
Höch Castle (Schloss Höch), first mentioned in the 11th century, offers a nice view over the Flachau area. Inside, visitors find a big salon with a splendid decoration made of wood. Today, it serves as a venue for cultural events.
You only see what you know (Goethe)

Höch Castle (Schloss Höch), first mentioned in the 11th century, offers a nice view over the Flachau area. Inside, visitors find a big salon with a splendid decoration made of wood. Today, it serves as a venue for cultural events.

While walking along the venues of the festival Natura.Kreativ in Altenmarkt I came across a class in creative sculpture ran by artist Walter Puchmayr. Participants were told how to create artworks by combining driftwood, stones and metal in a creative way.

Sundial admirers find this piece on the facade of the Dechantskirche in Altenmarkt. The figure represents a Madonna for which the church is famous. You can see a copy of this statue at one of the side altars in the church.

My first visit to the Natura.Kreativ led me to the Reitlehenalm, an alpine pasture near Altenmarkt im Pongau. Right in the middle of the hills, a class in voice training took place. The teacher was Annelie Leuthäuser, an experienced theatre and concert singer.

At the Panorama Museum, a dependency of the Salzburg Museum, I visited an exhibition about the real Trapp Family. This family was featured in the musical movie ‘The Sound of Music’. At the exhibition, I learned about the Trapp’s life and the songs they sang.

This sundial is at the St George’s Chapel of Hohensalzburg Fortress (Festung Hohensalzburg). It shows the emblems of the Archbishopric Salzburg and Archbishop Matthäus Lang von Wellenburg. The original sundial is from the 16th century. Today, you see a reconstruction from 2001.

While writing this post, I am nibbling at a slice of bread I created myself! Lately, I visited a farm at the Kalchkendl Alm (an alp named Kalchkendl) in the Rauris Valley. There, I had the chance to bake bread for the first time. I took this lesson in a class guided by Roswitha Huber. The brand name of this class is Schule am Berg.

While staying at Landhotel Martha I took a lesson in working with clay. The lesson took place in a former farmer’s house called Waldwerkstatt. Well, what should I create? A pot? A plate? A heart? A locomotive … That’s it!

The family hotel Egger (Familienhotel Egger) is situated at the edge of Hinterglemm. The hotel is well prepared to deal with a lot of children. Besides the pools, there are even several rooms dedicated to children only.

The hotel stands near the centre of Saalbach. The owner is not only a good chef but also a good art teacher. The hotel offers packages for people interested in improving their skills in painting. The classes take place in a dedicated atelier next to the hotel.

Villa Excelsior has already hosted famous guests. For example, Sigmund Freud spent several summer holidays here. My tour guide told me it was here where the Austrian neurologist was thinking about the concept of Eros and Thanatos.

The hotel is situated next to a biking route at the northern beginning of the Gastein Valley. The place is fine as starting point for biking, hiking, skiing and collecting mushrooms. Actually I had a delicious mushroom dish while staying at the hotel.