Skiing
On your doorstep is the ski region of Kreischberg (3km), this can be reached in minutes by car or the little local train which is a short walk away at the bottom of the lane (The ski pass allows for free travel on the train and extra trains are laid on during peak times).
We timed the time from the chalet (by car) to the second station of the ski slopes (via cable car from the large free car park at the base of the slopes) at 45 mins.
There are now several ski schools:
http://www.outdoorcenter-skischool.at/
http://www.schischule-kreischberg.at/
http://www.sportpintar.com/a_startseite/front_content.php
and for snowboarders:
http://www.suli.at/
New For 2010/11 season
• New panorama piste, Stadl/Mur. 3 km long and super-wide. • SIXPACK: Panoramic 6-seater chair lift. The coolest 6-seater chair lift in Austria, taking you from 1,600 to 2,000 m above sea level.
• Panorama screen. With a unique view of the mountainside.
• Airypark. Bigger, more rails and boxes.
• Ski hire. "Intersport Rent" in the valley station now even bigger. Here are a few pictures of the building site:
14 lifts and 40 km of slopes for the hole family; the Tubing Arena, a permanent race track with automatic timing, the Speedcheck
Ski school for children from 4 years old, cross country ski tracks, toboggan run, snow shoe hikes; snow tube, curling, and horse-drawn sleigh rides.
Kreischberg is snow-sure as it also has 100% snow cannons. There are also 5 restaurants, a disco and 2 bars.
www.kreischberg.at
Just 20 minutes away is the Turracher Höhe ski region which offers a further 40km of skiing with a beautiful frozen lake that you can ski over in the centre. There is also night skiing, sleigh riding, and tobogganing. Turracher Höhe has 8 restaurants, 2 discos and 5 bars. www.turracherhoehe.at
A little further away (45km) is the Obertauern ski region with over 120km of pistes. It is one of the most snow sure resorts in Austria, and offers good skiing for experts, intermediates and beginners. Keen skiers can buy the Salzburger ski pass which covers 22 ski resorts in the region. www.obertauern.com
Ski Hire
There is Intersport www.intersportrent.at/winter/index.html with a large rental shop at the bottom of the Kreischburg slopes or another in the center of Murau.
There is also the smaller Suli's in the nearby town of St. Lorenzen www.suli.at which you pass when driving to Kreischburg. We used Suli in January 2012 and found them friendly and helpfull - highly recomended.
Shops and Restaurants
There are several supermarkets in Murau on the main road and one on the main road at St Georgen where the petrol station is. Also there are nice cake shops and coffee shops in Murau town center. The Gasthof Schafferwirt http://www.schafferwirt.at/front_content.php is the restaurant and bar at the end of the lane and across the River Mur, this is just 3 minutes walk and serves excellant food. Other good restaurants are Gasthof Lercher in Murau (located on the left as you leave the main road and drive towards the old town center). Also the Biertwirtshaus Moser near the ski slopes which is very friendly and serves excellant local beers and a fabulous mixed grill. If you like a Pizza then the Pizzeria Ristorante da Silvano is located just above St Lorenzen on the mountain road above and is very atmospheric or the Egidiwirt located on the main road (left side) as you past through Murau head east; both restaurants serve a superb Pizza.