England - The joys of low cost travel - 2009

Ryanair gets a lot of bad press but has a lot of positives, particularly low prices and good punctuality. Unfortunately, low flight prices can mean awkward timings, a small baggage allowance and operators of car parks don’t share Mr O’Leary’s business strategy.
On this trip, which cost £12 return, we had an early flight time of 06:30 so getting to Stansted by public transport was not an option.
Parking in long term for a month was too expensive at around £200. Taxi to Stansted and back is around £170 so not good either.
What about a Hotel? TW found a hotel with overnight stay for £115 and only 10 mins. from the terminal. Transfer was included, secure parking, wouldn’t have to give up the car keys. Get in there! - Whitehall Hotel here we come.
Now, the trusty VW has SAT NAV so we did not bother with getting directions – big mistake! Unfortunately the German designers of the Satellite Navigation system forsook the normal Teutonic principles of over-detail and over-engineering and decided that abbreviating the Post Code is good enough for the UK. So, we put in what we could of the Post Code and found Church End. We headed off, wrong Church End! Several phone calls to the hotel, asking people walking their dogs, a change of drivers – an ‘if you think you can find it you bloomin drive’ moment and we were there. I was beginning to think the place didn’t exist or was like the Scottish village in Brigadoon that appears one day every 100 years. It took 60 mins from Stansted to find the Hotel. An hour of Essex country roads, quite pretty actually - if you are in the right humour. Our 500 year old Hotel was deemed to be off-road by the SAT NAV and the village of Broxted didn’t exist even though it had a 12th century church.
Anyway, the hotel wasn’t bad and we decided we deserved dinner which was fine. Next morning, up bright and early for the short (included) Taxi transfer at 10 minutes to 5.
One of the Ryanair restriction is on baggage. To avoid paying extra we take only 10Kg of hand luggage each. So it’s a case of wear it or pocket it. So Michelin man and wife in thermal insulation and walking boots, our pockets stuffed with mobile phones and anything heavy, hit the taxi.
Phew, its a bit warm isn’t it!
Now there are two extremes of Taxi drivers. At one extreme you get the friendly chap who keeps turning round all the time, doesn’t watch the road much, wants to talk about last night’s match, about his family, politics - anything really. At the other extreme is the Flying Fin! Eyes are fixed firmly on the road, driving gloves are on. You guessed it we got the rally driver.
Phew its very warm isn’t! Take the jackets off, aargh the windows won’t open! I am going to die. What’s Polish for slow up and turn the heating down? It took just 6 mins to get from the Hotel to the Stansted Terminal. It really was hell on wheels.
Thank God he didn’t have a German Sat Nav!

Taking the Kur

Twice every 5 years Austrian workers can take the Kur (Cure). Taking the Kur means spending 3 highly subsidised weeks in a spa resort where punters get various treatments, massage, swimming, radon baths etc. as well as time to go walking in the mountains. Sounds tough doesn't it, there must be a catch somewhere? Bad Hofgastein is one of the Kur resorts so, at this time of year, when there are not too many tourists we keep bumping into the 'Kurists'. There does not seem to be a great deal wrong with the ones we have met.
There are special Kur Hotels that meet the Kurists needs which of course includes copius quantities of the amber nectar but doors are closed and lights out at 22:30.

Walking in November

Even though its very much the off-season there are still plenty of walking paths available on the sunny side of the valley.
The Gastein Hohenweg is a level path from Bad Hofgastein to Bad Gastein. Its a walking path built in the 30's to generate work at the time of the Great Depression. It takes a couple of hours, that's of course if you manage to pass by all of the cafe/restaurants en route. There are about six to choose from, Annen Cafe, Jausenstation Grubhof, Sonnberg, Gamskar, Cafe Hubertus, Gamskar. This walkers lunch consisted of a fresh trout with potatoes and a salad.

The more adventurous can take routes further up the mountain to the summits, Poserhohe and Gamskarkogel. That's a job for next summer.

The Gamskarkogel is claimed to be the highest grass topped mountain in Europe at 2467m and, of course, it has a hut on top for overnight stays or a beer, (closes in September).

If you are getting the impression that there are huts, alms and restaurants everywhere ready to serve beers and strudel, you are quite right! A point to watch is that most are cafes closed for a rest day (ruhetag) once a week.

Austria - Cafe Culture

On the sunny SW side of the valley and about 35 minutes walking uphill from home is the Annen Cafe. Its a lovely family run spot with fantastic views. It looks just how you'd expect an Austrian mountain cafe to look. Lots of distressed wood and carvings. Surprisingly, this part of the building wasn't even here 6 months ago, they have brought it in from the Tyrol. The family is justly proud of what they have put together, its idyllic and well worth the walk.

I earned my beer today as I have been painting windows ready for the winter.
Going to buy paint locally is always a fun experience.
Once the colour is chosen from a pallet they will always try an up sell, oh you will need to clean the wood so you need this solvent, and this cleaning material is essential etc. I did pretty well with my German initially, I knew what I wanted and what it was called but the intricacies of painting windows in Austria beat me. Oh and you need to stir the paint for two minutes so here is a free stirrer. Bit of a difference from B & Q.
Last time I bought emulsion here for the walls I ended up with a hat and tee shirt (as well as the paint).

Postcard from Bad Hofgastein in October

Like a coin the valley has two sides.

One side of the valley faces North East and has all the skiing. The mountain restaurants on that side are now closed and the lifts are taking a rest until December. The other South West facing side is more for the walkers and has some excellent cafes dotted around, all with sun terraces. You are never too far from an apple strudel!

The sun drops behind the mountain soon after 3pm if you are down in the valley. When it hides it's just like the fridge door has been opened. The light's on but theres a cool blast of air.

Up the South West hill there's an extra hour of solar warmth.

School time is definitely rush hour. They start at eight in the morning and the streets are swarming with older kids on bikes and the younger kids carrying multi-coloured back-packs. Don't see any parental school runs and less Chelsea tractors than you see at home which is bizarre when you consider the relative terrains. The kids seem quite happy jumping off the buses from the local farms and hamlets. Much of the town is pedestrianised so morning trips to get fresh bread can be a bit hazardous as they tend to swarm in groups across the streets. Good excuse for going out later!

There is a big tourism college in town, students come from all over the region. Tourism is a major industry and working in a hotel or in catering is seen as a proper job and people get trained. They seem a happy, lively lot anyway.

As for the weather, its been a lot brighter of late and good for cycling. No problem staying warm on the ascents but need to wrap up for the downhill. It takes so long getting to the top of the hill but then a fraction of the time to get to the bottom even with the brakes on. Did my own personal Mont Ventoux, not nearly as steep or as long as the real thing, only up to 1200m, but a regular challenge as its a climb all the way.

Bad Hofgastein beat local rivals Radstadt 6 – 2 so that was good. Football looks to be a decent standard and is played on Astroturf. A crowd of about 100 saw the match from the touchline, no stands yet.

Sauna you than me

Across the road from us is the Palace Hotel which is pretty convenient because we can use their indoor tennis courts and their swimming and sauna area. The Hotel might be considered to be a bit dated, I think if you were building a hotel today in the style of the 70's and 80's this hostelry would give some creative inspiration. Bring back those Formica Years! It seems popular all year, the car park is always full with Austrian and German plates. Probably the buffet dinner, with beer and wine included, is a success factor. Need to be quick off the mark before all the puds disappear though!
They seem to have a formula that works and know their customers.
For example, the sign telling people not to reserve sun loungers is only in German. The sign telling people not to wear swimming costumes in the sauna is only in English and Italian.
Modesty must be language specific.

One feature of the Austrian Sauna to be wary of is the Aufguss. This is where one of the victims, or the attendant, pours water on the stones and then waves a towel like a demented football supporter to direct the super-heated steam to the furthest corners of the wooden box. If you know Aufguss is coming you have the opportunity to beat a swift retreat. If you are caught unawares its a brave man or woman who tries to open the door and escape during an Aufguss. Imagine your welcome to Hell - a fire breathing dragon burning the flesh from your back, yes that's Aufguss. Still might be favoured over the abuse you'll get if you try and leave in the middle though!
Anyway, the sauna visit brings to mind the old joke – two old colonial types are sitting in their club when an elderly woman 'streaks' through the lounge. One old boy says to the other, “what on earth did she have on?”. “No idea old boy, but it needed ironing!”

The swimming pool gave me a first, Aqua Aerobics! I was happily honing my new found swimming skills when we failed to notice a fitness instructor had landed and all the residents were getting ready for their afternoon session. The pool steps had been blocked, there was no escape! “You vill exercise now”. Being severely uncoordinated this was a bit of a concern however 1.5m water hid my lack of balance and timing and I survived the 30 mins without too many reprimands and I don't think I injured anyone.
The swimming and sauna costs 9 Euro each and the tennis is 12 Euro for the court.

Postcard from Dorfgastein in October 2009

Dorfgastein is the smallest and arguably the prettiest of the three towns in the valley. Its certainly the most rural. There's a distinct farmyard smell about the place. Many of the visitors here are Dutch for some reason, there's a joke there somewhere. It has excellent ski runs and links to Grossarl in the neighbouring valley. The ski area doesn't link to Bad Hofgastein but there's a free bus down the Valley in Winter that takes about 15 minutes..
In summer its great for walking, the Gondola normally runs every half-hour. For bikers and there is a smooth and easy cycle ride, mainly off-road, from Bad Hofgastein to Dorfgastein and back.

The pins are definitely stiffening up after all the walking we have been doing! Nothing like walking downhill to make the legs ache.