Our plain reversed and the chassis touched the takeoff stripe – we are back to Vienna. But we won’t stay here at all for today – our target is Bad Hofgastein – ski and alpentherme paradise.
720 km of splendid Austrian roads ahead. Here we can see Alps already.
Beautiful! What can be greater then a mountains!
OK. What for should a non-ski persones visit a ski Mecca?
Here’s the answer: for sun, air and water.
The town Bad Hofgastein, that we were reaching for, is located in the Gastein valley and characterized by the Asutrians themselves with three words – ski, berge, thermen.
We are going to locate in Hotel Astoria for the upcoming week. Just a brief glance inside and we will take a walk through the town and breath the mountain air – you can not find such at mega cities.
Bad Hofgastein is tiny, and as elsewhere in Europe there is a church right in the centre.
It’s enough impressions for the first day, time to make ourselves at the room at Hotel Astoria, have a rest and dine. Most likely they will serve Wiener Schnitzel.
The darkness fell and all that we could see from the balcony was the Hotel Spa.
While the restaurant is closed, why don’t we bath in the local mineral water? The Spa in Astoria is rather small: a swimming pool, a whirlpool and three types of saunas. I guess that’s the right thing for the tired and cold skiers.
And now definitely to the restaurant! Wiener Schintzel is waiting for us!
The sun did not came up early in the morning, however the view to the mountains still gladdened.
Today we need to find and visit Alpentherme.
Several years ago the modern thermal complex Alpentherme was built in Bad Hofgastein, now it is the biggest in Gastein valley and you can easily spend the whole day in there. As far as we are not the skiers we visited it with pleasure, only if we were not left to Salzburg or Hohenwerfen.
Children’s playground, SPA-world, fitness-world, warm and cold pools with nature mineral water outdoor and indoor at Sauna World. The Sauna World is not allowed for children as it is a nude zone. It contains dozens of different saunas and several salt grottos.
However the most impressive feeling is when hot from a sauna you swim to the open air through the artificial river.
You bath in the warm mineral water +33С, the steam is curling above – after all it’s a winter and -10С, and Alps covered with snow are all around but you don’t feel any cold at all.
We take a short scamper to the pool with a cooler water, +24 in here – some contrast procedures and back to the sauna, afterwards we go to sleep at one of the numerous relax zones.
You lie and do not know whether to sleep or to enjoy the mountain views, the time is a water, flowing away drop by drop. Winter holidays in Austria is not only ski, sleigh and skates, everyone can find something after their own heart. We for example did not miss a chance to taste glint wine from the street stalls (to be truth it is the only one at Bad Hofgastein).
White Austrian wine is great too.
Still the majority of the tourists in winter Hofgastein – are the skiers, and we were not able to enjoy all that beauty available to these hotheads of all ages. The infrastructure is on the highest level as well. You may use different ski-lifts of three towns at once: Bad Hofgastein, Bad Gastein и Dorfgastein. Alps are marvelous everywhere, especially when the sun comes up.
April 3, 2012 at 10:35 am
Gorgeous photos! I wish I was there!
April 3, 2012 at 10:38 am
These photos are breathtaking. I’m definitely adding Austria to places I want to visit in my lifetime! Thank you for the post!
April 3, 2012 at 10:42 am
Beautiful, simply amazing photographs!
I’m currently in the midst of writing an ebook on traveling to Singapore! Was hoping you (and your readers if you guys don’t mind) could share with me on what you’d like to know about Singapore if you plan to travel here (or anywhere for that matter)
April 3, 2012 at 10:55 am
Oh I so want to go there now. Your photos are amazing!!
April 3, 2012 at 12:38 pm
Me too. Right now
April 3, 2012 at 11:04 am
I used to be a big time skier, so I am quite jealous of this location. I love the interior of that church. and as always, your images are exquisite.
April 3, 2012 at 12:36 pm
The church was very welcoming.
April 3, 2012 at 12:25 pm
Victor, I love the way you review places & experiences… your writing style is as if we’ve been friends for many years and you are sharing stories over a coffee… very enjoyable to read
April 3, 2012 at 12:32 pm
Thank You, Bashar.
This is the best compliment I have ever heard!
April 3, 2012 at 12:46 pm
Gorgeous photos! I’m a skiier, but haven’t been in a couple of years. Once I stayed at a resort where you could swim from the inside to the outside…loved it!!
April 3, 2012 at 12:49 pm
Where it was?
April 3, 2012 at 12:59 pm
In Snow Shoe, West Virginia.
April 3, 2012 at 12:49 pm
Thank you for following my blog Victor. It is always nice to see pictures of the Alps. I absolutely love them, but as I am not a friend of snow I tend to avoid visiting them in winter when I move southward.
April 3, 2012 at 12:54 pm
I like south, but snow has his place in my heart too.
April 3, 2012 at 3:39 pm
This summer I am heading to Austrian Alps to Lech am Arlberg
and in winter it will be Sicily or Tenerife 
April 3, 2012 at 10:32 pm
Ha… I go to Tenerife in June
April 4, 2012 at 3:26 am
Make sure to post pics and give a detailed report
April 4, 2012 at 5:10 am
Deal!
And You too.
April 4, 2012 at 5:12 am
You can count on that
. I am considering getting a new camera too to capture the Alps in all their summer glory 
April 3, 2012 at 12:57 pm
so nice, i’m jealous, can’t remember the last time I was there, gues must be good 20 yrs by now.
brilliant and thanks
April 3, 2012 at 5:07 pm
All beautiful photos…thank you.
April 4, 2012 at 3:11 pm
Non-skiier here who hopes to find new fun for winter. Recently I discovered snow shoeing. It was fun and relaxing! But I think perhaps winter can be fun so long as you have a beautiful destination like this one.
April 4, 2012 at 10:30 pm
And if a winter is not so prolonged.
April 4, 2012 at 9:44 pm
glint wine? Elaborate please…
You naked in a pool with snow all around you … Aces!
Your pictures … they look like toys, it’s so sharp… unbelievably sharp! The snow really makes the views on the road so much better.
April 4, 2012 at 10:21 pm
Glintwine, glutwine, mulled wine is wine, usually red, combined with spices and typically served warm.
April 4, 2012 at 10:24 pm
April 4, 2012 at 10:35 pm
April 5, 2012 at 1:48 am
This entry is pretty much porn to me.
April 5, 2012 at 5:50 am
Why? Doctor.
April 5, 2012 at 5:16 pm
I cannot resist looking at beautiful pictures of beautiful mountains. They evoke feelings of longing and desire beyond the accepted levels of decency, and they make me unsatisfied with the tame geography of my current existence.
Much like porn.
April 5, 2012 at 10:31 pm
Ha-ha-ha. Very original interpretation
April 5, 2012 at 3:03 pm
This certainly looks like a skiiing paradise. I love all of these photos Victor.. simply wonderful
April 7, 2012 at 3:19 am
All beautiful photographs! It was like being with you on the trip! Thanks for sharing!
April 7, 2012 at 5:58 am
OK. Now we can say You have been to Austria
April 10, 2012 at 2:32 pm
Wow what a trip! AND the images to prove it.
April 15, 2012 at 12:57 am
Hope all is well… You haven’t posted in a while!
April 15, 2012 at 11:33 am
Everything OK, Elizabeth. Thank You. The fitness season has started
A lot of work for me.
April 17, 2012 at 8:42 pm
Okay great! Have a wonderful fitness season!
April 18, 2012 at 1:37 pm
Looks beautiful, would love to visit one day!
April 26, 2012 at 2:29 pm
Looks like you had fun.. nice pics!
April 26, 2012 at 9:53 pm
Lovely photos! I especially love that first one.
April 26, 2012 at 10:01 pm
It looks so beautiful and cold! Wish we could transport the thermal spas!!!!!
October 11, 2012 at 7:14 am
Very nice place. I was in Bad Hofgastein in summer 2007 and also, it’s beautiful. I recommend you this location any time of year!!!!