Regarding Hallstatt... I didn't think the museum was going to be anything exciting but was pleasantly surprised to see items dating back to the 7-8th century BC! Well preserved due to the salt! And, have to admit, that I thought the Bone Chapel was pretty cool.

It was 26 years ago, but I remember Mauterndorff as a sweet little town with a lovely hotel/spa servicing Austrians. A castle down the way, built in the 500s as I recall. I remember taking a walk by myself and feeling like I had landed IN the Sound of Music. There were the Alps, covered in buttercups, and a gentleman with leiderhosen tending his flock. Magical and beautiful and unforgettable.

1500s. Typo. Hotel Elizabeth.

Tracy,Ann,Joan,arizonaa,Colleen and Annabelle...thank-you very much,now I need to map this out! Hopefully we won't have to dodge the rain like last summer....counting the days! Deladeb/FACS

St Wolfgang and St Gilgen in the Lake district near Salzburg. So charming.

Hopefully we won't have to dodge the rain like last summer..>>

don't know about dodging the rain - I learnt soooo many German words for flooded. I also hope that you don't suffer that way this year.

Gina - we were in St. Wolfgang during dire weather last June - it wasn't charming then, it was dead. in bad weather I'd opt for somewhere bigger.

The town of Melk is not really interesting , but the Abbey a " must see" and just a very short 5 minutes from the A-1 autobahn

www.stiftmelk.at

some other interseting places throughout <austria

not far from Vienna

Rust on the Neusiedlersee-

famous for wine , the lake and its storks that return each year to nest

www.rust.at

Rertz
about 1 hour northwest of Vienna - off the beaten tourist track - a fine old town square of fine architecture- underground a huge series of kellers to age wine

www.retz.at

www.retz-weinstadt.at


Kremsmunster

old Churches, castles , monastery

www.kremsmunster.at

Grein - on the Danube - beautiful views interesting castles and small museum.

www.grein.at

Alpbach- voted the most beautiful village in Austria-

fine old wooden architecture of tthe Tirol- beutiful flowers at most every house - great mountain views

www.alpbach.at

Ginzling

hidden in a narrow valley interesting way to it via a narrow one way tunnel

- best known to hikers and climbers- beautiful mountain scenery - lakes nearby - edge of the Zillertal Nature Park to insure beauty .

www.ginzling.at

Eisenstadt-east of Vienna maybe 70 miles, has a summer palace of the Esterhazy royalty, and the home and studio of Haydn, with the originals of some of his works, his piano, and an interesting 8-man music stand.

Gina, Molker, tomboy thank-you for the suggestions!

Without a doubt, go to Hainburg (an Donau). As the name suggests it is right on the Danube, and is absolutely lovely. It was a walled city, with the Wiener Tor and the Unger Tor still standing, very much a part of daily life. Many beautiful little coffee houses, bakeries etc etc. A great city for walking, lots of view points. My Mother's family lives there, no-one seems inclined to move and I can understand why.
A bit less than an hour from Vienna by commuter train, and a very short drive to Petronell/Carnuntum where you can see the Roman ruins and stand where the Christians stood awaiting their fate in the lion's den.

If you do end up in Tyrol, we stayed 5 years ago in an adorable small town called Stumm. It's in the Zillertal (valley) with lots of opportunities to hike, take cablcars up mountains, etc.

Besides this being a cute small town, we LOVED the place where we stayed and ate some of the best food (prepared by the husband chef) ever (anywhere!):
http://www.landgasthof-linde.at/en/index.html

Way back in 1992 (!!!), we drove through Austria following a book called "Exploring Rural Austria" by Gretel Beer. I'm sure it's out-of-print now, but it's a fantastic wandering through small towns of Austria....I highly recommend it (although the actual hotels mentioned are not going to be current). I have written in my copy of the book, loaned it out to others (and made sure I got it back) and don't plan to ever part with it.

Gute Reise!

Actually, I just doublechecked Amazon, and "Exploring Rural Austria" is still available, in case you are interested.

http://www.amazon.com/Exploring-Rura...537869&sr=1-10

Another vote for Retz (not Rertz). It also was the setting for an Austrian television series, "Julia - Eine ungewöhnliche Frau" aired from 1999 to about 2004 - the star was IMO like an Austrian Angela Lansbury and the show attracted the same kind of viewers who enjoyed Murder, She Wrote. Although it was a family drama rather than a cheesy murder mystery show. I think it's still shown in syndication on various German language channels.
You can see some of Retz in this clip of the show's opener:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oq7Hfc5K-sw
Pretty countryside, a nice place to rent a bike and cycle around.