Schafberg - above the clouds

Tuesday 23 June: We left Nuremberg on the 6.15am train to Munich, changed trains for Salzburg, then took a bus to St Gilgen followed by a boat on the Wolfgangsee to St Wolfgang, where we caught the cog railway to the summit of Schafberg, our destination for the night.

The purpose of this very complicated trip was to enjoy the wonderful views of lakes and mountains usually experienced from this mountain, especially at sunrise and sunset, in summer.

Unfortunately from St Gilgen onwards the weather was cloudy and often wet. Nevertheless at St Wolfgang, where we had a two hour break before catching the train, we walked to the parish church and were amazed by its beauty. There was a fine painted ceiling, a 17th century altar by Thomas Schwanthaler and an ornate Baroque pulpit but the higlight was the huge golden, winged altar carved by Michael Pacher in 1481.

We enjoyed lunch at Mirabella's, an Italian restaurant, before taking the SchafbergBahn to the Hotel Schafbergspitze at 3pm.

At first we had a good view of the lakes and mountains as we rose above the town but, as we went higher, we travelled through the clouds until, on reaching the cog railway terminus, we could see nothing but mist. In a biting, cold wind and blinded by the mist, we struggled up the pathway to the summit and stumbled into the hotel - very relieved to have made it safely!

Here we have a comfortable room and a tiny bathroom. They are warm now that the wall heater has been replaced with a portable one that works. (No wifi unfortunately!) Over the last hour or two we have been intrigued by the way the cloud has changed, drifting up the mountain and then being blown away again. One minute we can see nothing but white from our window and next we can see as far the lakes below.

We had dinner in the hotel restaurant together with the ten other guests who are staying tonight - very Austrian choices for us of weiner schnizel and apple strudel.

A boar's head on the restaurant wall

The view from the windows there was at times a magnificent panorama of mountains and lakes and at other times just a sea of cloud in all directions.

Wednesday 24 June:
Next morning: nothing but cloud from our window!

Looking down at the train from the station

We had a Continental breakfast before catching the SchafbergBahn back to St Wolfgang. There was some weak sunlight once we reached the lake so we enjoyed taking photos on the boat trip back to St Gilgen. Ian won with thirty!

Then the bus to Salzburg where we got some lunch at the Hauptbahnhof before our Sound of Music tour at 2pm.