Zell am See, Austria

In May 2005 we had a wonderful holiday, possibly the best yet, in Bavaria and Austria. Flying British Airways into Munich and collecting our hire car from Avis. We ended up with a Vauxhall Meriva, a small people carrier, which having high seating was ideal for sight seeing, not to mention easy for my creaking joints to get into! We had booked into the marvellous Hotel Luitpold am See in Prien on lake Chiemsee, Bavaria for two nights either side of our main week in Austria. The Bavarian side of this trip was the subject of June’s ‘Travel Bite’ so I won’t recover old ground here, but it was wonderful. Saturday morning saw us leaving Prien for the 70 mile drive down to the Hotel Neue Poste in the beautiful lakeside town of Zell am See. Having all day to get there we travelled on the small roads between pretty alpine villages and towering mountains. Thundering rocky rivers ran alongside the roads, fed by the, still melting, snows on the peaks way above. The hotel we were heading for is also part timeshare, I had booked this apartment nearly a year before, searching the Internet almost daily. It is rare to find a timeshare resort that is in the centre of a town, making for pleasant evening strolls without taking the car out, so I booked it as soon as I saw it!

We only had one task on this drive to the hotel, and that was to do a food shop before mid-day, we had been caught out before in Austria. Arriving at an apartment mid afternoon and then going shopping, only to find the supermarket closed at 12 Saturday, until Monday morning. Saalfelden, provided the opportunity, seeing a sign for a Spar, we pulled in. Not the small corner shops we are used to here, but a superstore mall, rooftop car park, glass lifts. The produce and range of meats, hams and cheeses was amazing, not to mention mouth-watering. We stocked up on cheeses, ham, tomatoes and cucumbers for breakfasts along with a toaster loaf and lots of drinks, soft and alcoholic! We got to the hotel at 12.30, way too early for the 4pm check in, but I wanted to park up the car and explore the local area. However when I asked the friendly receptionist about disabled parking, besides pointing out a blue lined bay just over the square, also said our apartment was ready if we wanted it now. Result. We had only booked a studio, so we were not too sure how big the room would be, or if we had a view or not. Taking Linda and the first of the bags up to the room, thankfully there was a lift, we both crossed our fingers hoping we would be able to see the scenery. Opening the door, we entered a transverse hallway, with a bath, shower toilet room on the right, at the left hand end a second toilet was next to the spacious bedroom. French windows, and a huge ‘Austria bed’ contained within, now those of you who have never experienced an ‘Austria bed’ will wonder what an earth I’m on about. Two single mattresses contained in a wood frame topped, usually by two separate down and feather quilts give you the best nights sleep you could wish for! By the main bathroom was a lounge/diner/kitchenette, also with French windows, through which was a full-length balcony, complete with table and chairs. The view was stunning, a glimpse of the lake through the trees, the garden, patio, outdoor pool and spa below us. High snow capped peaks directly in front of us and a green hill with two cable cars was off to the right. We would be spending many hours here, just sitting, soaking in the panorama and savouring the clean mountain air.

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