The hills are alive...Amazing Austria!

Early on Wednesday morning, Josh and I started off on our journey to Mallnitz, Austria.  We left our flat at 3:45 am for our 7:50 am flight from London.  We landed in Salzburg to a cloudy, rainy day.  We had a couple hours to kill before our train to Mallnitz, so Josh and I did some shopping, had lunch and drank some delicious beer.  I have to say, I love German/Austrian beer so much more than British beer.  British beer tends to be quite bitter, I much prefer the smooth wheat-y flavor of the beer we have had in Germany/Austria.  If only it was easier to find in Britain!

Hooray for Beer!

Josh enjoying his Weissbier.

Our train left Salzburg and threaded through valleys, over streams and through mountains.  The scenery along the way was beautiful, I couldn't wait to be in Mallnitz!  We were expecting to see some snow along the way, but the rain continued instead.  When we arrived in Mallnitz it was pouring and thankfully our host from the hotel came to pick us up.  The drive to our hotel only took a few minutes and after 12 hours of travelling, it was nice to finally be settled.  The hotel we chose in Mallnitz was Hotel Hubertus.  Except for a bit of a language barrier, it was perfect, the room was clean and comfortable and our stay was all inclusive.  We had three meals a day, plus afternoon tea and as much beer and wine as we wanted!

Hotel Hubertus in Mallnitz

The town of Mallnitz, Austria

The town of Mallnitz was almost too perfect to be true.  The streets, homes and businesses were clean, manicured and well cared for.  Almost every building had beautiful flower boxes just dripping with gorgeous flowers.  We were hard pressed to walk past anyone else in town, most of the time, but when we did we were always greet with a "guten morgen" or "hallo".  Josh and I spent our first night in Mallnitz planning our next two days of hiking and then turned in early.

The next morning, Josh and I expected to see snow on the ground in Mallnitz, but instead found just more rain.  The higher elevations did receive about 12 inches of snow, so our plans to check out a few of the cable cars and a glacier had to be cancelled.  Instead we headed off to the Seebachtal mountain for our first hike.

Josh at the beginning of our hike.

Me on our way up the mountain.

Josh was excited to find a tree stand!

Heavy snow towards the top of the mountain.

Josh and I, cold and wet on our hike!

A rainy/snowy view of the mountain range and the town of Mallnitz.  

Snow in the mountains!  This is about were we had to head back due to the heavy snow.  

Our hike up was impeded by the heavy snow.  Once we found it too difficult to view the trail markers and determine exactly what we were stepping on, we decided to head back down.  Despite the rain and snow, Josh and I had a great time taking in the views and getting "back in touch" with nature.  We didn't see one other person on our hike, just some cows and a few wild animals.  Coming from London, where there are people everywhere, it was amazing to be the only two people around for miles!

The next morning, Josh and I woke up to a perfect sunny day.  It was still cold, but the sky was blue and clear.  Our hike for the day was up Hindenburghohe.

Starting off on our day 2 hike in Mallnitz.

Beautiful Mallnitz!

Josh and I at the beginning of the trail.

Josh part way up the mountain.  

Me during our lunch break, halfway up!

Once we made it past the tree line, Josh and I thought we were "almost" to the top.  But it still took quite a while to finally reach the summit.  And boy, all the hard work was worth the view!

View from the top!

Josh and I at the summit

The valley and town of Mallnitz 

Enjoying the sun and a snack at the summit.

Headed back down.  

Josh at the summit.

After spending about an hour enjoying the view, resting our legs and refueling, Josh and I headed back down the mountain.  We were exhausted, but happy!  We left the next morning to head back to Salzburg for our flight later in the day.  In Salzburg we visited Mirabella Gardens, the Salzburg Cathedral and the Salzburg Fortress.  It was another rainy day, but we still enjoyed our time in the city.

Salzburg Cathedral

Josh and his GIANT chocolate covered pretzel :)

Mirabella Gardens

View of Salzburg from the fortress.

Josh and I had a fantastic time in Austria.  I would absolutely love to go back and do more hiking... preferably when it is a little warmer!

Our next few weeks are extremely busy!  Sam and Amanda finally arrive next weekend, I am so excited to see them!  After that, Josh has a trip to the States for business, then my parents arrive for two weeks!  Then the day after they leave, we are headed to Cornwall and Wales for a road trip with our Australian friends.  It is never dull around here!

Rachel x