St. Gilgen

We decided after our trip to Salzburg, way back in the Fall, that we wouldn’t drag the girls around on any big trips over the winter.  Traveling with kids is difficult to begin with, but when you add in freezing temperatures, things take a turn towards impossible quickly.  Luckily, Vienna has plenty of diversions to offer even the under-five set over the blustering winter and as an added boon, we all like each other quite a lot.

Nevertheless, it was time.  Even if Spring weather wasn’t showing it’s face, a holiday was agreed upon as a necessity.  Mostly, because we (read : John…I am more than happy to stay home under my blankets) were struck with a healthy dose of Wanderlust. And, perhaps the most pressing factor behind an Easter weekend getaway was that the last JPO working with John is about to begin her out-processing.   Meaning, John will soon be more or less shackled to his responsibilities at work with no one to fill in for him until the newest pair of JPO’s make their way to Vienna.  This could be months (and that’s optimism speaking) so, in all certainty, we decided to get out of town. 

Deciding where this fantastic holiday should take place took a bit of brainstorming, but we eventually eschewed any other fantastic European cities in favor of Austria’s lakes in the Salzkammergut.  These country mice needed to get back to their roots, so we booked an apartment in lovely little St. Gilgen on Lake Wolfgang and headed out a few days before Easter.

As always, travel with kids is a bit more hectic and stressful, if not just because there’s more luggage and more herding of little people involved.  Audrey was recovering from a cold and Bailey was starting to catch it herself, but both of the girls were troopers; they are becoming well-seasoned and patient travelers…even when we got them lost on the way to our rental in St. Gilgen and wound up taking the scenic route to our apartment. (along with a chorus of "Mama, when are we going to beee there!?!")

Luckily, the woman meeting us to hand off keys was incredibly sweet and helpful and the apartment, for all sakes, was perfect for our little family of four.  The views up the mountains and down towards the lake were so refreshing and it wasn’t long before we found ourselves out in it all. 

Lake Wolfgang is one of seventy-six in Austria’s Salzkammergut and is situated only 45 minutes (by bus) south of Salzburg.  Along the shores of this lake are several small hamlets as well as the towns of St. Gilgen and St. Wolfgang.  We chose St. Gilgen because it was smaller and less touristy than St. Wolfgang...and perhaps, more importantly, because it had a reputation for having a particularly fun playground near the lake. 

We knew the weather in St. Gilgen would likely be a bit colder and damper than what we had been experiencing in Vienna, and our attitude towards the weather reflected that; sun, snow, rain or wind--we were out in it all.  The girls even took a crack at that cold and muddy playground a few times; those two know no barriers to a chance at swinging. The town of St. Gilgen proved to be absolutely charming; there were enough small shops and buildings of interest to make a walk about town entertaining, but mostly, the walking paths along the lake were what called to us--a chance to romp around freely in the gorgeous scenery.  

We spent plenty of time taking in the town, but also leaped at the chance to take the ferry boat around the lake to St. Wolfgang.  This was likely Bailey's favorite part of the trip--being out on the water, watching the snow fall into the lake while being served apple juice (Mama and Papa got to indulge in some cappuccino en route).  When we got to St. Wolfgang, we realized that it wasn't so much snowing as it was slushing--a joyous discovery for the girls who proceeded to shuffle their boots through the mucky wet stuff for over an hour as we took in this town that, for all it's quaint buildings and churches, seemed to pale in comparison to our lovely St. Gilgen.  Around this time, we discovered that Audrey and Bailey's winter boots weren't nearly as water-proof as we had imagined and that their poor little toes were soaked and freezing from all that slush-sloshing.  So, we booked it to a cozy restaurant on the lake where the girls got to eat schnitzel and drink strawberry juice...there was even time for dessert while we let their shoes and socks finish drying by the radiator.  

Sometimes it's the happy accidents that are the best. 

Our last day in town we encountered yet another one of these accidents--we took off on a hike around the lake with an unspecified end in mind.  It was absolutely gorgeous trekking around the lakeside, peeking at little hamlets along the way.  Before we knew it, though, we realized we were so far from St. Gilgen that our two strong little hikers probably wouldn't be able make it back on their own.  We were considering where we might be able to take a long break or whether we would have to carry them back on the three miles we had already walked when we realized we were coming up on one of the lake's ferry stops.  It was also about that time that the ferry came into view, beat us to the stop and took off minutes before we arrived.  Oh, it could have been disastrous.  But, imagine our relief to find a cozy Gasthaus situated down the lane from that ferry stop.  The time between boats meant we had just enough time to stop for some lunch and rest our feet before hitching a ride back to St. Gilgen.

But that wasn't the only happy surprise; this Gasthaus served the best food we had eaten all weekend.  John had some incredible lamb, my chicken tasted better than any chicken I've eaten before...and the girls had schnitzel for the thrity-sixth time on the trip. (at least this time it was served with a little plastic sea plane to keep them amused as we lingered at the table) We ended up catching the next ferry which took us back to St. Gilgen on a ride that lasted a mere seven minutes...we spent all of them outside on the deck of the boat, wind whipping our hair while the girls screamed and bounced from one railing to the other like a pair of pin balls.  In hindsight, that ferry ride was probably the best money we spent on the trip.  

Once we were back in our little town, we stopped at Cafe Nanerl (named after Mozart's sister, who lived in St. Gilgen briefly) where we ate cake and sipped coffee before heading back to our cozy apartment.  Overall, it was a really enjoyable trip; an excellent change of scenery from our big snowy concrete jungle; a fantastic escape to focus on each other and do nothing but enjoy the days together.