AUSTRIA
There are seven lakes with pristine, drinking-quality water in the region of Klopeiner See-Südkärnten-Lavantal, the easternmost part of Carinthia. The bathing season starts in May, when the lakes become hubs for water activities: swimming, stand-up paddleboarding, canoeing, boating, and fishing. The holiday appeal of Klopeiner See (Lake Klopein) was first discovered by the Austrian upper classes in the late 1800s, and it's flanked by neat rows of old-school hotels with private beaches and jetties. Smaller Turnersee offers a more tranquil atmosphere, its wild shore dotted with a handful of family-run B&Bs and camping sites. Both lakes can be explored along the Carinthian Lake Loop, a 250-mile cycling route taking in sights like St Lawrence Church in the village of Stein im Jauntal.
Between the slopes of the Saualpe and Koralpe resorts, the Lavanttal is an official Slow Food Travel destination, prized for its freshwater fish, walnuts, buckwheat and apples. The latter are masterfully turned into ciders, wines, vinegars and schnapps. One Slow Food producer is Andreas Rittler, who smokes fish from his ponds over applewood from his 100-year-old orchard and serves it with oven-baked bread, horseradish cream and homemade cider. The hot-smoked trout and char are flavoured with fresh sage from his wife's herb garden. Astrid and Andreas offer rooms at their countryside estate, Gut Schloss Lichtengraben. The 16th-century castle was acquired by Andreas’s grandfather in the 19th century, and built using stones from an even older building, the 11th-century castle of Painburg.
Carinthia has a number of "Slow Trails," relaxed paths with stirring lake views, always under 10km miles long and never climbing more than 300m. These trails are easy to follow independently but there are also guides such as Anja Wagner who can introduce visitors to the trails. When not hiking, Anja works as a yoga instructor, demonstrating downward dogs and tree poses on the shores of the Klopeiner See and Turnersee. A new milles north of the lakes is Sicher, opened in 1972 by Alfons Sicher in an old sawmill. Now considered one of the top fish restaurants in Austria, it uses catch from its own ponds. The restaurant's signature dish is char caviar, Sicher gold, celebrated at numerous Michelin-starred restaurants in Europe. The roe is served in their own restaurant, too, in dishes such as tarlet with a sliver of trout and Arctic char, charlet parleur of caviar and wasabi.
There are a multitude of hiking trails in southern Carinthia, from the gentle walk up to the viewing platform over Klopeiner See on Kitzberg mountain, to the challenging hikes in the Karavank range, the highest of its eastern peaks. Petzen, a majestic mountain in the Slovenian border, has a cable car that whisks visitors up 5,500ft above sea level to the Panoramarestaurant Oben. From its terrace, there are spectacular views of the surrounding area, including the lakes stretching below. Often enjoyed with local beer, from here, hikers continue up to Petzen's summit. Three of the mountain bikers of the MTB Zone Bikepark Petzen, which opened in 2011, are following the twisting trails of one downhill mile-long Flow Country Trail, has countless turns and is prized by bikers around the world.
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