Schafbergbahn, Wolfgangsee, and Bad Ischl. Austria’s Insane Mountain Cogwheel Train

[@archjen]

Nicely done narrative, video and musical video. Thank you bunches for your love of your travel posts!

[@NearFromHome]

Thanks so much! :D

[@dreieckkreisquadrat5719]

Great production value, man. Keep it up!

[@NearFromHome]

Thank you 🥰

[@cookiesareakatherinefood]

Ah, this is so lovely! I went to the Wolfgangsee for the Christmas markets in 2018 and went part-way up the mountain on the train, but my aim eventually is to come back in summer and go up the Schafbergbahn again and stay at the hotel on the top.

[@NearFromHome]

I bet the xmas market is cool! I didn't know there was a hotel up there.

[@cookiesareakatherinefood]

Actually there are three markets around the lake, at St Gilgen, Strobl and St Wolfgang. They are all a bit different so it feels like you cover a lot of ground in one afternoon/evening. And the hotel looks good - plain but surprisingly affordable given the lack of competition!

[@nella172]

Very good video. Thank you

[@NearFromHome]

thank you!

[@MichaEl-rh1kv]

At 6:30 you can see the reason for St. Wolfgang being "touristy", the Hotel im weissen Rössl (White Horse Inn). This was the setting for the play and the operetta with the same name (see en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_White_Horse_Inn). The play was filmed several times. The 1960 version with Austrian actor and singer Peter Alexander (very popular at the time) may be the most famous; it did move the play into the 1960s. Another village at Wolfgangssee, St.Gilgen, is famous for the one tourist who came every summer for three decades: Former German chancellor Helmut Kohl.

[@NearFromHome]

Ahhh this makes more sense. 😅 We wanted to visit St. Gilgamesh, but unfortunately didn’t have time 😭

[@ronik24]

Nice series so far! :-) I don't really see why you needed a rental car so far, though. Gmunden, Traunkirchen and Bad Ischl are easily reached by rail from Salzburg changing at Attnang-Puchheim, St. Wolfgang just a short hop by bus from Bad Ischl station bus terminal. Wolfgangsee during normal times also offers a dense boat timetable to get around. Schafbergbahn is usually mostly operated by newly-built Swiss oil-fired steamers, you only got the diesel variety. On normal summer weekends there are also trains with the century-old coal-fired steamers. Of course, if you want a hike from Schafberg, you can always walk down, also part of the way. Last time I got quite the muscle ache, however, as walking downhill strains different parts of your muscles than usual. 7:24 "Weißes Rössl" is a good place to eat in St. Wolfgang, on the lovely lake terrace. 12:55 Zauner is of course the place to go to in Bad Ischl, and the thing to buy is the famous "Zauner Stollen", you usually take it away in boxes of various sizes. There is also a mini version which is currently our favourite choice. Nowadays you can also get a limited supply in a few chocolate specialty stores elsewhere. But everything else at Zauner is also very good, you can have light meals there as well. There are numerous other villas spread around the Bad Ischl area, once we went on a run specifically taking a look at all of these.

[@NearFromHome]

Thanks for adding all that! I definitely would have loved to see some of the other trains that operate the Schafberg route, so perhaps I'll have to go back again one day. As for needing a car, well preferably I wouldn't have used one, I'm a huge proponent of public transport. The only issue though is when factoring in filming. It takes a lot of time to put these videos together and sometimes the timetables would just incur an extra difficulty we would rather avoid. None of these videos were shot in simply a single day, as I want them to reflect more the itineraries that I would recommend than be an accurate account of my travels, like a vlog. For example we needed to take Corona tests every two days, which via public transport would have wasted a lot of time, the toilet museum was actually closed on the day that we needed to be shooting in Gmunden, the boat ride was the day after our lunch at the restaurant, and etc. All of that back and forth though aren't things I want to include in my videos though because they aren't applicable to all travel in this area. Most people don't have the same constraints. I want this channel to be more guide than vlog, preferably a healthy mix of both. So sometimes a car is required to help us stay flexible. I appreciate you taking the time to add in the comment about public transit options though, as it is really important. :)

[@maevecollins6000]

We watched a few of your videos, really helpful and unbiased!! Heading from Vienna by train to Salzkammergut for a few days in June. Gmunden + the Miesweg....sorted! Then Strobl to St Gilgen by ferry, with a brief stop at St Wolfgang for the Cogwheel train. Which of those towns do we stay in? What's not overrun with buses and camera clickers?

[@NearFromHome]

Thanks so much! This sounds like an awesome vacation. I think most of Wolfgangsee is kinda touristy. We stayed in Traunstein and loved it!

[@ericwilson8199]

Great video, beautiful area

[@NearFromHome]

Thanks so much! 😍

[@BaluDerBaer933]

Camille looks so cute! ;-)

[@NearFromHome]

:D

[@BaluDerBaer933]

@@NearFromHome Forgot the heart this time! ;-)

[@Hartchell]

Hi thank you for this very informative video. 👌 May I ask how many days did you stay in Salzburg and what is the best location to stay?

[@NearFromHome]

We stayed in Salzburg for 1.5 days, and spent 4 days in the Salzkammergut. We stayed in Traunkirchen. Check out the rest of the videos in the series to see!

[@Hartchell]

@@NearFromHome Thank you so much. 😀

[@volkerbauer1974]

Thanks for another wondetful vid. The Salzkamnergut is relatively new to me, so I find your vids very interesting. To answer your question: I do think you should include palaces and also churches in your videos. They are an important part of the culture of a place and it would be a pitty to exclude them just because they represent the former rich and fanous exploiters of the working and darming people.

[@adnspk]

Hi great video,I am gonna travel in 1st week of may any idea how would be the weather in Salzburg and Vienna? And where do you think I should stay considering my 4 years old daughter, hallstat, Salzburg or wolfgang?

[@NearFromHome]

Thanks! :D If you are interested in seeing a lot of the Salzkammergut region, then I would suggest staying near Wolfgangsee. it"s very central to many of the things we cover in our Austria Lake series. Also, we offer an itinerary check and consultation if you have a lot of questions or want someone to check over you itinerary! See the link below if you are interested. www.thatch.co/guide/2f8vrmaf0az7f/view

[@johncrwarner]

There are some interesting features to the Kaiservilla When I visited the ticket booth by the bridge was operated by the current Archduke who spoke to the tourists in front of me in French to me in German and the people behind in English. The other interesting thing was there were no bathrooms and the Kaiser used a bathtub brought into his room and filled with water there. There was also no kitchen and the food came across the bridge from the town to the Kaiser and his family. The villa was a wedding present to Franz-Josef I and Elizabeth and Elizabeth who particularly liked the place (because it wasn't Vienna) begged Franz-Josef to gift it to their youngest daughter which he did and because she and her husband abjured their rights to the throne they were allowed to stay in the Kaiservilla.

[@NearFromHome]

That's so cool. hahahah. I wish we had met the Archduke. 😅

[@will_mac]

Another great vid! I love the Salzkammergut region so much, but you’ve made me really keen to go back as I now realise there’s so much I didn’t see! Have you been to Hinterer Gosausee? It’s probably an hour drive from Traunkirchen, and a fair hike from the car park, but it’s so peaceful. Swimming in the tiny lake at the top was thrilling. Being on the edge of the ‘region’ I found it a bit quieter, although I imagine now in September most places are calming down a bit

[@NearFromHome]

Thanks so much! We also, only got to about half the sites we wanted to see as well. Hinterer Gosausee looks so cool. Adding it to my list! It reminds me a little of our video we filmed last year hiking to Schrecksee. Thanks!

[@KeshavDaga-j9s]

how far is Schafbergbahn from st wolfgang village ?

[@NearFromHome]

it was like, a ten minute walk. Very easy!

[@michaelgrabner8977]

Wolfgangsee and St Wolgang is so touristy because it is part of a famous operetta/musical comedy titeled "Das weisse Rössl" ..it is about a lovestory between the "Wirtin" the female host of the hostelry "Das Weisse Rössl" and the "Ober" the waiter..and it was then also making into film in the 60ties which has then got "cult status" in Germany and is an austrian film classic.

[@NearFromHome]

That’s really cool, I’d have never known :) perhaps I should give it watch, would you recommend it?

[@michaelgrabner8977]

@@NearFromHome Well it is a funny old movie and an old film classic..with some commonly known classic "german" well to be fair "austrian" operetta songs and the actors are the "creme de la creme" of the 50ties and 60ties in German and Austrian film history... For a German or Austrian it is as like as for an American to watch a classical musical film as like "The Sound of music" with Julie Andrews or "My fair Lady" with Katherine Hepburn...when you like such kind of musical films then give it a try. Even to find on YT kzbin.info/www/bejne/aarFcp2alKyoiq8

[@catchang8234]

So was sitting on the left near the front the best place?

[@NearFromHome]

On the way up. Definitely.

[@KameliaHadjieva]

МНОГО Е КРАСИВО

[@NearFromHome]

Thank you!

[@PeanutYoutube]

Is the Schafbergbahn a half-day trip or just a few hours?

[@NearFromHome]

It depends on how much time you want to spend up there. There are some hikes you can do. If you spend a while up there and then explore the town, it could definitely be a half day activity.

[@Athirahbt]

is it recommended to buy the Schafbergbahn ticket online or it is ok to walk in?

[@NearFromHome]

I always recommend people buy online, but we showed up ten minutes before a train left, didn't get tickets, and just waited thirty minutes until the next one. It was pretty chill. This was in 2021 though...

[@asifshaikh-rb1fb]

which month this?

[@NearFromHome]

June! 😎

[@JESUSINAMERICA]

YOUR VIDEO'S AND COMMENTARY ARE GOOD, BUT YOUR MUSIC SUCKS. MAYBE SOME CLASSICAL? BE BRAVE.

[@NearFromHome]

No. I’m too scared to

[@JESUSINAMERICA]

@@NearFromHome Yes, that's what I thought. Good luck.

[@pabloqtoo]

Good video. Awful accent.

[@NearFromHome]

Bad comment. Awful attitude. 😂