Hitting the heights

There is more to Austria than winter ski-ing holidays. Once the snows have melted, there are fascinating festivals, wonderful food and accessible cable cars, not to mention Bregenz’s floating opera stage and the world’s largest Rolls Royce museum, says Verité Reily Collins

Lumbering towards us was a herd of decorated cows. Flowers garlanded their necks and herdsmen were wearing matching hats.

Friends told us that there was just as much going on in Austria in the summer as in the winter, and that visitors can join locals at various “alpage” festivals, and see people dressed in traditional clothes – but they hadn’t mentioned the cows.

For 2,000 years, Austrians have taken their cattle up to the high pastures at the beginning of summer, once the snows have melted. Here, cows feast on the lush grass to produce rich milk for cheese, yoghurt and butter. They return in the autumn, an excuse for another celebration.

Once, men and boys spent the whole summer on the mountains; today, thanks to cablecars, four-wheel drives and quad bikes, most only spend a short time up the mountain each week. We used accessible cablecars to look down on these summer communities, and as we sailed over their heads we could see happy cows munching the lush grass.

We stayed in Lech, high in the Vorarlberg (a tiny “sister” region of the Tirol), to be near several of the most famous festivals.

For anyone who wants to come here in the winter, the facilities are excellent, with the Rufikopf, Oberlech and Trittkkopf cablecars equipped with facilities for wheelchairs. These cars are open throughout the year, and disabled visitors will find all the lifts in Lech and the adjacent village of Zürs have helpful attendants, special seats, priority access, etc.

In the Vorarlberg region, they are keen on what they call barrier-free building, giving grants to make private homes accessible, as well as hotels, restaurants, museums, etc. Major trains are equipped with loos and seats that are easy to glide in and out of, and currently there is a programme of flattening and tarmacing paths, so in certain areas you take a cablecar to the top of a mountain, and find an accessible pathway to see wild flowers and wildlife. If you can walk with a stick, you can hire special “walking poles” to help with balance. Fit hikers use them, too, as they make walking more efficient.

Many private homes have “Zimmer Frei” (rooms to let) notices in their windows, but if you want special facilities then ask the tourist board.

They have an excellent list of suitable hotels, even giving widths of doorways and lifts. The hotels make you feel part of their family, but be careful when they say, “you must try our local drink.” We did wonder what would happen to anyone found drunk in charge of a wheelchair, but every stube (local bar) we visited appeared accessible, so it seemed churlish not to sample the schnapps. Luckily, level pavements ensured we made it safely back to our hotel.

There are four Michelin-starred restaurants in the village. At our hotel, the Haldenhof, guests discuss with the chef what they want to eat next day, and our first evening we had a four-course dinner with Osso Bucco as the main course, and then a pudding so incredibly light it couldn’t have been fattening!

The hotel is owned by the English-speaking Schwärzler family; father Hubert keeps an eye on everything, while the rest of the family ensure the hotel runs smoothly. In a corner of the bar is a painted wedding cupboard, made for Hubert and his wife by a friend in 1966, alongside an old wooden rocking-horse. Downstairs is street-level access, and a glamorous, candlelit Jacuzzi. As I arrived, an English family were playing Racing Demon in the lounge: father cheating like mad, with mother making peace between him and the kids.

Later, some of our group wanted to move on and visit the Rolls Royce museum at Dornbirn, in the lower Vorarlberg by Lake Constance. Off we set by train and discovered that if you choose your time carefully, you sit in a state-of-the-art observation compartment, watching in awe as the train snakes through mountain passes. On major trains and buses, announcements are in German and English, and anyone using a wheelchair will find spotless and excellent wheelchair-accessible facilities. By the track we could see violets growing: how long is it since I’ve seen wild violets in a British hedgerow!

In the mountains overlooking Bregenz we found the Hotel Viktor, perched above the Rhine Valley. Thoughtfully designed, with wide lifts, stair-railings at two heights, walk-in wet rooms with flat floors into showers, its corridors are wide enough to race wheelchairs. Wide balconies overlook a plateau where para-gliding takes place. Organiser Sigi Kaspar told me that “it is possible for disabled people to paraglide, if weather conditions are perfect”. He needs confirmation that doctors will let you do this, so best to contact him first at sigi.sorglo@a1.net

The hotel is a training school for people with a “minimum 50 per cent disability” (an Austrian social services term), and runs like clockwork. If you need something, they couldn’t be more helpful, even providing a mini-bus with space for four wheelchairs if you don’t have transport. The food again was superb, with chef Boris Voplakal producing such exquisite “pictures” it seemed a shame to eat them. I asked for my favourite Austrian dish, Wiener Schnitzel – and out came the lightest, crispest and most delicious schnitzel I had ever eaten.

James Bond fans will love the little town of Feldkirch, nestling below in the Rhine valley. Daniel Craig was shooting scenes here for the next film, Quantum of Solace, and there were typical chases through the picturesque streets before the action moved to Bregenz, on the shores of Lake Constance.

Bregenz has a floating stage, where the current set with its looming eye is a backdrop for this year’s opera, Tosca, and is also being used in the Bond film. The opera festival runs from 23 July to 23 August, and don’t even bother to ask about disabled facilities. This is the Vorarlberg – of course they are superb!

I don’t drive, but even I enjoyed the Rolls Royce museum (fully accessible). Owned by the Vonier family, who often act as enthusiastic guides, they are dedicated fans of the marque. Heaven knows how much their collection is worth, as this is apparently the largest such museum in the world.

Still, with such good value for money everywhere else, luxury merits its place in the Vorarlberg.

Information
Dates of principal “alpage” events in Vorarlberg:
6 September - Bürserberg (a major festival)
13 September - Mellau
15 September – Schwarzenberg
19 September – Kleinwalsertal
22 September - Nenzinger Himmel

The “almauftriebe” events at the beginning of summer often take place on 1 May, but will not be any earlier. The date depends on when the snow melts! They can be as late as 1 July, so it is best to check with tourist information.

Hotel Haldenhof
Winter: half board £70 to £140 per person per night; summer: half board from £54 per person per night; www.haldenhof.at

Hotel Viktor
Half board from £44 per person per night; Viktor@lvh.or.at

Tourist information:
www.lech-zuers.at
www.bodensee-vorarlberg.com
Tel: 00 43 5574 425 250
(English-speaking information line, including information on accessibility, width of doors, facilities, etc)

Getting There
The best way is to fly to Zurich, followed by a smooth train transfer direct to Vorarlberg. Or fly by Lufthansa from many UK airports to Frankfurt, transfer to a flight to Friedrichshafen – and then it is a short car or train trip.

Budget airlines fly to Innsbruck – then take a train.

Austrian Airlines flies to Vienna and then fly on to Innsbruck.