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Me at the lake
I'm coming back...GRUNAU
From the minute we turned off the Autobahn outside of Salzburg and into the regional Alps area - I knew I was finally seeing the real Austria and what I had been looking for. The small town of Grunau is unknown and only has a community of only a few hundred, it relies on woodchopping for its industry and has been a cheap ski destination in the winter for tight arsed Italians. It’s essentially only 1 street and as soon as we arrived at our lodge The Treehouse, more people were wishing they were staying here. Sucks to be them!
I picked this place since I was looking for places to visit outside the major cities, and for some reason I had always wanted to explore Austria more than anywhere else in Europe. On arrival our host Gerhardt served up possibly the best lasagne ever (better than yours Suzie sorry) and the home cooked food was welcome. Our old ski lodge was a bit worn, we were 5km from town (or anything) and our host appeared partial to a few drinks, but the few that has arrived decided to take advantage of the sunny day and I convinced
Downtown Grunau
The essentials - one street, a church, a pub and a shop them to ride mountain bikes 42km (return) to the Almsee lake. And despite sore bums it was worth every drop of sweat - the view was just stunning, riding towards the snow capped mountains up to the still lake. This was Austria! But as the leader of the riding pack, on the way home I decided a cold beer should be our reward, before we made it back to the lodge for further rewarded beers and a delicious roast beef dinner. And then the locals rolled in for their drinks so we amused ourselves into the night with Uno and laughing at the old lumberjack locals.
The next morning after a great sleep (Gerhardt had given me my own room for no extra cost - god bless his cotton socks), I was in chillout mode by the fire while the weather went through a few seasons and others went their own way (horse riding, wildlife park, walking the 5km to town to find it has just a few small shops). It finally decided to be sunny so I took the bike out again with Stuart (former Busabout guide) and rode 16km to a road shack where they sold whole
The Tree House
Possibly my new home next year.... roasted fish on a stick - divine - with beer. Then I checked out ‘town’ by sampling a pint at the only pub, and stocked up on Milka chocolate at the only shop (so cheap).
And as Gerhardt was on his own running the place and the kitchen I offered to help out with dinner that night and I was now his favourite. I liked cooking in a big kitchen and learning a few tricks from the formally trained chef (as his dogs and children roamed about) and with dinner a success I was offered a job to stay on as his assistant cook / run the hostel. Unfortunately Gerhardt was serious and said he wouldn’t let me leave the next day and I had visions of a Joseph Fritzel situation. Very tempting to stay there and work, and I would whip that place into shape pretty well (better than his bar tab system where drinks are often forgotten about - not sure he makes a profit). But as the night went on we spent our last night playing pool in the empty downstairs bar, poker and a few more drinks and chattered until we were stuffed.
Lake Almsee
It took a decent bike ride to get there but dam it was worth it Our last morning I took up a challenge and went for a jog in the fresh mountain air (mainly because of all food and drinking was taking its toll), and while it hurt more than is used to do (i’m hitting the gym and footy training as soon as I get back I promise), just being out in the fresh air was amazing and being able to drink straight from the creek made me realise this could be my home. I helped cook lunch for us guests and feed the incoming bus, but It was hard to say goodbye to Grunau (& Gerhardt, who said he would hide me if he was ever raided for employing non-Europeans) and I will definitely come back when I return to Austria (and take up a job if it’s still on offer).
So, that’s it for Austria, which has been my favourite place so far, and the one I wish most to return to!
Next stop - MUNICH
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