T

Hi everybody

I need some help I would like to go to visit the above mentioned countries
and to do some hiking
there. I am looking for some suggestions regarding good places for hiking,
spectacular siteseeings
and some sport as well. I need a very active vacation and I love the
mountains. The ideal trip for me will be something like this:

I would choose 2-3-4 small towns, villages were I can find bed and
breakfast. From there I would like to
do 1-2 dayy trips (sleeping in a tent for one night is not something that I
would avoid if the weather
allows me to do this). I am looking for combining the sightseeing and some
sport/hikig.

Not sure if I need to rent a car or to use bus services to reach the base
point for some of the trips so some
advice in this respect will be much appreciated.

Cooking for myself for dinner or eating from my backpack during these long
trips is also a MUST so I need to know
what are the chances to find markets, farmer markests or small stores near
by. I do not expect to see Supermarkets there
but if there are any near by please tell me about this as well.

Any referece materials available online for these are good starting points
for me as well so please let me know if you know any.

Thanks in advace
T

Eric Griswold

"T" <[email protected]> writes:

    > Hi everybody
    >
    > I need some help I would like to go to visit the above mentioned countries
    > and to do some hiking
    > there. I am looking for some suggestions regarding good places for hiking,
    > spectacular siteseeings

I recommend Lonely Planet's "Walking in Switzerland" book.

Eric

Tim Challenger

On Wed, 13 Apr 2005 17:24:17 -0400, T wrote:

    > Hi everybody
    >
    > I need some help I would like to go to visit the above mentioned countries
    > and to do some hiking
    > there. I am looking for some suggestions regarding good places for hiking,
    > spectacular siteseeings
    > and some sport as well. I need a very active vacation and I love the
    > mountains. The ideal trip for me will be something like this:
    >
    > I would choose 2-3-4 small towns, villages were I can find bed and
    > breakfast.

You can find B&B in every small town that might interest you in Austria.

    > From there I would like to
    > do 1-2 dayy trips (sleeping in a tent for one night is not something that I
    > would avoid if the weather
    > allows me to do this). I am looking for combining the sightseeing and some
    > sport/hikig.

If you plan an overnight trip, how about staying in a mountain hut at the
top? They are cheap and basic, but can be busy in high season. Anyone can
stay there but priority is given to members of the Alpen Verein
http://www.alpenverein.at (membership Eur45 includes discounts on lifts,
maps and full recovery insurance in case of accident). You may have an
affiliate membership if you belong to another Alpine/mountain/hiking
association. If you do it's definitely worth checking.

    > Not sure if I need to rent a car or to use bus services to reach the base
    > point for some of the trips so some
    > advice in this respect will be much appreciated.

It depends on where you want to go. There will almost certainly be a bus to
most small places, but they don't run too often. I would work out which
routes you'd like to walk and then go from there. A bus, or train, or
sometimes a narrow-gauge railway, or a cable-car.

In Austria, the most spectacular places that spring to mind (in my limited
hiking experience) would include:
The Arlberg (St. Anton/Damüls).

The Dachstein area (Gosau and the national park),
Traunstein (fairly low but lovely views over the Traun lake).

And possibly either up the Grossglockner near Salzburg, or south of there
around the Nockalm. (You'll find a link on the Grossglockner site).

Anywhere in the Ötztal, say Obergurgl or Sölden. Mike has been there
walking (I think?).

There's also a favourite of mine, the Postalm, just south of Strobl on the
Wolfgangsee, S.E. on Salzburg.

    > Cooking for myself for dinner or eating from my backpack during these long
    > trips is also a MUST so I need to know
    > what are the chances to find markets, farmer markests or small stores near
    > by. I do not expect to see Supermarkets there
    > but if there are any near by please tell me about this as well.

There are small shops in most villages, and the ubiquitous small Spar
supermarkets.
Many farmers will sell you snacks and drinks (fresh milk, or often Most, a
sort of sour, still cider), maybe some Wurst if they are on or near a
marked path. Just ask, and if they don't have anything, they'll almost
certainly know someone who does.

    > Any referece materials available online for these are good starting points
    > for me as well so please let me know if you know any.

Try the Alpen Verein for some links:
Mountain huts/refuges: http://www.alpenvereinshuetten.at/


Also here:
http://austria-insiderinfo.com/
http://austria-insiderinfo.com/ueberblick/fuss.php

This might give you some ideas:
http://www.via-alpina.com/

I'm afraid these sites are only in German but I can help out with
translation if you get stuck.

--
Tim C.

J.E.R.

"T" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
    > Hi everybody
    >
    > I need some help I would like to go to visit the above mentioned countries
    > and to do some hiking
    > there. I am looking for some suggestions regarding good places for hiking,
    > spectacular siteseeings
    > and some sport as well. I need a very active vacation and I love the
    > mountains. The ideal trip for me will be something like this:
    >
    > I would choose 2-3-4 small towns, villages were I can find bed and
    > breakfast. From there I would like to
    > do 1-2 dayy trips (sleeping in a tent for one night is not something that I
    > would avoid if the weather
    > allows me to do this). I am looking for combining the sightseeing and some
    > sport/hikig.

The website http://www.wandersite.ch/Allgemeinlinks.html
is mostly in german, but has plenty of links on close to
all subjects related to hiking in Switzerland.

For the 1-2 day trips on that site, I would recommend
mainly Aletsch-area in Valais, Central-Switzerland (Righi,
and further south the area around Andermatt) and most
of Engadin-Valley. Great but less challenging is NE-shore
of Lake Geneva, Jura (basically the mountain range from
Geneva to Basle)

    > Not sure if I need to rent a car or to use bus services to reach the base
    > point for some of the trips so some
    > advice in this respect will be much appreciated.

http://mct.sbb.ch/mct/en/reiselust/int-gaeste/sts.htm
shows special offers for non-residents. Swiss Pass
might be an overkill if just for returning to a base
from a day-trip, but with some planning, Swiss Flexi-Pass
might be a more appropriate solution than renting a car
(train for longer distances, Swiss Postal Bus services
for accessing many remote villages and Lake steamers
for some relaxation between hiking ...). Time-tables
for train, bus and lake steamers are also at www.sbb.ch

    > Cooking for myself for dinner or eating from my backpack during these long
    > trips is also a MUST so I need to know
    > what are the chances to find markets, farmer markests or small stores near
    > by. I do not expect to see Supermarkets there
    > but if there are any near by please tell me about this as well.

Eating from your backpack when you have no other option
- fine. But I definitely would try the different regional
food specialities rather than spending time cooking on
such a vacation.

    > Any referece materials available online for these are good starting points
    > for me as well so please let me know if you know any.
    >
    > Thanks in advace
    > T

Enjoy your trip preparation, and have a great vacation!

/<Rist

T wrote:


    > Not sure if I need to rent a car or to use bus services to reach the base
    > point for some of the trips so some
    > advice in this respect will be much appreciated.

I would use public transport. One of the big advantages is that you do not
need to return to the place you started out, as you would have to when
coming by car. The hiking paths in Switzerland form a comprehensive (and
well signposted) network. Using public transport there is no need to ever
back track.

You can buy special hiking maps. They are based on topographic maps, and
show hiking routes, and bus and rail lines and public transport stops. At
train stations trains usually call every hour during the day. Some bus
lines only run a couple of times a day, but usually this includes a couple
of runs in the morning and in the late afternoon, so you can plan a hike
around that.


--
/<rist