hiking

Argentina.

Posted on by lisadnovak

January 2026

Thoughts.

Argentina was a dream trip that arrived like a Christmas present. Santa came in the form of my parents and brother who offered to spend time with the kids so David and I could go alone to celebrate all of the big milestones piling up this year and last.

Buenos Aires felt like a vibrant mash-up of places I love like Barcelona and Mexico City: big personality, lots of charm. Patagonia was vast and moody, with a constantly changing, eye-blinking beauty. The light was magnificent, the landscape almost hauntingly beautiful. It felt like almost the end of the world because it was. I have always wanted to be in this place and now I only want to go back.

In Buenos Aires, we stayed in the Palermo neighborhood but hopped on a bike tour to see the rest of the city (recommend!). In Patagonia, we focused our week in Los Glaciers National Park, setting up home bases in El Calafate, El Chalten and Estancia Cristina to hike, marvel, hike, eat, sleep, and marvel again. I’m so in love with this area of the world, we will definitely go back – next time to Chile to experience Torre Del Paines and check off the “W” hike.  

Stay.

  • Buenos Aires. We stayed in an unremarkable hotel in a fabulous neighborhood. Palermo was lively and full of fun. Next time we’ll stay at Be Jardín Escondido.
  • El Calafate. Kosten Aike. Backpacker / casual Euro ski lodge vibe right in the center of town. Good value, kind staff and hearty breakfast.
  • El Chaltén. Cabaña El Carpintero. Our favorite place on the trip, mostly because of Alex the host – the OG builder of tiny houses. We slept in his original creation and relaxed post hikes in the jewelbox garden with some wonderful Aussies. Best of all, we got to know Alex and learn about his experience helping to shape this relatively new hikers paradise of El Chalten.  
  • Los Glaciers National Park. Estancia Cristina Lodge. This gem was recommended to us and it was absolutely spectacular. One of the best places we’ve ever stayed – not so much for the ‘fancy’ but for the absolute remoteness, helpful staff and delicious food. Every minute we woke up we were in awe by our surroundings.

Eat.

  • Buenos Aires: My favorites: La Cabrera as an alternative to the famous Don Julio, Guerrín Pizza for the sake of being a tourist (although the rival pizza place across the street was totally empty) and La Choripanería for presiding over the center of the heaving scene at San Telmo Market.
  • El Calafate: Our New Year’s Eve spot was Casimiro Biguá, with pre-bevs at Patagonia Brewing.
  • El Chaltén: Post hike cold ones in charming La Cervecería, and La Tapera for a fabulous local and license plate ridden (just no Delaware!).

Play.

  • B.A. / San Telmo Market. People watching was even better than the shopping at the Sunday Market. Lots of street food options and lively music. It was touristy but great fun. 
  • B.A. / Tango at Café de los Angelitos. This was recommended by mi maestra de Espanol, Maricel. It felt authentic, local and had so many forms of tango I never knew existed.  
  • B.A. / Bike Tour. Highly recommended to see the city and know where you want to go back to. We found this one on Viator but there are many.
  • Patagonia: Trekking, trekking, trekking, all in Los Glaciers National Park.
    • Calafate / Perito Merino. Boardwalks make this the easiest glacier to get close to. It was mesmerizing and brought on such a feeling of hopelessness as it melts before your eyes. This still haunts me … this idea that I could come back in my lifetime
    • Chalten / Laguna de los Tres. This trek to the base of the Fitzroy is the iconic must do. We started at 6.30am and it was still crowded at the top. Some people we met set off as early as 2am because the light was near constant. Recommend starting at Rio Electrico vs in town for more variety.
    • Chalten / Laguna del Torre. Make it to at least to the lookout point. 2nd most iconic hike.
    • Estancia Cristina: A boat through Los Glaciares is required to get to the lodge. But what a ride it was! I saw my first iceberg!

Final Takeaway.

Do this trip, but only do it if you plan to get out into the wilderness. I loved Buenos Aires, but Patagonia is so rarified and otherworldly, I’d spend all of my time there to immerse in that place. We got incredibly lucky with the weather but even if it had rained it would have been worth it. It’s so rare to find that feeling of peace and untouched beauty.

Salzburg & Beyond.

Posted on by lisadnovak

July 2024

Thoughts.

I always wanted to go to Salzburg because of the Sound of Music. Even though Austrians don’t even know the movie. And as the only superfan in my house, I was afraid of the ridicule. 😉

But also, the nature. I can now vouch that the technicolor green rolling hills and mountains and iridescent turquoise lakes are exactly as I dreamed of.

We will find ourselves back in that part of the world one day. There was much to see, and it’s not overcrowded in that part of Europe. There’s no stress about dinner reservations, tickets selling out, or ridiculous heat. Still tourists, but also locals. For that reason, I liked the Lake Wolfgang and Leogang Valley areas more than Salzburg itself. We were there for just a few hours but that was the right amount of time. 

Stay. 

  • Hotel Peter / Lake Wolfgang. I found this place during my first travel planning experimentation with ChatGPT (!). It was the perfect spot on the perfect lake. Even the cloudy, cool weather didn’t dampen the beauty of the place or the kindness of the staff. The food was great too. We laughed how there were more vegetables to be had in our first 4 hours in Austria than in 9 months in Spain. 
  • NaturHotel Forsthofgut / Leogang. I can only credit finding this stunning hotel to a brilliant social media strategy. The place constantly showed up in our feeds and was promptly bookmarked on the “dream of staying” list. It was our splurge hotel but I’m not sure we’d go back. It was just as beautiful as the IG photos and the staff were incredible helping us with logistics. Maybe we’re just learning that the big-ish resort experience with a massive activities program doesn’t feel totally right for us. That said, with younger kids, I can see this being a great option. Milo and Nola will vouch for the water slide. 

Eat.

  • Almstadl Schwarzensee / Lake Wolfgang. This tiny spot off of Lake Schwarzensee has fondue, candlelight and Austrian folk music. So yes!   
  • Genussschmeid / Lake Wolfgang. A Spanish restaurant serving Mexican food in landlocked Austria. There’s a riddle in there somewhere. But the restaurant was fun and funky, and the food was good.

Play. 

  • Pro Travel Radverleigh / Lake Wolfgang. Traditional bike rental and the start of a super fun family ride despite my flat tire. We rode around ¾ of the lake and then took a ferry back from St. Gilgen. I recommend the ferry experience almost as much as eating Kaiserschmarrn and apple strudel in St Gilgen for lunch.   
  • See-Biker / Lake Wolfgang. E-bike rental. I am a bit of a purist, but my first real e-bike ride clarified why people love it. It allowed Milo and I to ride up a 17% grade and around Lake Schwarzensee. This wouldn’t have happened without the assist. Definitely a highlight. 
  • Original Sound of Music Tour / Salzburg. You already know I am a Sound of Music nerd. I love this movie, and I know every song. So to visit many of the film locations was so much fun, especially because the kids got really into it and the guide was great. And yes, you get to sing on the bus!  
  • Peter-Wiechenthaler Hutte / Leogang. Hiked up to the mountain refugio. It was the first major hike since David’s knee surgery, and we didn’t expect it to be so tough. Great views tho and next time we stay for a beer at the top. 
  • Senses Park / Leogang. Creative mountain park for families. Just taking the cable car up and seeing the view was enough for me, but the kids also loved the different sensory experiences using water, sand and art installations.