Skiing — Exploring Niederau, Austria
A quick look around Niederau, Austria
January 2015
I liked the town of Niederau. Yes, it is small, but it has most of the things needed for a ski holiday. The town has a few bars, places to eat, a petrol station, two supermarkets, several hotels, a good bus service, a ski hill, and extensive cross-country skiing tracks. It is a real town and not an artificial ski town.
It isn’t the town to come to for a riotous week of skiing, but it is the place to go for a quiet, relaxing week.
One odd thing about Niederau is that there isn’t an obvious town centre. There is no apparent central point or square. The town consists of houses along the roads, interspersed with farm-like buildings, which are still working beef or dairy farms, judging by the smell (a smell I like).
Below is an example of a ‘town-farm’ building.
Entrance to the cattle shed area.
Stream running through the town.
The town is also close to the Söll/Ski Welt ski area. You can see the top of Hopfgarten from the town (the mountain in the centre picture below).
The source of a particular smell in the town.
Piste bashers and bullies
While wandering around Niederau, I saw the local piste bashers/bullies parked up for the day. They are seriously impressive bits of kit.
The tracks are seriously impressive.
Niederau Church, Austria
In Niederau, there is a rather lovely little church.
I liked the simple and effective tree decorations made from straw.
The Austrians and stacked wood
What is it about Austrians and stacked wood?
I have never seen so much wood stacked outside houses. And it is done so neatly.
Wood stacked around a house.
Organised stacking.
I must admit that this level of organised stacking appeals to me….
What is a Bummelbahn Station?
I have no idea what this is all about, and I can only assume it runs in the summer.
When coming into Auffach on the ski coach, I had seen a bunch of cars/trucks built up to look like trains; they even have carriages they could pull. I can only assume these things run in the summer to ferry hikers around the valley.
Ever wonder where to get the typically Austrian music heard in ski bars?
I have always wondered where Austrian ski bars get their rather unique music.
Now I know.
The Spars of Europe
Finally, the local Spar.
No ski town would be complete without a local Spar.
You rarely see a Spar in the UK, but I seem to find a local Spar everywhere I ski in Europe.
The one in Niederau was about a 15-minute walk from the Hotel Sonnschein.
The Spar was pretty good, with a wide range of food, vegetables, meat, bread, and wine/beer on sale. Unfortunately, it had a grumpy bloke on the cash register who just grunted, didn’t say please or thank you and would fling your change at you. Clearly, he liked visitors to the town.
Summary
I liked Niederau as a ski town. It is a bit sleepy, which may not be to everyone’s taste, but if you are looking for a quiet relaxing ski town with a good hotel, you could do worse than Niederau.
