A family holiday in the Salzkammergut. This is a really fine idea. Big and small, old and young, everyone can look forward to a variety of exciting and interesting free time activities – both in summer as well in winter. Together with my two sons (Maximilian, aged 4 and Alexander, aged 2) and my husband, I was able to discover so much of this variety. Our journey took us from Lower Austria through Styria to Upper Austria, past Bad Aussee and Hallstatt and finally to the charming village of Gosau in the Gmunden District, where we headed straight to the slopes.
The Dachstein West valley station is located in the centre of Gosau and was reachable on foot from Hotel Sommerhof in only five minutes. Upon arriving at the cable car, we travelled alongside many ski and snowboard enthusiasts two stations toward the summit, where a picturesque landscape awaited us. Surrounded by plentiful snow and the mountains of the Gosaukamm Ridge, we enjoyed a snowball fight and had heaps of fun in the snow. Since so much sun, fresh air and powdery snow naturally makes you hungry, we refueled and had some great mountain hut fun at the Go-Gosau Alm before striking out on our next adventure.
Since my small family had romped in the snow on the Dachstein the previous day, we let our creative juices flow the following day and painted a few plates and cups in the Gmundner Keramikwelt. Gmundner ceramics have been a loyal companion of mine since Kindergarten days. The dishware from this traditional company can still be found in my childhood home. Therefore, it was naturally even more special to paint a few mugs and breakfast plates for Grandma and Grandpa with my children in the on-site studio. Five days later, these items, after being fired and finished, were mailed to our home.
In addition to lots of slope fun on the Dachstein and porcelain painting as well as exhibitions in Gmunden, the Salzkammergut also offers a fantastic wild animal park in Grünau, which houses 70 local animal species in an over 60-hectare area on Lake Almsee. Brown bears, owls, wolves and wild boars are only a few of the animals which we marvelled at in the animal park. For my sons, it was especially exciting that they could freely move about the park and explore things for themselves. The Cumberland Wildpark is my ultimate secret tip for families and is worth a visit no matter the season.
Anyone who has become curious now, should convince himself of the offers of the Salzkammergut and book a holiday. No matter if in spring, summer, autumn or winter, there is always something going on here.
Have fun,
Sabrina from Starlights in the Kitchen