Sometimes, happiness can be found just around the corner. Those looking for a place to cool down & relax in the summer heat of a city like Vienna are best advised to head out into the gently rolling hills & mountains of the so-called “Bucklige Welt” in the Vienna Alps. High up at the Schneeberg mountain, the highest mountain in Lower Austria (2.076 metres above sea level), we enjoy easier temperatures than the sweltering 35°C of the intense summer heat down the valley. Less sweat, too, is needed to ride our mountain e-bikes in the hill country of the “Bucklige Welt”, enhanced by entertaining stories of our e-bike guides Heinz & Poldi. They just love to take us out to what they call the most beautiful spots in the local hills and valleys, including stops at the local pub restaurant Mallys which is unique: You can only eat here after prior arrangement and each menu is designed especially for you.
What we have experienced here in the travel destination of the Vienna Alps is really quite something. Come check it out here!
Activities on end & heaps of fun: Mountain e-bikes (which you have to try), kissing cows and wonderful mountain vistas in Lower Austria – We have caught it all with the Vienna Alpen Viewer.
The Vienna Alpen Viewer?! “What on Earth is this?”, my friends Lilli & Anne ask in disbelief as I first talk to them about our upcoming trip into the Vienna Alps. Well, I can tell you this: Somebody has really been creative here. “Trail to Paradise Views: 2 minutes“, a sign reads up at the mountain railway station of the cog railway up the Schneeberg mountain.
All ready to go with our Vienna Alpen Viewer, we start walking across the high plateau of the Schneeberg mountain, still to find out what this Alpen Viewer thing exactly is. And finally end up being so fascinated by the views up here, the fresh air and the clear mountain vistas that we almost miss our train going back down the hill. The “Schneeberg Krapfen” furthermore “weighs us down”, a sweet and heavy load we share among the four friends of us at the Alpengasthaus Damböck, followed by a chill-out session with lots of mountain summer sunshine … I am almost tempted to say we travel writers do nothing but … travel. eat. and enjoy! Well, perhaps we do. What do you think? 🙂
Can’t really be counting calories facing this beautiful “Schneeberg Krapfen” load …
High up at the Schneeberg, one is less affected by the summer heat. Even the cows stay calm and cheeky. 😀
Thanks to our Vienna Alpen Viewer, we check out the surroundings …
… Views like paradise: The Alpen Viewer really allows us to the get the full panorama of the mountains around here and can be ordered from the Wiener Alpen Tourism Board.
Take a look around: William, our photographer, loves to discover the surroundings.
Anne checks out the Alpen Viewer for taking snapshots with her cell phone: Unique pictures on Facebook & Instagram there!
Climbing the Schneeberg mountain: From April till October, the Schneeberg cog wheel train runs several times a day, return trips are € 35,- per person.
Our team climbing the highest mountain of Lower Austria … nice & cool up here at 2.000 metres above sea level!
All quite relaxed, really. What really got our adrenaline going was Lilli and my ride with the “monster rollers” & the “mountain cart“. “Well, the brakes of the mountain cart work just like those of a bike … it’s only with the monster roller that you have to take care so you don’t fall down …” Falling down?? During our first go, and without the carelessness we had as children, Lilli and I are rather cautious as adults. The girls like to have a look first. Here in Mönichkirchen, it is the kids who overtake us and … soon, it is our own thrill, too. Whatever!, we think chasing downhill. So much for fun out here. Laughing like children having fun in the mountains!
My friend Lilli has this to say: “The mountain cart & roller ride – wow – so much fun. What I still remember? A prickling sense of adventure that captures your whole body, mind & sould: Our instructor first is patient with us, but then also likes to encourage our excitement and reminds us to take care …”
We are having so much fun: Lilli on her mountain cart!
Mmmh … not too sure about being able to handle that thing “monster roller” 😀
Those who don’t like either monster rollers or mountain carts can head out to some peace & quiet here at the local spa Linsberg Asia: A wonderful wellness area is awaiting us here.
Or, you choose to go with these happy people: The locals of the “Bucklige Welt” like to take us out on a guided e-bike trip.
I love my e-bike tour in the Bucklige Welt … really recommend you head out into the hills, despite the heat – after all, it is less demanding on a (mountain) e-bike and you get to enjoy the landscape more.
Lilli: “The Bucklige Welt hillsides are just gorgeous … Our tour takes us up and down the hill from Bad Schönau to Kirchschlag and back, thanks to our e-bikes we arrive everywhere in no time. You get a real push from these bikes, which is gorgeous! Our local guides, Heinz & Poldi, love to take us out and show us what the area has to offer including their very own local ‘hotspots’ such as the local pub Mally – cosy, authentic and really relaxed.”
After all the excitement, we have to grab a bite to eat …
… being spoiled by the Alpengasthof Enzianwirt at the mountain station of the Mönichkirchen roller & mountain cart trail.
And here, too, we get spoiled: The Krumbacherhof is part of the Lower Austria Restaurant Association here in Krumbach south of Vienna.
This restaurant association has been founded in order to promote the best Lower Austria has to offer in terms of regional products. Yes to that – the taste is just great!
The same goes for the “Geniesserzimmer” rooms of Lower Austria: All of them are rooms that have been especially furnished and whose owners are especially knowledgeable about their local area in Lower Austria … let me tell you a little bit more about the concept behind.
Are you a gourmet “sybarite”? Staying in the Lower Austria “Geniesserzimmer” local accommodation and eating at the “Wirtshauskultur” local restaurant association, you really can’t go wrong.
The so-called “Geniesserzimmer” are really unique. Large, spacious rooms, modern furniture, a touch of personality, a warm personal welcome by the owners, local culinary delights such as homemade “Gugelhupf” cake for breakfast, recently picked raspberries, sheep cheese offered by the “local farmer down the valley” … If in addition our Hotel Schneeberghof spoils us to a beautiful wellness area whose panorama windows include a view over the Schneeberg mountain and the charming grand-parents of the Geniesserpension Dopler hotel in Bad Schönau treat us to fresh cake for breakfast, it is time for a pure sense of holiday. After all, this is what we do being travel writers … ?
Lilli. Say something! 😉
“We actually sleep like little angels at the Folke Tegethoff Geniesserzimmer at the house of the Dopler family in Bad Schönau. There is a library inside the room and a stork on our roof which we are able to observe from our large terrace in front of the living room. Breakfast is ‘poetry on the palate’ with fresh raspberries, sheep yoghurt, fresh sheep cheese and tomatoes. And the best about it all: Everything is offered from around the valley, all fresh & local! What can I say … I am in looove with the Vienna Alps mountain district!” 🙂
“All a fairy tale here at the Geniesserzimmer” … what a sweet comment left by one of the guests around here at the hotel Geniesserpension Dopler in Bad Schönau.
For breakfast, we are served fresh Guglhupf cake …
… the sheep cheese is just delightful, being literally from around the corner: Food with a taste.
I love raspberries … getting hungry again there !!
At the Hotel Schneeberghof, we relax in our spacious & comfortable “Geniesserzimmer” suite …
… breakfast is served on the terrace in the garden with a view over the Schneeberg mountain!
Another culinary highlight is a visit to Lower Austria’s Top Restaurant 2013 with this amazing starter dish: Home-grown Alpine salmon as a freshwater fish from around the Vienna Alps.
… I also get to enjoy the same fish as a main course …
And finally: Home-made organic ice cream from a local farmer being branded as “Eisgreisslerei” – simply delightful, even though it is hard to pronounce 😉 The best idea we had during this day with a sweltering 38°C in the shade … do come back here to Kupferdachl restaurant. They are worth it … and so is their ice cream. 😀
Disclaimer: We have been invited by the Wiener Alpen Vienna Alps & the Geniesserzimmer Niederösterreich in order to travel in the Vienna Alpine district. All opinions are my own.