How to spend your rainy honeymoon in Austria

What we did on our rainy honeymoon.

Don’t let the sunny Hallstatt pics fool you — our honeymoon, much like our wedding day, was very wet. Four of the five days we were in Austria we had rain, ranging from the drizzling, depressing variety, to a full-scale, angry Zeus torrential downpour.  Day after day the heavy grey clouds gathered, cutting off those travel brochure-worthy views of the Alps, and making being outside either impossible or unpleasant.

Now, if the Salzkammergut region of Austria is known for one thing, it’s for its outdoorsy activities; hiking, biking, swimming, boating, and Alps-gazing are at the heart of why tourists flock to the region every summer. In general, rain on a holiday is like eating chicken nuggets without sweet and sour sauce — just wrong — but rain here? In a destination where nearly all of the major attractions involve being outside? Even more upsetting.

After a quick pout about the adverse weather conditions, we got to making lemons out of lemonade.  Ladies and gentlemen, I present “How to spend your rainy honeymoon in Austria”:

Visit a petting zoo (and have your heart melt)

A quick search of things to do in the area yielded this gem.  Gut Aiderbichl is a sanctuary for rescued animals on the outskirts of Salzburg. For an entry fee of 9 euros per person we got to stroke lambs, mules, horses, and a bunch of other cuddly creatures to our hearts’ content.

Tour the oldest salt mine in the world

Hallstatt’s salt mine takes you underground and to the heart of the region’s historic mining industry. The long guided tour of the mine’s tunnels and crevices are bookended by a funicular ride up the mountain and a rickety train ride through it. Bonus: due to the frigid temperatures in the mine (about 8 degrees celcius), I was given this very fashion forward green coverall to wear.

Go bowling and go karting

The family that plays together, stays together, right?! Liebling’s need for speed took us go-karting here on one day — I should mention that I watched from the sidelines as my skills behind the wheel are scary — and bowling here on another. Never a dull moment with us!

Swing by Mozart’s House 

Wolfgang Amadeus was from Salzburg and the house he was born in is now a museum open to the public.  We were too miserly to cough up the 10 euros to get into Mozarts Geburtshaus but took some nice pictures from the outside that made it look like we did. *wink*

Have some Sacher Cake at Cafe Sacher 

The long, rainy days gave us just the excuse we needed to stuff our faces with traditional Austrian fare. In Salzburg we found ourselves at the Cafe Sacher, where we indulged in Sacher-Torte, a dense chocolate cake topped with apricot jam and accompanied by a dollop of whipped cream. Invented in 1832 by Edward Sacher, Sacher-Torte is one of Austria’s premier culinary delights.  I wasn’t a huge fan of it but was still happy to have sampled a national confection.

Make a pit stop at Hangar-7

Perhaps one of  the most random things we did on our rainy honeymoon was seek refuge for a couple hours in Hangar-7, a museum-slash-exhibition centre of sorts that boasts a collection of antique airplanes, helicopters, and Formula 1 race cars.  Owned by the founder of Red Bull (yes, the drink) and located near Salzburg’s airport, this tourist stop is unconventional but interesting.

A rainy holiday may not be desirable, but it doesn’t have to spell disaster.  A little patience and some thinking outside the box can go a long way to make your vacation go from simply wet to wet and wonderful!

Have you ever gone on a trip that was essentially rained out?  How did  you cope?