“Head towards Sonnberg from Hollersbach, following the road and the signposts all the way – until you reach the queue.” Although it isn’t far along the narrow road, part of which winds through the woods up to the Sonnberg, once you reach the top you feel as though you’ve left everything behind. Get out of the car, take in the stunning view over the valley and towards the Hohe Tauern, and simply arrive.
“It’s well worth the trip,” say the guests at the Scharlernhof farm shop. “They usually take their first photo by the ‘Gartentür’l’, then they peek through the open hatch in the stable door, and when they step into the farm shop, you can clearly see the joy on their faces,” says Bettina Astl, the young farmer at the Scharlernhof.

Originally from Rettenbach, she used to work in the office of an energy company. She met Peter and moved in with him at his farm on the Hollersbacher Sonnberg. In 2014, they took over the farm from his parents. “I never thought I’d end up here, but now I can’t imagine any other life,” she smiles. HansPeter’s parents, Gretl and Peter, still lend a hand; they support the two young men wherever they can. They are all farmers through and through – they work together, and everyone pitches in.

Many guests visit the Scharlernhof, but so do locals. “We supply regional, home-made products that everyone should be able to afford.” For them, ‘regional’ means what is typical of the respective region. Depending on where certain raw materials are available, that is where they should be used. Take, for example, the products from the Hollersbach–Mittersill–Stuhlfelden region. In her view, the individual communities benefit from one another, as each place is unique and has its own qualities. Just like their products.