Summer holiday in Austria

  We love  Austria and just had to return to Zell am See and Kaprun! This was our  4^th summer visit since 2009 and even now there are plenty of things for us still to do and new places to go such is the variety on offer in the area for all ages.   ( For further  information  on  two  of  our  previous  visits  see  the  following  links  second  visit and  our third  visit ) .

In fact to make even more of our holiday this time we again  stayed at  Austria Holiday Apartment  wonderfully located apartment in Kaprun for ten nights.

This is an account of what we did  as  a  family  - that’s a mum, dad and two girls aged 8 and 10.

 

What we get most enjoyment from is walking in the mountains and swimming…lots of swimming!  So we checked the weather forecast, via the apartment’s WiFi and the local TV channels, and decided to immediately go for the ‘hike and swim’ card again which is perfect for us. For a family of 4 it costs €205.50 for 6 days and provides unlimited use of the cable cars, gondolas and; chairlifts at the Kitzsteinhorn, Schmittenhohe and Maiskogel mountains and the three outdoor swimming areas around Lake Zell and the indoor pool in Zell am See.  This is a great economic way of using the facilities.

Dragons  Walk  on the  Schmitten great  for  children  and  dragons / adults alike

We asked the children what they’d like to do first, both immediately responded “the Schmidolin walk!” This is a great way of getting into the mountains and keeping the children entertained. The circular walk has over 12 different activity stations, some of which change from year to year, for children to have fun and help the dragon Schmidolin in his quest. It’s best to start at the Areitbahn gondola where the parking is free and the ticket office is in the Intersport shop. The staff are very helpful, they will give the children a card to mark off at each activity station, and with all the right answers on return they will be given something to remember the occasion.

New! This year at the top of the Areitbahn lift, there is a motocross course on e-bikes which boys might like, have a look here at the Freeride E-center

 Swimming  in  a  Lake  with  Mountain views

 

Lake  a  Zell am See  beautifully  clean with  great views

It was sooooo hot on this our first day (obviously the fire breathing dragon had been busy!), that the temperature gauge in the car was reading 42°c!  So we just had to go to the lido and jump in Lake Zell to cool off,  aaaaaaahhhhhhh. 

The lido can be busy but it has a heated pool  with a slide, a pool for the very little ones, a café and is  right next to the lake and with stunning scenery too.

Sledging on a Mountain in the  Summer

View  from the top  of  the Kitzstienhorn with  glacier above  Kaprun

‘What would you like to do next?’ we asked. “Can we go sledging?” was the response. Why not it’s only August! Our second day we ascended the Kitzsteinhorn  which is just a few kilometres drive up the road from the apartment. Two gondolas and a cable car take you to the summit station – the Gipfelwelt 3000 – where there is a fantastic café/restaurant, a cinema and a panoramic platform at 3029m. On a clear day the views are unbelievable. We made our way to the Ice Arena on the glacier where everyone, young & old, can go tobogganing / sledging and have fantastic fun. The less energetic can watch from a deckchair with a hot or cold drink.

Summer  Sledging  on the  Kitzsteinhorn  in August

In fact we had so much fun that we went back a few days later and when we arrived at the summit this time it was actually -2°c and snowing!  As always its best to be prepared for the conditions but winter clothes can be bought or hired from the Intersport shops that are at each gondola station. 

We  built  a  snowman

 


The cloud soon gave way to some sunshine and it ‘warmed up’ to 7°c so we built a snowman, in fact three, which became an instant tourist attraction. Just wonderful!

In the summer months there are always many events happening, some occur each week and some are special one-off events so it’s definitely worth checking with the Tourist Information Centre as there is something for everyone.

Summer  Evenings  in Austria

Every Wednesday evening in Zell am  See there is a festival with street bars, entertainment, food vendors and traditional music. Whilst busy the atmosphere is fabulous. We were lucky enough to go twice and the children loved the pancakes and candy floss stalls!   

Great  evening with Live music in Medieval town center of  Zell am See  

 
We only just missed out on Kaprun’s own festival and mountain bike extravaganza – Bike Infection which takes place in mid-August, we went in 2011 and it was well worth a visit.

Football fans will be interested to know that the area is also a magnet to top football sides who like to take training camps. One evening the top Qatari side Al-Sadd were training on the pitch opposite the apartment so I watched them for some time. When they finished I had my photograph taken with one of their players – ex-Real Madrid and Spain legend ‘Raul’. Football gold!

Mountain Views to  take  the  breath  away

View  from the  Schmitten  above  Zell am See

Anyway back to normality and the next walk we did was on the Schmitten, where we took the cable car to the summit station and walked the route from the St Elisabeth chapel down the ridge to the Sonnkogel, this is a lovely short walk, not that strenuous, with amazing views again and plenty to keep children entertained along the way. There are lots of information stations too that describe the area, the history, the wildlife and the fauna of the mountain which is interesting and of course importantly there is a café/restaurant at either end. The coffee and apfelstrudel should not be missed!

On a rainy day we wandered into Kaprun, found a lovely café at the bakery and then later visited the indoor pool in Zell am See which had a 74m water slide and diving boards. The pool is also adjacent to the ice rink, home of the EK Zeller ice hockey team, on the main road.

High Dams  Above  Kaprun

Kaprun  Reservoirs

 One place we’d not visited previously were the high altitude reservoirs at Kaprun including the Mooserboden reservoir and dams. The start of this excursion is just a few km past the Kitzsteinhorn gondola station where you park your car, get a ticket €39 per family, which includes the bus ride up to the higher reservoir.. We were fortunate enough to go on a good weather day when the power company Verbund had also organised a day specifically aimed at children with lots of activities going on. We walked along the dam walls (  you  can  also  walk  in the  dam wall)  and had a nice picnic next to the reservoir amongst the glacial mountains, simply stunning.

Swimming  Lido at Piesendorf

When our ‘hike and swim’ card had expired we had three days to choose what to do. Firstly we decided to venture to the outdoor pool, the Hinkelsteinbad, at Piesendorf. This was a little difficult to find at first so I would advise checking the map, it’s next to FC Piesendorf (the football team), but an alternative would be to travel by the Pinzgau Lokalbahn train from Furth-Kaprun as the pool is next door to the railway station. Anyway the pool was much quieter than the lido in Zell and equipped with a heated pool, sports pool, a jacuzzi, a longer slide, a café and with a beautiful vista up the valley. Idyllic!  For the family it was just €10.50 for the day and we stayed for over 5 hours. We had a fabulous time there and would definitely recommend it.

The following day was forecast to be poor, so we decided to take the train from Zell am See to visit Salzburg. This cost just €32 for a return ticket for us all and included parking in the ‘Park and Ride’ at Zell station. I would recommend going early as the journey takes 1.5 hours and the parking spaces are limited. We enjoyed walking around Salzburg and visited the house that was the birthplace of Mozart. We would like to have visited the Science and Natural History Museum science museum (again) but ran out of time(!)

Tauern  Spa  Kaprun 

Salt / brine swimming  pool  at Tauern Spa  Kaprun

Our final day ended on a real high where we spent virtually the whole day at the Tauern Spa, Kaprun which is described as the ‘Base Camp for Body  Soul’ and that is a pretty accurate summary. The complex is 5 star and the ‘wasserwelt’ (waterworld) is nothing short of fantastic with lots of different indoor and outdoor pools, jacuzzis, slides and even a heated salt water pool. Very very relaxing, and lots of fun too. What was even better was that it was much less busy than our previous visit and the weather was good! A day pass cost €61.50 but it was worth it. On entry you are given a wrist band that contains a chip, which not only controls a changing room that acts as a locker but also can be used to purchase food, which is very nice, from the restaurant and cafes (note when not using cash this can be a little dangerous to the wallet!). I am looking forward to the day when we can also visit the sauna and masseuse and leave the children to entertain themselves!

Before we returned to the airport we had fun on the Maisiflitzer roller coaster at the Maiskogel in Kaprun which follows the gradient of the ski slope and has bumps and turns. At the point where the photograph is taken we were doing 42kmph, awesome! One run down the track for the four of us, in two carts, cost €24. The area has also been developed with a go-kart track €2 for 10 mins and large slides which are €0.50c per go. Plenty to keep the children entertained here!

So there it is our 4^th, and most enjoyable to date, visit to Kaprun. Many thanks to the  Austria Holiday  Apartment again for the hire of their apartment which looked as fresh as it did when we first arrived in 2009. It’s well equipped and very conveniently placed for walking into Kaprun, travelling by road and only a few metres from the Billa supermarket.

The dilemma is now whether to return for a winter ski trip or another amazing summer adventure. We now love Austria even more!

Richards Family

Tauern  Spa  Kaprun - a  great  place  to  visit  throughout  the  year

 

Things to do in a week in Kaprun, Zell am See and the Salzburg area

 Summer  holidays  in  Austria
 
We’ve just returned from our second visit to Austria and stayed in Austria  Holiday apartment in Kaprun, which is perfectly positioned and very comfortable.

We are a young family and have two girls aged 7 and 5, so here’s a few notes from our trip in the Zell am See / Kaprun Salzburg area:-

Mountains, lake and valley to explore in Kaprun and Zell am See

1. The main activities for us this year were walking and swimming so we purchased a Kaprun Zell am See “Hike and Swim” ticket for a total of €176. It might sound expensive but one return ride on a cable car is £40 and one visit to the lido in Zell am See is £20 and as we can manage both in one day it’s cost effective,  it gave us "free" access to lots of the attractions in the immediate area.

2. Our first walk was one for the children “Schmidolin’s Feuertaufe”, it’s new this year and has a fire breathing dragon theme. There are 11 game action stations on a circular walk which is situated between the City Express (Mittelstation) and Areitbahn gondolas.  We all enjoyed this walk (route no. 56) and the children loved it especially when they each received a certificate at the end, which they were both very pleased with. If we had more time we probably would have done it again. For more info in German click here, the English link is above.


3. The next day the Schmittenhohebahn wasn’t running but the TrassExpress was which runs to its left (this isn’t shown on the summer map but is visible on the winter map). We then walked up the mountain to the St Elisabeth church at the Schmitten summit where we then followed the very short Empress Sisi walk (route no.1).

4. Our next walk was from the top of the Schmittenhohe along the ridge to the Sonnkogel chairlift (Erlebnisweg Hohenpromenade, route no. 67). This is mostly downhill and there are multiple information points along the way (including tunnels to explore) which can engage the children and at the top of the Sonnkogel there is a zip wire and slide.  Also here is a place where you can have your photo taken by the webcam, here’s ours!


We stopped off for coffee and apple strudel at the café/restaurant and then took the chairlift ride down, which the children loved, at the end of which there is another playground. From here it is the Sonnenalm cable car back to the car park.

Klamsee above Sigmund Thum Klamm gorge near Kaprun

5. On a cloudy and wet day we drove the one mile up the road from the apartment and paid  €8, for 4 of us to walk through the Sigmund-Thun-Klamm gorge which is very impressive. From the top of the gorge we walked around the Klamsee (lake) and then drove a very short distance to take the Maiskogelbahn cable car. This is like stepping back in time and at the top by the café there are swings, a number of animals for the children to see (goats, ponies, chickens) and also great views looking down to Kaprun towards Zell am See.


6. Our next trip we gave the children the choice of either taking the train and; bus to the Krimml waterfall or visiting the ice cave at Werfen.

They chose the ice cave so that’s where we went. This is approx 45mins from the apartment in Kaprun. We would advise going as early as possible in the day because we had a lot of queuing. When we arrived at Werfen, near the impressive, imposing castle, we were told to park in the lower car park and take the bus to the ticket office, whilst this cost us an extra €16 in hindsight it was money well spent because the drive up the mountain to the ticket office is not for the uninitiated (steep narrow hairpins avoiding buses for 5km and a narrow busy car park at the top). We paid £50 for our cable car/ice cave ticket and took the 20 min walk to the cable car, which leaves every 3 mins but can only carry 15 people at a time (so a long queue takes time to shift). There is then another 20min walk to the ice cave which itself has hundreds of steps (I felt dizzy for a short period as we got to the top but our children didn’t complain at all). Warm clothing and good footwear is essential. The ice cave is amazing and is only lit by lamps carried by the visitors and magnesium carried by the guide who also speaks English and German.

7. When we weren’t walking we were mainly swimming at the lido in Zell am See which has great facilities. Here we all used the pools, the water slide and swam in the lake. Whilst our children aren’t old enough yet they enjoyed watching the teens being towed by the speedboat on the doughnuts and the banana (and falling off). The views around the lake from here are fantastic, I bet there aren’t many other better situated outdoor swimming pools. We also used the indoor pool in Kaprun but I expect the new Tauern Spa Kaprun resort due to open in November will be much better.

View from the lido at Zell am See swim and sail

8. There is a great atmosphere in Zell am See on Wednesday nights during the summer with music bands, lots of food and drink stalls and entertainers including clowns making balloon animals.

Summer traditional music in the town Square in Zell am See on Wednesdays nights

9. As we had a late flight back to the UK and the weather was poor we drove into Salzburg and visited the Natural History/Science museum which was fascinating for us all.  We spent approx 3 hours inside, there are a number of floors with rooms featuring dinosaurs, the ice age, science, space exploration and the Doppler effect, evolution, aquariums amongst others.

10. On a sunnier day we probably would have gone back to Hellbrunn on the outskirts of Salzburg (also adjacent to the zoo) – this has lovely gardens including the summer house from The Sound of Music (“I am 16 going on 17”), a great play area and a house with incredible fountains (see also ).


Some other interesting things that were happening at the time we were there

11. A mountain bike festival in Kaprun, "Bike infection 2010"for links for action packed cycle videos click here.

12. On the 7th August (day of our departure) there was the 2nd  lake festival at Zell am See
The date set for 2011 has already been set, and looks to become a regular occurrence.

13. For football fans there were a couple of team that were using Kaprun as a training base whilst we were there, German Bundesliga side FC Nurnberg  and Romanian Liga II side CS Concordia Chanjia


Other info

14. Parking – is free on the roadside in Zell am See on Friday afternoons, all day Saturday and Sunday and after 6pm on other weekdays.  At other times it is very cheap but the maximum stay is 3 hours. It also is very busy so spaces are rare but it is a much cheaper alternative than the underground covered car park. In Kaprun the parking is much easier and parking was free at the apartment where we stayed.

Whilst this has been our second visit we still have plenty more to do including the Kitzsteinhorn glacier  the Kaprun dams and reservoirs; the train ride upto Krimml waterfalls, cycling around and boating on the lake; the spa, walks and castle in Kaprun; Saalbach-Hinterglemm etc. etc. etc.

Looking forward to returning again sometime!

(Update  for  our  visit  in 2013,  where  we  stayed in the  same  apartment,  click  on this  link )

Jeremy  Emma and  family

View from the apartment where we stayed of the Kitzsteinhorn complete with glacier

If you are looking for somewhere to stay for 3-9 people? which has the benefit of three bedrooms and three bath / shower rooms please consider  www.austria-holiday-apartment.com.  For a down loadable brochure click on the Kaprun holiday apartment link

Walking rambling and discovering the Austrian Alps

 Map of the mountain region above Kaprun, with reservoirs and photo of Zell am See and the Kitzsteinhorn


What ever your ability as a walker, hiker or stroller you will not be disappointed when it comes to Austria. In the Kaprun and Zell am See there is a plethora of walks for all ranges and abilities. There are a number of different routes between Zell am See and Kaprun.

Throughout Austria footpaths are excellently signposted and marked, and in the Europa Ski area it is no different.

A beautiful but simple walk / cycle and not so challenging is around the lake at Zell am See it is mostly flat, with one or two slight inclines, there are places to stop and take in the views or perhaps have a drink partway through your walk, the views are ever changing, and at around 7 miles / 11 kilometres a gentle stroll of some in around two - three hours. The Euro Alps website gives a brief description of the walk, along with two accompanying maps! and photographs showing some of the sights.

Via the attached link there is an excellent article describing some of the joys and tribulations of walking in the area, along with descriptions of walks and supporting photographs, worth a look?

For the more adventurous and fitter ones amongst us who would like to take on the challenges of higher level walks, you need to be aware of your ability, and their in a distinct difference when walking at altitude and the weather can suddenly change in a matter of minutes so it is vitally important that you have the right equipment and training. You wouldn't go wrong in acquiring a copy of Cecil W Davies book of "Mountain Walking in Austria" attached to the link are a number of other books and maps which may be of interest to you?

Another option to consider is buying a Kitzsteinhorn "Hike and Swim" ticket, so that you can perhaps hike on the mountain during the morning having use of the lifts, they even do guided walks,where you can see the alpine flora and fauna as you go. The map above shows some possible routes for the experienced alpine walker, and it also shows the lift locations. Then later in the day you can choose have use of the skimming pool in the Optimum Centre Kaprun ( planned to shut by October 2010, when Tauern Spa Kaprun opens ) where you can swim indoors, outside, have a sauna, and chill and relax. (that is if you can chill in a sauna!). Or alternatively at Zell am See where there is a indoor public pool ( use of sauna extra). Subject to the time of the year there is also lakeside bathing Zell am See renowned for its clean drinking water quality.

A new spa complex, Tauern Spa World  is planned for Kaprun, to open in November 2010, and work is under way in a superb location, near to Kaprun's village centre, click on the link for more details.

Finally I would like to recommend the walk which follows the river south up from Kaprun, there is the Sigmund thun Klamm it is basically a beautiful walk up a ravine on a constructed elevated platform and path, the words don't do justice to the majesty of the place. Have a look at the link, map below and make sure that you look at some of the other photographs, you will not be disappointed?

View  fro the  mountains  above  Kaprun  with  Zell  am  See  in the  distance 

a new route has opened for biker's / hikers  the top of the  Maiskogel  ski lift and the first lift stage up to the Kitzsteinhorn, bikes can now go on the lifts.

By the start of the walk at the start of  Sigmund thun Klamm gorge there is an interesting indoor display area, and free!, run by the hydro electrical company explaining how the complex of dams, and tunnels controls the run off of water from 7 valleys preventing flooding, creating electricity, storage facilities for drinking water, and a great tourist attraction.

I will close there if anybody else would like to recommend a walk in the Kaprun and Zell am See area, I would very much welcome your contribution.

Cheers Derek.