I opened my eyes, it was 7:00 in the morning...I looked out of
the window, awestruck by what lay before me - a beautiful lake, amidst the
snow-capped mountains, sparkling with pride as the first sun rays fell on it –
the glacial mountains now forming a clear image of itself on the lake; I kept
gazing out of the window, wondering if what I was witnessing was a dream! But
no it wasn’t…all this was for real – how I wish I could get up to the same
sight every day!
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| First sun rays falling on the lake.. |
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| Spectacular view from our room! |
I was in the Salzkammergut region of Austria. The dreamy place I just described about is one of the most
beautiful lakes (and relatively less commercialized) in this region – Lake
Gosausee. We had put up at a family run guest house by the name of Gasthof
Gosausee - the only one located by this lake, offering spectacular
views of this lake surrounded by the mountains.
We started from Vienna in
the morning – taking short breaks at regular intervals, we were able to Gosau towards
the evening. As we entered Gosau, some stunning views greeted us – lush green
meadows, pretty quaint cottages with smoke billowing out of the chimneys, snow
- capped mountains – it was a treat to our eyes. Here on, we had to drive for
another 15 mins to reach our destination - Lake Gosausee. After checking into
our hotel, we decided to take a stroll around the lake – the picturesque
scenery and the chilly air acted as a panacea for our tired body and mind – we
felt refreshed.
As for the views, I will let the pictures do the talking –
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| One of the first lakes - lake Gmunden - enroute to Gosau |
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| First views of the Gosau village.. |
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| Surrounded by the lush green meadows |
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| Breathtaking - not my fault if couldn't take my eyes off! |
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| One of the many stops we took as we strolled around the lake.. |
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| On the other side..!the small red cottage at the other end is where we were staying:) |
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| Beautiful evening |
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| With the pretty flowers..:) |
Next, we visited the breathtakingly beautiful village of Hallstatt – a
UNESCO world heritage site, surrounded by mountains, located by the pretty lake
of Hallstatter See.The place is famous for production of salt, dating back to
prehistoric times. It is a small place – we did a foot tour of this village,
boated around in the lake – covering all this in a couple of hours.
It is not possible for me to describe this lovely place in words; it is
more like an artist’s impression of a picture perfect place – bright
colourful village with the backdrop of mountains, located by the stunning lake
adorned by white swans – simply wow! Let me take you through a picture journey
of this place –
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| Stunning Hallstatt |
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| God knows what we were looking at! |
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| Bright and colourful.. |
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| From a distance.. |
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| Captured from the boat |
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| Sneak peek into the colourful town of Hallstatt |
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| Picture Perfect |
Next, we visited the Dachstein ice caves – it was a 15 minute drive from
Hallstatt. Once there, we had to take a cable car and then hike for 15-20
minutes to reach the cave entrance. As we entered the caves, I was amazed
- ice had formed different structures in varied shapes and sizes -
I had never seen something like that before – it was a wonderful experience.
Unfortunately, photography was not allowed; or rather photography in flash mode
was not allowed – as such we weren’t really able to capture the beauty of the
place as it was dark in there.
We covered all these places over a period of two days. It was then
finally, time for us, to bid goodbye to the ethereal place, surrounded by
mountains and home to umpteen lakes…
Recommendations -
- Base out of
one place and then make day trips to various beautiful lakes and small villages in
the Salzkammergut region
- Do a self-drive tour of
this region – it might not be convenient to explore some of the more stunning
but remote places in this region using public transport
- Stay in a lake side hotel/guest house
