Every summer we drive our creaky old Mercedes from Austria through Europe back to London. My heartbeat plans the route and depending on our time it can take anything from 2 days up to 10 days.
We just decide where were want to visit and our reasons could be a good wine from the area, a great restaurant, a charming hotel or just because someone has mentioned it. Our route particularly when we have the time can go through Italy, France, Germany Belgium, and is absolutely not the shortest way to get back to London.
In the winter when we do the reverse drive from London to Austria we tend to go through Bruges arriving dinner time and staying in one of my absolute favourite hotels Relais Bourgondisch Cruyce. If you love art, quaint and stylish, being by the canal in the heart of the historic city then this hotel is perfect. More about it next month.
This summer we decided to drive through Austria and stay by Lake Achensee. Having flown in from London that morning to Salzburg really early we decided on a whim to just pick the car from our home and drive to a small village at Pertisau right on the lake. It was pure luck that I managed at the last minute to secure a room at the Furstenhause Am Achensee. Right on the lake which incidentally is the largest in the Tyrol, this hotel is part of a hotel group called Travel Charme which I have not come across before.
The hotel is 4 star superior and is like a lodge located in the village of Pertisau right on the Lake with most of the rooms facing the lake. We were greeted warmly with sparkling wine and chocolates and the reception had the feel of a well loved area. It was spacious warm with floor to ceiling windows on to the village. Cleary at some point this hotel was co joined with an older lodge as the bar was typical of Austrian lodges while the dining area was sleek and modern. It worked really well.
Our room was surprisingly large, simple, clean efficient with a big balcony and the view was a scene stealer. Smack on view of the lake overlooking the terrace dotted with breakfast tables. It was breathtaking. Hence lots of photos are accompanying this post.
We immediately rented a small boat and meandered up and down the lake as it was a gorgeous warm sunny day and the silence on the lake with the mountains part of the Alps called Karwendel and Rofan as a backdrop where spectacular.
Pertisau has lots of family run hotels and restaurants on the lake as well as further up. It’s a genteel clean place where anyone who loves the outdoors be it hiking walking fishing on the lake will love. Its not chi chi nor is it tacky. This is a place for families or couples who want to enjoy a relaxing time . The hotel and its location was really perfect for us. Its also a winter resort for skiing with apparently 53 Kilometres of ski pistes.
We went out to dinner to the Essebar as we had heard so much about it and then came back and sat in the bar where there was live music. It was cosy relaxing and they made a really good Irish Coffee.
Although we didn’t try the restaurant for a meal we did have breakfast there the next morning. We sat on the terrace on the lake and frankly with that view I don’t think I would have much cared what the breakfast was like. But it was great it was what breakfast should be. A huge selection of breads pastries eggs cooked to order. Cold cults salmon Gravdlax fruits jams. It was a lush buffet with every possible breakfast item catered for.
For us this was a perfect stop over and I think next time I would stay a couple of days as really the service and atmosphere were faultless.
https://www.travelcharme.com/hotels/fuerstenhaus-am-achensee
http://www.relaisbourgondischcruyce.be/nl/
Mona Moments 