We were looking for a nice-sized place to take the extended family for a ten day summer trip. The location of the house is perfect. 12 minutes from the center of Salzburg up the Gaisberg (the lush green hill to the east of Salzburg). The view is a picture-perfect postcard look down at Salzburg and the Untersberg mountain beyond, and endless snow-capped alpine peaks into the distance to your left.

The house has several good bedrooms, and a couch in the billiard room that our nephew slept on. And wifi, good bathrooms, everything you need.

There is a crystal clear pool and great pool patio area where you can relax, have a glass of wine, and watch the sun set over Salzburg. We spent almost every evening here.

The house is fully up-to-date and yet it feels like an old fashioned alpine lodge.

While we were there the housekeeper Sylvana and her daughter kept everything absolutely perfect, and they are among the nicest people you will ever meet.

We tend to like a European vacation with two things:

- A close-by city with lots of history, walking tours, shopping, dining -- which Salzburg has in abundance.

- And... an amazing house to go home to in the afternoon, when we're sick of all these things.

Just off the property are lots of trails through the forest of the Gaisberg that you can spend hours strolling through.

For a family vacation in Salzburg, you could not do better. Absolutely loved it and will go back again.

Added bonus: Gaisberg is the hill that all the Paragliders sail down from, so you can watch them float by all day long. (Or join them, like we did. Not to be missed.)