Austria Farm Vacations

By Peter Rooney

To maintain their idyllic lifestyle, families in the Austrian Alps have long supplemented their modest incomes by offering rooms and vacation apartments during ski season and summer months. Travelers can relax in a region that offers plenty to do, while watching or taking part in tasks like milking and haying done the old-fashioned way.

Our recent visit with our two sons was our fourth. We stayed, as we have each visit, at the home of Katharine and Josef Wurtl, farmers in the village of St. Jakob in Haus, the smallest of five villages that make up the Pillersee Valley region.

Perhaps because it was early in the tourist season, or maybe because the German economy has been sputtering of late, the rooms were abundant and inexpensive—about $15 per night per adult during the summer, a price that includes a hearty breakfast that of course includes fresh farmer’s cheese.

The villages of western Tyrol, especially in the Pillersee area, have poured money into projects designed to give tourists something to do besides hiking the scores of trails that crisscross majestic Alpine peaks. Each village in the area—Fieberbrunn, St. Johann, St. Ulrich, and Hochfilzen—has a distinctive personality and different activities to occupy vacationers’ time: a small amusement park in St. Jakob, a gondola lift in Fieberbrunn, and elaborate centers for water sports throughout the region.

With a rented car or a mountain bike, travelers can expand their range to include whitewater rafting in the Saal or trout fishing at one of several nearby ponds.

Tourists who are willing to go off trail and through the woods are certain to stumble upon a patch or two of wild mushrooms or blueberries. A 2-hour walk in the woods turns into a treasure hunt.

For More Info

For a brochure on farm family vacations in Tyrol contact the St. Ulrich Tourist Council and ask for the brochure titled “Vacation at the Farmstead—With the Whole Family,” containing maps of the region, photographs of farmhouses, symbols for the amenities, prices, and even pictures of the farm animals. Tourismusverband, Dorfstr. 17 A-6393 St. Ulrich am Pillersee, Austria; 011-43-5354-88192, fax 011-43-5354-88727; st.ulrich@netway.at, www.tiscover.com/st.Ulrich (English language option).

PETER ROONEY is a freelance writer with 10 years of journalism experience. He writes from Keene, NH.