A SUP DAY TRIP IN AUSTRIA

Passing the so called “Metzgerinsel” a small island in the middle of the lake, we paddled around the “Hochzeitskreuz” into a gorgeous little bay just a few meters away. The water colour was incredibly clear, so that we can see the fishes and the ground below us. We sat on board and put the paddle aside. The silence surrounds us and lets us linger and simply enjoy the moment. In the meantime, the sun was breaking through the cloud bank.

We picked up the paddle again and continued direction our real destination for this morning: the Falkensteinwand. Already from far away it towers incredibly huge directly out of the water. The closer we paddled, the more overwhelmed we were by this natural spectacle. The 400 meter wide and 795 (at the highest point even 900) meter high stone wall leaves us speechless. In order to experience it in all its glory, we paddle very close to it and almost fall into the water when we want to look up to the top.

Suddenly we are torn from our spell. A ferry boat is making waves and the wind is also gradually starting to kick in. We realize that the morning calm is over when two more stand up paddlers come towards us. Therefore we decide to make our way back to the parking lot - now with headwind - to find a nice spot for our lunch.

Picnic to go in our camper van

If you paddle a lot, you need nutritious, energy-rich refreshments. We are mostly traveling with our camper, so we are always perfectly equipped. A few sandwiches and a good piece of melon after and we were ready to go again. After the picnic we planned to head from Lake Wolfgangsee to Lake Mondsee to admire the sunset on our boards.

Paddling towards the sunset at Lake Mondsee

Finding direct water access at one of the gorgeous lakes in the Salzkammergut area is often a difficult feat. A helpful tip is to go to places with less people. On the south-eastern shore of Lake Mondsee, right on the Salzkammergut's border to Upper Austria, there are a few small parking bays hiding right on the water. Of course, a good portion of luck is also needed - and we had it on this day. Here is our very own parking space right on the water!

Hardly anything rounds off the day equally as a meditation or a yoga session on our SUPs. So as the sun leans towards the water, we let our boards glide into the water once again. Becoming one with the flow of the water and feeling the shallow movements underfoot while reviewing the day with a good friend: We couldn't have imagined and dreamed of this late summer day any better.