Autumn is the time when I have need to enjoy yellow-brown color of the Austrian area. So, we have decided to seize the long weekend in October to charge our batteries:) We didn’t have time to organize our trip in much details. In the end, we decided for trip to Klagenfurt to give our kids the possibility to enjoy Minimundus. After that, we have planned to visit some of beautiful Austrian lakes and enjoy magic of Austrian lakes.
It was a warm and sunny day, perfect for walking through Minimundus park, where the small, world-famous, buildings look lovely in the autumn sun. I need to mention that, between lots of world famous buildings, I’ve found one Croatian – lighthouse near Pula (Porer).
Additionally, besides the buildings in the park, there are different attractions for kids inside. There you could find a slide, different kinds of educational games and family games. Kids could enjoy in Mini Morris ride, but watching a 4D movie is a special experience for them. We spent 3-4 hours there and then went back to the hotel, which we had reserved before.
Happy house is a small family owned hotel, near the Worthersee (lake)/Krumpfendorf. The kindness of the host and service deserve a great recommendation for this family hotel. During the check in, the host gave us the Kärnten Card+ that this hotel ensures for their guests, for free. The card allows free entrance in the most of landmarks and attraction of the Region and ensures discount for the rest. For example, entrance to Minimundus is free of charge (with the card).
Right on the other side of the lake, sunlit, on the hill by the lake, the Pyramidenkogel stands. Car drive to the location lasts about 15 min (during summer time, you could take a boat to the other side of the lake and a bus to the top of the hill). The view to the wooden building was really impressive and the view from the top of the Pyramidenkogel is priceless (free entrance with Kärnten Card) – a beautiful blue color of the lake, islands in the lake and endless woods and hills around the lake. Additional attraction of Pyramidenkogel is a big slide that you could use for returning from the top. The Worthersee definitely surprised me, it is not recognizably as some other Austrian lakes, but it’s quite big and breathtaking, it was a pleasant surprise. I enjoy magic of this Austrian lakes. The owner of our hotel also explained that Austria has thousand of lakes and all of them contain a drinking water. After enjoying the view and sunny autumn day, we turned back to the village, for a dinner. Here, I’d like to recommend pumpkin soup, which is really tasty.
Next morning, after delicious and very carefully prepared breakfast, we left the hotel and headed towards Hallstat. Since, we have informed our host about our trip plan, he recommended to choose the route that leads across Nockalmstrasse – that is actually the „winding road“ through the park of nature. It is 34 km long and climbs to 2.042 m. It’s interesting to mention that on this impressive road, some famous movies were filmed (James Bond, Good job in Italy). Here, you need to pay entrance, but since we had our Kärnten Card+, we didn’t have to payJ Trip to the North of the country is longer through this route (compared to the highway), but it’s worth it because it is quite scenic. For the whole length of the way, there are stops available for enjoying the views. What is more, near the road, you could find different small museums and rest station with some food/drink or playgrounds for the kids. On this excursion, you have enough content to fill the itinerary for the whole day, but we decided to stay a little shorter since we wanted to spend our afternoon in Hallstatt…. Finally, there it was, bathed in the sun…. Hallstatt is amazing just as I’ve already seen on some photos. Simple, the magic of Austrian lakes. It is warm and cozy, on the lake, surrounded by mountains. A specific wooden architecture, gives it a special charm. If you have a sweet tooth, you could try „Schaumrolle“, which you could buy near the way, during the walk through the town. Here you could also rent a boat for the ride around the lake, but since we arrived late in the afternoon, after walking around the town, it was too late for a boat ride.
In the evening, we were on our way toward the nearby lake Grundlsee, where we already booked room in the hotel Mondi-holiday, just near the lake with a beautiful view of the lake and the landscape. This is a small place and it’s somehow unpleasant during the evening, walking through the dark and trying to find a free table in the restaurants, if you not reserved it in advance. But, you could also dine in the hotel’s restaurant and I recommend reserving a table immediately when checking in.
Next day, we considered visiting the salt mine in Hallstatt or attractions of the Dachstein Mountain – and that is what we decided for in the end. Here, you have a possibility to choose different tours and programs, and all of them seem interesting. Basically, you move by the cable car to the different heights, where you start different routes, entering different caves of the Dachstein Mountain. So, we chose „Dachstein Giant Ice Cave“, which is the new attraction from 2018 and it was recommended for family with kids. It was a cloudy and foggy day, so, climbing in a cabin of the cable car has been a little bit creepy. There were organized guided tours through the cave and our walk under the mountain has taken about an hour. We chose the ice cave, but we had not prepared appropriate clothing and we were pretty cold since the temperature was low and ice was all around. Fortunately, the nice lady who sold us tickets, lent us two jackets to dress the kids. In the conclusion, I would definitely recommend this tour, but you need to prepare appropriate clothes and shoes. The other attraction that we really liked (but missed it this time) is „5 fingers“ – that is an adrenaline platform, after additional ride by cable car. On a nice day, the view is magical, but we didn’t have much luck with the weather anyway.
On our way back to the hotel, we stopped in the small town named Aussee, which also has very nice architecture. We walked around the town and finally took some rest for afternoon’s coffee and chocolate cake…. and ice cream for the kids, of course:)
Next day, before noon, we spent walking near the lake and enjoying beautiful sunny day on one of magic of Austrian lakes. After that, we started our trip back home….till the next travel….
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