Salzkammergut and Lake Wolfgangsee: A Tale of Mountains and Lakes

In Austria there is a region called Salzkammergut. There are several small and big mountain lakes in this region. The name of the region comes from salt. From the era of the Roman Empire to the Middle Ages 2,000 years ago, a significant amount of salt was extracted in this region. Trade and economy fostered in the region thanks to salt trade, but this prosperous period ended with the depletion of this white gold a few centuries ago. Mountain lakes, however, were also regarded as the summer resort of the Austrian-German emperors.

The following are the most interesting lakes in the region:

· Attersee

· Mondsee

· Wolfgangsee

Other small lakes are Zellersee, Wallersee and the like.

We started our travel from the city of Linz to Lake Wolfgansee. We drove our own car. We used the GPS of the mobile phones and the 4–5G, no navigation problems. From Linz, you need to go to Salzburg-Graz direction. Approximately 15 minutes later, the A1 motorway is reached and 80–90 km up to Lake Mondsee. I would like to point out the following here: there are no toll booths in Austria. You need to stick your car with a sticker called vignette, and these vignettes are either for 2 months or for 1 year. It seems that without this vignette, one would be punished at least 200 euro.

Mondsee was the first lake we came across. The view during our ride is amazing: green hills, clean and refreshing air, mountains and beautiful roads. Mountain villages that look like they come out of a painter’s painting.

I used Google Maps app to locate Lake Wolfgangsee and navigate. In fact, there are multiple villages and towns around this lake. For Lake Wolfgangsee, Google Maps takes the town Gilgen. That’s what we followed. Other settlements/towns around the lake can be reached by car or boat. Before we entered Gilgen, we stopped by the local tourist office. This tourism info center had many brochures in the German, Italian and English languages ​​about local attractions and activities. Since we travel with our car, we consulted the staff there for parking and important places to visit. The staff informed us about the proper parking and where and when the boat tours depart. There was a parking lot close to the post where the boat tour was held. The parking fee was also 4 euro per 24 hours. We found a comfortable spot in the parking lot.

Lake Wolfgangsee is surrounded by enormous green and beautiful mountains. You can enjoy the view of the light and the shadow that is created by the illumination of the different peaks of the sun.

My observations:

· As everywhere else, there were a large number of Asian tourists

· There were many people riding bicycles. There were especially family bikers as well as parents, 2 children and all of them bikes. Lovely scenes

· It is possible to get in boats with bike

· The roundtrip boat fare was 15.6 euro.

· Wolfgang settlement is larger and more touristic. Many tourist shops are located here, as well as many hostels and hotels

· There are houses and settlements that resemble a painter’s painting

· The water of the lake is very clear and clean. You can easily see the fish in the lake, especially in shallow places.

· Water sports are active. Parasailing, sailboats, small boats etc/

· There was an area for the caravans.

· There is a cable car and I think you reach the summit of the highest mountain nearby. I haven’t had time to try, but must be a great experience.

· There are playgrounds available for the kids

· Along the way we saw many cars plugged into multiple bikes behind.

· The view is really impressive. The water of the lake is clear and close to the air temperature.

· There were entrants to swim in the lake at several points.

· Austrians usually bring their food. Many people were eating the food they took out of the bag. Of course, there are enough restaurants in the settlements around the lake. As the labor in Europe is expensive, meals in restaurants are not so cheap. I think Europeans have learned to live moderately. They know how to handle their own business, not to waste it and also to make good use of their time.

· We saw many cyclists along the way from 7 years old to 70 literally.

· Excursion by horse-drawn carriage in Wolfgang on the lake shore was available and it was 5 euro. And there was no intense use, the horse carts were empty so the customer was waiting.

· In some places there were newspapers in the bag hanging on a pole. There were a lot of multi-page newspapers and a small box on the bag that said 1.2 euros. So when you get the newspaper 1.2 euro you need to pay for it by putting coins. It’s up to you to pay for it.