One sunny Friday morning I was having my regular pit stop at the Wagramer Strasse McDonalds, having dropped kids off to school and thinking which Viennese outdoor place to explore next. I was all geared up with decent hiking gear, my Canon SLR and wondered, whether I should revisit some of my outdoor haunts or go somewhere new.

But first, coffee.

Verlängerter is a funny Austrian concept of espresso-ish coffee with added water. Whether it differs from Americano, is anybody’s guess.

Here in Austria, such coffee often comes with a glass of water for some odd reason. If lucky, one might even get a Speculoos to go with. A homage to Belgium. The reason why I go for the Verlängerter is that it’s not filter coffee.

While I was sipping my Verlängerter, looking at the world go by, I thought that why not visit the so-called Viennese Alps. Wiener Alpen are the closest “real” mountains near Vienna and it takes about an hour by car to get there. I decided to go the extra mile, or 52 (84km) to be exact.

Close enough for a lunch

The sky was blue and I thought that if there was ever a good day to check the region out then this was it. It was 10 o’clock and all I had to do was to be back at 16:00 to pick up the kids from school.

In addition to being the primary Facilities, Logistics and Catering Manager of our household, I have taken on the role of being the Leisure & Entertainment Scout. We all have our cross to bear and mine is to explore outdoor places.

The weather was lovely +10 centigrade and traffic was easy. The first 37km stretch is on a motorway and the marching speed seemed to be around 140km/h.

Then I took the Wöllersdorf exit to head west. It turns into a smaller road and if unlucky, you might get stuck behind a lorry like I did with some fellow motorists.

I could see the snow-topped mountains from the motoway, but the closer I got, the less I could see. For the remaining kilometres, the road follows valleys, going through Austrian villages.

Puchberg am Schneeberg

I had set the Sat Nav to Puchberg am Schneeberg knowing that I’d have to drive a bit further to reach the mountain. The lovely, pictoresque village is also the starting point for the Schneeberg Railway that operates from late April to late October. Visiting in February, I was in the quest for snow and scenery, but we will definitely be back later in the spring.

Beam me up, Scotty

Puchberg is accessible with public transport. One can take a train departing from Vienna Central Railway Station (Wien Hbf), get off at Wiener Neustadt and hop onto a regional train. The connections and timetables can be found at the ÖBB Routeplanner Scotty.

Fadensattel

It’s possible to take the ski lift up 1220 metres to Fadensattel (ridge) and reach Edelweisshütte and Almreselhaus. These are both mountain lodges that have rooms for an overnight stay and a restaurant.

One can buy a ticket for the lift without skis and it operates also in summer season. Fadensattel has a playground with the best view I’ve seen so far.

Losenheim Castle

Between Puchberg and Losenheim ski lift lay the Losenheim Castle Ruins. The castle isn’t really in ruins, as renovation work started in 1994. The castle visits have to pre-booked, so one cannot simply walk in and have a look.

Second visit with the family

Having scouted the place briefly on a weekday, I took my family there one Saturday morning.

My wife and son rented skis from Wunderwiese ski resort and he got to try skiing for the first time. Meanwhile I went sledding with our daughter.

Plastic Sarvis sled is a Finnish institution in production since 1967 and listed on website 100 objects from Finland. It slides well, holds a straight line and fits one dad and two kids easily.

Spring forward

Now the snow is gone and spring is arriving, but skiing in small-scale is an all-year round possibility because of the plastic slopes.

The Schneeberg train, the Salamander is opening in late April and that opens a whole new season and activities.