The concept of "aristocratic rest" today is used by many. Travel agencies do this for advertising purposes, the travelers themselves, most often so that their holidays in the eyes of friends and relatives look something extraordinary and out of the ordinary. But in fact, it is impossible to understand what it is - an aristocratic holiday, without having been to Austria. Moreover, it is not necessary to set the goal of your trip to Vienna with its balls, opera house, numerous famous streets and museums, crowded "plateaus", cafes and other tourist attractions. The beautiful city of Salzburg - the birthplace of the great Mozart, can also wait a bit. Try to get acquainted with this amazing alpine country from its provinces, which will be able to tell you a lot of what the capitals are usually silent about.
Route sheet
Of course, to get into one of the federal states, of which there are as many as nine: Burgenland, Vienna, Upper Austria, Salzburg, Carinthia, Lower Austria, Tyrol, Vorarlberg and Styria, it’s better to fly to Vienna. Which we did, taking advantage of the kind invitation of Austrian Airlines, which has recently become part of another major European airline, Lufthansa. You begin to feel about yourself as a representative of at least a noble family - both in the waiting room of the Star Alliance international flight alliance, and on board the new modern Boeing 767 airliner. Here you will find champagne, tight starched white napkins, and gourmet snacks, and ... Yes, what’s there, any whim. As a lyrical digression, I want to note how pleased I was with the very optimistic uniform of the Austrian Airlines flight attendants, who were dressed in bright red color from head to toe (girls, you’ll understand everything now when I say that even the stewardesses’ tights and shoes were bright scarlet (!), matching the costumes). The exception was only neckerchiefs of a pale blue hue. Miracle, how good! It would be a pity if over time they change into the blue-yellow corporate colors of Lufthansa. Something is definitely lost. However, now is not about that. And that we flew from Dubai towards Vienna. They were there after some five and a half hours, made a transfer to a tiny airplane for domestic flights and went straight to Klagenfurt, in the federal state of Carinthia. We will talk about this small but very interesting city a bit later. And we went from the airport to the land of lakes and ... aristocratic resorts.
Lake house
Velden is Austria's most sophisticated lake resort with its unique status and unique manners. Not really for snobs, but you have to show up in a suit for dinner or at the casino a couple of times. As it turned out later, it was no coincidence that the organizers of our trip indicated the recommended dress codes for each of the evenings spent in Velden in the tour program.
So. The town of Velden is located on the background of picturesque alpine slopes, on the western shore of the beautiful Lake Wörthersee (the warmest in the Austrian Alps), 60 km from Klagenfurt Airport, the capital of Carinthia, which is located in southern Austria and borders on Slovenia. True connoisseurs rightfully consider this place to be the "Austrian Riviera", in the territory of Carinthia there are a total of 1270 lakes. They say that if there was an opportunity to unite them, then we would get another Mediterranean Sea, though fresh. Knowing that Lake Wörthersee is more likely to be mountainous, as it is located at an altitude of 500 meters at sea level, comparisons with the Riveyera do not seem entirely appropriate, but still. By the way, the water in Lake Wörthersee is the purest drinking water, which the surrounding residents are rightly proud of. In Velden, there is even a tradition when, in early May, a boat with mayors of all nearby towns goes to the center of the lake, and the head of the town of Velden, scooping up water from Lake Wörthersee with a mug, drinks it in front of everyone gathered and to their stormy applause. I personally did not have the opportunity to verify this, since at the time of our stay in Velden the lake was half frozen, and a whole detachment of birds of various colors splashed in the water near the shore - from gray ducks and gulls to majestic white swans.
Go ahead. As early as the sixteenth century, the Austrian nobility chose Velden as their favorite vacation spot. Until today, the glory of the famous summer resort of Austria has been preserved outside the city. The Carinthian festival “Villarcher Fasching” takes place annually in the summer in Velden with a carnival, concerts and street festivities. A variety of music festivals, fireworks and shows are held on the stage at Lake Wörthersee.
By the way, in Austria there is a television series called the Castle on Lake Wörthersee. And if the plot of the film is invented, then the bright yellow Renaissance castle is in fact. Many famous guests loved to stay in it - the Duke of Windsor, the former Empress of Soray and the Hollywood star Kirk Douglas. In 1990, Felden Castle, whose age today is more than 400 years old, became the residence of the multimillionaire Gunter Sachs. And in May 2007, the Schloss Velden, a Capella Hotel, which was owned by the Sapella Hotels & Resorts hotel chain and Hypo Alpe Adria banking group, was reopened in it.
Only the "rich and famous" can afford the luxury of living in Velden, although even today local realtors offer ready-made real estate for sale. Life in Velden belongs to the category of "expensive and tasteful." No more no less. The city of Velden has only seven thousand inhabitants, its everyday life seems calm and measured, but here it has its own casino and the very fashionable hotel Schloss Velden, a Capella, which includes in its ensemble and elegant palace, whose history dates back to 1603, and new modern buildings reflecting the architecture of the 21st century. 38 elegant guest rooms are located in the palace chambers today, and the new wing added 66 more tastefully decorated apartments and suites to the hotel. It is easy to guess that in the summer, in the high season, there’s nothing even to dream of staying at Schloss Velden, but when we were there in the winter, in the off-season, we were able to fully enjoy its truly palace splendor, unsurpassed service, cuisine beyond praise and one of the best in Europe Spa-center Auriga Spa, rightfully deserved many international awards.
At the Spa or not at the Spa? That is the question
The story of Auriga Spa deserves to be long and detailed. Time at the winter resort seems to flow slowly (maybe because it gets dark early this time of year), but not so unnoticed. And if you suddenly find yourself in the bowels of the Spa-center, it is difficult to pull you out of there, even resorting to all sorts of temptations in the form of a sumptuous dinner or a trip to a neighboring city.
At Auriga Spa, everything is not just for relaxation, but for the rest of the royal class. Suffice it to say that the area of this Spa is 3500 square meters, which housed a huge indoor pool with panoramic windows, which overlook the (Wetsee, snowy, in our case) lake, steam room, sauna and ice grotto, 15 treatment rooms, two separate recreation areas for men and women, one common room for tea and relaxation, a fully equipped gym, a yoga room and Spa Cafe, whose chefs are ready to offer you a healthy menu specially developed by nutritionists. In summer, an outdoor pool "inside the lake" is added to these delights of a spa holiday, and in fact, a specially fenced piece of the lake itself, all kinds of beach holidays and water sports. Whatever you say, it's really better to relax in Schloss Velden, in truth, in the summer.
Yes, as relies on an elite-class resort, prices for treatments at Auriga Spa start at 100 euros. But the quality of all services is beyond praise. Auriga Spa is a year-round attraction for all residents of the town and its guests. People come here with pleasure or come with whole families on weekends or holidays.
However, even in such a luxurious center of beauty and health it is impossible to sit forever, so the next points of our program were first a ski resort, and then a trip to the city of Klagenfurt. One cannot, in fact, bypass his attention to the capital of Carinthia. But, "at first", a ski resort.
From the sauna - on skis
In the vicinity of Velden, there are a lot of ski resorts, we were taken to the closest, but central to Carinthia - Bad Kleinkirchheim. It is located in the north of Carinthia, in one of the valleys at an altitude of 1100 m and borders on the Nockberge National Park. Here, along with the ski slopes, there are thermal springs Catherine and Termal Römerbad, where many tourists are engaged in wellness treatments in the summer. In winter, both children and adults, and their four-legged friends - dogs and cats (yes, don’t laugh, they are there too), stand skiing and snowboarding together, sit down on a sled or, lacking sufficient skills for giant slalom, they just go to the mountains in order to have a great time in one of the many cafes near the slopes, drinking hot mulled wine and eating juicy Austrian sausages with freshly baked crispy buns. Those who are not afraid to freeze order local beer, which is served with pizza, salted pretzels or the famous Austrian schnitzel with stewed cabbage. But back to the sport.
With an incredible effort of will, we managed to pull ourselves out of the warm and cozy embrace of the Spa-center with its steam rooms and saunas in order to wave into the mountains. Vladimir Vysotsky was right when he sang that "only mountains can be better than mountains." What beauty it is, impossible to convey in words. Here, the air is kind of ringing and especially tasty, here the sky is clear and blue-Presiney, here the snow looks like cotton candy, and the clouds that are under your feet as soon as you rise to a height of more than 800 meters, resemble a huge duvet. The mountains - it is something like a drug, once hooked, and in early childhood, and until old age you can not part with them.
I will not bore you with stories that traveling up in the tiny cabin of the funicular is not for the faint of heart and not for those who are afraid of heights. Ski lifts, in my opinion, are generally transport only for the brave daredevils. Like skiing itself, which not everyone dares to embark on in adulthood, but if it dares .... In a word, a ski resort in Austria is just the place where you can try your hand. There are slopes of various difficulty levels, including special ones for children, and professional instructors work, ready to explain to you all the wisdom of this sport for hours. Alpine skiing is a new experience, interesting and fascinating. I like it.
Klagenfurt and his dragon
Descending from the mountains, we finally went to the capital of glorious Carinthia. It is believed that the city of Klagenfurt was founded by the Duke of Carinthia Herman Spanheim. For the first time in the annals, a place called Forum-Klagenworth was mentioned in 1199. Klagenfurt received the rights of the city from 1246 to 1252, after which it quickly became one of the largest cities in Carinthia. During a fire in 1514, the city completely burned down. Emperor Maximilian I, who ruled at that time, decided to restore the city. In 1518, he granted Klagenfurt the status of the capital and instructed local authorities to take up its restoration. Italian architect Domenico Lalio lays out the layout of the city in the form of a square with straight streets. At that time for Austria it was unusual and new. In this form, the city has survived to this day. In 1863, a railway was laid through Klagenfurt, which contributed to its rapid economic development and its establishment as the capital of Carinthia. By the way, the city has the University of Klagenfurt, which opened in 1161, before Klagenfurt itself received the rights of the city. But this is not the most interesting.
The most fun characters during our walk in Klagenfurt were three. The first was our guide, who joyfully talked about the misfortunes of the famous city fountain with a dragon, the second - the dragon himself, and the third - a tiny monument to some monk, hugging a keg of beer and raising his index finger up, calling for drunkards to stop drinking. So, to the dragon. In the center of the city on New Square is a fountain with a dragon ("Lindwurm"). The fountain is a symbol of Klagenfurt and recalls an ancient legend. According to one version of this legend, once upon a time a dragon lived in Lake Wörthersee, which ate the inhabitants of the city. But once the heroic servant of the duke killed the dragon and thereby saved the townspeople. Another version says: once upon a time there was a swamp on the site of the city and a dragon lived in it. The dragon built various intrigues to residents of the surrounding area. But there were brave men who plagued the dragon, and in the place of the swamp they laid the city. Our cheerful guide also told us how many times the tail was broken off to the unfortunate dragon monument. This happened several times during the 2008 European Championship football battles, the matches of which were also held at the Klagenfurt stadium, when joyful fans, after drinking local beer, climbed the tail of the dragon with the whole company and successfully broke it off. The dragon is still present in the life of the Klagenfurt, but only as an image on the coat of arms of the city. By the way, the coats of arms of the twin cities of Klagunfurt show off right on the pavement in the city center. Among them, I found the biblical Nazareth, the Ukrainian city of Chernivtsi, and even Dushanbe. Miracles!
The old town of Klagenfurt is one of the most beautiful in Austria, for which it has already been awarded the European Nostra diploma three times. Here, most of the city's attractions are concentrated - the Landhouse building (the building of the Carinthian administration), the Town Hall, the city cathedral and the monument to Empress Maria Theresa, who had never been to Klagenfurt, but her one daughter Maria Anna lived in this city for 13 years, and the other Maria Antoinette - She laid her head on the block (though this is another story). One of the oldest buildings - the "House of the Gilded Goose" (1489) - was built for Emperor Maximilian I, who gave the house to the city. There are several old castles in Klagenfurt, each of which is unique and has its own history. It is worth visiting the Planetarium of the Astronomical Union of Carinthia, the Museum of Carinthian Earth and the Museum of Modern Art, which we looked at for an hour.
In the suburbs of Klagenfurt, where you should definitely go in the summer, the Minimundus is located in the park - the whole world is in miniature. Here are the sights from around the world, executed on a scale of 1:25 - St. Basil's Cathedral from Moscow, the Eiffel Tower from Paris, St. Peter's Basilica from Rome, etc. Minimundus is very fond of children, as miniature trains move along miniature railways and small ships float on rivers. Also 30 kilometers from Klagenfurt is the Gnome Gnome Park. This is a real city of gnomes, where there is a theater, and a fortress where gnomes live, as well as a rose garden and a gnome parliament. In winter, silence reigns in the city, and especially on weekends. Shops are closed as usual, and local residents, comfortably seated in numerous cafes and restaurants, discuss the latest news.
Cooks invented the devil
So the Italians think. Perhaps I will agree with them. One evening, we were served dinner from, I don’t even dare say how many dishes are in the restaurant of our Schlossstern hotel, in which the winner of the three Michelin Stars, Silvio Nicole, rules the ball.The dinner itself also looked like a ball, with "Marlezon ballet" in eight parts, when an endless series of tiny dishes, each of which can be considered a work of art and even scary to eat, was replaced by the same countless wines that accompanied this or that culinary masterpiece of Silvio. The sommelier shone, the waiters froze in respectful half-bows. Yes, haute cuisine is haute cuisine. No digressions.
On Valentine's Day (it just so happened), we had dinner at a local casino. Some of my more gambling colleagues even tried to play roulette. After losing, they calmed down. But dinner left a good impression on itself. I must say that Austrian cuisine is often called "Vienna", referring to the national cuisine of the country. There are no spicy dishes in Viennese cuisine, spices are used sparingly, and the number of sweets in this cuisine is second to none in the world. First of all, you should try Viennese schnitzel - a large piece of veal fried in breadcrumbs. Among the traditional Viennese dishes, fried chicken “bakhun” and Kaiser omelet (air cake from beaten eggs cut into small pieces) “Kaiserschman” are also most popular. Austrian desserts include the traditional Apfelshtrudel apple pie, the famous Sacher chocolate cake, Viennese pancakes and many other cakes and pastries. By the way, a real Sacher cake is baked only at the Vienna Zaher Hotel, which never, under any circumstances
x does not disclose a company recipe to anyone and does not open its branches abroad. And if somewhere, apart from Vienna, you were offered to try the Sacher cake, do not believe it. It's not him.
The cuisine in Carinthia and Salzburg is very similar to Slavic or simply of Slavic origin - dumplings with cottage cheese, dumplings, noodles with Shinkenflecker ham, pancakes "Strauben", palachinken pancakes with sweet toppings, fried river trout and a large number of flour dishes. In a word, everything at home is simple and tasty. It is washed down with local wines, of good quality, by the way, or with one of the many beers that are brewed according to old classical recipes.
Home! On the wings of Austrian Airlines
Everything, an aristocratic vacation with all its attributes in the form of a casino and an elite Spa is over, we fly from Vienna back to Dubai. We breathed fresh mountain air, changed our impressions, admired the clear mountain snow. The thing is small - buy gifts for your friends and relatives. The duty-free shops of Vienna International Airport were pleased that they could only buy Mozart sweets, which were famous for all of them, in boxes of various sizes and shapes, chocolate-cream liquor of the same name, Swarovski crystal products, jewelry and scarves from the Austrian company Frey Wille, and of course, Viennese Sacher cake (the same, correct one) and Manner wafers with nut filling. In the toy department on the shelves were Austrian bears and there were bells on ribbons of different widths. That's all, in addition to alcohol and cigarettes. On the other hand, it’s even good that tourists flying away, where they are looking, are not hit by a large selection of goods that have no time to be considered. No time. Already announced boarding the plane. Until. Meet me in Dubai.
