The Mountains Are Calling and I must.. take the caravan!
Posted by Gav Grayston.First Published Nov 2017; updated May 2023.
The Austrian Alps were a hidden gem we would have missed if we had flown to Italy.
Burg Lahneck in Germany was amazing, but more sights were to come.
Quite a few families from the UK stay at Burg Lahneck, but as we headed south, we noticed far fewer UK cars or motorhomes on the Autobahn.

Setting off from Burg Lahneck, through the wooded hills, to Austria
Germany is Big. Really Big.
Driving from the country's north to the south is a long way.
Similar to driving from the north of the UK to the south coast, as mentioned before, we couldn't take advantage of the high speeds the German Autobahns are famous for.
After many hours of driving and queuing, the landscape changed.
Rolling hills turned into big hills and then into mountains.

The Mountains are Calling
The houses changed too. They now had the classic large sloping roofs and wood cladding of buildings found in the Alps.
Finally, we reached the mountains
As we crossed into Austria, the mountains were huge.
And some still appeared to have snow at the summit, even in mid-August with temperatures in the 30s!

No doubting we are in the Alps now
For some reason, the Sat Nav took us off the Autobahn and cross-country through little Austrian alpine villages and single tracks.
It was all beautiful, but not a great 'caravan friendly' suggestion for a SatNav designed for caravans.
However, we soon reached our campsite: Seeblick Toni. What another treat!

Yes, Einfahrt did bring out childish humour!
Seeblick Toni
This campsite is set in an Alpine valley with large mountains all around you. It reminded us very much of Yosemite in the USA.

This was an impressive place to pitch the caravan
We had to manoeuvre the caravan sideways between two trees in our pitch. Again, a caravan mover would have been a big help.
Fortunately, another British camper was opposite and came to help, as well as the German family in the pitch next to us.
There isn't as much space between pitches as in the UK. However, that didn't distract from the beauty of the place.
I was also glad I bought a European adapter for our Electric Hook-up cable.

This European campsite didn't use the European standard EHU sockets
The facilities were also magnificent, with excellent hot showers included in the price, as we as the pre-paid electric hookup that we booked through the Camping and Caravanning Club.
(At Burg Lahneck, there was a separate charge for the showers and electricity used).
There's no pool at this campsite. Instead, there's a sizeable Alpine lake that everyone swims in.

Care for a dip? This is the lake at Seeblick Toni campsite

Evening at the lake

A nice place for a hammock

Such beautiful scenery

The caravan turned around and ready to leave

Taking a dip in the mountain lake

Everyone enjoying the lake at Seeblick Toni
Up the Mountains

This Mountain Pass was included with our stay at the Seeblick Toni campsite
We stayed a few days at Seeblick Toni. Included in our stay was a free mountain pass, and the lady in the office recommended an excellent mountain to visit, Wiedersberger Horn, with a big lift that will take us up to 2000m!

An easy way to climb up the 2000m
Of course, in the Winter season, this is a ski resort. In summer, it's also a major attraction, complete with restaurants and children's play areas at the top of the mountain.

This ski resort was also a great place to visit in the summer
We climbed the remaining meters to the summit, and a quick Google search revealed we were much higher than Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) back home.

On the way up to the summit of Wiedersberger Horn
The view was immense.
360 degrees was mountains. Every which way you looked. And much still snow-capped.

We were fortunate with the weather. It was baking hot, and not a cloud in the sky.

The views were fantastic
After some refreshments, we went to the children's activity area.

Getting some mountain air on a giant bouncy pillow
The 'adventure playground' was more like a mini Go Ape, built into the trees on the side of the mountain. There were also a few hammocks strung between the trees for the grown-ups 🙂

We did a slackline 2000m high! OK, it was on the side of the mountain.

Making easy work of the adventure course

Climbing on the mountain!

Austria is stunning. It is definitely on our list as somewhere to return.
on our list as somewhere to return