LS Travels | Austria Photo Diary: Part I | Wattens + Achensee + Innsbruck

Austria in the summer time, is nothing short of postcard come to life! Sharing this incredibly special-to-me part of the world with my love couldn’t have been more amazing, heart-filling & memory-making, especially during this time of year! Although it does have a certain beauty to it, all snowy & covered in white, Austria in the winter is miserably freezing cold, damp & grey. In the summer, this beautiful land seriously could not be more gorgeous! So many shades of green, the air so clear, the Alps are truly magnificent, flowers are blooming everywhere you turn, and, my ATF, those traditional Austrian balconies are in FULL bloom – a profusion of geraniums, cascading so picture perfectly!

The first 3 days of our stay was spent in the small town of Wattens, Tyrol, which is where my dad grew up and where my Opa still lives today. So we could be close to & spend time with my Opa, we stayed right in town at The Hotel Goldener Adler, which is a pretty well know place, to say the least, as this traditional gasthaus was built way back in 1664! Wattens, is most famously known for being home to the magical world of Swarovski & the Swarovski Kristallwelten museum  is a huge tourist destination for many.

We spent time with my Opa every morning during our short time in Wattens & Volders and afterwards we would walk the town, hiked up the mountains or took a drive to nearby Rattenberg, Innsbruck & Achensee for an Alpine swim. The weather couldn’t have been more gorgeous and…HOT! Europe is in the middle of a full on heat wave, with record setting temps all over and in Austria, unfortunately for us, there is no AC (or fans) to be found! Needless to say, it was a sweaty week! lol

After a long, overnight flight + our drive into Austria from Munich, we got all checked into The Goldener Alder and immediately set out on a walk & Adam got his first ever Zipfer bier! lol We walked all thru the town and eventually made our way to my Opas for a nice long visit. We left my Opas and headed out on a hike that brings your from the town of Volders, where my Opa lives & back down into Wattens. At this point we were sweaty, starving, exhausted & jet lagged. haha
We headed up to the patio at The GA for our first meal of the trip which couldn’t have been more traditional & delicious!
Schnitzel und pommes + my favortie salad ever — Gemischter Salat! A mix of amazing salads — cucumber, kraut, carrot, potato, corn, beans & whatever else the gasthaus has handy — all combined to make the most amazing salad you’ll ever eat! By the end of the trip Adam was hooked & we even stopped to get one last Salat to bring on the plane when we connected in Munich on our way home from Mallorca. lol
We started with the perfect portion of graukäse filled ravioli. Graukäse is a Tyrolean grey cheese, made in the Tyrolean Alps & you can only find it in this part of Austria.
Those who follow me on the reg know that I only eat Goats or Sheeps cheese and even try to limit that but…
life is short, you only live once and when your on your summer holiday in Austria…
you eat the graukäse ravioli!! 😉

Day 2 was full to say the least! Up at 7am (I don’t know how!) to have breakfast with my Opa + a trip to the market to pick up some things for him to have in the house. Afterwards, we made our way to Achensee. Achensee is the largest & one of the most gorgeous lakes in Austria. The water is cold, clear & incredibly pure! The water quality is nearly drinking water + 10+ feet of visibility. We made our way to Pertisau, a charming little town around the lake and quickly found ourselves in our element. Spritzers in hand x a day pass (39€) compliments of the nearby Strand Hotel, lounging around & swimming in the infinity pool,  overlooking Achen lake. I don’t know how he did it, the water is so freezing, but Adam took an Alpine swim in the freezing lake before we continued our day in one of my favorite towns, Innsbruck!

Posted By: laurenschwaiger · In: Travel