Winter in the Austrian Alps

Paws To Peaks
14 kwi
4 minut(y) czytania

Over the last few years, the view of the Alps covered in snow has changed somewhat.

Snow has to be searched for, which can be surprising for many of those who enjoy the mountains in winter.

In this article, we'll show you one of those places where the snow is always there, but you'll quickly find that the place is so charming and surprising that it's worth a visit in any season - enjoy the read! We wanted to show Mrok what a lot of snow looks like. The idea of how to do this was simple -> we go to the Alps in winter.

How do we look for places of interest?

In Google Maps in the level view, it shows the altitude of the place . Then we switch to the satellite view, and discard places that suit us because of the number of buildings and other local attractions.

For a winter trip to the Alps, we wanted peace and quiet, snow and a place that was dog-friendly.

We found a house, on a slope, described as ‘unique and unusual’ by those who visited it. A quick contact with the owner, we make a reservation (which can be cancelled at any time at no extra cost) and look forward to going.

We had over 1200km to go, so we split the route into 2 parts, stopping at a small hotel along the way.

Mrok likes hotel rooms, he had met many of them on his trip to Portugal, so despite the late hour, he greeted the hotel with a wagging tail, which immediately served water and dog treats as soon as he crossed the threshold.

The next day we decided to leave early enough to get there and get to know the area while it was still daylight. We were anxious to see the ski resorts such as Zell am See and Kaprun passed on the way without snow....

The flat we had rented is located at over1600m above sea level. We arrived in the town of Matrei and began gazing at the surrounding slopes in search of our spot. After a while, the owner came to pick us up - it had been a long time since we had seen such a friendly, helpful and broadly smiling person.

The owner said that we should go with him, which I replied that ok, but we could go according to the navigation. He replied that we'd better not, as the road the navigation would take us was impassable, covered in snow!

Phew! Finally someone said the word - there is snow!

We set off and began to climb the narrow road up the increasingly steep hill. Forest, gorse and a super view - it was getting more and more interesting!

Then, all of a sudden, the end of the ride, so much so that it wasn't the place!

I thought, noooo, just not another ad in which there was a super photo unrelated to the place!

Meanwhile, the smiling owner said.... we would continue on in a private mini gondola accommodating 2 or 3 people.

We were so surprised that we involuntarily marched with him and ended up on the tiny gondola of the high mountain railway.

Really!

Yes!

Then the number of positive surprises accelerated and it stayed that way until the end.

we took the opportunity to try out the dog evacuation system - the surprise of Mrok, who was comfortably carried was considerable

I reloaded some of our supplies into the queue, Mrok's favourite cage, and headed up the hill with the owner.

It turned out that the queue is only used by those who live upstairs, and it soon became apparent that we would be alone at our chosen time !

Shall I write about what we saw at the top?

No, because even an exceptionally unsuccessful photo will in this case be better than the best description !

Mrok happily hopped onto the little bench in the rollercoaster carriage, and then did so many more times as we taught him this form of travel.... at night! The mountains!

Just the way we like it, silence, sensational accommodation, sun, snow and.... Balu - a local, very clever dog with whom Mrok quickly made friends.

Imagine a flat furnished in such a way that you open a drawer and find what you're looking for and a few other things you've always thought of having at home.

Imagine the landlord bringing you a large packet of coffee the moment you notice the coffee experss.

Imagine that all you have to do to get on the trail is walk out the door and when you come back, you can relax outside on the couch in the sun.

Imagine that when you wake up, you can see the sunrise over the mountain tops looking out of the giant window!

Imagine...

Or better still, don't,

pack your bags and instead of imagining all this, come to Zottlhoamat, get to know the place, the owner, who you can't see, but always appears when you need him.