Bregenzerwald is one of the main regions in the state of Vorarlberg. Largely rural and agricultural, there are several major protected areas, including the UNESCO Großes Walsertal Biosphere Reserve. Around the year 1000, Bregenz Forest, which was still completely forested at
Schruns is a sleepy town in a sleepy valley, surrounded by a major, peaky ski area. I chose it for Hemingway - in the early 1920s Schruns was his winter getaway from Paris with his first wife, Hadley, and oldest
Once known as the Monte Carlo of the Alps, Bad Gastein today is very faded, packed with belle-epoque buildings in various states of abandonment, tucked in a narrow, vertical valley around a major waterfall. We were attracted by the spa heritage
Leogang is on the outer edges of a truly massive ski area, the SkiCircus Saalbach-Hinterglemm-Leogang. It’s a beautiful area, lots of peaks and valleys, 270 km of piste and 73 lifts (at time of reporting). Saalbach is so large that
Hallstatt made my top ten list on my 2005 trip. 20 years later the charm has been eroded by tourism, but let's appreciate it for what it was: Hallstatt is 1500 feet up in the Alps, southeast of Salzburg. The tiny
My first trip, circa May 2005, was cold and wet: a spring downpour, around 40 degrees. My second trip, December 2024, felt like a repeat: a winter downpour, circa 35 degrees. It’s a pretty, compact city, very Baroque in taste,
***Lech am Arlberg is a manageable, on-the-larger-side collection of ski areas with amazing conditions and extremely good infrastructure. It very much lives up to the hype. Note that the ski map, both digital and physical, is woefully inadequate to understand
Innsbruck is a town I don’t totally ‘get’ yet - it seems to have a tendency towards large crowds and gray skies. The historic center does have great architecture, and perhaps is at its best in the winter. The only hotel
The Zillertal is a popular destination for German and Dutch travelers (oddly not for Austrians, as far as we could tell), easily accessible from Innsbruck. In the summer, it’s great for hiking, and despite a relatively short winter season it’s
One of the grandest cities of Europe, Vienna is a must see and deserves 3-4 days at least. A schnitzel sampling tour alone will take a few days. Restaurants: **Cafe Pruckel: 100 years old, another classic. Do a breakfast and appreciate