A Mixed Bag

Location:Schutzhaus Hochkar
Website:http://schutzhaus-hochkar.at/
Address:Lassing 37, 3345 Göstling an der Ybbs
Status:Open (last checked on 21 July 2018)
Eaten:Brettljause, Mohr im Hemd, a beer, two ½ Most

Hochkar is one of those places that has been on my radar for quite a while. Too distant to visit as part of a one-day trip, it never looked exciting enough to warrant full-fledged holidays. After years of deliberation, I settled for a weekend trip – one full day and two nights, actually – and was wrong.

For all its touristic, ski-oriented nature, Hochkar is quite cool and the surroundings have more to offer than can fit in a single day. True, it’s hard to take a picture that would not have a ski lift present in it, but if you manage one, the result is impressive: there is a real feeling of being in the middle of Austria, with all the important mountains around you. Which is not correct, of course, since despite its closeness to Styria, Hochkar is still very much Mostviertel territory.

The Brettljause proves this by including something that I have only encountered in Mostviertel: cold Faschierte Braten (which my Google happily translates as “minced roast”). It was not the best part of the Jause, but it was something that has immediately pumped up its authenticity level.

At the end, however, the Brettljause ended up as a mixed bag. The two types of Speck, the Schweinsbraten and the Geselchtes were extremely authentic and tasty, while the cheese and the other meats looked so supermarket-y, I could have probably located them on a BILLA’s shelf with my eyes closed. One of the Specks unfortunately had a skin problem, meaning that the skin had to be cut off before sending the Speck into the mouth. The other Speck had some cartilage in it, but luckily not anything that my old teeth could not manage with little inconvenience.

The Schutzhaus was just one of the restaurants located around the lower cable car station of Hochkar, and I am quite sure that there are other Brettljause opportunities available there. The Jause of the Schutzhaus is not going to shake the world, but without being familiar with the alternatives, I think of it as a very reasonable option. Make sure you also try the “Mohr im Hemd” with ice cream; it’s really good.

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