July 15 - Wolfgangsee / Mondsee

Today we headed out of Salzburg, east to a bunch of really cool lake towns. We started our trip on the lake of Wolfgangsee.

We began our journey in St. Gilgen, at the northernmost part of the lake. From there, we took a ferry to St. Wolfgang. The ferry makes around seven stops around the lake, and our goal was to see at least two of the towns—three if we had time. Because we got a somewhat early start, the sun was out, and it was beautiful when we began our day.

Our ferry ride took about 35 minutes. We were surrounded by tall, gorgeous mountains covered in alpine trees and sheer cliffs. The water was a clear teal blue—one of the most beautiful-colored lakes I’ve ever seen. It is glacier-fed and absolutely stunning. The lake was also lined with small towns, hotels, camping areas, and swimming docks. People were out enjoying the water on paddleboards, kayaks, and small motorboats as well.

Once we arrived in St. Wolfgang, we boarded a cog train. This cog train is the steepest cog railway in Austria. We ascended 3,904 feet (1,190 meters) above the lake. The train was super crowded, and we had to sit separately, but luckily Geoffrey and I were in the same row, and Katelyn and Grant were in a different row together in the other train car.

Once we got to the top, there were trails leading through a meadow that felt like Heidi would have been right at home—soft grass dotted with wildflowers. There was a restaurant up top where we got some snacks: a pretzel, a doughnut with lingonberries, some ice cream, and sodas. We spent another half an hour just enjoying the views and watching a rain shower move across the lake. At one point, we walked along the path and up the grass a bit to see what was at the top. The other side was a sheer cliff drop—terrifying! No sign, no fence… it’s crazy to think about. I think Grant posted a video of that, so check the Google album.

A light rain started about five minutes before our train was expected to depart, but after riding the cog train down, it was sunny again when we arrived back in St. Wolfgang. We decided to walk 15 minutes to the second ferry terminal. As we walked, another rain shower came through, so we stood under an awning to wait for it to pass. There was a bakery right next door where we got some cookies and treats. Because the rain was now coming on and off, we decided not to go to the south end of the lake to the third town, Strobl, and instead just took the ferry straight back to St. Gilgen.

While we waited for our ferry, we walked around the adorable downtown area of St. Wolfgang. This town is known more as a market town, and there were lots of little shops as well as a beautiful church that was built in the year 976.

We also walked along the lake for a while, where there were little hotels and houses built right over the water. We would love to come back and stay for a while. It would be fun to rent bikes for a day and ride around the lake, and to rent boats to take out onto the water.

We caught our ferry and headed back to St. Gilgen for another beautiful 40-minute ferry ride, this time with mostly overcast skies.

St. Gilgen is somewhat famous because it’s where Mozart’s mother, Anna Maria Pertl, was born. We walked around the town a little bit, but the rain started coming hard and we wanted to move on to our last stop. So after a quick pop into the downtown area to take some photos—and a side quest through another super cool cemetery—we headed to our car.

Next, we headed 20 minutes north to Mondsee. Here is the St. Michael Basilica, which was the filming location for Maria’s wedding to Captain von Trapp in The Sound of Music. We toured the church, which is absolutely gorgeous. Interestingly, on the altar there is a display with five skeletons. One skeleton belongs to Blessed Abbot Konrad II, who was a martyr that died defending the church in 1145. Below him, set up in regal poses, are four jeweled catacomb saint skeletons representing anonymous early Christian martyrs. During the wedding scene, they didn’t want such a morbid backdrop with five skeletons right behind Maria and the Captain, so they disguised the lower four by placing planters in front of them, and put a temporary statue in front of the main one.

After our visit to the basilica, we ate dinner at a restaurant at a hotel right next door. This was one of the fanciest meals we’ve had, and it was absolutely delicious.

After dinner, we took our lovely drive back to our hotel. Today was a day that was a little bit of a risk and turned out to be absolutely incredible. We had a great time seeing some truly breathtaking scenery in a place that wasn’t overcrowded with tourists or influencers. It was a truly great day!