Wildkogel
After our 8-day trek through the Hohe Tauern in Austria, we still had two days to kill before heading to Munich for our flight back home. What to do? We thought about squeezing in another short hut trek, but the logistics would have been hectic and besides we knew we'd be too tired anyways after our big trek. Searching for ideas, I was poking around online and stumbled on a spa hotel located on top of a mountain, not far from Mittersill where we had started and ended our trek. Interesting... We could relax in luxury for two nights while still having epic mountain views right out the window. Perfect! I booked it.
The Wildkogelhaus is an alpine hotel located high atop the Wildkogel ski area above the village of Bramberg am Wildkogel.
We had a tight schedule after our Hohe Tauern trek to catch the buses from Mörtschach through Lienz to Mittersill, then Gundolf drove us ten minutes to the village of Bramberg am Wildkogel just in time to catch the gondola before it closed for the day. After saying our goodbyes to Gundolf and a ride up the gondola and a short walk, we arrived at our destination – the Wildkogelhaus, a hotel situated at the top of the Wildkogel ski area with a panoramic view of the western Hohe Tauern mountains across the valley.
The central part of Wildkogelhaus is an elegant rustic lodge dating back to 1898, but the building has since been renovated and expanded with additional wings and decks. Mid-September is clearly the off season here and we shared this vast hotel with only a few other couples. Even though it rained most of the time we were there, we were perfectly content to simply lounge around and watch the clouds swirling outside. And as promised, there was a luxurious spa where we melted our tired muscles in the sauna.
Ironically, not only was this hotel actually cheaper than any of the alpine huts we stayed at during our trek, but I also scored the best light and photos of the entire trip, just a few steps from the hotel!
Sunset over the Hohe Tauern as seen from Wildkogel – September.
A spectacular sunrise over a cloud inversion, as seen from Wildkogel – September.
Fiery clouds shortly after sunrise in Austria.
What a perfect way to end our trip! Now I have an idea for our next trip in the Alps – perhaps we could find all the luxury gondola-accessed spa hotels like this and just tour from one to another the whole time! Who needs hiking anyways? Haha...
