Austrian Chalet - Kreischberg

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.

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.

Summer Activities
Hiking
From the high-alpine areas and gentle ridges to family hiking this region offers a varied terrain for all abilities of hikers and walkers. You can enjoy gorgeous mountain scenery, alpine pastures and clear mountain lakes, along with many fantastic natural monuments and cultural attractions. Along your route you can sample well-known Austrian hospitality at rustic cabins catering to hungry hikers, serving their own produce.

This region of stunning scenery, with both the 'Nockeberge Nationalpark' and the 'Grebenzen Nature Park' nearby, offers umpteen hiking trails of all levels of difficulty at altitudes of between 800 and 2,700m. The natural diversity of the eleven large hiking regions and the many additional activity themes such as culture, wood, health, esoterics or adventure make hiking in Murtal a delightful experience. At the chalet you will find brochures (in English & German) showing you some of the numerous walks, approximate timings, which are graded from 1 star (Family Hiking Routes) to 5 star (Nordic Walking Routes) and everything in between. The local tourist offices (see folder in chalet) sells a detailed map for hikers. See the website links below that you plan your holiday.

Cycling
An abundance of cycling routes, unspoilt nature and lovely scenic spots are waiting to be discovered in the cycling paradise of Murtal.

Some will delight in a leisurely biking tour along the river Mur, others seek the challenge of uphill runs, aiming for alpine huts and remote mountain lakes. Again in the chalet and on the Murtal website below (click on active summer - cycling) you will find the 'radtouren' giving you detailed information about different routes. There is also a tourist office in both Kreischberg and Murau where you can obtain maps.

Fishing, Horseriding & Summer Fun
Fishing: Just a few minutes away from the chalet at Kreischberg, the Mur river offers varied fishing, free flowing and reservoir, from 1 May to end of October for greyling and river and rainbow trout - see www.murau-kreischberg.at . There are various other locations on the river Mur and at numerous ponds and lakes in the region, covering fly, lure and course fishing methods for a large variety of fish - from char to sturgeon. Again look at the Murtal website below and click on 'active summer'.

Horseriding: Horse riding fans are also well catered for, with trail riding, trekking, carriage rides, dressage and lunge and tuition also available.

Golf: This is a short walk away at http://www.golf-murau-kreischberg.at , the Murau Kreischberg Golf Club offers an 18 hole course, set amongst the beautiful mountain scenery. 

Sightseeing: Details of many more attractions, such as the Styrian Wood Route, the Crystal Museum at Turracher Hoehe, the Brewery Museum in Murau, steam train rides on the Murtalbahn which runs from Judenburg, through Murau to Tamsweg and back again, are open from the end of June to the beginning of September. The Grebenzen and Nockeberge National Parks, and numerous ‘trails’ and museums, can be found in the websites below – the www.murtal.at site in particular has a number of brochures that can be downloaded using Adobe Acrobat reader. The nearby historical town of Murau is also well worth a visit. You will also find brochures in the chalet itself.

Summer Fun: You can enjoy white water rafting, catering for all abilities along the River Mur, summer toboggan runs locally in Turrachher Hohe and Grebenzen and many other activities. For more details see www.st-georgen.murau.at and www.murtal.at . The nearby town of St. Lorenzen has a leisure complex with a heated outdoor swimming pool. Nearby in Maurau there is a heated indoor swimming pool with tubes.

http://www.murtal.at   is an excellent website in several languages and give you full details of all the local summer activities.