From the ‚castle-village‘ of Maishofen our employee Joscha explores the beautiful region around Lake Zeller See with his family. Cycling with a view of the snow-capped peaks of the surrounding mountains is the order of the day here. In his travel report, Joscha tells you what he and his family experienced on their panoramic tour through the Pinzgau region.
After work we drive with a packed car – parents with a small child know what I am talking about – off towards the mountains. In the most beautiful late summer weather, our comparatively short journey to Maishofen in Pinzgau turns into an excursion: the peaks around us, some of which are already powdered white – at night it is already frosty cold in the mountains at this time of year – accompany us constantly. Arrived, checked in, moved into our room and a short tour of the Hotel Quehenberger, during which the hotelier gave us a good tip for dinner and off we went and enjoyed good Austrian home cooking in the inn ‚Gasthof Post‘ located in the centre of town. You might be wondering why we do not stay overnight at the Landhotel Schloss Kammer? The hotel we usually book for our cycle rally guests in the Pinzgau was already fully booked for our dates.
Today it is time to get on our bikes and off we go! After a leisurely breakfast, we leave relatively late at 11am for our first tour. The advantage of starting a little later at this time of the year is that it is already reasonably warm, so we do not have to wear too many layers. We ride leisurely on regional cycle paths from Maishofen in the direction of Saalfelden situated at the ‚Steinernes Meer‘-mountain range and enjoy the overwhelming mountain panorama: the view is great! We continue westbound and take our first little break at the „WolkenPelz“-animal sculpture in Lenzing. We treat ourselves to a small snack, because on vacation you should really take it easy and of course our daughter also likes this little pitstop. After our short rest we ride on comfortable field- and cycle paths to Leogang, which is well-known among skiers. The place does not appear sleepy in the summer months – as is sometimes the case in winter sport destinations – because here the mountain bikers dominate the scene, who briskly descend over hill and dale and sometimes make daring jumps. Exciting to watch, however not for us sporting a pram.
Thanks to the great cycling weather and the fact that our daughter is sleeping peacefully in the trailer, we decide to continue to Hochfilzen and enjoy the cycle path past beautiful farms and over small alpine pastures. In contrast to Leogang, the famous winter sports resort of Hochfilzen really appears deserted in summer. The short trip to the biathlon stadium is often worthwhile anyway, because the professionals also train there in summer. We return to Saalfelden along the same route and then embark on another loop to Maishofen, where we end the day with a delicious dinner.
Today we cycle in the opposite direction: we set off for Saalbach and Hinterglem. We ride along the river Saalach through the beautiful Glemmtal-valley on a newly created cycle path. At first we do not come across too many towns, but the closer we get to our destination, the more you can imagine the hustle and bustle in winter in the skier’s stronghold. Larger hotels, many restaurants, bars, cafés and shops await us in Saalbach and Hinterglemm. However, things are a little more quiet here in the summer. Nevertheless, our breaks in the town centres are not too long, because we prefer to enjoy our time on our bikes in the beautiful Pinzgau mountain scenery.
Along the cycle path we had already discovered several stations of a fitness course en route there and so we stopped at a balancing course for our lunch break: fun for both kids and adults. Since today’s cycling stage is quite short, we still enjoy the amenities in the early afternoon of the hotel’s own natural pool and the sun. With a water temperature of almost 20 degrees, we cannot convince our little daughter to take a dip in the cool water, but mum and dad are happy to cool off in the pool. For dinner this time we go to the cozy inn „Stiegerschlössl“, where we enjoy delicious regional delicacies in the pub garden.
In bright sunshine in the morning we cycle towards the impressive mountain scenery of the Steinernes Meer-mountain range, which is only flanked by a few small clouds. Beautiful cycle paths lead through small hamlets and farms to Maria Alm, past Saalfelden and through the Saalach-river valley all the way to Weißbach near Lofer. Here a visit to the Seisenbergklamm-ravine is certainly worthwhile. But since our daughter is just taking a nap, we decide to return. After a short stop in the centre of Saalfelden, we cycle on to Lake Ritzensee, where we find a comfortable bench and enjoy our lunchtime snack.
Since we still have a little time left when we return to the hotel in the early afternoon, we decide to cycle the rather short loop around Lake Zeller See. From Maishofen we ride to the shores of Lake Zeller See. Together with the snow-capped mountains glistening in the sunshine, a magnificent backdrop is offered to us during our loop tour. At the end of our cycling day, we make a short stop at a beautiful sunbathing lawn and cool our feet in the clear water of the lake. We end the evening on the terrace of the inn ‚Gasthof zur Post‘ enjoying delicious treats.
Since our way home in the direction of Salzburg is not too far, we decide to go on a short excursion into the mountains on the day of departure – but this time in the car. We follow the hotelier’s recommendation and visit the Weißbach Glacier World – a great experience for the entire family, especially for our daughter, who is absolutely thrilled with her first cable car ride. In the middle of the mighty glacier-world we all go for a short walk together and enjoy the magnificent mountain scenery, of course our delicious snack is a must.
After many great experiences, we are on our way home and are already looking forward to the next visit on one of our cycle holidays in the coming year.
