Visiting Schiederweiher in Hinterstoder, Austria

I landed back in Europe from my 5-week, 6-country Central America backpacking trip in mid-March and found a continent in full spring mode. I was exhausted from my adventure but eager to continue exploring. While big undertakings weren't quite on the cards, driving out to visit some gorgeous new Austrian lakes was very much the ideal way to spend my first weekend back at home.

→ Check out all my favourite lakes to visit across Austria and southern Germany!

Instagram often provides me with excellent inspiration for beautiful new lakes to visit across Austria and I dutifully pin them all to my Google Maps each time a new one pops across my screen, saving them for a future adventure day. One such lake was the Schiederweiher, an artificial lake in the heart of Upper Austria. It was built by Johann Schieder, the Imperial and Royal Court Architect of Austria, between 1897 and 1902.

In fact, the Schiederweiher is so pretty that it was awarded Austria's most beautiful lake in 2018!