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2006 Lakes and valleys
AUSTRIA 2006 Lakes and
Valleys
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Arriving at Mondsee which we had visited
several years ago, we managed to find a parking place by the lake but no
evidence of the listed stellplatz. During a short break in the rain we had
a stroll by the lake and into the town where virtually everything
was closed for the low season, then decided to head for a campsite which
we found just off the main road at St Lorenz, just a few scattered houses
in the flat meadows. The site had excellent amenities but was mostly static
caravans and it wasn't possible to walk along the lake beyond the site
boundaries.
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The next day we continued south to St Gilgen at the top of Wolfgangsee
where there was an excellent tourist bureau on the main road and free
parking in the narrow town streets. There were more tourists around and we
heard English voices for the first time since we had left home. St Gilgen
is where Mozart's mother lived, commemorated by a statue of the young
Mozart, and had (too) many gift shops for us. We
found an ice-cream parlour with internet but of course it was closed on
Mondays! As it was still raining and the washing was building up we
decided to head for a campsite and found a good ACSI site Camping
Birkenstrand at Abersee halfway down the lake. The campsites around here
must be in a competition for the most luxurious amenities block - here
they had glass automatic entrance doors (not in the toilets!) and marble
walls and floors.
After another wet evening and more games
of Scrabble the next morning we drove to Bad Ischl, a busy town for
some shopping then to the Saltzkammergut regional tourist office, an
austere place by the railway station, looking for internet facilities. They redirected us to the town tourist office where we managed to e-mail
home with an update (2€ for 20 minutes). After lunch and still in
torrential rain we drove around the lake to St Wolfgang of White Horse Inn
fame. We parked in one of the private carparks at the entrance to
the town (2.50€ all day strictly NO overnight parking allowed, but
there were signs for overnight parking for Wohnmobils in the official car park 8€), and walked along past
the many gift shops to the lakeside and the cog railway terminus (24€
return) but it wasn't operating in this weather. I'm sure there are great views
from here but through the mist we could only make out fresh snow on the
distant mountains!
Grey mountains from grey
Wolfgangsee
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Mondsee church (Sound of Music)
St Gilgen Rathaus
Wolfgangsee cog railway
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Yes the Austrian lake district is as wet as
the UK's so we decided to head south by a circuitous route as we thought the roads
over the mountains may be not be at their best in the weather. We bought an
10 day Autobahn vignette for 7.60€ and then followed two very slow British motorhomes in
convoy from Bad Ischl to Liezen about 50 km. We frequently pulled over into laybys to avoid
being "with them" and let some cars pass but soon caught them up! At
last onto the empty Autobahn and made good progress to Judenburg where we
missed a turning and got lost in some roadworks ending up on the wrong
side of the autobahn. Eventually we were en route on the narrow main road with many lorries
heading towards Klagenfurt with welcoming blue skies in the
distance at last. Turning off to Feldkirchen we took the road north of Ossiachersee where we have previously
stayed years ago and bypassed Villach, rejoining the autobahn and taking
the well signposted turning
into the attractive Gailtal valley and an ACSI discount campsite just before
Hermagor.
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We were heartily greeted at Camping Flaschberger by the owner and given a
grassy pitch near the entrance for a couple of days. It was possible to use
the internet at the campsite using a D-link network cable adaptor over the
mains hookup connection for a one-off payment of 1.50€ so we were able
to update our news at leisure in the comfort of our motorhome. The site
was a mix of touring and seasonal caravans and also had a large sports hall
for tennis and an outdoor pool. The site was opposite a larger one
with chalets, large static vans but also touring pitches together with a
bar and restaurant, at least in high season. It was about a mile walk into
the town along the main road but an alternative route along the back lanes
through the meadows was more attractive.
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Camping Flaschberger in Hermagor
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The next day despite the thermometer
initially reading only 3 degrees C it soon warmed up and we walked from
the site to the Presseggersee lake which turned out to be further than we
had anticipated but we enjoyed the sunshine at last. Unfortunately the
lakeside was not easily accessed except at a leisure complex. We then drove further
up the Gailtal valley with its hay meadows and barns, and over a winding wooded pass to
Weissensee a small lakeside resort in a fiord like valley, but not as
turquoise as in the brochures.
We had seen many posters around Hermagor for their Speckfest so early on
the Saturday morning we called into the town where the streets had been
transformed into a lively market with many stalls selling speck (ham) plus
fried polenta, bread, wine, cider and of course beer and more beer.
Everyone was having a jolly time with
dancers and choirs in their delightful traditional dress of dirndl skirts, and bands
breaking out into tune in every street. Having soaked up the atmosphere
(but fortunately not the drink!) for a while we set off south for Italy and Slovenia.
Pig's head shaped loaf at
the speckfest
Dancers and band at Speckfest
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Hay barn in Gailtal valley
Weissensee
Choirs at Speckfest
let's stop and have a song!
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