We visited Vienna on a previous trip, but having only just passed through 
the Austrian countryside, decided to spend some time in the mountains this time.
But first – an adventure of a different kind… We had flights for the three of us from Dubrovnik to Vienna to Salzburg. Sounds simple right? Not quite.
The first plane was delayed leaving so we missed the connecting flight to Salzburg. I won’t bore you with the details of the panic-stricken, if not comical, in hindsight, race through Vienna airport (+ customs + security….why???) all within 10 minutes, trying to make that next flight. All I will say is that Austrian Airlines staff could do with some heavy-duty customer service training.
Therefore, we didn’t have time to explore Salzburg, so we just hired a car the next morning and set off for a spectacular place called Zell am See in the Austrian Alps. It didn’t take too long before we were all mesmerised by the amazing landscape passing us by.
A friend of mine suggested we drive 
the high alpine road, the Grossglockner and this is where we headed straight from Salzburg. Adrenaline seekers – this is for you. Fangio reared his head again (we first met Bruce’s alter-ego driving around Tuscany some years ago), ably encouraged by his assistant rev-head, Fangio II – aka Matty. Sheer cliffs, winding steep roads, astonishing views and sometimes frustratingly slow drivers (“thank God” – me) (“How can a motorbike possibly go slower than a car on this road?” – Bruce). Yes Jagoda, we made it safely to the top in record time (it seemed to me anyway!).
A beautiful organic mountain farm perched on the side of a steep alpine
mountain with the gorgeous Austrian cows grazing nearby was our home for four nights. Thanks for the recommendation Jagoda! Our lovely host, Margret and her young son, Jakob, baked us a cake and fresh bread for our arrival and even gave us some of her Grandfather’s home-made kirsch on our departure.
The tinkling of cowbells on our farm and echoing throughout the mountains was to be a frequent and familiar chorus that I really loved – it was incredibly peaceful and serene.It also helps that I love cows… I had to record it and named it “Mountain Serenity” by the Cowbells 🙂 It will come in handy during stressful moments back in the real world!
The drive up to the farm seemed even more harrowing than the Grossglockner – very steep, very narrow, blind curves and sheer drops. A restaurant was recommended for their authentic local dishes and spectacular view of the lake and mountains – this was also a hairy drive. The photos from the top of the mountain made the hyper-ventilating worthwhile. The food was delicious and that first glass of wine hardly touched the sides. It seems you have to go through a little sheer terror for those perfect panoramas!
We thoroughly enjoyed exploring the magnificent mountains, the picture-perfect lakes, astonishing waterfalls, steep gorges, ice-blue crystal clear rapids, glaciers and exquisite panoramas pretty much every where you looked. At this time of year visitors are issued with a summer card that can be used on cable cars and offers discounts to other interesting tourist sites.
What a wonderful country. It is really difficult to describe in words or photos just how stunning the Austrian countryside is, but I hope our efforts encourage you to visit yourself.
Austria was also a bitter-sweet destination for us as this is where Matty was leaving us to return home to Amsterdam. We had a great time sharing a little part of our adventure with him… life is always a hilarious adventure with Matty!
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