Wow. I can’t believe I can actually say that!

The clouds made way for the sun and the rain finally stopped so I seized my opportunity to do something with the rest of my day.

I decided I’d head for Gaisberg. The mountain you can see with the giant antenna in the background of Salzburg. I took this photo about 20 minutes in to the hike so you get an idea of its height. (It’s 1288 metres tall.)

I didn’t want to wait for the bus from Salzburg to where the hike starts. There is only one an hour and I didn’t want to waste any time! So I grabbed my phone and typed in Gaisberg. If you want to do the same, this will get you walking in the right direction and eventually you’ll reach this sign.

It’s then that the real hike starts. Even though I’d walked around 2km by this point!

I’m a keen hiker so I took the ‘difficult’ trail labelled Gaisberg – Spitze. I believe I did route 14 and changed to 15 towards the top but its hard to tell. Because I started right at the bottom of the mountain it was quite a lot more hiking than if you are to take the 400m+ headstart the bus gives you!

You’ll see some amazing houses on the route. Imagine waking up to this view everyday!

I carried on walking uphill until I reached the point where you can choose your trail. It will then become more of a walk in the woods which is so much fun!

I enjoyed being the only person around. It felt peaceful and the flags on the trees help you not to get lost!

I kept walking and came across very few people. I’d set off very late as the rain had dettered me earlier. So I picked up the pace to ensure I would reach the top before dark. As I got higher I began to be able to see more and more of the beautiful view. This is the moment I caught sight of a paraglider!

I carried on walking and the sun was setting. The clouds looked incredible! You can see the top of Untersberg in the background too. This is Salzburg’s tallest mountain.

Then I hit the top. It was quite literally breathtaking. I don’t know what I was expecting, perhaps not to be able to see much because of the bad weather? I was so wrong.

To begin with I walked in to an empty field and it was surreal. The temperature had dropped massively and there wasn’t a person in sight. I felt like I was alone in the clouds.

I then saw red.

And I don’t mean danger! I mean the most incredible sunset I’ve ever seen. So even after all that walking, I got so excited I ran towards it. I had around 5 minutes to enjoy the beautiful red sun before it went down! Wow. I am so lucky.

Does it get any more beautiful than this?

I was the only person in sight and I needed to capture myself in the moment. I tried to set my phone down to take pictures and whilst it’s not perfect I actually really like the way this photo turned out.

I am so glad I managed to time my hike so perfectly.

I wandered around the mountain top and actually managed to find a Vietnamese family that were taking photos. They took my picture so I have a beautiful memory captured now.

Not only that but they were kind enough to drive me to the bottom of the mountain and back to Salzburg! I was going to walk it but it would have taken me hours! It would have been so dark also. So bare this in mind if you plan to catch the sunset up there. There is no bus down, no easy walking route down and very minimal options. If you walk the road down its perhaps 14km back to Salzburg! Which is quite a trek if you’ve just hiked all the way up. I got incredibly lucky here.

What an amazing experience. I am so proud that I climbed my first mountain and it was in Salzburg. This place has been top of my bucket list for years and it hasn’t let me down with its beauty.