Slovenia, Austria: Part 9 - Day 10: Hike from Salzburg to Zistelalm

Here is a summary of what is spent on Day 10.

1/8 Day 10: Hiked from Salzburg to Zistelalm (985m). 

Costs

(1) Cash withdrawal machine fees - EUR4,95 for EUR190 withdrawal

Accommodation 

(1) 1 night in Hotel Zistelalm with breakast - EUR135 (shared room for 3 persons)

Food
(1) Breakfast at Ben Cafe - Cappucino EUR4,80, Breakfast set EUR11,80

(2) Spar grocery store - 3 bananas EUR1,60

(3) Dinner at Kohlmayrs Gaisbergspitz - 500ml water EUR1,50, Goulash with potato dumplings EUR17,90, Cappucino EUR4,40, Topfenstrudel (Cream cheese strudel) with whipped cream EUR6,40

The Story

01082024 : In Salzburg, our plan is to hike the countryside see the mountains. While I was in Bled, my friend texted me and asked about my itinerary in Salzburg. She assumed that I will be doing the Sound of the Music tour. I was very surprised to read about the tour and it was not in our itinerary. In fact, my travel companion had expressed interest to hike on a Pilgrim Trail in Salzburg. I agreed to it immediately and did not bother to find out what is there to do in Salzburg. I am so happy I did that! Because two friends who did the Sound of Music tour did not find it interesting. 

We did a part of the Pilgrim Trail as we did not have sufficient days. Actually, one can the bus to the small towns that we were going to hike to but we chose to hike. In fact, I did not know that one could take the bus until I saw bus stops. I was annoyed that I struggled to hike up the gradually ascendering trail with my heavy backpack. I could have taken the bus but I consoled myself that I would have missed the view of Salzburg town and the mountains.

We checked out from the hotel and headed towards the starting point of the Pilgrim Trail. Along the way (after 45 minutes), we stopped at a cafe for breakfast. My breakfast set is Wellness Set which consists of a boiled egg, muesli, a chopped apple, yoghurt, bun with butter and jam. I needed the energy to hike. My coffee came with a glass of water.

We headed our way towards the hills until we realised that we would probably need cash to pay stuff. So, I waited under a shade in a grocery store with our backpacks while the two travel companions walked quickly to find a cash withdrawal machine. It was very hot so I enjoyed the shade a lot. We continued the walk and found ourselves in a housing area and soon, we stepped into a small forest with well-marked trails and the Austrian flag painted on some poles.

The hike officially began at 11.26am. Our destination is Zistelalm. The sign states 1.5 hour hike to Zistelalm. From here, the never-ending ascending trail begins. Heat and the weight of my backpack made it a struggle to hike so, it was always one foot ahead of the other and keep going.

Soon, we reached an open space. From here, we could see the view of Salzburg town.

48 minutes later, we are 30 minutes away from Zistelalm, according to a sign.

Finally, we reached Hotel Zistelalm at 12,50pm, which was 32 minutes later. Well, 30 minutes was pretty correct. We even paused for a 10-minute lunch break to eat our bananas.

We could not open the front door in the beginning and we thought that the hotel was closed. We did not see any guests which we thought was so weird! Where is everyone? Suddenly, someone appeared from behind a corner and he was a guest. He said that the restaurant is closed. We explained to him that we booked a room. Then, he called out a staff who opened the front door and we were let in. Goodness. We thought that the hotel will be fully booked but it turned out to be just us and the other guest and his partner. I was in awe of the hotel's interior and happy to see our room!

View from our hotel room. 

We left our bags in the room and went down to the bar to have our beer and radler. The cooling refreshing drink was so well-deserved. I jumped and walked bare-footed on the warm grass. The mountainous view was a sight!

At 3.15pm, we left the hotel to continue the ascending trail to Gaisberg 1287m where we will have our dinner. The hike took us 40 minutes.

Peak of Gaisberg.

From here, it was about a 5-minute walk with stops to take photos to the restaurant. The outdoor seating was empty and we wondered if the restaurant is closed. We opened the door and saw a man manning the bar. So, we told him that we will sit outside. We had booked a spot in the restaurant and it was probably not necessary!

I ordered water to my meal not realising that it will cost me EUR1,50! I did not know that there was no drinking water up in this restaurant. 

A rain was coming in. We saw the clouds with the pouring rain heading towards us and soon, it began to pour! We hurried indoors. 

We saw some cream cheese strudel on display. The staff asked us if we wanted whipped cream and we said yes not knowing that it costs EUR1 extra until we saw the receipt! It was a rip-off. So, it was an expensive dessert. Ugh. The meal in total was very expensive for me! 

We wanted to take the bus back as it was raining so heavily. Bus 151 - this bus goes to Salzburg too. This is what I meant in the beginning of the post that we could have taken the bus to Zistelalm. We did not have any small change for the bus ride. So our travel companion took out EUR50 to pay for the EUR2,40 ticket per person. As the bus driver did not have any change, he waived our bus fare and let us in. We reached the hotel at 6,05pm. There was an event in the hotel when we arrived. We could hear beautiful music from our bedroom. It was instrumental - most likely wind instrument. 

I took this view from the same spot that I took in the afternoon. 

I put the two photos together in a collage.