Hey again, Have I got some news for you! I just had the most beautiful, wonderful and relaxing weekend. It has been a while since we got to do this.
My husband and I decided out of the blue to just give ourselves a break, You know most of our vacations are more family-based and we do a lot of child-friendly stuff like the last time we went to Vienna and visited museums and play some games. That doesn’t bother us so much but this time we came to the decision that sometimes adults just want to be adults and do things that are fun for us and that meant a lot of relaxing and eating and relaxing some more and not worrying about child-friendly fun and entertainment.
We took a drive to this amazing place called Ebner’s-Waldhof-Waldhof am See, It’s about 30 minutes drive from Salzburg in Fuschl am See. I didn’t really know exactly where we were going because the place was meant as a surprise for me so I have to say I was a little underwhelmed by the distance as I was expecting a long drive that wed arrive just as the sun sets but at the same time I was amazed that there are such beautiful places one can visit in such a short distance and you feel like you are kilometres away. Coming from South Africa, most of the trips I’ve gone on, involved long drives but then again this has made me realize that I didn’t do a lot of local travel and surely there must be places around Pretoria that are just as wonderful. Now I truly appreciate the South African tourism slogan that says, Take a short left, You just never know what you’re missing in your own city.
Back to the weekend at Fuschl am See, The hotel is located right by the lake but we didn’t really go there because our plan was to stay indoors the whole time and trust me if you don’t visit the outdoor pools and the outdoor seating areas then you literally can spend the entire time indoors. The hotel has everything you might need, Great food, beautiful views, friendly staff, and very good cocktails ( you can trust my judgement).
The first thing we did was have some Prosecco and take in the beautiful mountain scenery, then we went off to have some lunch, the have a great selection of food choice at the buffet area, pity I have such a small tummy, I could have eaten everything on there. Then after that, we went to relax in the water world area. There are different pools indoors and outdoors, and each has its own differences. some deep, some shallow, some with water jets to massage your back, legs, whole body, warm and cold and ice-cold, whatever you find interesting, I think you will find it.
Then we visited the Sauna area, with different rooms that have different temperatures, a steam room and a whirlpool. The place is clean and the staff are very efficient. Now I have been to the sauna before right and most recently had visited at the Paracelsus bad as well and the highest I had done was 60°c so I thought going to the sauna at this hotel would be nothing new for me but man was I in for a surprise. First, this is that we went to an 80°c sauna but this time I was to experience something called Aufguss, I don’t know what it’s called in English but I will explain how it went.
There is a staff member who comes to the Sauna room and he has some just of water, each has a certain type of smell/aroma. He asked how many rounds we will do and someone replied we will do four, I thought that was extreme for a newcomer but I will stay for as long as I can handle. He pours the water on the hot stones, feels the air by raising one hand up and I guess when the temperature is good then he takes a type of fabric that looks like a wings contraption that wind gliders could use and he fans the hot hair all around the room and fans each one of us individually, then he did the second round but used a towel on a stick, like a flag of sorts, I am telling you I was feeling the heat but fully fascinated by all this.
By the third round I wanted to cry but I didn’t wanna look like an amateur so I had my head down most of the time and well if any tears come, they will just think it was all sweat and man oh man were we sweating a river. In this round he had a much thicker looking towel, he just held it by the corner and spun it in the air above then again fans each one individually, I was now feeling proud of myself because breathing hot air just isn’t fun and that’s when I run but I pushed through to the last round. He poured the water on the hot rocks and spun the towel and this time I was uttering profanities and saying to myself if he doesn’t stop in 5seconds, the people will have to forgive me but I’m going to let the cold air in, but it turned out I wasn’t the only one feeling the heat, as soon as he said it’s done, we all practically left the room running.
Next was to go deep in the cold water at 18°c, which felt like a minus something to me. I don’t like cold water and I had sworn to myself that I would never even dip a toe in this pool, and so far after sauna, the best I did was a 20°c shower but this time I figured when I Rome right? So another proud moment for me, brave as I could get I went for the big dip and for this I better be as healthy as they say this process is for the body. As proud as I am, I have again sworn off the cold water pool but that is still a thing I will leave to the moment. I don’t think it’s a thing I will get myself used to but once in a while, it can’t hurt.
Now let’s get to the food. Here they have a great breakfast and lunch buffet but at dinner time, they offer a five-course meal. I mean the type of servings you see on these cooking shows. I love watching the shows and complaining about how I would never pay for the food I see on the shows but I finally understand the reason behind the number of these meal courses. You get to taste different food combinations and you don’t have to stuff yourself with too much food just to enjoy them everything tasted great, I find no fault and I wouldn’t say no to going back.
This five-course meal thing was a new experience for me because I had no idea of the meal sizes, I refused to have the second course because I was afraid I’d not have enough space left in my tummy for the main course and dessert but when I was pleasantly surprised by the meal sizes and lesson learned so the next night I had all the courses served, except for soup, I’m just not a fan. Everything was fresh, tasted great, and was pleasing to the eye, so much so that you just don’t wanna ruin how the plate looked, Just not eat any of it and admire the meal but I think that’s not nice to the chef, a good compliment is eating everything on the plate, short of licking it but no, don’t do that.
The bar area is great too, the music is not too loud just enough that you can hear it but still have a good conversation going. however, all I wanted to do was dance but again when in Rome? No one was dancing and I was too shy to be the only one dancing, that would have been all eyes on me so I just chair danced till it was time for sleep.
Overall I enjoyed the weekend. The atmosphere was good and I think I should be much more relaxed and healthier now with all that steam and sauna and water and great food., if that didn’t bring some good changes to me physically and mentally then I don’t know what will. Anyway I think, that’s it for now, till next time…
Ciao
