The serene calmness and tranquillity of Fuschl am See begins in the village itself and stretches out to the beautiful surrounding areas where you can indulge yourself in a variety of wonderful walks. For starters you have two short circuit walks of about 90-120 minutes, which take you away from the lake, offering views of the village from a variety of diverse places. These walks take you along paths through cool, shaded woods and along meadows, as well as past farms and dwellings. The views of the mountains, such as the Schober/Frauen Kopf, the Ellmaustein, Eibenseealm and Fibling are simply a delight, together with rich fauna and wild flowers at ground level. Close to Fuschl you are likely to pass by the Rumming mill, which is no less than 150 years and still in operation!! There is the fragrant ‘Herb Garden’ with varieties in the region of 100 herbs to see and smell. For those who enjoy an adrenaline boost, at least one go on the near by summer toboggan is a must! (In fact our only complaint about the toboggan has been that the person in front was going rather slow, thus preventing our guest to ‘whiz’ down the track!) Then there is Kneipp’s Water Garden – a foot bath and arm bath in which to indulge your limbs – a word of warning though, the water is ice cold, but certainly makes those feet and arms feel good afterwards – such are the benefits of hydrotherapy!!!
Another very pleasant walk is one around the lake but at 12 kms in circumference, it may take you anything between 2 and 5 hours to complete. This of course depends on how many times you succumb to sitting on any one of the many benches to admire the views across the clean, deep turquoise, glimmering Fuschlsee. Setting off anti clockwise, (although walking clockwise is just as pleasant) the path hugs the lake, apart from the far end, where it leads off in the direction of Thalgau. After just 10 minutes you arrive at the ‘Berger Jausenstation’, where you can enjoy some refreshment in a pleasant shaded garden. Walking past the tip of the lake, you then arrive at the pristine Hotel Schloss Fuschl. Today this is a 5* Hotel establishment but it started off in the 15th century as a summer hunting lodge for the Archbishops of Salzburg. Indeed one of it’s buildings is called the Jagehaus (hunting house), which houses an interesting museum dedicated to the beautiful ‘Sissi’ – Empress Elizabeth.
Immediately after the Schloss you will not be mistaken if you smell the aroma of smoked fish! At the Schloss-fischlerei you can indulge in a meal of smoked fish such as char, trout and salmon, to name a few, all fresh from the lake. Simply delicious! From this point, the continuing path leads you past a couple of popular swimming areas where you can stop for a beverage or an ice cream. If your legs feel like they have done enough walking for the day at this stage, then at the Schloss-fischerei, you can board the Fuschlerin flat bottomed boat, which powered by electricity, will glide effortless down the length of the lake, and take you back to Fuschl’s picturesque promenade!
To get to St Gilgen it is very easy to hop aboard the local postbus, but a more interesting way to get there is to go on foot, via pretty hamlets such as Ellmau and Oberellmau. A pit stop comes in the form of the Hochlackenhof Hotel after a walk of about 1 hour and then after a short climb you’ll be treated to the most magnificent view of the whole length of glorious Wolfgansee. This point is regally named as ‘Mozart’s Blick’ and rightly so! Walking boots or good trainers are required for the fairly steep and narrow uneven path down in to St Gilgen. If you do not fancy this, then of course you can simply do an ‘about turn’ and enjoy the same route back to Fuschl.
Another favourite walk of mine is the Ellmaustein round tour which follows the Eibenseebach (Eibensee stream) all the way to the very small, but perfectly formed Eibensee (Eiben lake).
If hiking is more your thing then you will enjoy the climb up the Schober mountain to the Wartenfels ruins. The ascent in total is around 600 metres, and you have two restaurants to stop at along the way. The walking is mainly through conifer woods, and once at the ruins, you are treated to views of no less than 3 lakes – Fuschl, Mondsee and Hintersee. Further on from there will take you to the top of Schober.
All walks, as well as being briefly described on the ‘Hiking/walking map Fuschl am See,’ are well signposted with bright yellow signs detailing destination and the walk number. A recent Inghams’ guest asked me if it would be easy to ask someone if you felt you were unsure of the correct direction, and my response to this was an honest ‘no, as most likely there will be no-one to ask’! Much of the charm of walking in Fuschl am See, aside from the stunning scenery, is that you are able to walk here peacefully, all by yourself.
Words & Images by Julie Barber, Resort Representative in Fuschl am See.