Anyways, we were on our way to visit beautiful St. Gilgen for the day. I believe it was about a 40 minute bus ride, that went by rather quickly. We arrived in St. Gilgen and were treated to a charming village on the lake.
When we arrived to the village, we saw there was some sort of a wedding or celebration going on. Everyone was dressed up and it was fun to get a taste of a Saturday in St. Gilgen.
We knew that we wanted to go for a hike, so we went to the visitors' center to buy a hiking map. We had thought about hiking around the like to St. Wolfgang, but we decided to hike up the mountain instead. I guess I should mention that it was Ken that wanted to hike up the mountain. For once, I was not the one dragging him up hill for a few hours.
In order to get to the trail, we had to walk around the lake for a bit. We saw a cute restaurant with outdoor seating, so we stopped for some food.
I will never get tired of how pretty lattes are served in Europe.
The view from the restaurant
We continued on our way and came upon a TV station filming an interview. As we were walking up, I told Ken that the guy that was conducting the interview looked like Bradley Cooper. It was not as as soon as we got closer, I realized he did not look at all like Bradley Cooper up close. They paused and let us go by. I took a picture from far away, and unfortunately it shows the guy looking nothing like Bradley Cooper.
Austrian television interview
We continued on and soon realized that it was time to start climbing up and away from the lake. The lake water was so beautiful, by the way.
The Wolfgangsee
So many choices as to where to go! We were heading to Winkl and taking a trail from there.
We continued on and unfortunately for us, the trail was not very well marked. We got to Winkl and had a difficult time finding where we should go. At every turn we saw signs for Furberg, but that was far from where we were headed. By the end of the hike we had determined that all trails lead to Furberg apparently.
We found our trail and sadly, did not make it very far. The trail was not marked and we could not figure out where to go. There was a gravel round that we could take, but we were a little concerned to take something that was not marked. We also saw storm clouds, so we made the difficult decision to turn around and go back. We decided that maybe we were meant to see Furberg afterall!
The area around St. Gilgen was beautiful! There were lots of rolling hills and this area was filmed in the Sound of Music. On our way to Furberg I stopped to frolic in the wild flowers.
In case you are wondering, I was singing "The hills are alive with the sound of music." This did happen.
Furberg, after all, all trails apparently lead to there!
We were disappointed that we did not make it to the top of the mountain, but we did hike about six miles. Hiking six miles is reason enough to stop for drinks in our book!
Ken enjoying a beer at Furberg
We had a beautiful view of the lake!
We enjoyed our drinks and watched the swans. There is always that one saw that has an attitude and has to mess with the other swans.
The lake water was so pretty and clear. See those storm clouds coming?
Many people were enjoying the day at Furberg!
And just like that, it started raining. Our plan to hike the rest of the way to St. Wolfgang was not going to happen, so we decided to board the ferry to St. Wolfgang instead.
Furberg from the water
Sailing away to St. Wolfgang in the rain
The White Horse Inn in St. Wolfgang. Our friend Jane stayed here when she visited, so we took a picture to show her that we were thinking about her!
Walking around St. Wolfgang
We wandered around St. Wolfgang and stumbled upon a group of Austrian men that were drinking and playing instruments. They seemed like they were having an amazing time, despite the weather!
I especially like all the beer bottles at their feet, because you know, priorities.
Our friend Jane also told us that we needed to get our picture with Mozart for good luck. Mozart was born in Salzburg and lived in St. Wolfgang for a while before moving to Vienna.
This happened. I hope I never fully grow up or lose my sense of humor. Got Mozart balls?
We stopped at a restaurant that had outdoor seating with heaters and blankets. We warmed up with goulash and wine before making our way back to the ferry to St. Gilgen.
Cruising back to St. Gilgen. I love how the clouds are just sitting over the lake.
St. Gilgen from the lake
Ken enjoyed his time in St. Gilgen!
We rode the bus back to Salzburg and then went to dinner. We ended up eating at an Italian place in old town, followed by some gelato where we met a sweet couple from the UK. We enjoyed talking to them and they told us all about places we should hike in the UK. We closed down the gelato window with them! :)
We found the real Mozart statue, so Ken posed for a picture. FYI, Mozart balls are candy and we did try them and they were delicious!
We also stumbled upon this sign and I could not resist taking a picture to send to Michelle.
On the walk back to the hotel, Ken stopped at a street vendor to buy a Stiegl beer. I am not so sure that he wanted it, but really wanted to walk along the river with a beer just because it was legal!
Happy Ken with his Stiegl and the Salzburg Fortress
Beautiful Salzburg at night.
We had a wonderful day in St. Gilgen!
Up Next, we day trip to Berchtesgaden Germany, which was one of my favorite things we did!
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