Roughly an hour bus ride away from Salzburg’s old town lays picture perfect Wolfgangsee Lake, lined with towering mountains and charming towns. St Gilgen lays at one end and the quaint town of Strobl at the opposite end. The area is perfect for a day trip out of Salzburg.

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Wolfgangsee Advent

After stepping off the overly crowded bus into St Gilgen we trotted downhill to the ferry dock. Having lived many years in Washington state where ferry’s shuttle passengers all over the Puget Sound, it’s always fun to see what it’s like in other counties. I’m used to big boats hauling tons of vehicles and plenty of walk on passengers. The Wolfgangsee ferry is more for the experience. Especially since you could just drive to any of the towns, though parking could be a hassle.

In December the ferry shuttles you between three towns, St Gilgen, St Wolfgang and Strobl, specifically to enjoy each town’s Christmas markets. Onboard, one can purchase beverages from a cappuccino to a beer.

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Strobl

We decided to start our day at the furthest town, Strobl, as the sun was out and it made for a pleasing ferry ride. Albeit a cold one. Couldn’t feel my toes by the end, felt like numb blocks of wood for feet. Granted we chose to stand outside on the upper deck instead of staying in the overcrowded interior below. Eww. People.

Strobl is a small town with a quaint market. A few stalls selling goods and the rest for food and the infamous Gluhwein. I’m convinced the only reason people drink it is to warm up. It’s not really all that good. Though it’s remarkably better tasing than the “orange punch” I tried as an alternative. That was revolting. Good thing we all have different tastes. I must be the minority as most everyone else seemed to down it pretty well. Or maybe they just want the Christmas mugs? I came home with a few. Not sure what on earth I’ll do with them. Use them for next year’s mulled wine perhaps?

We couldn’t pass on cheesy toast at one vendor’s stall. The lady had a cheese wheel and heated the top to ooey gooey perfection. Then that delicious cheese was scraped onto toast. Yum. Toasts are a thing in Austria. Nearly everywhere we went places sold various “toasts” with all sorts of toppings. Fresh roasted chestnuts and candied nuts scent the air along with a variety of sausages. One vendor offered fresh roasted fish from the lake. They smelled divine.

We relatively quickly abandoned the Christmas market to explore the boardwalk along the lake. The walk was perfect to restore feeling into my frozen toes and the views were spectacular. Granted, they are basically the same from the boat but how fun is a boardwalk tacked onto the side of a rock? Of course we had to go on it. Most people we came across seemed to be locals out enjoying the day.

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St Wolfgang

Heading back out on the ferry, we joined the masses in St Wolfgang. This is by far the largest of the three markets and thus, the most popular. Later in the day we found where a few tour bus’ were parked, which helped explain the crowds.

A slight walk to the right (east) of the ferry port will take you to the markets. To the left you can walk to a gondola that will take you up a mountain where there supposedly was yet another Christmas market. We ran out of time for the mountain market and frankly, I was already cold. Not that interested in being colder way up on an exposed mountain top. Had it still been sunny with the potential of a fabulous view, then maybe. As it was the clouds had rolled back in.

This market winds through the streets of St Wolfgang, dropping back down to the waterfront where a giant “candle” in a lantern is lit up at night. Vendor stalls line the streets and sell everything from Christmas decor, alpaca socks, sausages, table linens, jewelry and funky trinkets. The shops in the streets have open doors as well and welcome visitors inside. Which is fabulous if something catches your eye or to warm up a tad. There’s even an indoor vendor area, which was fun to stroll through. Some of the more unique handcrafted items were inside. I found a hand blown glass pitcher that was gorgeous, but I left it due to questioning making it home unscathed.

When hungry, there were plenty of vendors offering tasty morsels. Sausages, pretzels, hot drinks and those diced up pancakes with sauce that we never did try. The appeal rate was low on that one. However, we did find cheesy spaetzle (yum), some sort of seasoned potato dish with an egg on it (blander than I thought but still tasty) and also a fish bouillabaisse with shrimp served in a hollowed out bread bowl. The latter was tasty, more like fish broth with a few shrimp tossed in but still pretty good. The nice part of the market is you munch through it whenever you get hungry or something looks too good to pass by.

St Wolfgang Church is worth a visit. Located directly on the water it makes for lovely photo opportunities of the shoreline. Inside the cathedral stone columns rise to towering painted ceilings. It may be less ornate than others but its beauty lays in those faded illustrations painted on walls and roof.

After standing and wandering around most of the day we found a small park on the outskirts of town overlooking the lake. A few benches were provided and it was lovely to sit and take in the beauty of the area. We were far from the only ones with a similar idea. As someone who loves to people watch, it was a fun spot to sit and observe the tourists taking their photos and selfies (we did too) mixed with those who just wanted to sit and enjoy.

Returning toward the main streets we made a pit stop at a Paul Der Wirt for a beverage on the patio. I chose a lemony hot toddy type drink (not good) and Doug chose a part gin apple cider type thing (much better). I’m thinking I don’t prefer Austrian hot drinks. All that aside, the setting is gorgeous! We chose seats against the building instead of on the lovely terrace. The terrace looked more inviting but DANG I was sick of being COLD! So warmer seats were selected. Still a perfect place to watch the “sun” go down behind all the clouds and darkness overtake the sky. Fabulous views of the church downtown and the lake.

After drinks we headed back into the market to see the lantern. It was madness. So many bodies crammed together trying to get a photo with the candle. So naturally we joined the fray. Why not? Doug got his photo and after we had a snack it was back to the ferry. We sat inside this time. Again. It was flat out cold outside.

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St Gilgen

To be fair, by time we reached St Gilgen again I was tired. Tired of being cold. Tired of being on my feet. Tired of people and just plain tired from a long day. Yeah to getting old. Thus I can’t say I really enjoyed this market due to feeling done. Poor St Gilgen, it looked like a nicely put together market. They even had little covered and decorated booths to enjoy your beverages and treats in. Very cute. But alas, after strolling through we decided to call it a day and headed up the hill to catch our return bus. Thankfully it wasn’t nearly as overcrowded on the way home.

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