This handmade chalet in the Alps made me rethink the meaning of the house

German word comfort Genetics, comfort, and comfort – mainly means, but with additional hospitality. in EiroNew Lodge in Austrian Terol, The object that embodies this word in the best way is a pair of thick woolen socks with hands granted to each guest upon arrival. You are supposed to wear as you fall around the hostel. “Be at home,” General Manager Henning Shop and my husband shortly after our arrival.

What a house. Although the outward appearance of Iro is a classic classic chalet, the interior is beautifully modern. Everything is framed by warm wood, including huge windows and balconies in the nine guest rooms. Handy faucets, also made of wood, are similar to the branches of trees. The eggs in the form of the dining room, sculpted from the roots of the trees, are at the same time sculpting and comfortable.

Opened in August, Aero It is a work of love by three families who grew up together in the nearby town of Airlad. The name is derived from an old German word for pedigreed, Hint to respect Innkepers for the traditions of the region, the delicate ecosystem in the Alps, and its rewards. All materials used to build the hostel are obtained almost locally: the pine is harvested in a sustainable manner of the surrounding forests, classified from the sheep that is grazing in the pastures outside, from the near stone.

To protect this natural reserve, the local authorities prohibit the new developments – Iro’s construction was only possible because an abandoned hostel was standing on the site. The craftsmen dismantled it, and they saved the wood from the old structure to the roofs of the new ceilings.

This philosophy continues in the restaurant. Almost each element is obtained from a radius of 30 miles. I was told that the three exceptions are coffee, Coca -Cola and some wine (although most of them are Austrian). Instead of orange juice, offer us Apple or Quince. Many cheese are produced at home. Even the G & T is made with the local jinn, decorated with the selected red balls.

I requested a store tour, and the chefs are happy with happiness. On the bottom floor, the arranged shelves were more than 15,000 glass jars: jam, Pâté made of black pig meat from the Alps, many vinegar – white currant flavor, while others with resin or lavender. I monitored bottles called ginger syrup and thought I found another exception, because ginger usually grows in tropical atmosphere. One of the chefs smiled and said that the local farmer had discovered how it was growing, just for Iro. Another jar contained an arrogance, which comes from the Mediterranean plant; They were actually pickled the buds of the elderly.

This does not mean that cooking is limited to Austrian dishes. He accompanied the pork that I requested “XO sauce” with all the delicious depth of the cantonian origin, but UMAMI came from a bead detailed and smoked, instead of dried strokes. At another dinner, the star of a tasting list of seven dishes was a small onion in black beer and served with béchamel. She was violently innovative, very delicious.

I found the same interest in detail in the spa. My Masseuse, Andrea Memmersheim used an oil full of it St. John’s plant-street. John plant – she had lived itself. On another day, she took me on a picnic, gently slope, which, in the winter, becomes a skiing slope. When we got to a course that extends through our way, she invited me to stand in the water, close my eyes, inhale the ripe air, and listen to the probble. “This is nature,” she said. “Every day, it changes. Every day, how you walk through this water changes.”

That afternoon, I went to the craft room, where the guests are invited to paint, painting or wood carving. Shop had asked a local wooden worker, Christophe Gundolf, to be my teacher. Gundolf is famous for the brutal masks made by Krambusnacht, a festival that is held before St. Nicholas, when a demon called KRAMPUS appears to punish the wrong children.

My task was less fearful: to sculpt Edlawis, the national flower of Austria, from pine wood. Gundolf showed how to use a chisel to gently scrape pine fragments to form petals. I thought I looked well, but when I showed my hand my husband, he said: “Is this a fungus?”

We are thirsty for hikers, and we were hoping for adventure in the mountains. But the weather could not be predicted. Although it was in the early fall, the unexpected snowfall forced farmers to transfer their cows to low altitudes. Instead of green meadows, the hostel was surrounded by an egg apron. For two days, fog rolled quickly across the mountains, and the variable shades and light appeared like Ansel Adams to life.

The last morning, the sun has finally emerged, melting unreasonable snow. We have pulled long -distance walking shoes and wandered from Airo to the forest. An hour later, we appeared in a valley with a sparkling lake, Sebense, in its center. The air was calm, and the surface of the lake is still. Under the sun’s rays, it seemed as if the giant had dropped a mirror on the floor of the valley so that the mountains could consider its beauty.

After we went back to the hostel, I threw my shoes, grabbed my woolen socks, and I installed myself in front of the fire that was burning in the living room. Only one word comes to mind: comfort.

A copy of this story appeared for the first time in the May 2025 issue Travel + entertainment Under the title “Elements of elegance”