A Mostly Idyllic Walk To Strobl

Photos by Betsy

Determined to make up for missing the second walk, we were up early getting our stuff together. The morning view was inspiring.

The breakfast at this hotel is even more wonderful than the last hotel, so we had plenty to eat to energize us for a full day of walking – which turned out to be nearly 12 miles before we would return to our hotel in Bad Ischl.

We waited out the morning rain (we thought) and left the hotel around 9 a.m. to catch the bus from Bad Ischl back to St. Wolfgang. However, we missed the bus by just a few minutes and the next one was an hour away. Luckily a taxi pulled up and gave us a good price for the transfer, so we hopped into the backseat for the quick trip. The driver was a nice Austrian woman who asked where we were from. She was thrilled to hear Nashville and said she and her daughter want to visit there most of any place in America. They watched the TV soap (her word) and fell in love with country music and the city. (This is such a change from our first visit to Europe as Nashvillians, when no one had even heard of Nashville, much less wanted to visit there!)

At St. Wolfgang, Betsy reviewed the walking instructions and we were off, first climbing up from the city on a long set of stairs and then finding our path up into the mountainside.

This was was in the opposite direction of the first day’s walk, but the climb was similar, and steep. Once at the top of the first ascent, the misty rain turned into a heavy rain, which was not predicted. In minutes, we were soaked but we found a canopy of trees that served as a natural, if not perfect, umbrella. We waited there for 15 minutes or so until the hard rain turned into a lighter rain.

The path led us higher up the mountain and deeper into the forest. It was beautiful. More waterfalls, lots of moss and tall trees. Everything smelled fresh and clean. We did see some other hikers on this route, some young ones passing us from behind, others passing from the opposite direction.

The rain made everything lush and green and mushrooms love this environment. We saw a woman gathering some down a hillside. We don’t know the poison ones from the good ones, so we just admired the many varieties.

And we got lost a couple of times, which is why the 9-mile walk outlined turned into a 12-mile walk. The directions failed us at a few intersections. Even with photos, it was unclear where we were to turn. One time, we descended down a steep hill only to have to turn and make the climb again. It’s times like those when the puffed up pride I feel for having made a hard climb turns into a bit of a petulant attitude about having to do it again. It passes quickly, though. It’s all part of the experience. As Betsy says often on these trips: The Walk is the Thing.

After one really pretty segment of the trail, we came out in a clearing with a small lake and two restaurants. We stopped for some water and libation and to sit and enjoy the view. Some cows wearing bells were herded across the dam and up the trail we had just completed. It was a nice sight to see and to hear. I was glad we hadn’t met the cows on the trail since I have been chased into a lake by a cow…though a witness claimed it was a calf that chased me, but I’m sticking to my story.

Our path led us around the small lake for a bit including another little restaurant that also looked fun.

After we left the smaller lake, we continued to make our way to Strobl. The path was gorgeous at every turn.

Getting into Strobl, we again found some problems with the directions, but we managed. We never saw some of what was described in our paperwork – a soccer field? – but we did find a nice path along the river that took us right into the pretty little village by the lake. We walked through the mostly empty town. We really are here during off season and most everything is closed, including most of the restaurants.

We found the bus station and waited just a few minutes for our bus back to Bad Ischl. When I tried to pay the driver for the tickets, he said for the next five days all buses in the region are free. That’s good news since we’ll be riding once or twice the next few days.

Back at our hotel, we were tired and sore. We stretched, took some ibuprofen, showered and rested a bit and then went out to eat. We also finally got inside the Bad Ischl church and it was worth the second try.

We walked around a bit for a last look at Bad Ischl before dinner. We knew we wouldn’t have any time in the morning before moving on to the next hike and next village.

In search of a restaurant, we again found most places closed for the season. We chose k.u.k Hofbeisl on a corner near our hotel. It was a cozy little place and we ordered Viennese noodle soup with root vegetables and beef bits. The soup was delicious, but the beef bits were dry so we picked around those. We also ordered the schnitzel and it was good, but it would be since it’s a pounded piece of battered, deep-fried meat. We shared both dishes and a side of boiled potatoes, which were cooked perfectly.

We were too tired to do much else other than go to bed and prep for the next day of walking.

This time, it really isn’t supposed to rain. Fingers crossed. We’re off to Hallstatt!

A few more scenes from the day