We were fully aware that we would be in serious need of recovery after our wedding. The weeks leading up to this very special event had been strenuous and even the day before it was after 8 pm when I ate for the first time since breakfast – because there simply hadn’t been time for it earlier.

5 days don’t equal a proper honeymoon

As we are not departing on our “real” honeymoon to Australia until August 2017 we still decided we should take a short trip somewhere to enjoy our first days (and nights) as newlyweds together.

It was pretty clear that the region of Salzkammergut would be an obvious choice and after some initial pleading Mr A gave in and booked us a room at Die Wasnerin, a beautiful spa hotel in Bad Aussee I had visited with my Mum before (and loved).

Die Wasnerin is one of those special places where you feel the weight dropping off your shoulders as soon as you enter the reception area. The staff there are particularly friendly and forthcoming without appearing artificial or obtrusive, the sauna area is spotlessly clean and always quiet, even when crowded and the view from the rooftop area is simply stunning.

Incidentally we had the same room I slept in when visiting with Mum – with the perfect view of the Dachstein glacier. What a sight to wake up to.

Mr hadn’t considered himself to be the spa-type so we’d brought our light hiking gear. We even did end up using it (twice) but turns out he does enjoy wearing a bathrobe and launging with a magazine in hand, getting massages and being disconnected from the world (unless he decides to post a photo on Instagram).

I simply love it when my days consist of getting up – having breakfast made for me – changing into my bathrobe – alternating between sauna, reading, sleeping, snacking and spa treatments – changing into clothes – having dinner made for me – sleeping.

Having mentioned food, the chef at Die Wasnerin knows how to vegan. In the morning there is a huge buffet with an amazing choice of breads, dips and spreads, mueslis, fruit, teas (along with cheeses and cold cuts). There were vegetables, freshly squeezed orange juice, a green smoothie, and even vegan cheese!

For dinner there were 4-course-meals with the vegetarian option being vegan and from day two our super-attentive waiter didn’t even ask what we wanted to order, only if we wanted to start right away. The dinners were all well-balanced in taste and looked almost too beautiful to eat.

For the hungry there was also an afternoon snack: a salad bar, a few kinds of muffins or cake, soup and bread rolls. When the soup wasn’t accidentally vegan they would bring me a steaming cup of vegan soup (I assume they have it frozen and heat it up upon request?) and once I even got a piece of vegan chocolate cake that definitely wasn’t on the menu. Like magic!

To make good use of the calories we ingested we donned our hiking boots (I premiered my brand-new vegan Lowa shoes) and set off for Sommersbergsee, a little lake only a short walk from the hotel. We found a little circuit which we completed, then sat on the shore. I had a quick dip but the water was so freezing cold that the encounter stayed rather brief.

On another day, we walked around Altausseer See, something we do pretty much every year at some point. For this walk I brought my wedding dress along and Mr A took a few photos along the lake.

Because we were enjoying our stay so much we jokingly calculated how long we would be able to stay at Die Wasnerin if we both quit our jobs and became full-time bloggers/ photographers. However, that was the end of the joke (not funny because we would be out of money AND jobs too soon) and we simply decided to return in the not-too-far away future.

We booked the PACKAGE plus an extra night which included accommodation with half-board (plus afternoon snack, sans beverages), use of the spa area (saunas, swimming pools, fitness room) and a little “surprise” on the room upon check-in.