Upper Austria: Traunsee Salzkammergut region
Hiking roundtrip to the summit at Feuerkogel:
Another awesome roadtrip from Budapest to Traunsee (Lake Traun), Upper Austria in the Salzkammergut region on the Alps’ northern edge turned out to be a spectacular, very quick, hiking trip to for the weekend. The villages and mountains around the lake are a very popular destination in Austria and well known for its health & summer resorts. Of course, it also is a popular destination for skiing and winter sports as well.
The area boasts some of the most magnificent scenery, being here is being blessed by natural splendor. Traunsee is Austria's deepest body of water, it is about 12 km (7.5 mi) long, 3 km (1.9 mi) wide and 191 m (627 ft) deep. It is known for having its own underwater mythical creature called the Lungy, which may be comparable to the stories of the Loch Ness Monster in Scotland.
We stayed in Gmunden, a lovely little town at the northern end of Traunsee famous for its landmark Schloss Ort, a castle on a tiny island built around 1080 by Hartnidus of Ort. There is a popular legend that the giant Erla built the castle for his great love, the Traunseenixe Blondchen, and after her death chiselled her face into the Erlakogel mountain - also known as the "sleeping Greek".
Our first hike on Saturday was a roundtrip to the summit at Feuerkogel, the majestic local ski mountain in Ebensee at the southern end of the lake. We hiked 16km (10 mi) covering 1200 m (3,937 ft) of altitude to the peak at 1,592 m (5,223 ft). We started in the fog and climbed above the clouds. The day was glorious, the hike strenuous, the views spectacular!
At the beginning of the hike there was a storyboard telling a fairytale about love and loss, witches and magic, dying and healing, and a giant cat. So randomly fun so we stopped each time to read as the saga unfolded. (Good excuse to catch out breath as well!!). At the top of the hike there was a festive chalet and entertainment. Very fun!!
