Fremont, Calif.: Is daily public transportation available from Marie Alm or Hinderthal to Salzburg?

Robert Fisher: Yes, there is a combination of bus and rail that will get you there and back. The bus from Hinderthal-Marie Alm center runs about every hour between 6:30 and 6:17 to Saalfalden. From the Saalfelden train station you will take the regional train to the Sbg. Hbf. The entire trip will take about two and a half hours. Cost EUR 19 (2nd class).

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Irvine, Calif.: We are thinking of going to Austria for our honeymoon. Can you recommend a spot or two that would combine city charm with a relaxing wilderness component?

Robert Fisher: The Salzkammergut, playground of Emperors and Empresses, would be as romantic as it comes. Another that comes to mind is Bad Gastein, an elegant spa town nestled in a spectacular mountain setting, with all the amenities lovebirds might want. The town enjoys excellent train service from Salzburg and Vienna. But's let talk about Salzburg and its adjacent Lake District (Salzkammergut) region. Salzburg is pretty, often described as the "Rome of the North" with a skyline studded with Baroque church cupolas and towering over by the gigantic Fortress Hohensalzburg--a big, stout, Wagnerian affair that is fairly cold and scary. There are any number of sweet little restaurants and fancy hotels where you can sit in the lobby and watch the off-duty rich and famous go about. Palaces galore, including the charming gardens of the Schloss Hellbrunn (hellbrunn.at) a few miles outside of town--to get there you can take the most delightful bike ride in Salzburg, the Hellbrunner Allee from Freisaal to the palace, with the more adventuresome going farther on the Salzach cycle path north to the village of Obendorf, where "Silent Night" was composed. But for nature par excellence, head to the southeastern sector of the Lake District to find Gosau am Dachstein--an entire valley set with three lakes, incomparable hikes, and all backgrounded by the Dachstein massif, whose snowy mantle inspired Wagner's Parsifal and whose lush, verdant forests were the original setting for Bambi, which was a novel written by Felix Salten, an Austrian, and based around here, before Walt Disney bought the book to make it into his cartoon classic. Gosau is spread around three lakes, the Vorderer Gosausee, which is the crown jewel, some 5 miles south of the village itself--the lake perfectly mirrors the soaring mountain. You can also take a cable car up to the Gablonzer Hutte on the Zwieselalm (and ski on the Gosau glacier!), or tackle the three-hour hike up to the summit of the Grosser Donnerkogel. Back in the village, rest up at one of the charming Gasthofe inns. To get a peek at all the peaks, log on to gosau.at.

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Medford, Ore.: In late September, 2008, we will be spending two weeks in Kuchl south of Salzburg on an Untours vacation. I am interested to know what would be reasonable day trips by train (time-wise, not cost) and the best way to do a Danube Wachau river day trip, understanding that it would be best to stay overnight in Melk or Krems--which city for the overnight?

Robert Fisher: For daytrippers, the Salzkammergut is heaven: Traunkirchen, a storybook village with a church perched on a rock; Hallstatt, a Hansel-and-Gretel village on the shores of a "Swan Lake"; Gosau am Dachstein--perhaps the most beautiful spot in all Austria and an inspiration Richard Wagner; the Attersee lake area, where Klimt painted his greatest landscapes; and St. Gilgen, where Mozart's mother was born--this town is backgrounded by five extraordinarily shaped mountain peaks, the most spectacular backdrop I've ever seen in the Alps. As far as the overnight (Melk vs Krems) I would say Krems, since the choices of accomodations and gastronomy are greater (larger town) and it has a wonderful Old Town with lots of shopping opportunities. From Krems, time permitting, one can take the boat to Melk and back. The cruise company--Brandner Schifffahrt (brandner.at) even offers a "picnic" cruise, where they provide a boat ride to Melk Abbey, a picnic lunch, and bike rental. After touring the Abbey, you take the (mostly) flat bike path back to Krems.

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Torrance, Calif.: I will be in Austria Oct. 1 through Oct. 7, visiting Hallstatt and Vienna. I plan to take a river cruise down part of the Danube as well. What kind of weather can I expect and will I see fall foliage?

Robert Fisher: October can be, like fall most places, cool, rainy and changeable. It can also be crisp, clear and beautiful. Plan to have a good wind and waterproof jacket, sweater, and hat. The fall foliage is limited around much of Austria, since it is mostly evergreens. However, the views on a clear fall day can be spectacular!

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York, Maine: My husband and I will be in Austria in September. We are flying in and out of Vienna. For 7 days we are cycling with a group in the lakes area near Salzburg. We have an additional 7 days to tour on our own with a car. We have never been to Austria before. Do you have any "must-see" recommendations? Should we try to go to Innsbruck? Any suggestions for good and reasonable lodging in B&B's near Vienna and elsewhere. Any help is much appreciated.

Thank you,
Dave and Roni

Robert Fisher: Yes, of course Tirol and Vorarlberg, as far as the Bodensee would be great if you like the mountains. Since you are in Salzburg, you might want to decide to go East or West, but not both. East being Vienna and the Blue Danube tour, or West being Tirol, Vorarlberg, and maybe South Tirol down over the Italian border to the Gardasee (Lake Garda). Innsbruck and environs would make a great base for day trips throughout Tirol, V-berg and South Tirol!

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Damascus, Md.: Hello! My husband and I are planning a trip to Vienna in October. We'll have about 5 nights there and we're wondering what would be the top 3 sites that are must-see sites in Vienna? Also, what would be the best suggested day trip/tour outside of Vienna? Thanks so much.

Robert Fisher: In a city with as many richly stocked museums and marvels as Vienna, visitors risk seeing half of everything and all of nothing. One could easily spend two solid weeks exploring the many layers of this rich Sacher Torte of a city, but if time is limited, you'll need to plan carefully. A good question to ask is "Which Vienna?" If you're into music, you'll want to make sure the Mozarthaus (his residence in Vienna), the Musikverein (site of the famous New Year's Day concert), the Theatre an der Wien (where famed Lehar operettas premiered), the Haus der Musik (a great interactive museum) are all on your Santa Claus list. When it comes to art, the showstopper is the Kunsthistoriches Museum, which has the room devoted to Pieter Breughel the Elder's finest paintings, along with Vermeer's Artist in his Studio, and other eyeknockers; the Palais Lichtenstein, awash in gold, crystal, and wallpapered with massive Old Master paintings; and the Belvedere Palace, home to the most fabled Gustave Klimt painting in the world, The Kiss (sorry, you can't kiss your mate in front of it--I tried!). When it comes to pomp and circumstance, make for the Hofburg palace, whose Ritersaal--main Reading Room--of the court library is probably the most spectacular Baroque room in Austria (just next door is the Spanish Riding School, where the Lipizzaners minuet to Mozart). And don't forget to have some Kaffee und Kuchen at Demels--on the Graben, but only in the historic room (it has expanded to more modern salons), which is a wow. Last time I was there they even had a marzipan version of Durer's famous Hare. Vienna is a bottomless Christmas stocking, overflowing with goodies--so enjoy!

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New York City, N.Y.: Please tell me a little bit about biking along the Danube Valley. Thank you.

Robert Fisher: The "classic" trip is the Passau (Germany)--Vienna trip, which many travelers do as a combination Boat/Bike trip, alternating the boat trip with sections of the Danube River bike path. If just biking, this would take up to a week, so you would think this would only be for Lance Armstrongs, but the terrain is totally flat and the scenery sublime. The best web site for planning is upperaustria.at, but there is also a Danube Cycle Track brochure offered at the niederoesterreich.at web site. Also, donauradweg.com offers lots of bike info. Pedal Power, based in Vienna, has a whole guidebook, The Danube Bike Train, for 13 euros (pedalpower.at). You would simply need to take the train to Passau (right over the border in Germany) to start the trip. An alternative would be to take the train to Linz from Vienna, then boat to Krems (and Melk Abbey) and on to Vienna. Please see one of my answers above for more details about the two main companies offering Danube River cruises from Krems back to Vienna. The boats offered by Blue Danube Schifffahrt/DDSG leave the company's piers at Handelskai 265 every Sunday between May 11 and September 28 at 8:45 a.m. Departing from the Reichsbrucke (Vienna piers) on the city's Danube Canal, they arrive in Krems at 1:55 p.m, Durnstein at 2:30 p.m., returning from Durnstein at 4:30 p.m, Krems at 4:50 p.m. and get back to Vienna by 8:45 p.m. One way is 19.50 euros. Web: ddsg-blue-danube.at. Brandner Schifffahrt is another line (brandner.at). Of course, from Krems, one can continue on to Bratislava, the beautiful old capitol of Slovakia, and on to one of Europe's most beautiful cities, Budapest.

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Dallas, Tex.: Will be resident in Steyr, Austria as a Fulbright Scholar from February 2008 through August 2008. Would like to use this opportunity to serve as a base to travel throughout the continent (guest lecturing at universities as well as playing tourist. I have speaking invitations from Sweden, England, Latvia, and Spain) so will likely be traveling once a week. My wife will be traveling with me. I'll be located in Upper Austria in the middle of the country, our closest airport is 30 kilometers north in Linz (Ryan Air). Suggestions on best way to get around. We do have east-west rail service. Will worry about lodging later...right now am most interested in how best to get there.

Robert Fisher: You might need to be a train conductor to get to the bottom of this question! Happily, you are not that far, as you point out, from Linz, and the main east-west line from Vienna to Linz closely follows the Danube Valley south bank for much of its route, including Krems (lucky you, to be based there, and what a great profession you'll be enjoying this coming year!). Linz's airport has regular flights that connect with many of Europe's biggest cities. For the full scoop, you're going to want to deal with the OBB Osterreichisches Bundesbahn (05/1717) but I imagine if you get ahold of a helpful person at Krems's tourist board or some academic institution thereabouts, you'll get all the info you need. The train system in Austria is amazingly easy to use, and the web site now even features an English version.

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Houston, Tex.: My business travel will take me to several European cities in the next 3 months. Vienna is one of them. I will have the entire Sunday and the weekday evenings to enjoy the city. Unfortunately, I am temporarily handicapped with a broken leg. I can walk for about a city block but not much more. I would appreciate recommendations on how to best use the Sunday and the evenings to make a business trip fun.

Robert Fisher: With your injury, it will really pay off being at the center of things--and I'm talking the Ringstrasse area around the Opera House, and the nearby Museums Quartier (with the big new museum complex and the Kunsthistoriches Museum cheek by jowl) just a few blocks away. The Musikverein concert hall is here too. So I would base myself right around the Opera House area. Just a block north is the Hofburg palace complex, but those parking lots and marble hallways are endless, so you're going to have to draw the line. Within a few blocks are the great drama of the Naschmarkt food market and also the charming Spittelberg historic quarter, but you'll be dealing with crowds--so just stay put on the Ringstrasse and use its great trams to sightsee for free!

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Robert Fisher: Many thanks for your interest and questions. Happy travels, and may your trips to Austria be safe and fascinating journeys!

Best,
Robert Fisher

editor of Fodor's Vienna to Salzburg