One of my goals when I visited Austria was to enjoy a road trip by myself amid the Alps. The selected region, Salzkammergut (the "Lake Country"), combined the very best idyllic surroundings with the perfect weather I enjoyed during my early spring 1-week trip: huge mountains, lots of green, melting snow, stunning flowers, gorgeous small towns and, of course, lakes.
After getting a rental at Vienna airport, I drove about 3 hours to get to the Lake Country. Driving in Austria is an excellent experience: perfect built highways, impeccable road signaling, skilled and very polite drivers, harmonious coexistence of cars, pedestrians and cyclists, "invisible" traffic police, absence of speed cameras and infamous toll plazas. But the finest perk while driving these three hours was to enjoy the magnificent Alpine scenery in front of the windshield 100% of the time. For those like me who have experienced driving in São Paulo (Brazil), Lima (Peru), Mexico City and Singapore, only one question will pop up in your mind: "Have I died and went to heaven?".
Austria has more than 300 lakes, the result of ancient glaciers that melted and formed mountains and immense freshwater areas. The largest and most impressive lakes in the country are concentrated here, in the region I ventured - Salzkammergut - which in German means "land of salt deposits", a fully justified name for the immense amount of salt mines of the region, source of wealth for the kings of the Habsburg dynasty for hundreds of years (Celtic tribes and Romans enjoyed these resources as well) . Until the beginning of the "Age of Discoveries" during the early 15th century and the consequent spices trade, the main food seasoning available in Europe was salt... And the Austrian royalty controlled much of the producing mines of this high-demanded item in Europe. 
I began my road trip circling the lake Attersee, the first and greatest jewel among several of tremendous natural beauties of the Salzkammergut. It is an immense freshwater block dimensions 3 x 20 km that never freezes in winter (unlike all other lakes in the region). Its waters are exceptionally clear, ideal for scuba diving. In the late nineteenth century, the Viennese aristocracy loved to spend their (extensive) free time here. The road around the lake - as in most of my road-trip - is squeezed between the mountains and the water, always accompanied by the ubiquitous bike path and small picnic areas on the banks of the lake, with its rustic wooden tables. During the whole trip I practically had the road all to myself, and often found villages of incredible beauty, as if abandoned, much like a ghost town. After all, most summer houses and hotels were empty because of the low season (for Austrians). The numerous yacht clubs swarming Attersee had no activity and the dozens of boats were just there to pose for my photographs. 
You can you spend several hours of your ride only exploring the picturesque towns along the edge of the lake. My first stop, a public beach park called Litzlberg, has a large fully grassed area with trees by the lake, where locals are dedicated to sunbathing and an occasional lake dive, dressed just like they were on an ocean beach. Small docks give an unique touch to the site. The nearby town, Seewalchen, has a number of houses built of wood, so close to the crystal clear water that seems you are visiting the Caribbean islands, not Central Europe. The city also offers a great little place to eat one of the local cuisine dishes, the breaded trout fillet. The Kapsreiter Cafe does not serve huge portions, though: an Austrian very bad habit. The sausage accompanied by fresh crunchy bread and spicy mustard, traditional local appetizer, made up a little bit. After a few days in Austria you get used to their spartan way of serving small-portion food and dishes without frills or side courses. That's pretty awesome... if you are on a a diet.
Moving on my road trip, I passed by the small city of Kammer, whose main attraction is the location where the lake Attersee meets with the river that named the city. Indeed a great view from the bridge crossing the waterway on that exact point. How could a river so close to the urban area be so ridiculously clean? Well, Austrians are famous for sewer systems and storm water draconian legislation, a role model for sustainable environmental mindset. The next town on my circuit is called Weyregg, one of the meccas of water skiing and windsurfing practitioners during high season. The City of Steinbach comes next, with its beautiful church on top of grassy hill. In fact, it really worth it making a detour to here, drive up to the hills through the winding lane and enjoy the breathtaking view from beside the church. It's really cool to realize the landscape harmony, the way the urban setting of the Salzkammergut cities merge with their small farms, making difficult to us to identify when one ends and the other begins.
I kept up driving my rental through the multiple lakes's coast until I reached the city of Mondsee. There I headed to the tavern Schlossbrau Kirchenwirt where I enjoyed another traditional Austrian meal in one of the hotel's restaurant's outdoor tables in the shade of a beautiful tree. The Kasespatzle costed just $ 7 (surprisingly fair price for European standards). At first glance it looks like a sub par Mac n Cheese , but it is a type of delicious thin fried gnocchi made with wheat flour and grated Gruyere cheese sauce.
The main attraction of Mondsee is the Basilika zum Hl. Michael, where the wedding scenes of Frau Maria in the classic musicial The Sound of Music was filmed. This baroque basilica has sculptures crafted in exceptional and carefully preserved wood, made by the artist Meinrad Guggenbichler and his pupils. It has two towers of 52 meters each and was built in the fifteenth century by a Benedictine order. As in all the churches I visited in Austria, the feeling is that you went back in time, given the quality of maintenance and restoration of the interior decoration. Definitely the most beautiful church I have visited throughout Austria.
Following the highway 145 along the Traunsee lake shore, I reached the city of Ebensee. It is more than another picturesque Austrian town on the edge of a lake and at the foot of a mountain for two reasons. First one, if you drive down a little road (9 kilometers long) through the city's pine forest and accompanied a river that flows beside the road, you will find a secluded, calm and tranquil lake of greenish waters and rare beauty: the nature gem Vorderer Langbathsee. Because was a weekday and off-season, there was not a living soul in kilometers while I was there. The sense of isolation and peace was truly intoxicating. While walking along the banks of the lake, I had the distinct impression that for some time I came out of this world and I was in another dimension. Well, perhaps I need therapy ...
The second reason to visit Ebensee, it is for historical and moral reasons. The city hosted the Nazi concentration camp - now transformed into memorial - KZ-Gedenkstätte Ebensee. Considered one of the most brutal and diabolical camps ever built during the Nazi era, it brought death to 8,500 prisoners in just two years of its existence. In a particularly cruel way of dealing with human beings, the Austrians and Germans who ran the camp subjected the detainees to a regime of 11 hours day of slave labor in unhealthy conditions under brutal cold with no appropriate clothing and without feeding them decently. The work conditions were extremely harsh: either opening tunnels into the mountain, or breaking down and carrying stones ... Working till death. The concentration camp had the usual Nazi setting: sadistic guards soldiers, electrified fence, watchtowers equipped with machine guns, surplus executions of quotas to meet, etc. As Ebensee did not have its own crematorium, bodies were stacked waiting for removal. Survivors described the smell of rotting stacks bodies mixed with moss, feces and urine, as simply unbearable. It made me wonder how we, as humans, could be able to do this to others. Yes, "we", as in "Human Race", or are you - dear reader - so naive to think that most of the Nazi Germans was Satan incarnated and not people like you and me? Parents who probably played joyfully with their children at the lake Vorderer Langbathsee on break times were the same subjects who tortured and killed prisoners nearby. I came to the conclusion that the basic reason why Holocaust should be remembered and its story told and retold to all future generations is because each one of us has within the potential to become a Nazi. It is our darkest side. The Austrians in general have a big problem to discuss this subject, even nowadays. For instance, only in the eighties, Chancellor Franz Vranitzky formally acknowledged the active role of Austrians in the crimes committed by Nazi Germany. Until then many thought (or were misguided) that Austria was just another "victim" of Hitler's Germany...
Next stop on my road trip was the town of Hallstatt, on the margins of lake Hallstätter and at Dachstein mountains footsteps. It is one of the world heritage sites according to UNESCO, a small medieval village, so very well preserved, that no car can can pass through or park inside the city: only pedestrians and cyclists. Austrians built a tunnel under the city that takes you across the highway. The houses that make up Hallstatt village are so close together, that many have only have access by lake. A true living postcard, no matter where you are located or the angle at which you will take a photo. Predominantly Baroque in style, the city is very old (founded in 1311, but with foundations from 5,500 BC) and the first commercial salt mine in Europe was opened here. 
Last stop on my road-trip was the city of Bad Aussee, the geographical center of Austria. The city is well known as the biggest design, production, distribution and sales center for the most traditional Austrian clothing style: Tyrolean! In fact the the correct term is Ausser - whether for adults or children - and, no, they are not costumes for Halloween, let alone cheap clothes for tourist. Ausser hats, scarves, coats, dresses, shoes, socks, suits and blouses worth hundreds of dollars, produced by world-class designer brands such as Gössl, Trachtenwelt and Rastl. Taylor-made clothing (high-end artisan pieces), can cost US $ 8,000 to be delivered in ... five years once you order it! The best-known pieces are the dirndl, dress inspired by the female farmers girls in the nineteenth century and the tracht also inspired by the clothes of the ancestors of Austrians working in the field. The quality and beauty of the pieces is impressive and you see a lot of people in Austria (except for Vienna) wearing those clothes socially: weddings, church services, festivals, shows, fine dining... If you do not want to invest a fortune in this intrinsically upscale clothing as a memento of your trip, there is always the option of purchasing a very popular shirt in any Austrian gift shop, saying: "No Kangaroos in Austria". Way cheaper...
That's it. You may enjoy the whole photo shoot of my road trip clicking on these web links: Salzkammergut; Hallstatt; and Attersee.
- "Average Conditions, Austria". British Broadcasting Corporation. 2006. Archived from the original on 2 December 2010. Retrieved 24 May 2009.
- Conversation with locals (Austrians) during my road trip.
- "The Sound of Music" (1965), Robert Wise Productions
- All colored photos belong to amateur photographer Paulo Moncores. All rights reserved.
- Concentration Camp BW Photo: http://www.memorial-ebensee.at/english/index.html
- Map: http://www.salzkammergut.at/en/salzkammergut.html
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