Steiermark was on the list for a while.
Mainly because of its landscapes, hiking possibilities and farms.
During the spring holiday we decided to
reserve a pretty (inside-outside) wooden cottage surrounded by our hosts’ farm
including many animals. The accommodation was from Airbnb and belongs to Erika
and Alex.
What they are doing day by day is amazing. Erika prepared little
surprises for us on the occasion of Easter, and we got to know (and could
taste) what Austrians eat on Easter Sunday (really liked the grated horseradish
on top) and that the bonfire is a tradition at this time of the year.
Finally, we differed from our original plan
and extended our stay to 5 nights instead of 4, which fact speaks for itself – we
could not get enough of the nature we were in. Just right in front of our house
a mountain river flew and even on the day we arrived home, I started to miss
that crystal clear non-stop available cool water. But anyway, wherever and
whenever we were on the go, the snow-capped mountain peaks totally amazed us.
So many paths to explore! We stopped the car many times, parked and got out when
seeing natural beauties while driving.
The first day was about assimilation and to
discover our lovely place. Liezen is about 4-5 hours drive from
Budapest/Budaörs.
The slogan of the second day could be: “the
approach way is more important than the destination itself”. We were looking
for a path and finally could not find it but on our way we saw many wonders and
enjoyed the pure nature: different and many kinds of wild flowers, trickling
torrents, romantic paths. Walking many kms down and was afraid of walking back
the same kms up but all were worthwhile.
Not to give up my habit, the town of
Hallstatt got into the collection of UNESCO World Heritage Sites on the third
day (Easter Sunday).The town does not belong to Steiermark but belongs to
Oberösterreich. Big luck is needed when you want to park inside the city (we
had) and not to walk for long with kids till you reach only the town. Our
overall experience was the crowd; mainly Chinese and Indian people. No good
food and in many cases they accept only cash.
We tried the funicular which was
also crowded but they managed well. We went up, wore uniform and then had the
possibility to walk and even slide (!) deep into the mountain to enjoy the
history in the world’s oldest salt mine.
On day #4 (Easter Monday) it was better to
stay at home. Started to hanging around but there was stormy wind, therefore fallen
trees, fallen electric cables, forest fire, closed roads.
Day #5 was well worth the extension. Right
next to us, in the city of Palfau there was a beautiful canyon named
Wasserlochklamm, full of waterfalls (12x). Very scenery, nice hike up with 500
m elevation gain and dizzy depths.
Overall, it was a pleasant vacation. But something never changes.
