Austria Travel Guide
St. Anton and Lech, the Sport Sandwich, and how I packed for a week of spring in The Arlberg
Hello wonderful readers!
Kellyn here. Thanks for all the love and sweet messages on my last letter, Medieval Girl Winter. You all are the best. I’m thrilled to have so many creative minds here who also enjoy a quirky missive, because they sure are fun to write and research for.
Today I’m writing to you from the road, on my way back home from a week in Austria.
I’m so very lucky to be able to travel to such special places for work and play, and feel like I need not try and compare or rank them. But… boy oh boy do I have to say that Austria and The Arlberg region of the Alps might be one of my favorite places I’ve been yet. Lets dive in—
I was so fortunate to be able to go on this trip thanks to the exceptionally kind and wonderful folks at Visit Austria. I’ll be posting some video recaps on Instagram this spring and fall showing all the things we did. This Substack trip report isn’t at all sponsored, it just turns Austria is worthy of covering here and hopefully helpful if you’re planning your own trip.
St Anton
I started off the journey flying into Munich from Denver and taking the trains up to St. Anton. I know I’m a broken record here, but it is such a crying shame that we lack a proper train system in the US. We have so much train-able ground to cover! There’s nothing like getting aboard a train, hitting the food cart, and kicking back with a small Austrian beer and sausage while you get whisked away to the mountains.
I arrived in St. Anton where I met up with Cody and we kicked off our jam-packed itinerary.
To Do
Ski! And hire a guide:
St. Anton is the biggest resort in Austria and holds some really spectacular terrain. I couldn’t believe we hadn’t skied here before!
If you can swing it, it’s worth hiring a guide to show you around. Handing the keys over to someone who knows the mountain really allows you to enjoy your time there. Our new buddy Felix at Arlberg Classic guides was great. (P.S. Kathi P, I met your dad. He’s the best and it’s sounds like you are too!!)
Tobogganing
Ok, I know. But trust me, it was so fun. This is the kind of thing that I would have probably not opted for on my own, but this isn’t like sledding back home. You rent a little wooden toboggan and flyyy on a winding cat track down through the trees alongside the ski runs. It was such a blast, and fun to do something other than skiing!
Paragliding
Another fun non-ski activity outside!
Eat
A must-do in my opinion in St. Anton, is a visit to th Museum St. Anton am Arlberg. The building itself is a work of art—a 1910 era wooden Villa Trier nestled in the woods, and holds the fascinating history of The Arlberg inside. From railroad history to the invention of modern day alpine skiing, which is linked to Austrian Hannes Schneider who revolutionized the sport in the early 1920s by developing the Arlberg technique (stem christie/parallel turn). This advanced skiing from a slow activity to a fast-paced sport with technique, establishing the foundation of modern alpine skiing. All that to say, the museum is rich in interesting history.
But as if that wasn’t enough, they also have done what I’m now realizing so many museums should do… have a fine dining restaurant amidst the exhibits. Food is such an important part to a culture and its history, it only makes sense to include it in the experience.
My favorite of the on-mountain restaurants that we tried. Exactly what you want in the Alps—hut style outdoor seating in the sun with an amazing view and phenomenal food. The Spätzle with crispy onions and salad from here was perfect to me in every way.
For ultra fine on mountain dining, this is the place. It was spectacular and the perfect setting for a glass of Veltliner at 2,085 meters. Truly incredible food.
Stay
We stayed at the Alte Post and it was lovely! Great hotel breakfasts and dinners and a beautiful spa.
Après
St. Anton is known for the Après scene and definitely provides in that regard. I got a peak back behind the bar of the MooserWirt and they had nearly 100 Aperol Spritzes half constructed, ready for quick champagne hit and promptly into the hands of a cross eyed tourist. It’s a hoot.
Lech Zürs
I’m almost hesitant to write about Lech because it’s sooo good I want to keep it locked away, but that’s ridiculous. I’m not going to start gatekeeping now! Lech reminded me of Telluride in a lot of ways—really elevated with great food and shops, but understated and peaceful. If Aspen and St. Moritz are on the showy side of the ski town spectrum, and Telluride on the other, it’s closer to that end. Lech is the most picturesque little village wrapping around the winding river, with chairlifts straight up from the town, towering peaks, animals in their yards, old buildings and walkable streets. It’s got a more upscale vibe for après compared to St. Anton—a tamer party scene where the odds of bumping into literal royalty are high. I really loved it here.
Stay
We stayed at the Hotel Gotthard which was so lovely. Right along the river and in a great location in town. Another amazing breakfast and the kindest staff. Would certainly stay here again.
One of the most spectacular hotels I’ve ever seen. Every detail down to lumens in the lightbulbs are by design. If you can’t swing a stay at this 5 star hotel, then just a trip to the restaurant is a must.
Hotel Lech
My pal Vreni’s family owns this one! Also in a great location and has a lovely dog to greet you :)
Do
A really cool installation on the mountain by artist James Turrell. I’s hard to explain—as all good art is—but I really recommend going. It’s best at sunset. They have English and German tours depending on the day. Hike back down to The Alter Goldener Berg for dinner.
Nordic ski or hike to Zürs
You can take a beautiful winter hike or ski from Lech to the little village of Zürs. It was so beautiful, with big mountains that reminded me of the Canadian Rockies. Make sure to stop at the Älpele for lunch.
Eat
On the mountain, I really loved Der Wolf for lunch and a spritz. They just get it—good music (I was shazamming the whole time) great food and nice lounge chairs in the sun. My go-to is a Campari Spritz or soda.
Accessed by foot or cross country ski, this hut is exactly where you want in the mountains. Weathered by the wind, cozy inside and beautiful views on the decks. Get the cheese dumpling soup.
One of my favorite meals of the trip was here in this 600 year old stube, nearly underground behind an ancient small door (watch your head). It felt so special to just be in this room, and the fondue dinner was maybe the best I’ve ever had.
Shop
Lots of adorable stores in Lech, my favorite of which was Lenai and Linai. The designer makes really beautiful and whimsical boiled wool and knit pieces. There’s nothing like handmade wearable art that you can only buy there in person, talking to the maker. Cody and I got the jacket he’s wearing here, as we can both wear it and that makes it half the price. But I’m still salty I didn’t let myself buy this coat–
One of the highlights of the entire trip was a trip to the Hannes Strolz’ showroom/museum/workshop. A 3rd generation Lech ski boot maker, Hannes is carrying on the family business started by his grandfather who made leather boots, shoes, and eventually ski boots. They remain the oldest family-owned ski boot manufacturer in the world.
Today, Hannes creates a fully custom ski boot— fitted exactly to your measurements from the liner to the shell. You see the history in the modern boots and feel the love everyone here has for the art of the craft. What a special place.
Innsbruck
Is this the city that has it all?! The locals were often saying that it’s on the smaller side of cities, but with a University, population of around 132,000 people, and all the amenities of “big cities,” it feels like it had all you could need. But the real perk is that it’s actually situated in the mountains. Nordkette, one of the mountains, is accessible from the city center and you can get to skiing within 25 minutes. There is a train that runs straight up to St. Anton and gets you there in an hour. In the city plazas and parks, you would see people sitting in the sun straight from skiing, and it was common to watch baggy pant-wearing park skiers crossing the street alongside folks going to the literal Opera. It’s so cool. I’m really not sure there’s another place like it in the world.
The fashion in Innsbruck really caught my attention. It is the biggest blend of city togs and outdoor garb that I’ve seen. It’s kind of the perfect testing ground for blending your worlds, sartorially. Here’s some inspo for that blend I saw around the city, which I think all of us here at TOGS are interested in doing.
If you live in Innsbruck you may say, Bruv you’ve got it all wrong. But in my ONE AND A HALF whole days in the city, I’d say I got a good feel for the style and think that everyone was nailing chic and sporty. I felt a lot of Scandinavian influences, some Portlandy touches, and some inspiration from heritage alpine motifs.
This kind of juxtaposition in fashion can be achieved in many ways, one of which being the formula I like to call the
A Sport Sandwich might consist of an outfit made up of a “city” coat, a dress shirt, a trouser, all sandwiched by sporty shoes and a sporty cap. This brings in function where it’s most needed, on your feet and atop your head. Coat and pants offer a lot of room to dress up a look without loosing much comfort or function. Lucky for us in post-gorp world, there are a lot of great “hybrid” trousers out there (even if not marketed as such.) Pants that look and feel like a dressier option but can be worn just as well for hiking/camping etc. A chino, a parachute pant, the right pair of jeans, a wool trouser, etc.
It’s a formula I often unitlize on trips like this where I’m recreating outdoors and in the mountains, but want to look chic in the village or back down in the city.
Here are just a few quick IBK recs, but please comment if you need more!
-Faktorei to stay
-Le Merge to eat/drink
-Fuchs and Haus to drink
-House of Ambacht to shop
-Marktplatz for a view and a walk along the river
For this trip, I was only gone for a week and spent the majority of my time in base layers and a ski kit. But here’s what I packed for the rest of it:
Red ski puffy from Cordova. Handknit hat. Sunglasses from Alba, Ridar, and Jimmy Fairly. Midlayer from Klattermusen. Red Sophie Scarf. Handknit wool sweater. Sézane Vest. Edelweiss long sleeve from Alp N Rock. Wool/cashmere hoodie from Everlane. Ski jacket and bibs from Klattermusen. Down pants from Alp N Rock. Black trousers from Everlane. Black travel pants from Ruti. Plastica clogs. Inuikii boots. Roa Hiking shoes. I also packed pajamas, base layers, a t-shirt, socks, etc.
That covers it for this travel guide! Please let me know if you have any questions or other recommendations in the areas.
Thank you for reading and don’t forget to ‘like’ or share this letter to a friend below!!
Kellyn
Absolutely lovely guide! More street style notes please!!