Austria Self-Drive Tour: October 11-22, 2018
Saw someone in the group chat saying that flights to Austria were only RMB 2995, which was an absolute steal! Immediately checked Ctrip for the cheapest flights in October and finally decided to buy round-trip tickets from Hong Kong from October 11 to 21 for RMB 3073. Then found a travel agency to help apply for a Schengen visa, which was approved by the consulate on September 25. Finally, we could relax and prepare the rest of the trip materials.
On October 11, got up early in the morning, took the Harmony train to Shenzhen Luohu, crossed the border to Shatin City Plaza, and then took bus 41A to Hong Kong Airport. On the 10th, I had already selected seats on the Austrian Airlines website; in the end, there were three seats for two people – a bonus.
Arrived at Shatin Plaza around 9 a.m., had morning tea with a friend at the Jade Garden on the 8th floor, and then took bus 41A to Hong Kong Airport. The airport has two terminals. Not knowing which terminal Austrian Airlines was in, we got off at T2 but later found out check-in was at T1. The first meal on this flight surprisingly had beef rice, which I like. During the 12-hour direct flight from Hong Kong to Vienna on Austrian Airlines, only two meals were served, with some snacks in between. The movies on the plane and the unknown long river under the wing, accompanied by the sunset, helped pass the time.
After arriving at Vienna Airport at 19:15, customs clearance was quite fast. Although I had read airport guides online, I still felt a bit unfamiliar. Bought 2 Vienna city 48-hour tickets and one-way tickets to the accommodation at the ticket center inside the airport (to the right after exiting customs), then left the airport to find the S7 light rail. Actually, there is a passage next to the ticket center leading to the S7 platform, and following the signs would have gotten us there quickly. But we left the airport entrance (because someone wanted to smoke), crossed the road, and went to another exit to find the S7, which took a lot of time. After some detours, we finally boarded the S7 around 8 p.m., watching the station announcements, and eventually arrived safely at the apartment around 10 p.m.
From the S7 Handelskai station, it was less than a five-minute walk to the apartment. We deliberately booked one with a kitchen and washing machine; the facilities looked quite new and clean.
On the 12th, woke up before dawn because our accommodation was very close to the river, so we turned our original plan of visiting Schönbrunn Palace (Sisi's palace) in the morning into a morning walk along the Danube. The Danube is well-known because of the Blue Danube waltz, but when we actually got to the river, it wasn't the blue we imagined, though the water was very clear. Followed the map to the river, crossed a bridge to the Danube Island. In summer, many people swim and do water activities here. But since summer was over, island water activities had stopped, and there were few morning walkers, making it very peaceful. By the river, we encountered a family of four swans looking for food. When they saw us approaching, they immediately swam over, probably used to being fed by people. Unfortunately, we didn't have bread or anything, so we stared at each other and took many close-ups.
Walking along the center of the island, the rich autumn colors were mesmerizing in the sunlight. The Danube Tower on the opposite bank was bathed in golden light. If time hadn't been limited, we could have stayed longer to enjoy the sunshine.
There is a subway station in the center of the island; we could have taken it one stop to the UN building. Thinking we had time, we wanted to visit the UN headquarters. But at the main gate, we couldn't find the visitor entrance. After circling around to look, we still couldn't find it. At the subway entrance on the way back, we took a few photos of the flags of various countries – consider it a visit. Later, after chatting with a friend, I found out where the entrance was, but at the time I thought it was a staff entrance (GATE 1 in the picture below). Because someone had a nicotine craving, we were forced to buy a 2.5-euro lighter at the subway exit, so I made that person take a photo with the lighter in front of the convenience store as a memento.
From the UN building, we took the subway back, following Google Maps to walk back to the apartment. At one point, we saw a bus stop and thought we could take a two-stop bus ride to experience local public transport. The best part was that there was no ticket checking at all – very convenient. After getting off, someone insisted we hadn't reached the destination, so we walked to the Asian market under the subway bridge. Prices were a bit cheaper than supermarkets, but the appearance wasn't as good. By the time we got back to the apartment, it was almost noon, so we decided to have lunch at the apartment and then do a quick tour of the city center in the afternoon.
The apartment wasn't far from the Ringstrasse in the city center, just a few stops by subway. We originally planned to get off at the Opera station, but being first-time subway riders, the signs at the station confused us. It took a while to figure out, and we finally got off at Karlskirche. Exiting, we walked to the square in front of the church, where there happened to be a square dance event organized by Yunnan and Vienna as a sister city event. There were quite a few people; we waited for a while for the opening remarks, but feeling time was short, we moved on to the next attraction.
Checking the map, the nearby attraction was the Golden Hall. But following the map, we got close but couldn't find the entrance, so we gave up and went to other attractions. The distances between attractions weren't far. In the afternoon, we visited Hofburg and St. Stephen's Cathedral. In front of Hofburg, there were many horse-drawn carriages for tourists, but because of the many horses, the smell at the entrance was quite bad, even though they had placed large bags behind the horses. After taking a few photos at the entrance, we moved on.
Since we had 48-hour tickets, we just took a one-stop bus to the next attraction. The next was St. Stephen's Cathedral, Vienna's landmark and the most important Gothic building. It was partly under renovation when we went. Inside, there are many artistic treasures, such as the tomb of Frederick III, the Wiener Neustadt altar, the catacombs, and Austria's largest bell. Besides admiring the opulent interior, you can take the elevator up to the viewing platform in the north tower, where the Pummerin bell is located, or climb the 343 spiraling steps up to about 137 meters for a view of the city.
With limited time, we just took a quick look inside and then walked around the cathedral. We bought two ice creams from a nearby stall and continued walking (the photo was taken after we had already started eating, so the perfect presentation was gone – just for memory). Note: When buying the ice cream, I paid with a euro banknote and got coins back. I naturally assumed they were euros, but later found out they were US dollar coins. I'll have to be more careful in the future.
Before we knew it, we reached the famous shopping street, Graben. The Plague Column had many tourists around. The street was crowded, and the shops were dazzling, but for people like us who weren't interested in shopping, there was nothing particularly attractive. We walked along the street to the nearest subway station and returned to the apartment.
Thinking we would need to go back to the airport the next day and not being familiar with buying subway tickets, we spent some time studying the ticket machine after getting off, figuring out roughly how to buy tickets. Then we browsed the shopping center a bit, bought a cake for breakfast the next day. European cakes are basically all overly sweet.
Woke up early today, had breakfast, packed, and took the S7 to the airport to pick up the car.
At the airport, followed the signs to the car rental area. We rented from a local chain, BUCHBINDER. We had booked a two-door Polo class car, but ended up with a large Opel van-like car.
When renting a car, remember to ask what fuel to use, whether there are emergency vests, triangles, vehicle registration documents, etc. Because our English is poor, there was a clause during the rental process that we didn't quite understand, and the English translation didn't help. We couldn't communicate with the rental guy, so I went to the next line and tried to ask a girl who looked Chinese if she knew English, but she turned out to be Thai. I had to go back to the front desk to figure things out. Maybe the guy got impatient, so he said he'd draw a picture to explain. Once he drew it, I understood: you must return the car with a full tank, just like when you pick it up, otherwise a fee of 200-800 euros may apply. If you only drive within Austria, you don't need to buy a vignette, as most cars already have the highway toll included. The contract also marks any scratches or small damages on the car. After signing the contract, we followed signs to the 7th floor of the parking garage to pick up the car. We inspected the car carefully for about half an hour. When we were about to leave, we ran into another problem.
On the 6th floor, we encountered a ticket machine, similar to those at toll booths in China. We had no idea what to do, so we drove back to the 7th floor to check. I got out to look, but the buttons didn't respond, and everything was in German. I accidentally pressed the emergency call button, but the response was also in German, which we didn't understand. Finally, we had to go back to the rental office to ask the staff. After some communication, we learned we needed to press a button to get a ticket, then insert it at the exit on the first floor (so the 6th floor was the entrance, and the 1st floor was the exit). After all that, we finally managed to leave.
Today, we planned to drive along roads 33 and 3 via Krems – Dürnstein (Wachau Valley) to enjoy the autumn colors along the Danube. The first stop was the town of Krems. As we drove, the autumn colors became more intense. Passing through this town, the autumn scenery was so beautiful that we wanted to stop and admire it. Since it was our first time self-driving in Europe, we weren't familiar with parking. We saw some parking lots but didn't enter. Finally, we stopped at the entrance of a school because we saw other cars parked there, but we didn't know if we had to pay. We asked two people before confirming it was okay. Since it was Saturday and the school was closed, there were plenty of spots and no charge.
After parking, we wandered around the town. The streets were very quiet. Many European shops are closed on weekends, so we could only look at the products and designs through the windows. The Wachau Valley area, including this town, is famous for wine production. Because it was the weekend, the whole town was closed, lacking the usual hustle and bustle, which gave it a peaceful and comfortable feeling.
After a brief stroll, we drove across the river to find scenery. We parked in a large lot and walked along the path under the bridge to the riverside. There were trees everywhere, and two large wooden picnic tables and chairs on the grass for visitors. Every so often, there was a small slope down to the water, some marked private. We found one without any signs and went down to take some photos before continuing our journey.
Leaving Krems, we drove to Dürnstein, the most classic town in the Wachau Valley with the richest autumn colors and wine fragrance. We had already driven past this area, but seeing many cars parked at the dock, we found a place to turn around and go back to the dock parking lot. This was our first time parking with a meter. I knew it was coin-operated, but I wasn't sure what "STUDEN" meant – hours or something. While hesitating, a foreigner, probably also a tourist, came up behind me. I let him pay first and then asked if that word meant hours. Turned out I was right. After parking, remember to place the parking ticket on the left side of the car. I had read some travelogues saying that if you put it on the right, the police might not see it and you could get fined. Actually, before putting it, I looked at how other cars displayed their tickets. Some didn't put them at all, and some put them on the left. Anyway, having one is better than not.
To get the best photos of Dürnstein, you need to take a boat to the opposite bank and shoot from there, but we didn't have time, so we only walked around the dock area for about an hour.
Looking around, the area was covered with grapevines. Since it wasn't harvest season, the leaves were a mix of yellow and green. Under the sunlight, it looked like a layer of gauze.
After a short stay in Dürnstein, we continued to the next leg. The plan was to reach our booked accommodation before dark. After roughly estimating the distance, we booked the Hotel Penschbammer, located just off a road behind Schloß Fuschl am See, including breakfast. We chose this specifically to try a European-style breakfast. The scenery around this hotel surprised us pleasantly. We arrived before dark, buying some food at a supermarket in a gas station along the way. Europeans have it too comfortable; these supermarkets are closed on weekends, so if you don't prepare in advance, you might go hungry.
Woke up a bit early and decided to drive around nearby. The morning air was so fresh. Looking at the large green meadow opposite the hotel made one forget worries. Such scenery is common everywhere in this country.
Driving further along the road, we discovered a back lake, Hintersee, with a few scattered houses around it. Cows, horses, sheep, and crops were everywhere.
The townspeople really know how to enjoy life. Even on a small slope beside the road, there was a chair placed so people could sit and enjoy the lake view across the road.
We wandered until about eight o'clock, then returned to the hotel for breakfast. This was our first real European-style breakfast: a big loaf of bread, which we sliced ourselves with a knife, and added whatever spreads we liked. After breakfast, we checked out and continued our journey.
After checking out, we set off to circle the lakes. First, we went to nearby St. Gilgen and Mondsee. St. Gilgen was Mozart's childhood home. When we arrived, we found out that parking was free on Sundays. A pleasant surprise, saving a few euros.
After exploring, we drove to Mondsee. There weren't many tourists. We could have sat quietly by the lake enjoying the view.
After a while, we moved on to Attersee. We found that there weren't many places along that lake to park. After driving for a long time, we could only catch glimpses of the lake through people's houses, which wasn't very interesting, so we turned towards today's destination: Piesendorf. I had read many travel guides suggesting not to take the highway, so I found a scenic autumn route.
The scenery along the way was stunning. At one point, we stopped by a road whose name I don't remember, climbed a small hill, and got a panoramic view of the surrounding mountains. The wide view instantly lifted our spirits.
We stopped and went like this, listening to someone marveling at the autumn colors and perking up when we saw mountain roads. Finally, we arrived at the booked apartment in Piesendorf in the evening. The apartment was at the end of the town, reached via a steep small mountain road. This was another carefully chosen apartment because we could enjoy views of the whole town and the opposite mountain from the balcony.
Woke up early and immediately ran to the balcony to see the town view. Then we had a homemade breakfast and set off for Zell am See. European apartments basically all have kitchens, so making breakfast ourselves was very convenient.
Zell am See is located in the heart of the Austrian Alps, and it's the town we passed through on our way to the Grossglockner (also known as the High Alpine Road). Many hotels here offer a Zell am See-Kaprun Summer Card. Usually from May to October (check official dates), with this card, you can use all public transport in the Pinzgau region for free, including trains, buses, and the Pinzgau local train. You can also visit about 40 attractions for free or at a discount, including round-trip cable car tickets to Kitzsteinhorn and Schmittenhöhe, and a boat ride on Lake Zell. I heard that many Middle Eastern wealthy people vacation here, but we just drove around to the other side of the lake without entering the town, so we didn't see any Middle Eastern tourists. There was a railway track along the lake, probably for a scenic train. On the other side of the lake, there was a small park with fallen leaves all over, almost no one around – a good place for a walk. We took many portrait photos there without worrying about photobombers.
After driving a bit more around the lake, around 10 a.m., we returned to a nearby town to stock up at a supermarket. Shopping at the supermarket was comfortable – few people, large parking lot, and we could take our time. Bargain: bought a huge head of lettuce for 0.89 euros, but it tasted terrible. I wonder how locals eat it – maybe for salad?
In the afternoon, we went to Krimml Waterfalls. Tickets cost 8 euros for two. I read that it's the highest waterfall in Central Europe and the fifth highest in the world, with a drop of 380 meters, part of the Hohe Tauern National Park. But someone said it was no different from Baishui Village or Tianzi Mountain Waterfall. Honestly, it was a bit disappointing. Maybe because we were downstream; we didn't feel the grandeur at all. Since we arrived late, we didn't hike up. At the souvenir shop, we saw an "Alpine" marmot ointment for relieving muscle fatigue, so we bought a bottle to try that night.
The Grossglockner is Austria's highest peak at 3,798 meters, known as a paradise for self-driving in Europe. On its website, you can check your parking status. I checked but couldn't figure it out, so I gave up. It's been a while, and I've even forgotten the URL. The high alpine road was the highlight of this trip, not just for the many curves but also to see the Pasterze Glacier up close. Unfortunately, we didn't have enough time to climb to the top to get a full view of the glacier.
Today was a bit cold. The town was shrouded in white mist in the morning, hazy and mysterious. Someone feigned comfort, sitting on the balcony having breakfast despite the cold outside. Although the lush green scenery was gone on the way to the Grossglockner, autumn colors followed us all the way. Until October 15 is summer season, ticket price 36 euros, 32 euros at the visitor center. After October 16, it's 26 euros at the visitor center. I must praise myself for unwittingly scheduling this perfectly – we planned to enter on the 16th, saving enough for a few ice creams.
Shortly after entering the scenic area, we started hitting the numerous curves, which the driver loved. Nothing less than a 180-degree turn was satisfying. We stopped at one or two viewpoints briefly, then headed straight for the Pasterze Glacier, thinking we could go back to the highest viewpoint for the glacier panorama later. But because we spent time on the glacier, we missed the Edelweiß-Spitze viewpoint. Around noon, we reached the Kaiser-Franz-Josefs-Höhe viewpoint, the place to see the Pasterze Glacier up close. According to my research, there was a cable car to go down to the glacier and see the barrier lake, but we found out it was already out of service.
Finally, we chose the second option: the Gamsgrubenweg hiking trail, which allows close contact with the glacier. Although we were a bit tired after a few hours of walking back, it was worth it – it was our first time being so close to a glacier. We left countless footprints, which would be covered by the heavy rain or snow later, but at least we stepped on it.
Today's route: via Gosau, Hallstatt, Bad Ischl to Wolfgang. The scenery on this road was stunning. We stopped wherever we saw something beautiful, very spontaneous. Someone once said, "Gosau, heaven is next door," but while feasting your eyes, your nose suffers – the smell of cow dung constantly hits you. Truly, far away it's fragrant, close up it stinks!
Entering the Instagram-famous town of Hallstatt, the first impression was the crowds. We arrived in the afternoon, so the postcard-angle was backlit and didn't look great.
We parked at the far end of the town, avoiding the limited spaces at the entrance.
A bit further past the parking lot, there is a small island in the lake with fewer tourists. It felt quite tranquil; you could sit and daydream if you had time.
We stayed overnight at the Im Ramsen farmhouse (Im Ramsen). In the morning before the fog dispersed, it felt like being in a fairyland.
Today we planned to take the steam cogwheel train up Schafberg Mountain to see the seven-lake panorama (filming location for The Sound of Music). The Schafberg Mountain Railway is a unique tourist train with 120 years of history. But we found out it had stopped running since the end of September. It's best to check the official website for opening hours before going.
Self-drivers can park at the P8 lot behind the ticket office.
With no more plans, we wandered around the area for the afternoon, then bought groceries early to cook dinner.
In the middle of nowhere – Grundlsee: Located in the Salzkammergut, a valley barrier lake, home to many fish, surrounded by the Bergawald snow mountains. So quiet it felt like another world. There were more ducks on the lake than people.
There weren't many tourists here. We hadn't booked online, thinking we could find a room at the information points on the road, but all were full.
We ended up booking the backup, JUFA Hotel Grundlsee, a lakeside hotel. Possibly because it was quiet, the front desk gave us a quadruple room. The hotel actually had nice views, but maybe because it was further inside, it wasn't as famous as the ones at the entrance.
An unexpected surprise on this trip: Burg Strechau Castle
In the morning, heading towards Neusiedler See, we saw this castle perched on a hilltop from the A9 highway, immediately attracted by its unique red color. We decided to visit this typical Austrian castle (windows decorated with flag colors).
But the map navigation failed us here. It guided us onto a small mountain road, winding for a long time without finding the castle. We wasted about half an hour.
Finally, we switched to Waze navigation and asked a graceful elderly lady before finding a remote country road that led us up the mountain to the castle.
Thinking such a remote place would have few visitors, we were surprised to see a tour bus at the gate. Inside, about twenty foreigners were chatting at the ticket office. Later, I looked up the castle and found that the owner holds regular events or holiday activities.
Ticket was 8 euros per person, and we only had an hour to visit, barely enough time to stop and look. To truly understand the castle's history, you'd need the guide, but the lady doing the tour told us it was only in German, not English. Since our main purpose was to enjoy the castle scenery, we didn't mind. But out of respect, we listened attentively throughout, even though we didn't understand. In the end, perhaps seeing our earnestness, the lady kindly offered to explain in English, but we declined. Mainly because even if she explained in English about Renaissance automobile development or religious reform, we wouldn't understand anyway, so we didn't want to waste her valuable time.
Only part of the castle was open. Every window was a view, every brick and beam was steeped in history, but I preferred the scenery outside the windows.
After the visit, we concluded: the castle's owner must have been a godfather of automobile development and very patriotic – all just wild guesses. To know more, you could check the castle's website, but it's in German too.
After the castle, we headed straight to Neusiedler See. The surrounding area was full of vineyards. Besides the Wachau Valley, this should also be a wine-producing region.
Mentioning Neusiedler See, many tourists might not know it, but the Parndorf outlet shopping center, familiar to group tour visitors, is located near the lake. Neusiedler See is shared by Austria and Hungary, a summer resort for people from both countries. But in winter, especially at night, it feels like a ghost town – almost no one on the streets.
Tonight we stayed at Gartenpension Fischl by the lake. Sitting on the rooftop terrace with red wine and watching the sunset could have been enjoyable, but the howling wind quickly killed our enthusiasm.
Woke up in the morning, had breakfast at the hotel, and found on Google Maps that the hotel was just a few hundred meters from the Hungarian border. With some time to spare, we went to set foot in both countries. Near the border, we saw a small wooden hut. Two soldiers with guns were standing guard. On the hut's window was a paper in English reading: "This is not an information office." Despite seeing it, we still asked one soldier whether we needed a passport to cross into Hungary. He said no. With that answer, we boldly walked along the narrow path ahead. On the Hungarian side, we saw large vineyards. It would probably take an hour to reach a town. We saw two local buses parked on the Austrian side, but we weren't sure if they were local buses. Plus, we wanted to go to Parndorf later, so we gave up going further.
After checking out, we went to a lakeside amusement park. It was completely silent – obviously only open for spring and summer business.
Then we moved on to Parndorf for shopping. Same story: closed on weekends. No choice but to head straight to the airport to return the car.
Near the airport, the navigation suddenly crashed. We missed the sign and accidentally entered the temporary pickup parking lot. Even though we left immediately, we had to pay 4.5 euros.
Remember to fill up the tank near the airport before returning the car, otherwise according to the contract, there could be a deduction of 200-800 euros. The return location is on the ground floor, no need to drive up to the 8th floor. The process was simple: an inspector checked the car and had us sign to confirm.
Itinerary: 1. Day 1: Oct 11, 2018 Hong Kong 13:15 - Vienna 19:15 Austrian Airlines, flight time 12h. 2. Day 2: Oct 12, Vienna city tour. 3. Day 3: Oct 13, Krems an der Donau - Dürnstein (Wachau Valley) - Melk - Steyr - Kremsmünster. 4. Day 4: Oct 14, Hintersee - St. Gilgen - Mondsee - Attersee - Bischofshofen - Maria Alm - Zell am See - Piesendorf. 5. Day 5: Oct 15, Zell am See. 6. Day 6: Oct 16, Großglockner Hochalpenstraße (High Alpine Road) day trip. 7. Day 7: Oct 17, Gosau - Hallstatt - Bad Ischl - Wolfgang. 8. Day 8: Oct 18, Wolfgang area. 9. Day 9: Oct 19, Wolfgang - Grundlsee. 10. Day 10: Oct 20, Grundlsee - Burg Strechau Castle - Neusiedler See. 11. Day 11: Oct 20 (should be 21?), Neusiedler See - Vienna Airport.
