Oh well, looks like I'll be the first to post a review when we get back. We're going next Weds - can't wait!
hope you have a great time!
We're back now - had a great time, despite the weather not being too great. Will post a review when things calm down a bit at work. If anyone has any questions in the meantime then just let me know.
Have finally finished my review now. If one of the Mods can add the hotel (Seehotel Freiberg) and Resort (Zell am See) to the Hotel review and Resort Reports section then I'll copy the info there. For now though, I'll paste it in this topic.
Seehotel Freiberg, Zell am See, September 2005
We spent a week at the Seehotel Freiberg in Zell am See in September 2005 as part of a package booked through Crystal Active (part of the TUI group). We had never been to Austria before, or on an activity holiday, so we weren't sure what to expect. Luckily, we really enjoyed ourselves, although the weather did put a dampner on things at times.
We spent a week at the Seehotel Freiberg in Zell am See in September 2005 as part of a package booked through Crystal Active (part of the TUI group). We had never been to Austria before, or on an activity holiday, so we weren't sure what to expect. Luckily, we really enjoyed ourselves, although the weather did put a dampner on things at times.
The journey
We travelled from Manchester with Excel Airways. Having heard a number of horror stories about Excel, we were pleasantly surprised that the flight left on time and arrived early both ways. The food was fine but we didn't bother with the entertainment, as the flight was only a couple of hours. The transfer from Salzburg to Zell am See took about 2 hours and went through some lovely scenery.
We travelled from Manchester with Excel Airways. Having heard a number of horror stories about Excel, we were pleasantly surprised that the flight left on time and arrived early both ways. The food was fine but we didn't bother with the entertainment, as the flight was only a couple of hours. The transfer from Salzburg to Zell am See took about 2 hours and went through some lovely scenery.
The hotel
The Seehotel Freiberg is the only one available to Crystal Active guests in Zell am See and is rated as 4 diamonds in their brochure (official rating 3 ½ *; website http://www.zellamsee.at/seehotel/englisch/index.htm). It is situated right on the edge of the lake, with a fantastic view of the surrounding mountains on a clear day. A railway line passes directly behind the hotel, but we barely noticed it while we were there. We really couldn't give enough praise to this hotel - everything was wonderful from the rooms, to the staff, to the food. When we arrived we were given a 'guest card' and a small guidebook to the area and were told that the card would give us discounts in some of the area's attractions.
We had booked a family room as we were told that there were no normal rooms left when we booked. Crystal were a bit vague as to what a family room actually meant, so we were delighted to discover it was actually a 2 room, 2 bathroom suite. This meant that we had a bathroom and wardrobe each and loads of room to spread out. We had a TV but it didn't have any English Language channels (we have been spoilt by having BBC World on our last few holidays!). There are a couple of channels which link direct to cameras in the region - useful if you want to check weather conditions before setting out. The main bedroom had an Austrian twin bed (2 separate mattresses on a double base with 2 duvets) which was lovely and comfy. The bathrooms only had showers but the water was nice and hot every day. As indicated in the Crystal brochure, there wasn't any soap provided so I was glad I had taken my own. There were chairs and a table on the balcony, which was well screened from the adjacent rooms.
In terms of the food, breakfast was served from 7 until 10 every morning and consisted of a cold buffet of cereals, bread, fruit, meat and cheeses with coffee and tea at your table. It would have been nice to have the choice of hot food as well but we couldn't complain about the quality and quantity of what was on offer. Each morning there was a newsletter and menu left on our table - the newsletter gave info on the weather and suggestions for activities and the menu allowed you to select what you wanted for dinner that evening (served from 6 - 8). Dinner consisted of 4 set courses every night - starter, soup, main course (choice of 3 dishes) and desert. There was also a salad buffet that you could help yourself to. We thought that the food we had was wonderful - varied, tasty and filling - and we particularly enjoyed trying out the different soups as we don't often have that sort of thing for dinner at home. Drinks were by waiter service and we had to settle the bill the night before we left - expect to pay normal hotel prices. The one shortcoming that the hotel has (which possibly explains its 3 ½* rating) is that it doesn't have a separate bar. Normally we would bring our guidebooks etc down to dinner and then either stay at our table or move to the reading area with our drinks to plan our next day's activities. A couple of times we went to a bar in the centre of Zell, which was only 10 minutes walk down the promenade.
The Seehotel Freiberg is the only one available to Crystal Active guests in Zell am See and is rated as 4 diamonds in their brochure (official rating 3 ½ *; website http://www.zellamsee.at/seehotel/englisch/index.htm). It is situated right on the edge of the lake, with a fantastic view of the surrounding mountains on a clear day. A railway line passes directly behind the hotel, but we barely noticed it while we were there. We really couldn't give enough praise to this hotel - everything was wonderful from the rooms, to the staff, to the food. When we arrived we were given a 'guest card' and a small guidebook to the area and were told that the card would give us discounts in some of the area's attractions.
We had booked a family room as we were told that there were no normal rooms left when we booked. Crystal were a bit vague as to what a family room actually meant, so we were delighted to discover it was actually a 2 room, 2 bathroom suite. This meant that we had a bathroom and wardrobe each and loads of room to spread out. We had a TV but it didn't have any English Language channels (we have been spoilt by having BBC World on our last few holidays!). There are a couple of channels which link direct to cameras in the region - useful if you want to check weather conditions before setting out. The main bedroom had an Austrian twin bed (2 separate mattresses on a double base with 2 duvets) which was lovely and comfy. The bathrooms only had showers but the water was nice and hot every day. As indicated in the Crystal brochure, there wasn't any soap provided so I was glad I had taken my own. There were chairs and a table on the balcony, which was well screened from the adjacent rooms.
In terms of the food, breakfast was served from 7 until 10 every morning and consisted of a cold buffet of cereals, bread, fruit, meat and cheeses with coffee and tea at your table. It would have been nice to have the choice of hot food as well but we couldn't complain about the quality and quantity of what was on offer. Each morning there was a newsletter and menu left on our table - the newsletter gave info on the weather and suggestions for activities and the menu allowed you to select what you wanted for dinner that evening (served from 6 - 8). Dinner consisted of 4 set courses every night - starter, soup, main course (choice of 3 dishes) and desert. There was also a salad buffet that you could help yourself to. We thought that the food we had was wonderful - varied, tasty and filling - and we particularly enjoyed trying out the different soups as we don't often have that sort of thing for dinner at home. Drinks were by waiter service and we had to settle the bill the night before we left - expect to pay normal hotel prices. The one shortcoming that the hotel has (which possibly explains its 3 ½* rating) is that it doesn't have a separate bar. Normally we would bring our guidebooks etc down to dinner and then either stay at our table or move to the reading area with our drinks to plan our next day's activities. A couple of times we went to a bar in the centre of Zell, which was only 10 minutes walk down the promenade.
The resort
Compared to some of the 'concrete jungle' resorts in the Med that we've previously been to, Zell was a breath of fresh air. It's not a very big town but it packs a lot into a small area without looking overcrowded. The majority of the centre is pedestrianised so easy to walk round and there are lots of shops, bars and restaurants. The Tourist Office is open most days and is a good source for excursion ideas and bus and train timetables. The lake takes about 3 hrs to walk/ 1 hr to cycle around and there are boat trips available (the ferry stops running in mid September though). There are various cable cars and chair lifts that run up the Schmittenhöhe mountain, but again, these start shutting down from mid-September onwards. The majority of shops shut at midday on a Saturday and do not re-open until Monday morning - so be prepared!
Compared to some of the 'concrete jungle' resorts in the Med that we've previously been to, Zell was a breath of fresh air. It's not a very big town but it packs a lot into a small area without looking overcrowded. The majority of the centre is pedestrianised so easy to walk round and there are lots of shops, bars and restaurants. The Tourist Office is open most days and is a good source for excursion ideas and bus and train timetables. The lake takes about 3 hrs to walk/ 1 hr to cycle around and there are boat trips available (the ferry stops running in mid September though). There are various cable cars and chair lifts that run up the Schmittenhöhe mountain, but again, these start shutting down from mid-September onwards. The majority of shops shut at midday on a Saturday and do not re-open until Monday morning - so be prepared!
The weather
Despite having consulted various guidebooks and websites in the run up to our holiday, we weren't really sure what to expect from the weather and so ended up packing for all seasons. We were lucky enough to get 3 days of quite hot weather when we arrived, although it did get chilly when the sun went in. Unfortunately, after a thunderstorm on the Friday night, the weather changed and we woke up on Saturday morning to a cloudy, rainy day. You could even see snow further up in the mountains! It was very cold and wet that day and the following day and only started to really improve on the day we went home. In hindsight, we really could have done with taking some cold weather trousers as we both only had jeans and some proper hiking boots, rather than trainers. We definitely got our money's worth out of our new fleeces and waterproof coats though! The hotel responded to the cold weather by putting the heating on, which was much appreciated, although the dining room wasn't as warm as it could have been. The change in the weather didn't ruin our holiday, but it certainly restricted what we were able to do, so if we were to go again in future I would make sure that we had lots of alternative activities planned in case of bad weather.
Despite having consulted various guidebooks and websites in the run up to our holiday, we weren't really sure what to expect from the weather and so ended up packing for all seasons. We were lucky enough to get 3 days of quite hot weather when we arrived, although it did get chilly when the sun went in. Unfortunately, after a thunderstorm on the Friday night, the weather changed and we woke up on Saturday morning to a cloudy, rainy day. You could even see snow further up in the mountains! It was very cold and wet that day and the following day and only started to really improve on the day we went home. In hindsight, we really could have done with taking some cold weather trousers as we both only had jeans and some proper hiking boots, rather than trainers. We definitely got our money's worth out of our new fleeces and waterproof coats though! The hotel responded to the cold weather by putting the heating on, which was much appreciated, although the dining room wasn't as warm as it could have been. The change in the weather didn't ruin our holiday, but it certainly restricted what we were able to do, so if we were to go again in future I would make sure that we had lots of alternative activities planned in case of bad weather.
The activities
Crystal's brochure encourages you to pre-book your activities before departure to ensure availability, so we booked para-gliding, horse-riding and white water rafting at a cost of £38 each per activity. This ended up being a small saving on the €59 charged if you paid in resort. It turned out that the paragliding was a low-level 'taster' session - but we did have the option of paying another £50 each to upgrade to the high altitude session instead. As we had not done it before, we decided to stick with the easier of the two options. We were picked up from our hotel at 9am and driven to the take off site, which was on the other side of the Schmittenhöhe. You are given a crash helmet and then strapped to a rucksack/seat before being attached to the paragliding pilot. You then have to run very fast down a steep hill and hope that you take off at some point. Despite a few hitches in the take off (I kept on falling over), the flight itself went very well and we both thoroughly enjoyed the experience - although it would have been better if it had lasted longer.
We originally booked our horse riding for the Sunday of our holiday, only to be told on the Friday that it had been postponed to the Monday. We got up early on Monday morning to be told that the stables had decided it was 'too wet' to take the horses into the valley and therefore our horse riding was cancelled altogether. We thought this excuse was a bit dubious as, even though the weather had not been good over the weekend, it was pretty dry by the Monday morning, plus I've ridden quite a lot in Wales and never had anything cancelled due to rain. It seemed more likely that they couldn't be bothered to take us out as only 3 of us had booked to go that day. The summer season in Zell ends at the end of September so things start winding down mid month and I think we were just casualties of a lack of tourists.
Our rafting was originally booked for the Saturday but was also postponed. Luckily 5 other people also wanted to raft on the Tuesday so it was able to go ahead. The rafting normally takes place not far from Zell, but from mid September onwards (it's that date again!) apparently all rafting is banned in Austria due to protecting spawning fish, so we had to go over the border into Germany instead. The rep originally told us that the rapids would be grade 3-4, but when we arrived in Germany, the guide told us that they were actually grade 1-2. We were a bit disappointed by this, but also slightly relieved, as, again, we'd never done it before. We had to get changed into our wetsuits by the side of the river, so it was lucky that we'd already got our swimming costumes on! After a short safety briefing, we headed out on to the river, and soon realised that we were all rubbish at paddling. We still managed to get to the end of the course without too much difficulty though. The rafting itself was good fun, but the best bits were when we got out of the raft to do extra things like white water swimming and jumping off a (small) waterfall. Afterwards, we had to get changed by the side of the river again, so I just left my cossie on and put my clothes on over the top, rather than risk exposing myself to the locals.
Also included with our holiday were 3 consecutive days of bike hire through a local company. We had to pre-arrange the days we wanted the bikes through the rep and then go and collect them ourselves. Unfortunately the day we were due to collect ours was the first day of bad weather. The choice of bikes was not very good - you could either have a mountain bike without mudguards, or a normal bike (essentially a ladies bike) with mudguards. Given the weather, we decided to abandon style in favour of comfort and go for the normal bikes. Most of the bikes appeared to be in a poor state of maintenance, with bald tyres and smashed lights, so if you were a particularly keen biker then I would suggest taking your own bike with you if at all possible. In the end, we were only able to use our bikes for one trip round the lake, but the saddle on my bike was so uncomfortable that I was glad to give it back!
Crystal's brochure encourages you to pre-book your activities before departure to ensure availability, so we booked para-gliding, horse-riding and white water rafting at a cost of £38 each per activity. This ended up being a small saving on the €59 charged if you paid in resort. It turned out that the paragliding was a low-level 'taster' session - but we did have the option of paying another £50 each to upgrade to the high altitude session instead. As we had not done it before, we decided to stick with the easier of the two options. We were picked up from our hotel at 9am and driven to the take off site, which was on the other side of the Schmittenhöhe. You are given a crash helmet and then strapped to a rucksack/seat before being attached to the paragliding pilot. You then have to run very fast down a steep hill and hope that you take off at some point. Despite a few hitches in the take off (I kept on falling over), the flight itself went very well and we both thoroughly enjoyed the experience - although it would have been better if it had lasted longer.
We originally booked our horse riding for the Sunday of our holiday, only to be told on the Friday that it had been postponed to the Monday. We got up early on Monday morning to be told that the stables had decided it was 'too wet' to take the horses into the valley and therefore our horse riding was cancelled altogether. We thought this excuse was a bit dubious as, even though the weather had not been good over the weekend, it was pretty dry by the Monday morning, plus I've ridden quite a lot in Wales and never had anything cancelled due to rain. It seemed more likely that they couldn't be bothered to take us out as only 3 of us had booked to go that day. The summer season in Zell ends at the end of September so things start winding down mid month and I think we were just casualties of a lack of tourists.
Our rafting was originally booked for the Saturday but was also postponed. Luckily 5 other people also wanted to raft on the Tuesday so it was able to go ahead. The rafting normally takes place not far from Zell, but from mid September onwards (it's that date again!) apparently all rafting is banned in Austria due to protecting spawning fish, so we had to go over the border into Germany instead. The rep originally told us that the rapids would be grade 3-4, but when we arrived in Germany, the guide told us that they were actually grade 1-2. We were a bit disappointed by this, but also slightly relieved, as, again, we'd never done it before. We had to get changed into our wetsuits by the side of the river, so it was lucky that we'd already got our swimming costumes on! After a short safety briefing, we headed out on to the river, and soon realised that we were all rubbish at paddling. We still managed to get to the end of the course without too much difficulty though. The rafting itself was good fun, but the best bits were when we got out of the raft to do extra things like white water swimming and jumping off a (small) waterfall. Afterwards, we had to get changed by the side of the river again, so I just left my cossie on and put my clothes on over the top, rather than risk exposing myself to the locals.
Also included with our holiday were 3 consecutive days of bike hire through a local company. We had to pre-arrange the days we wanted the bikes through the rep and then go and collect them ourselves. Unfortunately the day we were due to collect ours was the first day of bad weather. The choice of bikes was not very good - you could either have a mountain bike without mudguards, or a normal bike (essentially a ladies bike) with mudguards. Given the weather, we decided to abandon style in favour of comfort and go for the normal bikes. Most of the bikes appeared to be in a poor state of maintenance, with bald tyres and smashed lights, so if you were a particularly keen biker then I would suggest taking your own bike with you if at all possible. In the end, we were only able to use our bikes for one trip round the lake, but the saddle on my bike was so uncomfortable that I was glad to give it back!
The excursions
We decided not to book any extra excursions via Crystal as we were confident that we would be able to do most things by ourselves. The public transport system is very good, plus most people speak some English and we had a Lonely Planet Guidebook and a German phrasebook for emergencies.
Krimml Falls
While we were there, there was a break in the train line from Zell to Krimml caused by flooding, so part of the route had to be taken by bus. You should also bear in mind that Krimml train station is a few miles away from the falls and at the bottom of a steep hill. We took the bus from Zell direct to Krimml, which took about 90 mins and dropped you off at the bottom of the falls. When you get there, the first thing you see is the 'Wasser Wunder Welt'. This is nothing to do with the falls and is a water activity park. Walk along the path past this and you will end up on the path to the falls. There are a couple of restaurants, shops and some toilets before you reach the entrance kiosk - make sure you make use of them as it's a long way to the next facilities! The first section of the falls took us about an hour to walk up. I consider myself to be reasonably fit but I was puffing and panting the whole way up - it's quite a steep climb, which doesn't let up until you get to the middle section of the falls. We stopped here for some ice cream before climbing the final section, which was steeper but only took about 30 mins. The views all the way up were wonderful and there are lots of little side paths that lead you to viewing platforms. Coming down took about an hour and we had to rush to make sure we got back to the bus stop on time. In all we spent about 4 hrs there so it was a good afternoon out - if you wanted to walk further or take things slower then I reckon you would need a whole day there.
We decided not to book any extra excursions via Crystal as we were confident that we would be able to do most things by ourselves. The public transport system is very good, plus most people speak some English and we had a Lonely Planet Guidebook and a German phrasebook for emergencies.
Krimml Falls
While we were there, there was a break in the train line from Zell to Krimml caused by flooding, so part of the route had to be taken by bus. You should also bear in mind that Krimml train station is a few miles away from the falls and at the bottom of a steep hill. We took the bus from Zell direct to Krimml, which took about 90 mins and dropped you off at the bottom of the falls. When you get there, the first thing you see is the 'Wasser Wunder Welt'. This is nothing to do with the falls and is a water activity park. Walk along the path past this and you will end up on the path to the falls. There are a couple of restaurants, shops and some toilets before you reach the entrance kiosk - make sure you make use of them as it's a long way to the next facilities! The first section of the falls took us about an hour to walk up. I consider myself to be reasonably fit but I was puffing and panting the whole way up - it's quite a steep climb, which doesn't let up until you get to the middle section of the falls. We stopped here for some ice cream before climbing the final section, which was steeper but only took about 30 mins. The views all the way up were wonderful and there are lots of little side paths that lead you to viewing platforms. Coming down took about an hour and we had to rush to make sure we got back to the bus stop on time. In all we spent about 4 hrs there so it was a good afternoon out - if you wanted to walk further or take things slower then I reckon you would need a whole day there.
The Schmittenhöhe
We took the bus from the centre of Zell to the bottom of the Schmittenhöhe, which took about 15 mins. We could have walked this distance but decided to save our strength for walking on the mountain itself. A return ticket for the cable cars is not much more that a single one (plus you get a discount with your guest card), whereas a single ticket up and down cost about the same. So unless you are 100% certain that you won't want to come down on any of the cable cars or lifts then it is worth buying a return ticket. We took the Schmittenhöhebahn straight to the top of the mountain - a very steep climb crammed into a cable car with lots of other people. There is a restaurant at the top and an information point but it is wise to try and get hold of a walking map from the tourist office before you go so that you can plan your route in advance. It was quite cloudy the day we went up, but there were still stunning views between the clouds. We went into the little chapel before taking the 'Sisi Rundweg' - a short 30 mins walk around the top of the mountain before heading down the Höhenpromenade path to the Hochzeller Alm restaurant. Afterwards, we continued mainly on this path down to the Sonnkogelbahn chair lift station. We took the chair lift down the mountain (scary but fun) and then had Apfelstrüdel and coffee at the Blaickners Sonnenalm restaurant at the bottom. We then took the Sonnenalmbahn cable car back to the foot of the Schmittenhöhe and got the bus back to Zell.
We took the bus from the centre of Zell to the bottom of the Schmittenhöhe, which took about 15 mins. We could have walked this distance but decided to save our strength for walking on the mountain itself. A return ticket for the cable cars is not much more that a single one (plus you get a discount with your guest card), whereas a single ticket up and down cost about the same. So unless you are 100% certain that you won't want to come down on any of the cable cars or lifts then it is worth buying a return ticket. We took the Schmittenhöhebahn straight to the top of the mountain - a very steep climb crammed into a cable car with lots of other people. There is a restaurant at the top and an information point but it is wise to try and get hold of a walking map from the tourist office before you go so that you can plan your route in advance. It was quite cloudy the day we went up, but there were still stunning views between the clouds. We went into the little chapel before taking the 'Sisi Rundweg' - a short 30 mins walk around the top of the mountain before heading down the Höhenpromenade path to the Hochzeller Alm restaurant. Afterwards, we continued mainly on this path down to the Sonnkogelbahn chair lift station. We took the chair lift down the mountain (scary but fun) and then had Apfelstrüdel and coffee at the Blaickners Sonnenalm restaurant at the bottom. We then took the Sonnenalmbahn cable car back to the foot of the Schmittenhöhe and got the bus back to Zell.
The Heimatmuseum, Saalfelden
We had originally planned to go white water rafting on the Saturday, but this was cancelled so we had decided to collect our bikes and go for a cycle ride instead. The weather was so horrible in the end that we abandoned this plan and headed to the Tourist Office for some inspiration, as all the shops in Zell closed at midday for the rest of the weekend. We eventually decided to get the train to Saalfelden to go and visit the museum there as it was only 2 stops away on the train. It took us quite a while to walk from the station to the town centre and we got cold and wet so we were very grateful to find a nice warm pizza restaurant to have lunch in. The museum was on the other side of Saalfelden and was well sign-posted. It is basically a folk museum with exhibits on local life including wildlife, geography, history, religion and culture. Obviously all the info was in German but we still managed to spend a couple of hours looking round. It wasn't the most exciting museum we've ever been to but it was certainly better than nothing on a wet afternoon!
We had originally planned to go white water rafting on the Saturday, but this was cancelled so we had decided to collect our bikes and go for a cycle ride instead. The weather was so horrible in the end that we abandoned this plan and headed to the Tourist Office for some inspiration, as all the shops in Zell closed at midday for the rest of the weekend. We eventually decided to get the train to Saalfelden to go and visit the museum there as it was only 2 stops away on the train. It took us quite a while to walk from the station to the town centre and we got cold and wet so we were very grateful to find a nice warm pizza restaurant to have lunch in. The museum was on the other side of Saalfelden and was well sign-posted. It is basically a folk museum with exhibits on local life including wildlife, geography, history, religion and culture. Obviously all the info was in German but we still managed to spend a couple of hours looking round. It wasn't the most exciting museum we've ever been to but it was certainly better than nothing on a wet afternoon!
Kaprun
After our horse riding was postponed, we decided to go to the reservoirs in Kaprun for the day. Unfortunately, when we got on the bus the driver told us that they were closed due to snow so we decided to go to the Sigmund-Thun Gorge instead. This is a little way out of Kaprun on the road to the Kitzsteinhorn glacier. You are only allowed to enter the gorge at the Kaprun end where the ticket booth is. Before you go into the gorge, it is worth having a look round the power station visitors centre (fee entrance) as there are exhibits and films in English and German. The gorge itself is accessed via a series of wooden steps and walkways and takes less than 30 mins to walk through. Despite the rain, we really enjoyed the walk and carried on along the path to the end of the Klamm reservoir where, despite the weather, we found a little cafe that was open and selling hot drinks and snacks. We could see the cable cars for the Kitzsteinhorn glacier in the distance but by then we were cold and wet and so decided to get the bus back into Kaprun instead. After lunch, we went to the Old Timers Museum which is on the outskirts of Kaprun (website is http://www.oldtimer-museum.at/ but is currently only in German). The museum is actually in the underground car park of a hotel and contains old cars of various makes and models along with other memorabilia such as a cable car. It cost 5€ each and we spent less than an hour there, so I wouldn't really recommend it unless, like us, you can't find anything else to do on a wet, cold Sunday afternoon.
After our horse riding was postponed, we decided to go to the reservoirs in Kaprun for the day. Unfortunately, when we got on the bus the driver told us that they were closed due to snow so we decided to go to the Sigmund-Thun Gorge instead. This is a little way out of Kaprun on the road to the Kitzsteinhorn glacier. You are only allowed to enter the gorge at the Kaprun end where the ticket booth is. Before you go into the gorge, it is worth having a look round the power station visitors centre (fee entrance) as there are exhibits and films in English and German. The gorge itself is accessed via a series of wooden steps and walkways and takes less than 30 mins to walk through. Despite the rain, we really enjoyed the walk and carried on along the path to the end of the Klamm reservoir where, despite the weather, we found a little cafe that was open and selling hot drinks and snacks. We could see the cable cars for the Kitzsteinhorn glacier in the distance but by then we were cold and wet and so decided to get the bus back into Kaprun instead. After lunch, we went to the Old Timers Museum which is on the outskirts of Kaprun (website is http://www.oldtimer-museum.at/ but is currently only in German). The museum is actually in the underground car park of a hotel and contains old cars of various makes and models along with other memorabilia such as a cable car. It cost 5€ each and we spent less than an hour there, so I wouldn't really recommend it unless, like us, you can't find anything else to do on a wet, cold Sunday afternoon.
Salzburg
We didn't originally think that we would be able to fit in a trip to Salzburg, but when our horse riding was cancelled we decided to make a day trip there by train. The journey took about 1hr 45 mins and cost just under £20 each for a return ticket. We could also have made the trip by bus but I think it would have taken longer and not dropped us much nearer to the old town. It was nice to be able to walk around on the train and of course the toilets were very useful. We arrived in Salzburg at about midday and then, using our guidebook, managed to find our way to the river. From there it was obvious which was to go as the Fortress sits in an elevated position in the old town where most of the attractions are. The guidebook also directed us to a great little place to eat - a traditional Austrian tavern serving up huge plates of sausage and sauerkraut. Can't remember the name offhand but it was on a little side street between the river and the main cobbled street. After lunch we headed to the fortress. There was a queue for the funicular up the hill but we decided that it was worth waiting as we couldn't be bothered to walk up. I don't think it cost anything extra on top of the normal entrance ticket but I could be wrong. The view from the top is fantastic, and if the weather is good then it would be lovely to sit and have a coffee on the terrace of the cafe there. Once you get inside the walls, there is an included audio tour, which runs at regular intervals during the day in a variety of languages. There are coin-operated lockers in the entrance to this where you can leave bags if you don't want to carry them with you. After this tour, there are other exhibitions in one of the towers - it's all clearly signposted. After spending a couple of hours looking around, we had a quick look inside the cathedral and then headed back to get our train. We spent about 5 hrs there in total and could easily have spent more. Salzburg is definitely worth a visit if you have time!
We didn't originally think that we would be able to fit in a trip to Salzburg, but when our horse riding was cancelled we decided to make a day trip there by train. The journey took about 1hr 45 mins and cost just under £20 each for a return ticket. We could also have made the trip by bus but I think it would have taken longer and not dropped us much nearer to the old town. It was nice to be able to walk around on the train and of course the toilets were very useful. We arrived in Salzburg at about midday and then, using our guidebook, managed to find our way to the river. From there it was obvious which was to go as the Fortress sits in an elevated position in the old town where most of the attractions are. The guidebook also directed us to a great little place to eat - a traditional Austrian tavern serving up huge plates of sausage and sauerkraut. Can't remember the name offhand but it was on a little side street between the river and the main cobbled street. After lunch we headed to the fortress. There was a queue for the funicular up the hill but we decided that it was worth waiting as we couldn't be bothered to walk up. I don't think it cost anything extra on top of the normal entrance ticket but I could be wrong. The view from the top is fantastic, and if the weather is good then it would be lovely to sit and have a coffee on the terrace of the cafe there. Once you get inside the walls, there is an included audio tour, which runs at regular intervals during the day in a variety of languages. There are coin-operated lockers in the entrance to this where you can leave bags if you don't want to carry them with you. After this tour, there are other exhibitions in one of the towers - it's all clearly signposted. After spending a couple of hours looking around, we had a quick look inside the cathedral and then headed back to get our train. We spent about 5 hrs there in total and could easily have spent more. Salzburg is definitely worth a visit if you have time!
Hotel added to 'Other Destinations'
We are flying to Salzburg in December then staying in Zell Am See. Does anyone have any information on the transfer details. Which is the easiest/best way to get from Salzbur to Zell? Thanks.
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