The weather this autumn was just incredible! Warm and almost no rain. That’s why we decided to go on another weekend trip. This time to Aktiv & Genuss Hotel Sonnenburg in the Kleinwalsertal to do some hiking and mountain biking. The Kleinwalsertal is part of Vorarlberg and Austria but cannot be reached from any other Austrian region by car without going through Germany. Rather funny we think!
The Aktiv & Genuss Hotel Sonnenburg is a small, very nice Hotel in Riezlern. We like the modern design of the design immediately and felt comfortable right away. The focus of the hotel are clearly activities. Owner Heike has always good advices for a hiking or you rent the hotels own e-mountain bikes. But also the time after the activities can be well spend at the hotel. For example, you can relax in the nice wellness and sauna area.
Hiking around the Widderstein
Saturday morning, we decided to go hiking. After a delicious breakfast, we took the bus to Bödmen. You can use all the busses in the Kleinwalsertal for free if you stay in a hotel. As the busses are going very regularly, it is super convenient.
The hike around the Widderstein starts with a rather moderate ascent until it gets a little steeper. During the hike you have the possibility to make stops at several cottages for something to drink or eat before continuing your way up hill. The highest point of the hike is just before the Widdersteinhütte at 2015 m. The ascent to this point is around 865 meters. At the Widdersteinhütte you can either choose to continue around the Widderstein or to hike on top of the WIdderstein. According to the signs it will take about 2 hours to the top. Sadly, we were too late for the ascent. But maybe another time. From the Widdersteinhütte you continue downhill for almost all the way to Baad. From there, you can take the bus back to Riezlern.
The most beautilful part of the hike was the area around the Widdersteinhütte from where you have an amazing view on the surrounding mountains of the Lechtaler Alps, where you can also find great hiking trails or skiing areas. If you still have the time and the energy you can take a small detour to the Hochalpsee, which lies directly at the foot of the WIdderstein.
After about 6 hours, we arrived at the bus station in Baad. We have to say that we took a lot of photo stops along the way. So, if you don’t, you can manage the hike faster.
Back at the hotel, we made our way directly to the wellness area where we relaxed and spend some time in the sauna.
Mountain bike tour through the forests of the Kleinwalsertal
Sunday morning, we rented e-mountain bikes from the hotel and went for a ride through the forests of the Kleinwalsertal. It was the first time for us riding e-bikes. In the beginning you had to get used to it, but you catch it up rather quickly. In the end, you have to force yourself not to use the turbo mode all the time. The nice thing about the e-mountain bikes is that you have a quite big radius, which allows you to discover quite a lot of the Kleinwalsertal. Another thing that we like a lot is that you can start the ride right at the hotel. Another nice thing to do with the e-mountain bike would be Bike&Hike, but we saved that for the next time.
What is really nice about the Kleinwalsertal is that it is rather small, which allows you to visit quite a lot in one weekend and don’t leaves you with the feeling that you have missed out on much – that is why it is really worth going there!
