masse <strong>to</strong> Bregenz, or,<br />
more precisely, <strong>to</strong> an orchestra pit in a floating<br />
26 a u s t r i a ’ s hi d d e n t r e a s u r e s<br />
stage in Lake Constance. There, the Bregenz<br />
Opera puts on a summer extravaganza of<br />
shows, ranging from the classical (Aïda) <strong>to</strong> the<br />
contemporary (West Side S<strong>to</strong>ry) via the<br />
alternative (operas by Kurt Weill).<br />
The Bregenz Festival began in 1946 with<br />
the performance of a Mozart work on two<br />
barges moored on Lake Constance. Over the<br />
years, the festival has grown <strong>to</strong> international<br />
fame, with a proper floating stage, and, in<br />
1980, the addition of an Opera House on land<br />
connected <strong>to</strong> the stage, in case the weather<br />
turned inclement.<br />
Every summer hundreds of thousands of<br />
culture lovers come <strong>to</strong> the opera here: in the<br />
past decade the Festival has become even more<br />
ambitious, staging some of Giuseppe Verdi’s<br />
most dramatic works, like A Masked Ball and<br />
Aïda, and Puccini’s La Bohème.<br />
But just <strong>to</strong> show that Bregenz’s artistic<br />
direction was as avant-garde as ever, in 2004<br />
the Festival appointed David Pountney,<br />
formerly direc<strong>to</strong>r of the English National<br />
Opera, as artistic direc<strong>to</strong>r; Pountney quickly<br />
brought new international recognition <strong>to</strong> the<br />
Festival by directing works such as Nielsen’s<br />
Maskarade, Weill’s Der Kuhhandel and, last<br />
summer, Karol Szymanowski’s King Roger.<br />
Attending the Festival is only <strong>to</strong>uching the<br />
surface of Bregenz though. The other cultural<br />
BrEgEnzEr FEstspiELE / andErEart 2009; KarL FOrstEr, 2009
In the past decade the<br />
Festival has become<br />
even more ambitious,<br />
staging works like<br />
Giuseppe Verdi’s Aïda<br />
and another thing...<br />
If you love music, you musn’t<br />
miss the music festival at<br />
Grafenegg Castle from the<br />
19th August - 12th September.<br />
It features renowned and<br />
acclaimed international<br />
orchestras, soloists and<br />
conduc<strong>to</strong>rs and will be<br />
opening with a performance<br />
of Beethoven’s ‘Fidelio’.<br />
www.grafenegg.at
Lake Constance - Vorarlberg<br />
attraction of world renown is the Kunsthaus<br />
Bregenz, the contemporary art gallery<br />
designed by Peter Zumthor, the Pritzker<br />
Prize-winning Swiss architect.<br />
Made of etched glass, cast steel and<br />
concrete, and shaped in ‘living’ forms with<br />
an abundance of natural light in its gallery<br />
spaces, the Kunsthaus has a rolling schedule<br />
of exhibitions from some of the world’s great<br />
contemporary artists, as well as a thorough<br />
programme of <strong>to</strong>urs on arts and architecture.<br />
And once you’ve explored the Kunsthaus<br />
– which with its wide piazza at its heart is<br />
somewhere <strong>to</strong> spend a day or two – there is<br />
a plethora of modern and contemporary art<br />
galleries in Bregenz.<br />
The views<br />
Just a few minutes’ walk through the <strong>to</strong>wn<br />
centre of Bregenz from the museum you’ll find<br />
the bot<strong>to</strong>m station of the Pfänder cable car.<br />
Hop on, and six minutes later you emerge<br />
<strong>to</strong>...something quite spectacular. Just as the<br />
cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin once commented<br />
that the best way <strong>to</strong> see our planet was when<br />
you were away from it, viewing from space, so<br />
you might think when viewing the Alps from<br />
the 1064m high <strong>to</strong>p station of the Pfänder.<br />
For Bregenz and Lake Constance actually<br />
lie just <strong>to</strong> the north of the Alps; the lake is fed<br />
28 a u s t r i a ’ s hi d d e n t r e a s u r e s<br />
What <strong>to</strong> do and Where <strong>to</strong> do it...<br />
EVENTS<br />
l The Bregenz Spring Dance Festival has<br />
been in existence for over 20 years and has<br />
evolved in<strong>to</strong> one of the most significant dance<br />
festivals in the region. It kicks off the annual<br />
cultural activities calendar each year. <strong>Austria</strong>n<br />
premiere performances can be seen on particular<br />
days throughout March, April and May.<br />
l Under the artistic direction of Philippe Arlaud,<br />
this year’s Feldkirch Festival, held on 2nd –<br />
13th June takes the theme of Russian music<br />
of the 20th and 21st century in his continuing<br />
desire <strong>to</strong> transcend cultural barriers with the<br />
universal language of music.<br />
l The world renowned Kunsthaus Bregenz,<br />
opened in the summer of 1997, is not only<br />
a contemporary art gallery but a work of art<br />
in itself with its cubic-crystal design from the<br />
This page, from <strong>to</strong>p: Test display in the resort of Lech for the<br />
planned Horizon Field project in the Vorarlberg by artist<br />
<strong>An<strong>to</strong>ny</strong> <strong>Gormley</strong>; the Kunsthaus Bregenz exterior.<br />
by the River Rhine at the point the Alpine<br />
scenery gives way <strong>to</strong> the forested hills of<br />
northern Europe. So the Pfänder is like a<br />
natural viewing station facing the wall of the<br />
Alps. On a clear day you can see 240 Alpine<br />
peaks, from central Switzerland through <strong>to</strong><br />
<strong>Austria</strong>’s Arlberg and Bregenzerwald regions;<br />
<strong>to</strong> the west and north are the hills of the Black<br />
Forest, and the lake shimmers below.<br />
Back down in <strong>to</strong>wn, the views are of a<br />
different kind as you stroll along the lakefront,<br />
perhaps taking a glass of champagne in a café<br />
by a fisherman’s pier. And there are views of a<br />
different kind a short distance away in Feldkirch,<br />
a beautifully preserved medieval <strong>to</strong>wn.<br />
Where there is culture there is cuisine, and<br />
the region of Lake Constance in Vorarlberg is<br />
no exception. The lakeside restaurants have a<br />
perfect setting; you can look at the water and<br />
wonder if you saw your dinner before it<br />
arrived on your plate. ■A<br />
horizon Field<br />
<strong>An<strong>to</strong>ny</strong> <strong>Gormley</strong>, one of Britain’s foremost<br />
contemporary artists, is planning <strong>to</strong> unveil his<br />
work ‘Horizon Field’ in the Vorarlberg area,<br />
under the auspices of the Kunsthaus Bregenz,<br />
this summer. Horizon Field consists of 100 lifesize<br />
cast-iron figures of <strong>Gormley</strong>’s body, spread<br />
at 2039m above sea level, over 100sq km in the<br />
Vorarlberg area. Says <strong>Gormley</strong>: “The rise of<br />
the great river civilisations has programmed<br />
the human species <strong>to</strong> see its future well-being<br />
as city-based and in distinction <strong>to</strong> nature. The<br />
radical revision of the dialectic between nature<br />
and culture is necessary if the present human<br />
population is <strong>to</strong> successfully confront the issue<br />
of man-made global warming. Horizon Field<br />
asks an open question as <strong>to</strong> where the human<br />
project fits within the evolution of life on this<br />
planet.” See interview on page 4.<br />
Swiss architect and Pritzker award winner, Peter<br />
Zumthor. Be sure <strong>to</strong> catch the summer exhibition<br />
from 17th July – 3rd Oc<strong>to</strong>ber.<br />
l The Art Bodensee fair in Dornbirn is the<br />
main art fair in the Lake Constance area and is<br />
the only art fair in the region that takes place in<br />
the middle of summer and the only one where<br />
you can chat <strong>to</strong> gallery owners and artists. It<br />
draws <strong>to</strong>gether the talent of fifty galleries from<br />
nine countries. Visit from 23rd – 25th July.<br />
GOOD TO KNOW<br />
For those who wish <strong>to</strong> attend the world famous<br />
Bregenz Festival (July 21 - August 22, 2010),<br />
stay for 2 nights from €189, including B&B at a<br />
choice of hotels, welcome cocktails, a ticket for<br />
Aïda, a Festival Leisure pack providing entrance<br />
<strong>to</strong> <strong>to</strong>p places of interest, and an information pack<br />
from the Bodensee-Vorarlberg Tourism Board.<br />
Facts & Figures<br />
Vorarlberg<br />
l Lake Constance<br />
For more information please contact:<br />
Bodensee-Vorarlberg Tourism Board<br />
P.O. Box 16<br />
6901 Bregenz, <strong>Austria</strong><br />
Tel: +43 (0) 5574 434430<br />
Fax: +43 (0) 5574 434434<br />
Email: office@bodensee-vorarlberg.com<br />
www.lakeconstance.eu<br />
www.vorarlberg.travel/en<br />
NEArEST AirPOrTS<br />
Friedrichshafen 21 miles (34 km)<br />
Memmingen 48 miles (77 km)<br />
Zurich 80 miles (129 km)<br />
© AnTOny GORMLey, KUnSThAUS BReGenZ; MARKUS TReTTeR
Herbert LeHmann<br />
Perfect dishes<br />
From apple strudel in the heart of Vienna <strong>to</strong> a<br />
boutique-chic restaurant where everything is<br />
served in a cone, austria’s burgeoning<br />
restaurant scene has something for<br />
everybody. Here are six of our very favourite<br />
spots around the country for gourmets<br />
Landhaus Bacher, Wachau<br />
Lisl Wagner-Bacher heads up this two<br />
Michelin-starred restaurant in the medieval<br />
<strong>to</strong>wn of Mautern. She was the first woman<br />
ever <strong>to</strong> be awarded the Gault Millau ‘Chef of<br />
the Year’ in 1983 and her cuisine is famed for<br />
its refinement and panache; dishes include<br />
salad of warm lobster (above) and guinea<br />
fowl with roasted salsify, périgord truffle<br />
and hazelnut foam. Learn how <strong>to</strong> create<br />
these dishes yourself by enrolling in one of<br />
her courses. www.landhaus-bacher.at<br />
Schloss Velden, Carinthia<br />
The fine dining restaurant at this grand hotel<br />
has two Michelin stars and scores 18/20 in the<br />
Gault-Millau guide. Chef Silvio Nickol sources<br />
most of his ingredients from local farms here<br />
in <strong>Austria</strong>’s ‘larder’, Carinthia: local fishermen<br />
deliver the catch of the day from the lake. But as<br />
much as the magnificent food, you are likely <strong>to</strong><br />
remember the views over Lake Wörth, and the<br />
stylishness of the hotel (right), which has been<br />
attracting Euro-aris<strong>to</strong>cracy for more than a<br />
hundred years. www.schlossveldencapella.com<br />
Carpe Diem, SaLzBurg<br />
Salzburg may be full of his<strong>to</strong>ry and tradition,<br />
but all that is swept away at Carpe Diem, a<br />
chic modern restaurant where everything<br />
is served in bite-sized cones. And we really<br />
do mean everything: there’s hamburger in a<br />
rosemary-infused cone, mini-fillet steak with<br />
mash and red wine sauce in a cone, wild boar<br />
with polenta and apple-Calvados foam in a<br />
cone… www.finestfingerfood.com<br />
Cuisine<br />
a u s t r i a ’ s hi d d e n t r e a s u r e s 29
Cuisine<br />
Steirereck, Vienna<br />
Vienna’s most famous restaurant lies in the<br />
middle of its most picturesque park, the<br />
Stadtpark, right in the centre of <strong>to</strong>wn. The<br />
modern <strong>Austria</strong>n cuisine here is divine,<br />
particularly if taken on the terrace, although<br />
be warned, it’s not cheap. An excellent<br />
alternative is <strong>to</strong> go next door <strong>to</strong> the Meierei,<br />
under the same management, which serves<br />
more than 100 kinds of cheese (below),<br />
milkshakes, apple strudel and other specialities<br />
in a café ambience. www.steirereck.at<br />
Taubenkobel, Burgenland<br />
This restaurant lies in a traditional 19th Century vintner’s house in the heart of Burgenland,<br />
the wine-producing province southeast of Vienna, and is a member of the Relais & Chateaux<br />
group. It is owned and run by Chef Walter Eselböck and his wife Eveline who have been here<br />
since 1984. Together they have created a unique experience for all those who visit. Walter (who<br />
has won numerous awards), is at the helm in the kitchen while Eveline will greet you, tend <strong>to</strong><br />
your every whim and advise what wine should accompany your meal from the vast selection of<br />
wines, all chosen by herself from producers she has known for many years. Such is the extent<br />
and fame of her knowledge that her wine seminars are usually booked out months in advance.<br />
Walter likes <strong>to</strong> use regional ingredients and is famed for his creativity and inventiveness.<br />
Be sure <strong>to</strong> try the seven course meal menu which culminates with ‘yuzu soufflé’, where each<br />
delicious course is paired expertly with a complementing wine. www.taubenkobel.com<br />
30 a u s t r i a ’ s hi d d e n t r e a s u r e s<br />
hohE MuT alM, ÖTzTal, TIRol<br />
It’s not often you can eat a gastronomic meal at a height of 2670m, but that’s exactly what<br />
Hohe Mut Alm offers. Perched on a mountain ledge high above the treeline, surrounded<br />
by some of the highest mountains and glaciers in <strong>Austria</strong>, this beautifully refurbished<br />
high mountain lodge offers traditional and Mediterranean specialities and an excellent<br />
wine list. The sun is strong at this altitude and the sky a deep blue, so spend the afternoon<br />
nibbling, sipping and basking – and don’t forget the sunblock. www.hohemutalm.at<br />
PlachuTTa, VIENNa<br />
This world famous restaurant lies in the<br />
heart of Vienna and has been owned and<br />
run by the Plachutta family for decades.<br />
Chef Ewald Plachutta has won numerous<br />
culinary awards that include Chef of the Year<br />
from the Gault Millau guide in 1991 and a<br />
Michelin star awarded the same year. Guests<br />
come <strong>to</strong> try the speciality ‘Tafelspitz’ (tender<br />
boiled beef, left). www.plachutta.at
The natural kitchen<br />
When is the last time you saw or smelled<br />
wild herbs? Herbs are something that we<br />
use every day, an essential element of almost<br />
every cuisine. For many of us, they come in<br />
glass jars in the supermarket. For some, they grow<br />
in window boxes and kitchen gardens. But wild<br />
herbs, sprouting from the soil, lining the side of a<br />
woodland trail, washed by sun and mountain air?<br />
The first thing you notice about wild herbs<br />
is the aroma: a waft of chives through the area;<br />
a pinch of basil in the breeze gets the gastric<br />
juices going immediately; parsley has a distinct<br />
freshness; mint and spearmint a tangy zest. But<br />
where can you find these aromas, fixed in the<br />
freshest of breezes?<br />
The Zillertal is where. This deep valley,<br />
carved millions of years ago by glaciers in<strong>to</strong><br />
the high Tirolean Alps is famed for its wild<br />
herbs and, not coincidentally, its cuisine. And<br />
if there’s a better way <strong>to</strong> whet your appetite for<br />
a series of delicious gastronomic experiences<br />
than go for a gentle walk among herb-filled<br />
meadows, we have yet <strong>to</strong> find one.<br />
Local cuisine<br />
But first things first. You might start your<br />
visit <strong>to</strong> the area in one of its famous four-star<br />
hotels; many of these combine a high level of<br />
comfort with a high quality restaurant, as the<br />
gastronomic tradition runs deep in the Zillertal<br />
Zillertal<br />
The Zillertal is one of <strong>Austria</strong>’s culinary heartlands. This deep valley’s warm summers and lush pastures<br />
give rise <strong>to</strong> hundreds of indigenous herbs, fabulous local speciality dishes and some of the best restaurants<br />
in the Alps. Even the cheeses are special. And the scenery’s pretty good <strong>to</strong>o<br />
and nobody wants <strong>to</strong> be seen <strong>to</strong> be offering<br />
anything but the best of the local produce.<br />
Zillertal’s local ingredients – cheeses, hams,<br />
roasted meats, eggs, breads and all those herbs<br />
– are famous in <strong>Austria</strong>; every type of cuisine<br />
from the rustic <strong>to</strong> the gastronomic is on offer<br />
here. A local chef, Alexander Fankhauser,<br />
was named <strong>Austria</strong>n Chef of the Year by the<br />
respected Gault Millau guide in 2005. But the<br />
best way <strong>to</strong> start experiencing the cuisine is<br />
<strong>to</strong> start at the rustic, traditional end: for <strong>to</strong><br />
understand a cuisine is <strong>to</strong> understand a culture.<br />
So you settle down <strong>to</strong> your first supper at<br />
your Zillertal hotel, sip a welcoming beer or a<br />
glass of Grüner Veltliner white wine and await<br />
a u s t r i a ’ s hi d d e n t r e a s u r e s 31
and another thing...<br />
Food lovers must pay a visit <strong>to</strong><br />
Vienna’s Naschmarkt which<br />
dates back <strong>to</strong> the 16th-century<br />
and <strong>to</strong>day boasts a unique mix<br />
of culinary influences from all<br />
over the world. Buy anything<br />
from bread and cheeses <strong>to</strong><br />
sushi and exotic herbs.<br />
www.wienernaschmarkt.eu<br />
32 a u s t r i a ’ s hi d d e n t r e a s u r e s<br />
Previous page: the area is renowned for its wild herbs. This<br />
spread, clockwise from left: walking in the Zillertal; quail<br />
in strudel pastry; bread and the local Graukäse.<br />
the first course: a flavoursome ‘Graukass’ soup,<br />
made with the local ‘Grey cheese’. The cheese<br />
itself is something of a work of art, being rich<br />
and viscous with a grey core, but with a low fat<br />
content of less than 0.5%. The taste is<br />
distinctive and quite addictive: it’s dry, with<br />
bracing freshness and a hint of mountain herbs.<br />
The very low fat content makes it both healthy<br />
and moreish, and creating it is a specialised art,<br />
limited only <strong>to</strong> officially-certified producers.<br />
Another must-try in the Zillertal is the local<br />
‘hay milk’, from cows who have grazed on high<br />
pasture in summer: the cows eat only highaltitude<br />
grass (and herbs) and drink natural<br />
spring water and the result is milk of uncommon<br />
purity of taste. Then there are the local<br />
speciality Schliachta-Nudeln, broad and grainy<br />
noodles; and spinach-filled crêpes.<br />
The next day, it’s time <strong>to</strong> discover the<br />
herb walk: <strong>to</strong>gether with a guide, you wander<br />
through meadows and fields, spotting and<br />
smelling the wonderful bouquets of arnica,<br />
erica, dandelion, yarrow and many others, as<br />
your guide, herself an extraordinarily healthylooking<br />
lady, points out.<br />
You spend another day dropping in<strong>to</strong> a farm<br />
that makes the local grey cheese, and end up<br />
making some yourself.<br />
To work up an appetite for one of the area’s<br />
more gastronomic restaurants, you head up one<br />
day <strong>to</strong> the Berliner Hütte, at the valley’s peak, in<br />
the Zillertal Alps Nature Park. The view here is<br />
one of the most breathtaking in all of <strong>Austria</strong>,
ALAMy; ÖSTERREich WERBuNG/GNAEDiNGER; ZiLLERTAL TOuRiSMuS<br />
as you take in the deep Ziller valley, the steep<br />
forested mountainsides, the pastures above the<br />
treeline, and finally the glaciers, snowfields and<br />
rock faces reaching for the sky.<br />
It’s also the oldest mountain refuge of<br />
the area and here, spending an hour or so on<br />
the sunny terrace amid the deep blue high<br />
altitude sky, you get chatting <strong>to</strong> numerous local<br />
characters who tell you about local legends, as<br />
embellished by hunters over the centuries over<br />
glasses of the strong local schnapps.<br />
And then it’s back down <strong>to</strong> the valley for<br />
your last night; whether you’re partaking of the<br />
six course ‘connoisseur’ dinner at the Restaurant<br />
Alexander Fankhauser (perched high up at<br />
1500m) or the freshness of simple local produce,<br />
you feel like you have eaten a little bit of nature<br />
itself – and all the better for it. ■A<br />
Together with a<br />
guide you wander<br />
through meadows<br />
and fields, spotting<br />
and smelling the<br />
wonderful bouquets<br />
Facts & Figures<br />
What <strong>to</strong> do and<br />
Where <strong>to</strong> do it...<br />
EVENTS<br />
l Zillertal<br />
For more information please contact:<br />
Zillertal Tourist Board<br />
Bundesstrasse 27d<br />
A-6262 Schlitters, Zillertal<br />
Tel: +43 (0) 5288 87187<br />
Fax: +43 (0) 5288 871871<br />
Email: info@zillertal.at<br />
www.zillertal.at<br />
NEArEST AirpOrTS<br />
innsbruck 31 miles (50 km)<br />
Salzburg 93 miles (150 km)<br />
Munich 105 miles (170 km)<br />
Zillertal<br />
l The 500 year old Gauderfest, <strong>Austria</strong>’s largest<br />
spring festival from the 29th April – 2nd May, is<br />
the epi<strong>to</strong>me of rural tradition. The festival opens<br />
with a traditional speech and highlights include<br />
the popular Alpine wrestling competition and<br />
specially brewed ‘Gauderbock’ beer. The main<br />
event though is the traditional festival parade<br />
where everyone wears colourful costumes and<br />
there are music groups and decorated floats.<br />
l Embrace the onset of summer with the<br />
Zillertal locals at the Days of the Open Valley,<br />
a two day event from the 29th – 30th May with<br />
lots of family entertainment. Explore the valley<br />
at no charge with free use of all the services.<br />
l Dedicated foodies must pay a visit <strong>to</strong> Zillertal<br />
during Schmankerlfest - local delicacies week,<br />
from the 5th – 11th July, <strong>to</strong> take full advantage<br />
of the best local food on offer from the region’s<br />
hotels, such as Zillertaller Krapfen (the region’s<br />
speciality doughnuts).<br />
l The Torseemarsch & Tuxer Hiking day<br />
takes place on the 25th July and is a 20km hike<br />
at an altitude of 1300m through the Tux Alps.<br />
The route will take you from Lanersbach village<br />
through the mountain pastures of Brandalm<br />
and S<strong>to</strong>ankasern, up <strong>to</strong> the Ramsjoch mountain,<br />
down <strong>to</strong> the Torseen lakes and the pastures of<br />
Nassen-Tux Alm and finally back <strong>to</strong> Lanersbach.<br />
GOOD TO KNOW<br />
Zillertal offers guests the Zillertal Activcard, a<br />
must-have when visiting the region. There are<br />
many advantages including a return cable car<br />
trip per day on any of the 12 cable cars, free use<br />
of the outdoor swimming pool (one visit per<br />
day), free admission <strong>to</strong> the Observa<strong>to</strong>ry and the<br />
Planetarium Königsleiten (great for children).<br />
a u s t r i a ’ s hi d d e n t r e a s u r e s 33
Wine<br />
The Winkler-Hermaden Winery<br />
in Kapfenstein, in the<br />
southern province of Styria<br />
Q&A <strong>Austria</strong>n wine<br />
Wine is one of the unexpected<br />
joys of <strong>Austria</strong>. From world-beating<br />
whites <strong>to</strong> perfect summertime<br />
reds, the country’s wine regions<br />
have it all. Add magnificent<br />
scenery <strong>to</strong> the package and it’s<br />
all close <strong>to</strong> perfection. But what<br />
should you try? Josef Schuller,<br />
Direc<strong>to</strong>r of the <strong>Austria</strong>n Academy<br />
of Wine, gives the inside track<br />
34 a u s t r i a ’ s hi d d e n t r e a s u r e s<br />
To someone who is a novice about <strong>Austria</strong>n<br />
wine, how would you recommend learning<br />
more while visiting the country?<br />
<strong>Austria</strong> is a treasure trove for visiting wine<br />
lovers. Hundreds of small wineries, all within a<br />
90 minute drive from Vienna, are open daily<br />
and welcome visi<strong>to</strong>rs. Visiting wineries is<br />
the best way <strong>to</strong> learn more about a country!<br />
What are the most interesting wine regions<br />
<strong>to</strong> visit in <strong>Austria</strong>?<br />
You must visit the wine growing areas along<br />
the Danube <strong>to</strong>wards Krems for zesty fresh<br />
whites. If you like your reds you should go<br />
south <strong>to</strong> the Burgenland area, near Lake<br />
Neusiedl. If you like Sauvignon Blanc, visit<br />
beautiful hilly Styria on the Slovenian border.<br />
And don’t forget Vienna’s own wineries!<br />
What would you recommend as the most<br />
interesting <strong>Austria</strong>n fine wines, <strong>to</strong> someone<br />
who was a lover of traditional French wine?<br />
If you like clarets (Bordeaux) then you must<br />
try wines made from the Blaufränkisch grape<br />
in Burgenland. If you like red Burgundy,<br />
try the Zweigelt or St.Laurent varieties in<br />
<strong>Austria</strong>. If you like white Burgundy, try some<br />
mature powerful Grüner Veltliner.<br />
Are <strong>Austria</strong>n wines created <strong>to</strong> be drunk<br />
with food, or alone?<br />
This is the most exciting part: <strong>Austria</strong>n wines<br />
are excellent food wines and this is not only<br />
true for <strong>Austria</strong>n cuisine, but for all, yes I said<br />
all cuisines! If you find a dish where there<br />
isn’t an <strong>Austria</strong>n wine <strong>to</strong> pair it with I will<br />
buy you dinner in <strong>Austria</strong>!<br />
Find more details on <strong>Austria</strong>n wineries at<br />
www.winesfromaustria.com<br />
AWMB, ÖWM, StÖcher
world pIctures/pho<strong>to</strong>shot<br />
How do you relax? Perhaps you play a little<br />
sport; or go out with friends <strong>to</strong> a bar or<br />
restaurant; maybe catch a film. But that begs the<br />
question - how do you really relax? As in, switch<br />
off your mind, think about nothing, take in the<br />
world, stretch out your time as far as it will go?<br />
Maybe, like most of us, you don’t. But you<br />
might, if you <strong>to</strong>ok a trip <strong>to</strong> Lech Zürs. These<br />
two villages in Vorarlberg are separated by a<br />
high mountain valley and are famed as one<br />
of the most fashionable wintersports resorts<br />
in the world.<br />
In summertime, their beauty, and the natural<br />
wilderness of the Vorarlberg region in which<br />
they are set, takes over. You are high in the Alps,<br />
Lech Zürs - Vorarlberg<br />
High-altitude health kicks<br />
It’s the <strong>greatest</strong> <strong>to</strong>nic in the world: peaceful relaxation amid the Alpine meadows, gentle<br />
exercise in the form of mountain walking, enhanced by some of the purest drinking water you’ll ever find,<br />
while based in some of the prettiest villages Vorarlberg has <strong>to</strong> offer<br />
at an altitude of above 1500m; the valley is<br />
famed for the purity of its air and water.<br />
And you can relax without distraction.<br />
Don’t get us wrong: the villages are beautiful<br />
– in fact Lech, the lower and larger of the two,<br />
won the award for the most beautiful village in<br />
Europe in 2004 – and all the infrastructure of<br />
two of the world’s great ski resorts is there <strong>to</strong><br />
be used and enjoyed.<br />
But still, it’s all about relaxing and doing<br />
what you want, not what your itinerary or any<br />
manmade artefact dictates <strong>to</strong> you. The ultimate<br />
form of contemplative relaxation is walking:<br />
the area has 250 km of trails, many of them<br />
easy walks at a perfect altitude of 1500-2000m.<br />
a u s t r i a ’ s hi d d e n t r e a s u r e s 35
Lech Zürs - Vorarlberg<br />
Previous page: The view above Lech; hiking in the area.<br />
This spread, clockwise from left: Farmhouses in Lech;<br />
hikers in Wandern am Spullersee; canoeists in Lech’s<br />
‘Peak Triathlon’; relaxation techniques; summer in Lech.<br />
Sports scientists have proved that moderate<br />
exercise at this altitude is disproportionately<br />
effective for fitness. Walk, think, gaze at the<br />
view and get fitter, effortlessly.<br />
Peaceful minds<br />
Walking like this, amid such scenic and uplifting<br />
surroundings, resets the mind in<strong>to</strong> the kind of<br />
equilibrium it cannot find in <strong>to</strong>day’s suburban<br />
and city lifestyles.<br />
At the start of the trails above Lech, your<br />
mind might perhaps still be a jumble of all the<br />
things you have taken with you from home;<br />
but by the end of the walk, a kind of peaceful<br />
enlightenment takes over.<br />
You look forward <strong>to</strong> the comfortable hotel;<br />
<strong>to</strong> the pleasing aesthetics of the village; <strong>to</strong> a chat<br />
with the herb man who delivers herbs from the<br />
mountainsides <strong>to</strong> the restaurant you sit in for a<br />
reviving drink, <strong>to</strong> chatting <strong>to</strong> your companions<br />
36 a u s t r i a ’ s hi d d e n t r e a s u r e s<br />
over supper for longer than you would at home.<br />
The source of this relaxation is partly<br />
your mind being taken in<strong>to</strong> the natural world<br />
whence we came; and such references are all<br />
around. At home, you might, if you’re trying<br />
<strong>to</strong> be healthy, go <strong>to</strong> the shop and buy a 1.5 litre<br />
plastic bottle of mineral water <strong>to</strong> drink during<br />
the day. The water will have come out of a<br />
spring somewhere in the world, been bottled at a<br />
plant, and shunted around before reaching you.<br />
In Lech, you can turn on the tap and drink<br />
copiously from the gently frothing water that<br />
<strong>comes</strong> forth. The water in the region is famous<br />
and the water in Lech has a nitrate content<br />
more than 20 times lower than the EU legal<br />
drinking water limit of 35mg/l; it also has high<br />
levels of important minerals such as calcium,<br />
magnesium and sulphates. Most importantly,<br />
it tastes delicious, is free and limitless, flowing<br />
down from the high mountain peaks.<br />
That’s not <strong>to</strong> say you can’t also indulge<br />
in something a little more hearty like the local<br />
schnapps…after all it’s all part of the ultimate<br />
in natural relaxation. ■A<br />
the green ring<br />
This summer, Lech Zürs sees the opening of<br />
a brand new hiking route, the ‘Green ring’,<br />
a three day hiking trail around the region. it<br />
offers hiking trails for all ages and levels of<br />
ability. You’ll trek across the mountain ridges,<br />
along the valley floors and past the lakes<br />
and rivers. But this is a trail with a difference:<br />
unusual and enthralling installations have<br />
been built along the way that tell entertaining<br />
s<strong>to</strong>ries of mythical legends in a modern and<br />
Facts & Figures<br />
Vorarlberg<br />
l Lech Zürs<br />
For more information please contact:<br />
Lech Zürs Tourism<br />
Dorf 2<br />
6764, Lech am Arlberg<br />
Tel: +43 (0) 5583 21610<br />
Fax: +43 (0) 5583 3155<br />
Email: info@lech-zuers.at<br />
www.lech-zuers.at<br />
www.vorarlberg.travel/en<br />
NEArEsT AirporTs<br />
Friedrichshafen 80 miles (130 km)<br />
innsbruck 74 miles (120 km)<br />
Zurich 124 miles (200 km)<br />
humorous way; it’s like a ‘literary’ hiking map<br />
that will be enjoyed by people of all ages. Take<br />
a rest on benches positioned along the way<br />
and take in the awe-inspiring views. This route<br />
promises <strong>to</strong> add a <strong>to</strong>tally new dimension <strong>to</strong><br />
the region of Lech Zürs and one that people<br />
will come from far and wide <strong>to</strong> enjoy: it is the<br />
first time that people will be able <strong>to</strong> enjoy and<br />
experience hiking, art, nature and literature all<br />
at the same time, whilst being surrounded by<br />
seriously impressive mountain scenery.<br />
ALAMY; h. weisenhofer/n. freudenhALer/Lech zÜ rs <strong>to</strong>urisMus; Ö sterreich werbung/feLder
AND ANOThEr ThING...<br />
For those who want a holiday<br />
all about well-being, look no<br />
further than <strong>Austria</strong>’s Health<br />
& Spa Hotels, 54 <strong>to</strong>p hotels<br />
all over <strong>Austria</strong>, specialising in<br />
wellness and spa. Tailor-make<br />
your stay according <strong>to</strong> your<br />
body’s needs. Lech’s own<br />
member is the Hotel Rote<br />
Wand with its luxurious Red Spa.<br />
www.health-and-spa.at<br />
The ultimate form of<br />
contemplative<br />
relaxation is walking<br />
What <strong>to</strong> do and<br />
Where <strong>to</strong> do it...<br />
EVENTS<br />
l Get <strong>to</strong> know the locals at the village festival<br />
in Lech on 10th July at the Rüfiplatz. Take in the<br />
celebra<strong>to</strong>ry atmosphere and impressive views<br />
whilst enjoying a speciality lunch, all set against<br />
the backdrop of Lech’s mountain scenery.<br />
l Keen athletes can take part in the 13th Lech<br />
Summit Triathlon on the 17th July. This starts<br />
with mountain biking at the Rüfiplatz, followed<br />
by kayaking and then finishing with a run. This is<br />
not a challenge for the faint-hearted!<br />
l For a traditional <strong>Austria</strong>n summer experience,<br />
go <strong>to</strong> the Festival on the Mountain on August<br />
8th. There’s something for everyone from<br />
pre-lunch drinks accompanied by music from<br />
a traditional brass band <strong>to</strong> the bouncy castle<br />
for the little ones. Enjoy all this entertainment<br />
alongside delicious local culinary specialities.<br />
l Panoramic views like those in Lech Zürs are<br />
worth making the most of so it’s no surprise<br />
that the Lech high altitude half marathon,<br />
with its fairytale route through majestic peaks<br />
and wildflower-filled meadows is a popular<br />
event. The 8th annual half marathon takes place<br />
on 22nd August so be sure <strong>to</strong> take part.<br />
l Folk music is integral <strong>to</strong> <strong>Austria</strong> and carrying<br />
on traditions is very important in maintaining<br />
the authenticity of the region. Lech’s Musicians<br />
Day on the 31st August will see music groups<br />
from <strong>Austria</strong>, Germany and Switzerland playing<br />
various locations throughout Lech before<br />
coming <strong>to</strong>gether for the grand finale.<br />
GOOD TO KNOW<br />
Lech offers guests the Active Inclusive Card,<br />
your free leisure ticket for the region. Stay at<br />
least one night in Lech and you’ll get free<br />
access <strong>to</strong> all cable cars and chair lifts, the local<br />
buses, selected guided hikes, a day ticket for<br />
the Lech Golf Academy, the forest swimming<br />
pool with slide and children’s pool, village<br />
events such as concerts and much more.
You shoot down<br />
the trail, aware of the<br />
view and the sky,<br />
barely able <strong>to</strong> suppress<br />
a yelp of joy<br />
This spread, from left <strong>to</strong> right:<br />
Saalbach Hinterglemm is the place<br />
<strong>to</strong> go for keen mountain bikers;<br />
there are many single trails with<br />
breathtaking views in the area
The only thing,” you say, in between sharp<br />
breaths of delight, “better than this is…<br />
flying.” You and your favourite person in the<br />
world are sitting on a terrace overlooking a<br />
sharp valley, a few clouds floating down below<br />
you like cashmere. Next <strong>to</strong> you are two <strong>to</strong>ugh,<br />
all-terrain bikes, which you have just climbed<br />
off. On the mountainside above you is the trail<br />
you have just ‘freeridden’ down, a dramatic<br />
track leading from a <strong>to</strong>p cable car station high<br />
in the sky. You’re both breathing rapidly, not<br />
so much from the exertion – although<br />
freeriding a bike downhill demands more<br />
from the body than you expected – but<br />
through sheer adrenaline.<br />
This is the essence of Saalbach Hinterglemm<br />
(dubbed the Valley of Games) in summer: the<br />
ultimate adrenaline rush.<br />
But adrenaline doesn’t necessarily need<br />
<strong>to</strong> be combined with discomfort. This is<br />
<strong>Austria</strong>, after all, not some unaccommodating<br />
distant mountainside. When you arrived in<br />
the area the previous day, you might have<br />
Saalbach Hinterglemm<br />
Non-s<strong>to</strong>p thrills<br />
There’s nothing more refreshing than a break that involves a pure adrenaline rush. In Saalbach Hinterglemm, you’ll<br />
find an array of activities <strong>to</strong> get your pulse rate going, and soothing spas <strong>to</strong> ease you back down again<br />
been forgiven for wondering where any of<br />
the thrills were going <strong>to</strong> come from. Yes, there<br />
were mountains all around; but your spa hotel<br />
seemed more concerned with reducing your<br />
pulse rate than getting it going. Full-body<br />
massages? Check. Skin soothing baths? Check.<br />
Those beauty treatments you never have time<br />
and anotHer tHing...<br />
Nature and technology are<br />
combined at Area 47 in the<br />
Ötztal Valley. There is every<br />
activity imaginable here for<br />
adrenaline junkies from high<br />
rope courses, climbing walls<br />
and speed climbing routes<br />
<strong>to</strong> kayaking and white-water<br />
rafting on the Inn River. There’s<br />
also a beach and water park.<br />
www.area47.at<br />
for back home, what with juggling work and<br />
everything else? Check. Breathe out, slowly…<br />
You came <strong>to</strong> Saalbach Hinterglemm<br />
because you wanted a change of pace. Both of<br />
you have full-on jobs; one of you is considering<br />
a change of career while the other just wants<br />
a break from the relentlessness of it all. You<br />
wanted <strong>to</strong> relax utterly, which you did in the<br />
spa, but you also wanted a thrill, for your<br />
body <strong>to</strong> be charged with electricity for reasons<br />
other than wondering if you’re going <strong>to</strong> finish<br />
your Powerpoint presentation in time for your<br />
next meeting.<br />
And so, on the second day of your break,<br />
<strong>comes</strong> the thrill. You’re met in your hotel by<br />
your guide, Alex, who promises <strong>to</strong> be at your<br />
side throughout the ‘Big-5-Challenge’ mammoth<br />
freeride <strong>to</strong>ur. It’s all about 5000m in altitude<br />
and 57km of riding. Given that you’ve never<br />
fancied yourself as a racing cyclist, you are<br />
relieved that you go up by cable car, and down<br />
by bike, and not the other way round. But still,<br />
the butterflies start in the s<strong>to</strong>mach as you head<br />
a u s t r i a ’ s hi d d e n t r e a s u r e s 39
Saalbach Hinterglemm<br />
up the mountain in the cable car.<br />
The Höhe Tauern mountain range seems<br />
<strong>to</strong> grow before you as the cable car reaches the<br />
peak. This is the highest range of the Alps east<br />
of the Brenner Pass and includes the highest<br />
mountains in <strong>Austria</strong>. Breathing in the thin,<br />
cool, dry air at altitude, you both s<strong>to</strong>p for a<br />
second <strong>to</strong> get a grasp of your surroundings…<br />
and the fact dawns on you that it’s a long<br />
way down. Alex is looking at you expectantly.<br />
“It’ll be the ride of your life,” he says. Have a<br />
snapshot taken as a souvenir <strong>to</strong> ‘immortalise’<br />
yourself in the ‘Big-5-Challenge’ Hall of Fame<br />
and…Alex climbs on his bike, you climb on<br />
yours, and you’re all off.<br />
You shoot down the trail, aware of the view<br />
and the sky, barely able <strong>to</strong> suppress a yelp of<br />
joy – it’s all such a release – and then, all <strong>to</strong>o<br />
soon, you’re at the terrace café, your midway<br />
point on this particular ride. A glass of apple<br />
juice each (you fancy something stronger but<br />
Alex suggests saving it until the end of the<br />
day) and you’re off again…<br />
But it’s not just cycling here. What about<br />
the zipwire? For those who haven’t yet had the<br />
pleasure, zipwiring is when you go shooting<br />
across a valley, attached <strong>to</strong> a wire by a sturdy<br />
harness and hooks, but not much else. Perfectly<br />
safe, but tell that <strong>to</strong> yourself when you are<br />
bulletting, Bond-style, across a ravine, with<br />
40 a u s t r i a ’ s hi d d e n t r e a s u r e s<br />
What <strong>to</strong> do and Where <strong>to</strong> do it...<br />
EVENTS<br />
l Thousands of Harleys will be rolling in<strong>to</strong> the<br />
Glemm Valley for a four day programme of<br />
parading at Biker Mania from 3rd – 6th June.<br />
Evening highlights include poker at the<br />
Alpine Palace Casino and live music.<br />
l With mountain biking in mind, the <strong>to</strong>p freeride<br />
bikers from around the globe will be flocking <strong>to</strong><br />
the Freeride Festival from the 9th – 11th July in<br />
search of the ultimate adrenaline rush. Participants<br />
can test out the latest bikes and the highlight of<br />
the event is a mass downhill from Schattberg.<br />
l The 12th World Games of Mountain Biking<br />
will see approximately 1000 amateur bikers<br />
gather in Saalbach Hinterglemm from the 9th -<br />
12th September <strong>to</strong> battle it out in the disciplines<br />
of marathon, cross country, downhill and<br />
freeride. There’s also a challenge for the kids.<br />
This page, clockwise from above: one of the cable cars in<br />
Saalbach Hinterglemm; the high-rope course in Saalbach<br />
Hinterglemm has different levels between 3 and 40m;<br />
zip-wiring in the Glemm Valley at speeds up <strong>to</strong> 70km/h.<br />
nothing underneath you but pure Alpine air.<br />
And here there’s not just any zipwire, but<br />
the longest in Europe. So, the next day, after a<br />
short orientation and training session with a<br />
reassuring instruc<strong>to</strong>r, you’re hooked up. Ahead<br />
of you is two kilometres of wire, suspended<br />
more than 100m above the valley floor.<br />
Three, two, one…blas<strong>to</strong>ff! Or at least<br />
zipoff, as you shoot down the wire, zigzagging<br />
above the valley at up <strong>to</strong> 70km/h. You really<br />
are flying now, or so it feels, with a bird’s eye<br />
view of the pastures, forests, farm animals and,<br />
occasionally, people far below. You suppress a<br />
desire <strong>to</strong> scream with a mixture of joy, release<br />
and…well, a little bit of fear, even though you<br />
tell yourself, as you shoot through the air, that<br />
all the safety checks were meticulous. And,<br />
finally, you land at the other end, your heart<br />
pumping. Another day in that hotel spa<br />
suddenly sounds tempting….<br />
l Mo<strong>to</strong>rbiking enthusiasts must head <strong>to</strong> the<br />
International Trial Championships from the<br />
24th – 26th September <strong>to</strong> see the latest stunts<br />
put in<strong>to</strong> action by the stars of the sport.<br />
GOOD TO KNOW<br />
The Saalbach Hinterglemm Joker Card is an<br />
essential must-have when visiting the region. If<br />
you are staying in one of the Joker Card partner<br />
hotels (of which there are many), the card is free<br />
of charge and has many benefits. Some of these<br />
include unlimited use of all the lifts, the indoor<br />
and outdoor pools, tennis courts, the local folk<br />
museum and the ski museum. The Montelino’s<br />
adventure trail on the Kohlmais and the Noddy<br />
Train at the end of the valley are both fun (and<br />
free) activities for the little ones. Pro and hobby<br />
bikers should take advantage of free admission<br />
<strong>to</strong> the Adidas Freeride Park on the Reiterkogel.<br />
Facts & Figures<br />
l Saalbach Hinterglemm<br />
For more information please contact:<br />
Tourist Office Saalbach Hinterglemm<br />
Glemmtaler Landesstrasse 550<br />
A-5753 Saalbach Hinterglemm<br />
Tel: +43 (0) 6541 680068<br />
Fax: +43 (0) 6541 680069<br />
Email: contact@saalbach.com<br />
www.saalbach.com<br />
NEArEST AIrpOrTS<br />
Salzburg 56 miles (90 km)<br />
Munich 140 miles (230 km)<br />
■A SAAlbACH.CoM
ArchIVe MontAfon <strong>to</strong>urIsMus GMbh, www.MontAfon.At; edI GroeGer; GeorG AlfAre<br />
The ultimate<br />
health club<br />
Sitting at a desk or in an office isn’t good<br />
for you. That’s official, courtesy of any<br />
fitness guru you’d like <strong>to</strong> ask. So we spend our<br />
evenings piling in<strong>to</strong> gyms, trying <strong>to</strong> reachieve<br />
the kind of muscle-fitness equilibrium our<br />
bodies were made for.<br />
But what if you could go on an entire<br />
holiday that was, in effect, one visit <strong>to</strong> the most<br />
spectacular fitness centre in the world – a gym<br />
that was outdoors, bounded by sky, sun and<br />
mountain rather than ceiling and walls? One<br />
that had all the equipment you could hope for<br />
at the most advanced fitness studio? A holiday<br />
in which you emerge fitter and weller than you<br />
were when you arrived?<br />
That is what Montafon has <strong>to</strong> offer – and<br />
it is verified by some of the world’s leading<br />
sportspeople, who are regular visi<strong>to</strong>rs <strong>to</strong> train<br />
here in its ‘natural gym’. Arrive in Montafon<br />
and the first thing you must do is experience<br />
the scenery, and the best way <strong>to</strong> do this is <strong>to</strong><br />
drive (or mountain bike if you begin the way<br />
you mean <strong>to</strong> go on), up the Silvretta High Road.<br />
This <strong>to</strong>ll road rises up through forest and<br />
grasslands, bordered at times by seas of flowers<br />
and butterflies, revealing the distinctive peaks<br />
of the Silvretta mountain range as it does<br />
so. At the <strong>to</strong>p of the road, on the Bielerhöhe<br />
Pass, you can see the range’s highest peak, the<br />
famous Piz Buin, in all its glory.<br />
Montafon - Vorarlberg<br />
Imagine the world’s biggest gym, bounded not by walls but by mountainsides, with blue sky as a ceiling<br />
and all the facilities you could imagine, but on the grandest of scales. Imagine no more. Montafon, in Vorarlberg,<br />
has it all, including probably the longest piece of fitness equipment in the world...and what a view...<br />
a u s t r i a ’ s hi d d e n t r e a s u r e s 41
Montafon - Vorarlberg<br />
Previous page: There are hundreds of kilometres of trails<br />
for keen hikers; Montafon is perfect for families. This<br />
page, clockwise from left: the Silvretta Classic Rallye;<br />
Montafon’s alpine pastures are great for hiking; rock<br />
climbing is one of the many activities this region offers.<br />
Mountain fitness<br />
And then, on <strong>to</strong> business. The unique highlight<br />
of the ‘open air gym’ in the mountains<br />
around Montafon is the Europatreppe 4000.<br />
Now, we all know stair-climbing in the gym;<br />
trainers say this is one of the best ways <strong>to</strong><br />
exercise your quadriceps and calf muscles.<br />
We’re often advised <strong>to</strong> climb, or run, the stairs of<br />
the buildings we live or work in. But no building<br />
in the world can match the Europatreppe:<br />
4000 steps rising up a vertical difference of<br />
700m, with a maximum gradient of 86%.<br />
This, ‘probably the longest piece of fitness<br />
equipment in the world’, serves as training<br />
ground for the <strong>Austria</strong>n Ladies National Ski<br />
Team, numerous football teams and marathon<br />
runners. It’s run at the level of a <strong>to</strong>p gym: you<br />
get a pulse rate moni<strong>to</strong>r from the Gaschurn or<br />
Silvretta Partenen Tourist Office before setting<br />
off and measure your heart rate as you go;<br />
there are also time clocks at the start and finish<br />
so you can measure your personal best.<br />
Next up, what about mountain biking?<br />
There are 860kms of track, all of them graded<br />
according <strong>to</strong> difficulty. All the routes are on<br />
the Internet with GPS data; and the local<br />
leisure centre has more than 60 mountain<br />
bikes for hire. The ne plus ultra of this activity<br />
is the Silvretta Bike Safari, a mountain bike<br />
<strong>to</strong>ur through the mountains of the Silvretta.<br />
The next day could be hiking. Hundreds of<br />
kilometres of marked trails and guided hiking<br />
<strong>to</strong>urs for groups are available, all with different<br />
42 a u s t r i a ’ s hi d d e n t r e a s u r e s<br />
Facts & Figures<br />
Vorarlberg<br />
l Montafon<br />
For more information please contact:<br />
Montafon Tourismus<br />
Montafonerstr. 21<br />
A-6780 Schruns<br />
Tel: +43 (0) 5556 722530<br />
Fax: +43 (0) 5556 74856<br />
Email: info@montafon.at<br />
www.montafon.at<br />
www.vorarlberg.travel/en<br />
NEArEST AirporTS<br />
Friedrichshafen 62 miles (100 km)<br />
Memmingen 87 miles (140 km)<br />
Altenrhein 46 miles (75 km)<br />
themes. You don’t need <strong>to</strong> be a professional<br />
sportsman <strong>to</strong> enjoy these: two of the themes<br />
are herb and forest trips, with gentle itineraries.<br />
You can even do a ‘sunrise hike’ following a<br />
memorable night in a high mountain lodge.<br />
For something more challenging, try the<br />
Klettergarten Gaschurn-Partenen, a climbing<br />
garden for all levels of ability. There’s also<br />
mountain running, Nordic walking, the high<br />
rope course, canyoning, swimming through<br />
potholes… And if the weather happens <strong>to</strong> turn,<br />
there’s the indoor climbing hall at Gargellen.<br />
Swimmers can immerse themselves in the<br />
There are hundreds<br />
of kilometres of<br />
marked trails and<br />
guided hiking<br />
<strong>to</strong>urs available<br />
ANd ANoThEr ThiNg...<br />
If golf is your thing, <strong>Austria</strong> has<br />
plenty <strong>to</strong> offer. GIA - Golf in<br />
<strong>Austria</strong> are specialists in<br />
holidays specifically tailored<br />
<strong>to</strong> playing golf. All GIA hotels<br />
are close <strong>to</strong> courses that offer<br />
green fee reductions and<br />
guaranteed tee times.<br />
Combine with cuisine and spa<br />
for those who want <strong>to</strong> relax.<br />
www.golfinfo.at<br />
new Alpenbad Montafon, which opened last<br />
year: there’s a 25m lap pool and a large natural<br />
bathing pool. Or you could try the Aquarena<br />
nearby in St. Gallenkirch, which is a beautifully<br />
composed meld of indoor and outdoor pools,<br />
sheltered sunbathing areas and children’s pool<br />
areas, all warmed using an eco-friendly heated<br />
air system. Or Mountain Beach, a lakeside<br />
beach complex created using water purified by<br />
13,000 plants of the green, growing kind.<br />
For an adrenaline rush of a different kind,<br />
that doesn’t require quite so much effort,<br />
there’s the Alpine Coaster, a cross between an<br />
Alp-eating rollercoaster and a mad <strong>to</strong>boggan<br />
ride. There are loops, curves and jumps on a<br />
ride that is 2.6km long and 350m high.<br />
And at the end of each day, in your hotel<br />
or pension, you can sit down <strong>to</strong> dinner, made<br />
with local products, safe in the knowledge that<br />
nature’s gym has made you fit and its produce<br />
is making you healthy. ■A
What <strong>to</strong> do and Where <strong>to</strong> do it...<br />
EVENTS<br />
l The Silvretta Classic Rallye, named after the<br />
mountain range it tackles, is a prestigious 620km<br />
challenge for vintage car owners. The course<br />
winds through the Alpine landscape of Montafon,<br />
Bregenzerwald, the Arlberg and and the 32<br />
hairpin bends of the Silvretta Alpine Pass.<br />
l Enthusiastic mountain bikers can take on the<br />
155km Montafon mountain bike Marathon<br />
M3 on 31st July. The terrain provides a varied<br />
course including flat single trails, high alpine<br />
sections with plenty of gravel, woodland paths<br />
and panoramic trails against the backdrop of<br />
the Silvretta mountain range. There are also two<br />
shorter, energetic courses for the less ambitious.<br />
l Now in its 44th year, the traditional Montafoner<br />
Pferdesporttage equestrian days in Schruns-<br />
Tschagguns have developed from a small and<br />
provincial event in<strong>to</strong> an eagerly awaited and<br />
internationally recognised jumping competition.<br />
500 equestrians and their horses will congregate<br />
at this social and sporting event from the 5th -<br />
8th August and 13th – 15th August.<br />
l For twelve years on the last weekend in August,<br />
Montafon has been the meeting place of folk<br />
musicians from the entire Alpine region. Several<br />
inns, hotels and mountain stations host <strong>Austria</strong>n<br />
and international singers and music groups who<br />
perform in a style indigenous <strong>to</strong> the area.<br />
GOOD TO KNOW<br />
The Montafon Silvretta Card offers many<br />
benefits for your stay; obtain one free of charge<br />
for your little ones when you buy your own and<br />
book for 5 nights or more. Also receive a voucher<br />
from your hotelier and stay for 7 days but pay for<br />
only 5, valid from 15th – 29th May, 2010.<br />
a u s t r i a ’ s hi d d e n t r e a s u r e s 43
Romance<br />
It’s in<br />
the air!<br />
dinner on the ferris wheel, vienna<br />
Watch over the magical city by candelight. www.wienerriesenrad.com<br />
travel austria's romantic road<br />
Chill out in the lovely <strong>to</strong>wn of Hallstatt near Salzburg. www.hallstatt.at<br />
44 a u s t r i a ’ s hi d d e n t r e a s u r e s<br />
What’s romance <strong>to</strong> you? It might<br />
be a traditional candle-lit dinner in<br />
a restaurant with exquisite service,<br />
and perfect cuisine. Or maybe it’s a<br />
glass of wine or two in an ancient<br />
vineyard, as nature slowly turns day<br />
<strong>to</strong> night? Perhaps it’s holding hands<br />
as the view of one of the world’s<br />
most beautiful cities unfolds<br />
beneath you? Or dinner for two in<br />
a luxury treehouse way up high in<br />
the stars? <strong>Austria</strong> has all of these,<br />
and many more: here are some of<br />
our favourites...<br />
dinner for two on lake millstÄtt<br />
At the Hotel Koller's private palm island. www.kollers.at<br />
tree's company<br />
In the Newlywed Hut at Almdorf<br />
Seinerzeit in Patergassen.<br />
www.almdorf.com<br />
embark on a designer romance<br />
At the Romantik Hotel Gmachl near Salzburg. www.gmachl.com<br />
an afternoon in a heuriger, grinzing, vienna<br />
Sip local wine at a pub with its own vineyard. www.heuriger-reinprecht.at