Week 18 - Austria

We drove through the beautiful Czech countryside and headed for the Austrian Border. Autumn is a stunning time of year when all the leaves are tuning colour. 

We stopped at a fuel station along the road to buy a vignette for the Austrian roads and to fill up with Diesel and LPG.

We crossed yet another order with ease and carried on to Traunfall, a place that had been recommended to us by someone on trip advisor. We parked there for the night. It didn’t look much from the parking area, but after a short walk in the morning down the hill, we spotted a river and waterfall with the most amazing colours. This was our first encounter with Austria, we new we were in for a treat.

We carried on then to Bad Ischl. On the way we pulled in by the lake at Traunkirchen to gaze in wonder at the scenery. What a place to stop for lunch.

I’d never heard of Bad Ischl before. On the surface, it’s a gorgeous upmarket little town surrounded by stunning mountain scenery. We woke up to blue skies and sunshine, so took the opportunity to walk to the cable car station just up the road for a ride up to Mount Katrin. The views from the top were stunning.

Later on, as we were eating lunch, I read a bit about the place. I googled Bad Ischl and this came up on the Telegraph ... There was, of course, another tragedy waiting in the wings for Emperor Franz Joseph. In the summer of 1914, the emperor’s nephew, and the heir to the Habsburg throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, was shot dead in a street in Sarajevo.

In the month that followed the assassination on June 28, Europe was plunged into diplomatic frenzy as Austria-Hungary, coming under pressure from all sides, weighed up how to respond. Ministerial delegations from Vienna travelled to Bad Ischl to confer with the by now clearly wearying 83-year-old emperor and to convey the urgency of the situation.
Visitors to the Kaiservilla today can see the rooms in which ministers and diplomats seeking an audience with the emperor would have had to wait; they can then step into Franz Joseph’s private study and take a long, hard look at the solid wooden desk, complete with quill pen stand, at which, on July 28, 1914, the emperor signed the declaration of war on Serbia, which in turn triggered the set of alliances that led to the outbreak of the First World War ... wow, is all I can say.

Anyway, we spent the afternoon wandering around in the sunshine and even managed a horse and cart ride around the town learning more about the Emperors holiday home.

The following morning was spent trying to retrieve a hoselock nozzle from the water fill pipe that had accidentally come off the end of a stellplatz hose we’d been using to fill Harriet with water. We gave up in the end and had to admit defeat. We walked back into the town to a coffee house we’d spotted for a chocolate fix. The answer I find, to everything haha.

We love to use public transport and the next day was no exception. Our destination - Hallstatt. When we did some research, the parking and campsites were so over priced, it made sense to use the train. The Stellplatz in Bad Ischl (€8 per night) was only a 5 minute walk to the station and the journey was really scenic.

We got off the train and followed the crowds to the ferry. 

What a way to see Hallstatt for the first time from across the lake. It’s beautiful. The town is only small but again the views were stunning. 

We even took a motorised boat out onto the water for an hour. A good way to escape the rest of the tourists.

We drove 10 miles up the road from Bad Ischl and parked at St Wolfgang. Another stunning Austrian town. The clouds didn't want to move out of the way today but it stayed dry so couldn’t complain. 

We even tried some Austrian street food which was delicious. 

We’ve got into a routine of going to bed at a reasonable time but trying to get up in a morning is another thing. By the time we’ve showered and eaten breakfast it’s gone 10 o’clock. No idea how we’ll adjust to a “normal life” at the end of this adventure?!!

We headed for Salzburg as we’d found a stellplatz on the edge of town with a washing machine and a bus stop. After the washing and drying was done we headed out. It was only a short ride into the middle and soon found our way into the old part with lots of squares and narrow shopping streets to explore. Salzburg is the home of Mozart, so another popular destination for tourists. 

I loved all the ornate shop signs and even McDonalds had to keep in with the theme.

We visited the stunning cathedral and bought yet another hat pin for our collection.

We found a great little restaurant for tea (dinner for my southern friends) away from the main drag and walked along the river in the dark before returning to the Stellplatz for a second night.