austria: saalbach-hinterglemm

It didn't take long for us to get from Zell am See, Austria to the town where Bo is currently living, Saalbach-Hinterglemm. The drive was only 15 kilometers or so, basically driving along the bottom of a valley.

The twin towns of Saalbach and Hinterglemm are joined officially I think, but there is a slight distance between the two. I looked online, and the population of the two of them together is only about 3000, so we're definitely talking small towns.
They're mostly ski towns, but in summer people come for hiking and biking. 

We arrived right around the time Bo would be eating dinner if he had to work that night. He normally eats the staff dinner, and the hotel makes it so that guests of employees can eat staff dinner for a small fee. Bo checked what the food was that night and decided for me that it wouldn't be very good.

Instead of eating straightaway we went for a walk. He lives more in Hinterglemm, at the end of the valley. There are a few roads in town, but not many. There are a few walking paths as well, and hiking trails going every which way all over the mountains. The scenery every which way I looked was amazing.

Eventually I got hungry enough to pick a place to eat. The food was okay, and we went home. I slept 9 hours straight without moving, so I guess I was pretty tired. (From what, I don't know.)

Before arriving, I figured I would be eating the employee meal with Bo most of the time. What I didn't know is that he didn't like that idea much, and wanted me to have the same good food the guests have. Somehow he made a deal with his boss that I could eat like a guest. Lets just say that I felt like a princess when he told me.

Breakfast was a buffet, so of course I ate way too much. Hard boiled eggs, and rolls, and yogurt with meusli, and fruit, and cheese slices, and bacon. Tea and juice as well.

Since Bo had to work most of that day, I went for a hike. I picked the top of a mountain, and generally aimed in that direction. Every time the path split I randomly chose a direction and it usually went where I wanted it to go: up. A few times I had to double back and go the other way.

I found a man made pond with a sign that specifically said no swimming. I found heaps of fields of wildflowers. I got to look across at plenty of other mountain tops. I figured out really fast that there are plenty more trails I want to hike in this area. Is there ever enough time to hike all the beautiful trails? 

After a few hours I made it to the top of the Zweiferkogel, at 1984 meters. I took my photo with the cross on top to show I'd been there, of course. There is a bahn up there, but it wasn't running, so I had to hike back down, though I'm pretty sure I would've done so anywho. I felt great, and wanted to be as active as possible in the good weather.

I got back to the hotel after Bo had already started his evening work shift. I hopped in the shower and put on nice clothes to go to dinner.

And what a dinner it was. Five courses, all plated beautifully, and served in perfect time.

I could explain all of them, but what they were wasn't as important to me as the feeling of the whole thing in general. Amazing. I know I said princess earlier, but I really did feel that way. Each course was beautifully plated, and everything tasted good. The waiter paid attention so I never had to look around for a plate to be taken away or the next to arrive. What a way to end a day!

The next morning Bo had to work in the morning, and go figure, it was raining. The clouds were hanging really low, so low you couldn't even tell there were mountains. I took my time eating breakfast, then lounged around.

By the time it had stopped raining Bo had finished his work shift, so it was perfect. I borrowed a bike from the hotel, and he grabbed his bike. We pedalled into town, then onto a path that goes next to the river running through the area.

As we rode along we realized there were little exercise areas every so often, so we stopped at several of them. They all looked easy, but most of them weren't as easy as they looked. I have no balance, so any of them involving balance had me tipping every which way. It was fun even so.

After not too long we went across the main road and into Saalbach. The first thing Bo showed me was an entire hotel complex named after me!! There was a place to put your skis, a bar, an alm, a hotel, and a spa. Yahoo!!

We parked the bikes and walked around Saalbach. Like Hinterglemm, it isn't big, and the walking didn't take long. It consists mostly of hotels, apartments, cafes, and shops. Everything geared toward tourists coming for sport activities.
One of the towns had a church, the size of which surprised me quite a bit. It was sortof hidden behind several buildings, it wasn't an immediately obvious place to see. 

We had a snack at a bakery (I was surprised it was still open that late – 1600 – and on a Sunday no less,) and walked a bit more. Then I realized I needed real food. We found a place that listed decent food, and I was happy. I appreciate pretty food, but don't need it. 

From there we rode back to Hinterglemm, which wasn't so easy for me. Riding a bicycle is something you don't forget how to do, but it had been a while since I'd ridden, so even this short ride was tough. Or maybe it was tough because there was some up and down in the path. I was thrilled we'd done it, but I was also very happy to get off the bike back at the hotel.

The next morning I had the buffet breakfast again, and got lucky with the weather. I hiked up the other side of the valley, though I can't for the life of me remember what the peak was called. Rotter something or another.

This trail was a lot steeper, and slightly shorter, and did't follow a road much at all. I went through fields and trees quite a bit. I saw wildflowers, and I saw another man made pond. I stared at the natural beauty all around and reminded myself how lucky I am to have seen it.

The views at the top were even better than what I'd seen the day before. The mountains off in the distance were higher and steeper, and still had some snow on the peaks.

To get down, I went down the back of this peak a bit, then circled around to the front and went down a different path from the one I'd used to come up. Since the trail was steeper my legs were pretty well wrecked by the time I got back to the hotel, but it was totally worth it. I'd also managed to get a pretty good sunburn in the two days of hiking. Ooops.

I took a shower and packed up my bag, since I had to leave just after dinner. Dinner was another fabulous event, though 'only' four courses this time. Even so, I still loved the experience. Maybe there is something to staying in 4/5 star hotels, hee hee.

After I finished eating I said goodbye to Bo, grabbed my bag, and walked down the street to the bus stop. The bus came a few minutes late, but got me to Zell am See in plenty of time to catch the train I needed to another small town.

As long as Bo is there, I would be more than happy to come back to Saalbach-Hinterglemm. It's gorgeous and I want to hike all the trails.