AUSTRIA
T
he last time I visited Austria, it was to snowboard/fall down a lot on the slopes at the ski resort of St Anton – a place probably more famous for boozy après-ski shenanigans than for its snow. My trip to the little town of Kirchberg offered a stark contrast. True, its location beside the ski resort of Kitzbühel makes it a place of pilgrimage for snow lovers in winter, but in summer a very different, very green Austria is revealed, chock-full of winding mountain trails, pretty Alpine flowers and one of the most cracking waterfall vistas I’ve seen during my travels – and I love a good waterfall vista. Our first stop after transferring from Innsbruck was the Rosengarten hotel, owned and managed by one of Austria’s most highly rated chefs, Simon Taxacher. The hotel’s signature restaurant serves up some of the finest food in the country. The zinger for me was a frothy parsnip soup with black nuts; it might not sound that exciting, but crikey was it delicious. But more about the hotel later. Our first
stop post-check-in led to one of the more surreal afternoons I’ve ever experienced, as we headed to a local archery zone to try our hand at shooting fake deer, badgers and other assorted woodland creatures, including a disconcerting cat-sized wasp. This was all indoors and great fun, but it’s also possible to head out into the forest
64 — aspire september 2015
on an archery trail to shoot strategically placed pretend animals in what would be their natural habitat if they weren’t made of foam and rubber. It offers pretty well all the excitement of hunting in the wild without actually killing anything (
kitzbueheler-alpen.com). If I ever see a real cat-sized wasp, though, and I’ve got a bow and arrow to hand, I guarantee that freak is going down. The next day it was time for some serious outdoor exploring of the mountains around the town as we embarked on a guided hike with the very knowledgeable Regina Höckner of the Kitzbüheler Alpen – Brixental Tourist Board. The trail we took offered fantastic
Our hike culminated in a picture-postcard view of a cracking waterfall against a lush green forest and a snow-tipped peak
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