I would like to thank all from the forum here who helped make our trip a big success. We spent the first 6 days in St. Gilgen (as recommended): a wonderful choice; much quieter than St. Wolfgang and better suited for hiking. We walked to Furben, walked around the Schwarzensee and Fuschlsee, hiked at Strobl, and took the lifts up to the Zwolfterhorn and Schaffberg. The next 3 days were spent near Bad Aussee, from where we continued our lake walks: Altaussee, Odensee, then did the 3-boat trip from Grundlsee. After the hot spell in St. Gilgen, the weather turned cool and grey but it didn't rain.
After a few days in Graz, we continued on to South Styria, which I hadn't even heard of pre-forum. It was marvelous! We stayed in 2 areas, the first near Leutschach, and the second in Thermen- und Vulkanland (which I think I chose because of the exotic-sounding name). One hike was tortuous (the Heiligengeistklamm) for my 82-year old legs, but the view from the top was simply splendid and the way down was easy. In addition to hikes with marvelous views, we did several culinary hikes (lots of ups and downs), stopping in the Burschenshanke for Sturm (grape juice on its way to becoming wine) and cold dishes like smoked trout and "beetle" bean salad (like kidney beans, only larger). When we weren't hiking, we flaked out in thermal spans (Narzissen, Loisium -- our favourite; and Bad Blumau, beautiful but severely overcrowded), toured castles (Eggensberg--fascinating; and Riegensberg, not worth it), joined a village Ernte (Octover) Fest, visited a vinegar factory, and on the way back admired the Baroque library at Stift Admont. We drove back to Munich by way of Ramsau am Dachstein, hoping to tour the glacier but the weather didn't allow it. Instead, we admired the dramatic views from our window at Hotel Ramseauer Alm.
What didn't we like? Cigarette smoking in outdoor patios, salads drenched in vinegar, and the fact that Austrian was spoken. Even my German-born partner had trouible understanding, which made any guided tour risky. Still, we plan on gong back to Austria next year, perhaps to Seefeld and then on to Vienna.
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