Austria: cycling around Lake Wolfgang

The Wolfgangsee is the showpiece of the Salzkammergut, a fantastic region in Austria. At Seeterrassencamping Ried we park the camper in a dream spot and from our lazy chair we enjoy the lake, surrounded by mountains. A living painting. Sometimes everything comes together in one place, camping spots where you don't want to leave.

Romantic panoramas

After breakfast we cycle exactly one kilometer: to the jetty of a ferry service. We sail, complete with bicycle, to St. Gilgen, a town on the westernmost tip of Lake Wolfgangsee. After about twenty minutes we step ashore in the touristy Sankt Gilgen. A clearly marked route takes us along beautiful cycle paths with romantic panoramas as a reward.

Clinking cowbells

On the south side, towards Strobl, we suddenly appear to be cycling in the wake of the former Salzkammergut train. Cycling makes you hungry. After a snack and a drink on the terrace of a pizzeria, we continue our cycling tour of about thirty kilometers. Rolling grasslands and jingling cowbells give a peaceful feeling. Close to our campsite we pass the last village: St. Wolfgang, famous for the operetta 'Im Weissen Rössl'. We feel like having a glass of wine on our own camper terrace and a little later we splash in the 'see'. What a great day!

Imposing giants

Camping am See in Obertraun is our next stop. A campsite right on Lake Hallstättersee with a Mediterranean atmosphere. The lovely character of the Wolfgangsee makes way for robust rock formations between which the Hallstättersee seems to have been hidden away. The Salzkammergut region owes its name to salt mining in Roman times. The white gold was cut through tunnel systems in the mountains, creating so-called salt chambers. Today, tourist income is more important than salt, although it is still mined.

Ice formations

Here too we find cycling routes around the lake. The southern shores of Lake Hallstättersee border the Dachstein massif, just a few kilometers from the campsite. While cycling we reach the cable car that goes up with three stops. At the first stop, the Schönbergalm, there is an ice cave with fascinating ice formations and at Krippenstein station you have a view of the glaciers of the Dachstein in clear weather.

Salt extraction

Hallstatt is in the top 10 of most photographed Austrian cities. That's why we only cycle there at the end of the afternoon, about four kilometers from the campsite. We wander through quaint streets and descend into the Hallstätter Salzbergtal via spectacular miners' slides to see with our own eyes that salt is still being extracted.

Mondsee

We send the camper back towards Wolfgangsee and after an hour we arrive at Camp MondSeeLand in Mondsee, a place with fabulous views of the mountains. At the campsite reception they show us a beautiful inland cycling and walking route to the town of Mondsee and the lake of the same name. Spectacular! Along narrow paths and a wildly flowing river. Awesome. After about 5 kilometers we visit the famous Basilica of Mondsee, known for the wedding of Maria and Captain Von Trapp in the film The sound of music (1965) – a picture.

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