OCTOBER 10 - FUSCHL AM SEE

 Late morning we drove to Fuschl Am See. Thought we might have lunch at the beautiful Hotel Seerose, but it was closed. We walked a long way along the lake. Most hotels were closed. Ron went into one that appeared to be open, but they were only serving hotel guests. Finally,  Ron went back to get the car. I continued with my walker and stopped at the garden terrace of the Hotel Schlick. Ron ended up joining me there. He had a beer and I had a refreshing limoncello spritz. 

The terrace was on the banks of the Fuschlsee, and in the distance across the lake you could see the Schloss Fuschl, a 15th-century castle property that is the site of a major resort. 

Again, since this is a "nostalgia" trip, there are many memories. We took a group of Australian agents to the resort in 1989.  There was so much squabbling over the rooms since they are all different, unlike a Marriott or Hyatt! Eventually, everyone was pacified. We came back to the hotel on several occasions. 

We drove around the lake and up the narrow lane that leads to the hotel. The gates to the Schloss were closed, and all that was open was the Fischerei. We stopped there and sat on the rustic benches for a beverage. Breathing the aromatic smell of smoking fish we hoped there would be something we might enjoy, but the display in the counter was not appealing. Everything is self-serve, order at counter. On the lower terrace there is a sign in English reading "Your mother's not here. Clean up your own mess". 

Ron walked down where he could get a glimpse of the castle, and saw that it was surrounded by scaffolding. We then read that it is closed for total year-long renovation, and will reopen in the Spring as a Rosewood property rather than a Marriott. It first opened as a hotel in the 1950's and drew movie stars and famous politicians of that era. We know it definitely needed a lot of updating to meet current expectations of wealthy travelers. Rosewood is comparable to Four Seasons and Mandarin Oriental, so I'm sure it will be fabulous.

Our next stop was St. Gilgen, and we were still in search of a place to eat. We stopped at an attractive building on the lake, but perusing the menu for the upstairs "gourmet" restaurant Atelier quickly stopped us from going there. Not only does it have three Gault Millau toques (and priced accordingly) but features "innovative" cooking, which reading the Gault Millau review is often "strange". For example, "morsels served on fish skeleton".

The "offensive" fountain

Instead we sat on the terrace of the ground floor establishment, Papageno, which is owned and operated by the same chef from the Atelier. We couldn't agree where to sit. One of the tables was next to a noisy fountain, with yellow-looking water. One was near a grate where a roaring sound could be heard. One was near the playground with squealing children. We finally sat, but decided not to eat. At the adjacent table were a couple men speaking loudly on their mobile phone the entire time we were there. Think they were Turks chatting with their children back home. As you can tell, this wasn't the most pleasurable experience. 

We then headed "home" to St. Wolfgang. We spotted the Pizzeria Mirabella on the main street. Ron dropped me off and parked illegally. Ron ordered a pizza, and I had a slice or two. He thought it was fine, but I didn't care for it, but I'm not a pizza devotee. Later read reviews, and many folks warned to "beware of frozen, horrible pizza".

It turns out where Ron parked was the front of a building we had been wondering about, Scalaria. I researched and found out it is a event center for major business launches, forums, conferences, and has about 200 hotel rooms. It is promoted as "not a conventional event center, but an inhabitable experience". They hype themselves with the slogan, "Surprise, Inspire, Amaze". We agree with a trip advisor reviewer who said "It is the ugliest structure in the Salzkammergut, and

Scalaria

whoever allowed it there should be imprisoned". The turrets can be seem from all over St. Wolfgang and even from across the lake. 

We then returned to our room and balcony for another early evening. Ron said, "This is crazy - to be in bed by 8:30 PM." But, he didn't have a book, and I didn't feel like working on the computer. I said that is why I like to stay in a place where you can walk around the area with things to do, or at least a hotel bar where you can go and mingle with other people.