Salzburg, Innsbruck & the Austrian Alps

Salzburg, Innsbruck & the Austrian Alps

Krista Dana

HUNTER PUBLISHING, INC,

www.hunterpublishing.com

© Hunter Publishing, Inc.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher.

This guide focuses on recreational activities. As all such activities contain elements of risk, the publisher, author, affiliated individuals and companies disclaim responsibility for any injury, harm, or illness that may occur to anyone through, or by use of, the information in this book. Every effort was made to insure the accuracy of information in this book, but the publisher and author do not assume, and hereby disclaim, liability for any loss or damage caused by errors, omissions, misleading information or potential travel problems caused by this guide, even if such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident or any other cause.

Acknowledgements

Although there is only one author's name listed on the front cover, this book is the result of a great many contributions. First thanks go to my outlandishly supportive family and friends, who allowed me to neglect real-world responsibilities during the many months I spent researching this project. I am blessed to call you mine.

Particular thanks go to my dad and mom, Bob and Mary Lou Smith; to Tom and Mitzi Smith, Lee and Jacqueline Collins, Roger and Deanne Wagner, Carol Barker, and the Sooners of Cohort 3; and to my husband, both for his unending support and his expertise in European history. Thanks go, as well, to editor and publisher Michael Hunter and the many publishing, editing, and tourism professionals who made this project click.

Finally, recognition goes to those countless strangers on mountain trails, ferry crossings, and ski slopes that offered their opinions and advice - some of it solicited, some of it not. Much of their insight is represented here.

Finally, and most forcefully, I thank Jethro: Life with him turns out to be the best adventure of all.

About the Author

A native of southern California, Krista Dana has lived and worked in Europe, Asia, and the Rocky Mountains. Along the way she's wrestled cocktails from thieving primates in Kenya, drifted on a broken-down boat among the Indonesian Islands, and raced Chinese school children to the top of The Great Wall. An avid skier and hiker, she has explored terrain ranging from Switzerland's Matterhorn to South Korea's Muju Mountain. Today, when not basking in the glow of her computer monitor, Krista plays in the dirt and snow near her current home in northern Utah.

Krista has written over 800 travel features, hotel reviews, and destination guides. Her first book, The Alps Adventure Guide, was published in 2004. She holds a master's degree in Human Relations and a doctorate in Organizations and Leadership.

Introduction

If castles, cuckoo clocks, and bell-laden cows dominate your image of the Alps, you are - like most travelers - missing out on one of Mother Nature's greatest gifts. It's a secret Europeans like to keep to themselves.

In addition to its wealth of cultural sights, the European Alps offer a wider range of outdoor recreation than any other similarly sized region in the world. Adventurers of all ages hike hut-to-hut on multi-day treks, skiers slide year-round on glacial slopes, and Sunday walkers stroll forested trails. Bikers loop icy blue lakes, and mountaineers scale up waterfalls and down canyon cliffs.

Europeans cherish their wilderness areas, and none more so than the pristine forests of the Alps. Modern adventurers run the gamut from rich to poor, young to old, and native to transient foreigner. So take a look around. That bus driver. . . This tour guide. . . Your hotel concierge. . . They may just be showing you the Europe they think you want to see. Take a moment to ask how they spend their own free time - odds are that each will spend a day outdoors this weekend.

Want to know where they go?

We did, too.

This project took flight after a personal search for information on Alpine recreation proved painstaking and, in the end, not terribly productive. Some information does exist, but mainly on scattered websites, and frequently only in local languages. As far as we can tell, European tourism offices still insist that foreigners want prettily packaged displays of stereotyped culture - and maybe some do. What we're after, however, are the richer rewards that come from getting down and dirty, cold and wet, out in the wonderfully wild outdoors.

About This Book

Pocket Adventures: The Alps is just that - a pocket-sized guide to the best sights and adventures in the mountainous regions of Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland. Based on experience gained through more than a decade of living in, traveling around, and writing about the Alps, we spotlight the best gateway cities, the best sightseeing bases, and the best outdoor adventures.

The precursor to this book, The Alps Adventure Guide, is a hefty tome that includes detailed information about sights and recreation in even the remotest Alpine regions. Pocket Adventures: The Alps distills that information into a portable guide that's ideally suited to on-the-go travelers who seek the best of the Alps - those sights and adventures most worthwhile, most easily reached, and most indicative of the Alpine experience.

Here, we cover the places where you're likely to end up when crossing the European Alps and the places that you shouldn't miss in-between, even if you have only a few days or a week to spend.

This book is written with three reader groups in mind:

Students, couples, and families who want to add some adventure to a standard sightseeing tour

Experienced travelers already familiar with the region and who now want something more from their travels

Outdoor enthusiasts seeking new ways to play

In short, what all our readers have in common is this: the desire to experience rather than simply look at the Alps.

Lake Brienz, Switzerland

How To Use It

This guide features 13 recreational regions in six countries: Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland. For each region, we've selected a handful of bases - villages, towns, national parks, and resorts - and highlighted the sights and adventures convenient to each.

In all, 58 destinations are covered here. Nineteen are spotlighted in detail, with in-depth information about what to see and where to sleep, eat, play, and party. In selecting these bases, we've weighed popularity, practicality, and convenience: Spotlighted destinations, then, include gateway cities (common fly-in entry points), towns particularly popular with Alpine travelers, and smaller recreational resorts easily reached via major transit routes. In addition, 39 more destinations are covered in brief snippets, profiling bases well worth a somewhat longer stay or a diversion from a pre-planned route. Often smaller or more remote than our spotlighted destinations, these memorable villages, valleys, and resorts are, in fact, some of our favorite places to play in the Alps.

Quick-Start Planning

Planning an adventure vacation is for many a daunting task. Selecting a destination is, of course, a critical part of that process and a particularly difficult decision for both those unaccustomed to international travel and those wishing to venture away from the tourist-trod path. The most straightforward planning method suits travelers with a particular culture, country, or route in mind - simply look at a map and peruse the this book's chapter intros to hunt down an ideal base.

For readers who want a bit more guidance, we make it easy with a quick-start strategy: three lists, each highlighting the best Alpine destinations by theme, vibe, and adventure.

Pick-A-Theme - For those seeking the best of the Alps, we offer Pick-A-Theme lists. Here, round-ups assist in planning travel based on features such as Olympic resorts, best old-town centers, historic hotels, and dramatic drives.

Pick-A-Vibe - For those weighing less tangible considerations, we suggest the Pick-A-Vibe list. For example, travelers can choose a destination for its village charm, big-name clout, or party-hearty frame of mind.

Pick-An-Adventure - Travelers seeking a specific type of recreation should consult the Pick-An-Adventure list. The list boils down the best of our featured destinations for each activity.

The Alps

Prehistory

Hundreds of millions of years ago, the Alps began their formation with the upward surge of the earth's crust. Over the course of millions of years more, limestone forced up along the Alpine axis, granite thrust into the western Alps, and - some 20 million years ago the African continent collided with the Eurasian landmass, pushing, folding, and rippling the Alps to their current height. Nonetheless, the shape of the Alps has forever been in flux, as ever-present glaciers grow and recede, whittling valleys and ravines as they go. Additionally, these glaciers serve as the headwaters for many Alpine streams and rivers - forces of water that shift and erode the land, changing the layout of the mountains as they go. Together, the prehistoric subterranean collisions and glacial processes have sculpted one of the world's great mountain ranges.