Villach, Austria - Week 10

Villach was an unplanned treat.  We struggled to find efficient rail transportation from Lake Bled to Vienna.  A change of trains was required in Villach with very little time to change platforms—like 3 minutes or several hours (not fun with our luggage).  Originally, we planned to return to Ljubljana for a few nights thinking we could find a direct train from there.  But when we checked train schedules, that didn’t work either. So we opted at the last minute to stay in Villach, ensuring we could make a direct trip to Vienna at the end of our stay.  That turned out to be a brilliant decision because we fell in love with Villach.

Two reasons may explain our passion for Villach:

1.  It’s a charming human-scale town of 60,000 people many of whom (because there was some sort of weeklong festival) were running around in lederhosen and drindls.  

2.  We booked a room overlooking the river at a hotel for our 4-night stay.  It included a breakfast buffet that was out of this world.  Once we ate breakfast, we didn’t need anything else to eat that day.  Saved a lot of money.  In the evenings, we shared a glass of wine, a slice of cheese and bread in our room. I can’t tell if we lost weight because we skipped so many meals or if we gained weight because of all the food we ate at breakfast.  When we return home, our scales will let us know.

This is just a sampling of the food.  You’re probably getting hungry about now!  There were egg dishes, cappuccinos, sweet rolls, juices, champagne on the weekend—I could go on and on.  One morning at breakfast on the terrace, we met a wonderful couple from Brisbane.  As it turns out, their daughter and our son were in the Physics program together at the University of Brisbane in the early 2000s.  They both remember one another.  Small world!

We arrived in Villach by direct train from Lake Bled.  Others on our train, missed their connection to Vienna because the train ran about 10 minutes late.  We checked into our hotel early and took off to explore the town and have a bite to eat for dinner.  Roger had Wiener Schnitzel “cordon bleu” (in this case, heavily breaded, fried ham and cheese).  No veal or if there was, it was paper thin and he couldn’t find it.  I had a spicy pasta dish with chunks of heavily breaded fried lamb.  I know: it doesn’t sound good to me either in retrospect, but I was dealing with a menu in German.  After our meal, neither of us wanted to look at anything breaded and fried ever again.  We waddled back across the river to our hotel, stopping at the Tourist Office en route.  Villach is on the Drau River—not the crystal clear water of Lake Bled.  In fact, it was pretty brown.  Yet people were kayaking on it and having fun.  And there are pedestrian and bike paths that go for 100 miles along each side of the river in both directions.  Another unexpected treat…each night from our hotel room, we could see a water fountain show reminiscent of the water show at the Bellagio, on a smaller scale of course. On Friday night, the show was accompanied by laser lights, singing and music.  Such fun!

Very few people speak English in Villach which surprised us because in Slovenia nearly everyone did.  In fact, in both Croatia and Slovenia, English is a required second language and students are required to take a third language of their choosing.  This is such a contrast to U.S. and (I guess, Austrian) schools.  Fortunately, the lady in the Tourist Information Office spoke a little English and more importantly, handed us a “Tour the City” pamphlet in English.  We decided to begin the tour the next morning after breakfast.  It took us all day.

The following day, we planned to rent bikes and ride along the river to a nearby lake.  But the bike rental fellow said the bike path was on roads for much of the way.  I am nervous riding a bike near fast-moving cars, so we decided to take the little commuter train to the lake (Faak Am See) instead.  There are about 6 lakes and a hot springs area all within biking distance of Villach if you are braver than I am.  Lots of people were biking along the roads.  Faak Am See has clear aquamarine water (like Lake Louise or Banff) with houses and cabins dotting the perimeter.  In the center is a small island with a resort on one edge.  We took a boat to the island and walked around it on a wooded trail.  

The last day in Villach, the festival was in full swing…lots of eating, drinking (beer, of course), dancing and singing.  Roger has a pair of sweat-stained lederhosen from the 1960s that he should have worn if he had brought them…they still fit.  But they are not as stylish as what the newer generation wears.

After a short time, we became uncomfortable in the crowds—no one wore a mask except us. So we opted for a walk along the river.  It turned into a very long walk down one side to a distant bridge and returning on the other.  Good for Roger’s FitBit goals!  

After our 4th night at the hotel and our 4th huge buffet breakfast, we boarded our direct train to Vienna (4.5 hours), the final stop on our 2022 summer getaway.