About a 45-minute drive from Salzburg lies the ancient and beautiful village of St. Wolfgang. This old-school Austrian lake town overlooks Wolfgangsee (Wolfgang Lake) and is named for the Bishop of Regensburg, Germany, who arrived in 976 as a missionary. The town later became a pilgrimage center and over the course of the 19^th century, a tourist’s dream—which it remains today.

My friend and I needed a getaway after the seclusion of the Covid 19 quarantine. We were lucky in so many ways: Airbnbs had reopened by the time of our trip (mostly by chance) and we had a two- and-a-half-day window of nice weather. There were weeks of rain prior to our trip, and it’s been pouring since we returned. Lucky indeed!

I think a lot of tourists come to this charming town for the day, as it is small and walkable within an afternoon.  But there’s a lot to do in the area:  riding a cogwheel (steam) train up to Schafberg mountain; ferrying to other small lakeside towns like St. Gilgen or Strobl; or hiking, biking, swimming—and much more.

Our Airbnb was stunning. It was on a hill overlooking the lake with panoramic views from the balcony and even from inside the apartment. 

We arrived Thursday afternoon and left Sunday morning, since it rained and we had done everything we had planned on doing.  After a pretty strenuous hike that began in St. Wolfgang and ended in Fürberg*, some nice lakeside dining, seeing the sites, etc., we were good to go.  But I for one will be back.  They have an Advent market at Christmastime, which looks absolutely stunning in pictures. 

*Don’t let Google maps fool you, the hike from St. Wolfgang to Fürberg is much harder than it looks. It is very much uphill. But there is a beautiful restaurant and view from Fürberg, and you feel like you’ve earned it once there.  We hiked one direction and took the boat back. A perfect afternoon.

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