º¬Ð߲ݴ«Ã½

When: May 2025

Trip rating: 4/5

What inspired you to take this trip? Friends for more than 50 years, Kate and I started hiking after early retirement 20 years ago, sometimes with other gal friends and sometimes just the two of us. In 2005, our first adventure was to trek Ontario’s Bruce Trail. The rest of Canada and Europe’s hiking trails beckoned. After that, through two-week adventures, we could be found on any number of them.

Our May 2025 walking holiday saw us travelling to Austria to walk the Salzkammergut, Salzburg’s Lake District; but not before we walked the streets of exquisite Vienna and Mozart’s Salzburg over a five-day period to enjoy the history, art and music both cities had to offer.

Kate and I booked a self-guided, eight-day Salzburg lakes walk with Macs Adventure. The company arranges accommodation, moves luggage and provides a recommended route with an app to download to phones. Our first night saw us in Fuschl am See, with subsequent nights in St. Gilgen, Strobl am Wolfgangsee, the spa town of Bad Ischl and Bad Goisern am Hallstättersee. Our walks took us on river and lake pathways, ascents up forest- and foliage-covered hills, for panoramic views of lakes, and down along pastoral animal scenes, by iconic Austrian architecture, as well as on cable car and ferry rides.

What was the best sight? In the lakes region, the waterscape was jaw-dropping, traversing the shores of Wolfgangsee and Hallstätter See. The panoramic mountain peak views at the station stop of the Katrin Cable Car were breathtaking. We enjoyed exploring the quaint villages of Bad Ischl, St. Wolfgang, Strobl and St. Gilgen, as well as a scenic start to one hike in the very picturesque but tourist-filled Hallstatt. In Vienna, the Gustav Klimt exhibit and gardens at Schloss Belvedere, and in Salzburg, the Fortress Hohensalzburg, were highlights.

What was your favourite activity? We were on a walking trip, so we appreciated navigating our way from one hotel stop to the next using the Mac app, as well as coordinating with ferry and train schedules. One walk saw us on St. Wolfgang’s pilgrimage; another on a part of the BergeSeen Trail. We met friendly people every place we visited, and English was prevalent. We walked another 76.88 kilometres during our time on the Salzburg lake journey to add to our 83 kilometres in the two cities.

What was the most delicious thing you ate? Breakfasts were a buffet offering of everything from eggs, meats and smoked fish to cheeses, yogourts and pastries. For dinners, we enjoyed turkey schnitzel, pepper veal meatballs with veggies, watermelon and Caesar salads, lake salmon, apple strudel, and ginger cookies from Wallner’s Geschichte in St. Wolfgang, famous for its ginger products, dating back to the 1500s.

What was the most memorable thing you learned? On this walking adventure, we saw the political history and grandiose lifestyle of the Habsburg monarchy, its subsequent republics, Austria’s involvement in wars, the importance of salt as a currency, the cleanliness of villages and trails, a myriad of well-used cycling trails, and the importance of the traditional dirndl dress and of lederhosen.

What is one piece of advice you’d give? Get out there and walk! Prepare well for a hiking holiday; take the appropriate safety, medical and walking gear and boots. Study your journey and the logistics before departure. Leave with an itinerary in your hands. Plan around temperatures and bugs in the season you want to hike. In cities, book your accommodation in the historic centre to make for more interesting exploration.

Donna McMillan, Port Dover, Ont.

READERS’ TIPS

We’ve launched a series that invites Star readers to share places they’ve visited recently and would recommend, whether it’s a weekend getaway in Elora, a Banff canoe trip, or a jaunt to Paris or Rome. If you’ve been, loved it and want to tell us about it, we’d like to hear from you.

Email us with “TRAVEL TIPS” in the subject line at travel@thestar.ca.

Please include brief responses to these questions. If your holiday experience is chosen, we’ll be in touch. 

1. Where did you go and when was it?

2. Where did you stay?

3. What was a highlight of your trip? Why?

4. Any travel tips?