For relaxation, there are people who break free from routine by spending their vacation time admiring nature and engaging in active leisure. Austria is just perfect for that.
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The further west from the capital Vienna, the higher the mountains, the deeper the gorges, and the landscape changes very quickly, breathtaking views are replaced by equally stunning and even better ones.
If the Alpine peaks with snow not melted by the hot summer sun against the dazzling blue sky made you gape, just around the corner you can’t take your eyes off the roads winding up the slopes like snakes.
The dazzling green meadows on the mountain slopes enchant, and the spotted cows grazing there with bells around their necks sometimes come out onto the roads and feel like the owners. People have to wait.
Breathtaking views are replaced by equally stunning and even better ones.
Mountain gorges are full of settlements, especially charming are the small villages.
Beautiful, even to shout.
And if a river flows through them, it will pour a bluish-white color into the Austrian June picture – this is how the water rushing from the mountains looks, mixed with fine rock particles and called glacier milk because of its appearance.
Lakes look green from afar, up close the water is crystal clear.
By the way, the snow accumulated in the mountains during winter starts melting fastest at the end of May, so in June and July the rivers are the most powerful, and the waterfalls – of which there are many in Austria – look the most impressive.
Just the highest waterfall in Europe, Krimml, says a lot. From its bottom to the top, you can walk through forest trails in about two hours, and it takes another hour to descend.
Overall, this country offers almost ideal conditions for hikes of various difficulty levels, because there are plenty of places for that. Hiking in the mountains and climbing higher, among other things, brings a feeling found nowhere else – only in the mountains – the understanding that suddenly all the sounds of civilized life disappear, and you are left only with nature.
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Another advantage of June is the abundance of blooming wildflowers.
At the beginning of summer, there are still not so many tourists that there wouldn’t be enough space in the nearest parking lots at attractions, no queues would form, or you would have to wait exactly for the time specified in the reservation. And Austrians are strict about time and order, and in this country, as in neighboring Germany, the saying “Ordnung muss sein” (“There must be order”) applies.
They like order. Not only organizing activities but also providing services and taking care of the environment. And this is impossible not to notice.
Were there any drawbacks during such a trip? Of course, the place names, which are relatively complex and hard to remember, especially when planning daily routes. Zėvalchenamsė? Or Heiligenblut am Grosglokner? Gerlosbergeben? Nein, Zalbach-Hinterglem.
There are quite a few roadworks on Austrian roads at the beginning of summer, the weather in mountain gorges can change very quickly, so the plan to enjoy the surroundings from the mountain peak may not work – instead, you will see about two meters ahead of your nose, and beyond that – clouds.
Is it raining? Don’t worry, the sun may shine in a few minutes. Hot? Just in case, take a jacket, preferably windproof and waterproof.
There are many flies in rural areas – in some hotel rooms, along with all the necessary equipment, we found a special tool for swatting these insects. And we even had to use it.
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But all this is nothing compared to the summer beauty of the Alps.
