Rained Out: A Change of Plans

On the bus out of St. Wolfgang toward Bad Ischl instead of on our feet

Photos by Betsy

We just couldn’t make ourselves do it today. Physically, we welcomed the challenge, but the rain was heavier than ever with no end in sight. We just couldn’t face walking drenched for hours. Since tomorrow is supposed to be a rest day anyway, we decided to swap the schedule. It wasn’t an easy decision. We put off making it until around noon and then opted to catch the bus to our next destination for two nights, Bad Ischl. Instead of resting tomorrow, we’re going to bus back to St. Wolfgang and do the walk that was scheduled for today. There’s no rain predicted tomorrow.

With rain pouring down, we stayed in the room most of the afternoon. This is another nice hotel with excellent customer service. We’ve been talking about how great all the service has been and how nice and helpful everyone is. We’ve met a lot of good people in our travels, but Munich and now these stops in Austria really stand out for great customer service and the kindnesses we’ve been shown.

The Traun River view from our little porch

The rain finally turned to a drizzle around 4:30 p.m. so we went out to see the sites and to look for food, first stopping at a recommended restaurant on the esplanade by the river, Zauners, established in 1832. It really was a nice place, but the first seat we chose was by a wall of mirrors. My back was against that wall and Betsy was facing it and she realized a lot of flies liked that wall…a lot of flies. We asked to move. It’s that time of year with rain and humidity and the nice restaurants keep some doors open, so we didn’t freak out. We just opted to sit somewhere else.

We thought it would be fun to eat a snack in one place and then move on. Betsy ordered the gazpacho, which was not the typical salsa-like gazpacho. It was soupy with thin slices of celery and she said it was the best ever, full of flavor. I ordered a small portion of goulash, just three small bits of beef with some of that fabulous gravy. The beef was dry, but the gravy/sauce was delicious.

My goulash. Not pretty, but it was just enough to keep me going.

Zauners had quite the sweets counter, but we passed on those. For now.

With some food to energize us, we walked around the town. It’s so beautiful. Bad Ischl is known as the gateway to the Alpine Lakes. Habsburg Emperor Franz Joseph and his beloved wife Empress Elisabeth spent their summers here. As a result, so did many wealthy, influential Austrians and artists and musicians, all wanting to be near the royal family. Composers Johann Strauss and Johannes Brahms spent time here. Bad Ischl has a connection to the start of World War I. Emperor Joseph wrote the manifesto which declared war on Serbia here. The original is still on display at the royal summer home. That declaration led to the start of the first world war. Bad Ischl still calls itself the Imperial City in honor of Franz and Elizabeth. Many buildings, shops and cafes carry their names. It’s also known as a spa or health town due to salt brine baths dating back to the 19th Century and much more modern spa facilities today.

Bad Ischl is highlighted by a river and riverwalk or esplanade. It slices through the town and makes for dramatic and beautiful scenery.

We caught a bit of a rainbow, but it foreshadowed rain rather than marked the end of it.

Suddenly, the rain started falling in torrents and Betsy’s little umbrella and my raincoat weren’t doing the job. We ran for shelter at a little sandwich cart that had an awning and some large patio umbrellas. Since we were taking up their space, we decided to buy something to support their business. The owner suggested we try a young wine that’s only available a few weeks out of the year, Sturm (pronounced storm).

Because of rapid fermentation, Sturm cannot be stored and must be consumed within a few days. It’s basically fermented freshly pressed grape juice, and it tastes like that. Carbonated grape juice, but not too sweet, though sweeter than we like. The color is very reddish/purple. The alcohol content is low, usually about 2 percent. It was fun to try it since it is a local treat.

Two local men who are regular customers of the little stand were there drinking sturm and chatting with the owner and struck up a conversation with us. Rudiker and Schabbe (Rudy and Shabby) were great guys. We talked politics, life philosophy, family and experiences. There was a lot of laughter and even some singing.

To be honest, Rudy was flirting quite a bit with Betsy, but it was in good fun. He is from Bad Ischl and works in social services helping people find employment. Schabbe is Italian and works on a ferry in St. Wolfgang, where we were yesterday. Hopefully, we will be on one of his ferry trips when we return to St. Wolfgang at the end of our walk on Saturday. They know each other because Schabbe was injured and went through some personal financial loss and Rudy helped him get the job on the ferry and then they became good friends. They bought us some schnapps made from pinecones, zirbenschnaps. The pinecones come from a particular type of evergreen, the Arolla pine, and are gathered in July while still green and immature. It was tasty.