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Journals from: Europe » Austria » Lower Austria

Villach

Europe » Austria » Lower Austria
October 6th 2006 by GrtWaltbe

Central Villach
Walking across the river on the morning of October 6th.

Danielle and I decided that we needed a few days away from the deserts and dust of Dubai. After visiting a couple websites detailing what the southwestern part of Austria had to offer, we chose Villach for the first three days of our vacation to be followed by two days in Vienna.
October 5th we flew Emirates from Dubai to Vienna (excellent service and product - Don't know how we'll be able to travel on any other carrier) and picked-up a rental car. The drive from Vienna Airport is not complicated as the A2 is connected to the airport by a fairly new bypass expressway. The A2 will take you through Graz and Klagenfurt on the way to Villach and one passes through some stunning mountain landscapes. The drive should take four hours if you drive at a speed that allows you to enjoy the ride and scenery. We accomplished the return drive on October 8th in a little over three hours - Perfect weather on a Sunday with no truck traffic.
Arriving in Villach, we checked into the Hotel Mosser which is located within easy walking distance of the central shopping district and the main train station. We upgraded to

Villach
A church along the river painted with the morning fog. Morning October 6th

a top floor double room which was recently remodeled. Overall we were very happy with Hotel Mosser and would recommend it. Comfortable, great location, good breakfast, and English is spoken.
We woke-up early morning on October 6th and took a stroll through town. Villach has a wonderful combination of being a quiet Austrian Alpen village mixed with the reality of being a bustling, mid-sized town with 55,000 residents. At 07:00 in the morning, the mist and fog hung heavy in the air and the quiet of a town slowly waking-up was soothing. The church bells ring drifted through the cobblestoned streets as we walked through the walking zone and made our way down to the river. We could not have scripted a more perfect setting for unplugging from the chaos found in Dubai.
Our only 'must do' on the first day was to drive up the Villacher Alp Road. We set out a little after nine in the morning and it was a 10 minute drive to the Alp Road. The road is a toll-road and costs 13 Euros and is an absolute must. The road headed upwards quickly and we drove straight into the fog and low lying clouds.

Villacher Alp
Pulled over in a mountain field after we burst through the clouds and saw what was all around us. October 6th

At the first observation point we were still able to see under the layer of clouds. Thereafter it was pure white and we were left hoping at every turn and observation point that at the next turn we would break through the fog/clouds. Roughly 10 kms into the 15 km drive we saw pure blue above us and burst into the clear. There are truly no words that could describe what lay all around us. The feeling was further enhanced by not be able to see what was there until, like the unwrapping of a gift, the brilliance of the nature was unveiled.
Located at the end of the road is a lodge and multiple hiking trails to take you all the way up the Alp. We did a rookie hike and broke off the main trail to discover an amazing view. To describe the view and feeling is not possible, however, we took over 150 pictures to try and capture what we could not hope to convey through words. As the day progressed we watched the cloud layer literally rise in front of our eyes and burn-off. The valley floor below was completely exposed by noon and the panorama

On top of Villacher Alp
Hiked-up Villacher Alp at the end of the road. Found a front row seat to the show mother nature was putting on.

before us was complete. On the drive back down the mountain we were able to stop at all the observation points we missed on the way up. Views of Villach with the Ossiacher and Fakker Sees (lakes) were outstanding and less then 24 hours into our vacation we knew that the choice to come to Villach had already been rewarded.
We arrived back in central Villach around 3 PM and searched out a place to eat downtown. We wandered around for over one hour till we stumbled across a small Gasthaus located right off the central walking area. The restaraunt was small and had a dining area located downstairs with a quiet bar and seating area upstairs. The bar ambience was more inviting and we had a truly amazing meal accompanied by multiple beers which provided the perfect break to what was a full day. We wound-up eating two out of our three dinners in Villach here. The name of the establishment will be in the entry for October 7th.

Villacher Alp Road
Heading back down the mountain after the fog/clouds had burned off.

Ossiacher See
Danielle posing with a view of Ossiacher See and Villach in the background.

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The text and photos of article remain the copyright of the Author (Walter and Danielle). Under no circumstances should the photos or text be used without the express written permission of the Author (Walter and Danielle). If you wish to use or publish photos or text from this article - please Contact Walter and Danielle.