Lake Wolfgang between Holidays

Wolfgangsee

The A1 highway, Austria’s main East-West artery, has completely turned into a skiing hub filled with travellers from many countries heading towards Alpine lifts and resorts. There are no signs of winter all the way from Vienna until the mountains begin to fill the view and the road begins to slightly bend, at the same time, to get filled with much denser traffic consisting of roof-racked cars with happy-looking passengers.

Salzkammergut, the land of lakes and mountains, enjoys the attention of visitors all year round. But obviously, only a few people are crazy enough to get into the water at around Christmas time, so the main attraction in winter belongs to the mountains with the ski lifts. The lakes stand still and sleepy with almost perfectly transparent water, completely free of any floating plants. The tranquillity and melancholy look almost untouchable and sacred from a distance, but should you come a bit closer…

The streets are full of cars, as well as the tracks are full of walkers and even cyclists. Still, the main movement is inside the restaurants, the owners of which decided to skip the traditional two weeks’ holidays and run some lucrative business. The unbelievably tasty roasted pork with crunchy golden skin, along with sour cabbage and bread dumplings, is served to almost every table with guests, noisy and happily relaxed after the beer, obligatory preceding the main dish. Very well-heated rooms add to the relaxation, while the waiters, oftentimes the owners of the places, encourage for another beer, coffee with the country-style desserts, or, in the most radical case, for a glass of unexpectedly tasty apricot schnapps.