New Years Eve is celebrated throughout the world but ‘Sylvester’, the day of the Feast of Pope Sylvester I, coincides with this and makes it a doubly exciting time to be in Austria! As you may expect, each town or village has their own way of celebrating these momentous occasions and in Alpbach, after a day on
The street is full of life, children singing, adults laughing and the atmosphere is electric; tonight is Ellmau’s Sommernacht’s fest. Sommernacht fest is a weekly tradition here where the village is turned into a completely pedestrianised area and every hotel and craftsman share their produce with the community. Home brewed schnapps, hand crafted jewellery, utensils
When a mountain guide who’s been guiding around the Ötztal Alps all her life says that she’s ‘never seen anything like it’, you know you’ve seen something special. Bridgette is one of the fantastic mountain guides that our guests can enjoy through the Obergurgl tourist office’s FREE guided walking programme. A ski instructor in winter,
Kaiserschmarrn is a traditional sweet dish which is served around Austria and is particularly popular in Alpbach. Many say the best kaiserschmarrn can be tasted in the Zottahof, either in their cosy stuberl in the Winter or out on their sunny balcony during the summer months. Kaiserschmarrn translates as Emperors mess, not to be
Austria has a fantastic culinary heritage with well known popular classics including Schnitzel, Goulash, Apfel Strudel and Sacher Torte at the top of menus throughout the country. However, one of my absolute favourite winter dishes has to be Tiroler Gröstl. This hearty dish was traditionally devised to use up left overs and if anyone
My once home turf, compared to my new bunk differentiates more besides from missing a few obvious letters. The incline of my local town embraced a staggering 60 meters, my Austrian residents sits a healthy 1,000 meters above sea level, not to mention the Grossglockner, the country’s highest point, shy of 4,000 meters in my
Naughty children (and grown-ups for that matter) beware! The Krampus are coming! Around Christmastime, villages and towns across the Tirol are packed with terrifying devil-like creatures, complete with stinking goat skins and hideous masks – and if you happen to be in Cortina d’Ampezzo in the heart of the Italian Dolomites, you may just get
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
