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Published: September 2nd 2018
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It wasn't a good start to our biking tour with cold, dull weather. Yes, it's plummeted from 30 degrees a couple of weeks ago to 12 degrees. If that wasn't enough we had a head wind (shades of the Danube). But, we have the gear and it was all on for a couple of hours.
The Inn River Cycling Trail (the Innradweg) is in superb condition and is well signposted all the way starting at St Moritz in Switzerland. The Inn River is running fast and is full of silt at present from all the recent rain up high in the mountains. The cloud stayed up high and we didn't get any rain all day. Also, as the day went on it warmed up so that by the time we reached Wattens the sun was out. So much for the forecasted thunderstorms. Wattens is where the Swarovski Crystal World is. We've visited the Swarovski shop in Innsbruck before which is wonderful but this was something different and a major attraction. It is set on the edge of town in a rural area with a massive area for parking so it must be very popular. Our ticket took us into an
The Taj Mahal in crystal
One of the many structures in crystal at Swarovski World underground wonderland of various themes and displays using crystals to decorate or confuse the mind with shapes and relecting prisms. It's difficult to explain but suffice it to say that it was a glittering time. It would be easy to buy crystal jewellery and pass it off as diamonds but of course everyone would know you couldn't possibly afford it.
After the inside gallery visits we then went outdoors to the pond, clouds and water displays. The pond area is hung with netting and crystals to look like glittering clouds. Fountains in the pond shoot up into a variety of water displays, fire and mist. It was excellent. Finally, after a snack of a hotdog we were back onto our bikes and heading on towards our destination. From hereon we were into a head wind. The trail is mostly alongside the river, through cropping fields, past villages and the odd chateau or monastery.
Our bikes are heavy but quiet with good gearing. Linds has the saddle bags and map container while I cycle Scot free. I have a sore back which wont go away so it's being nursed along a little. We are taking our time, having many
We are reflected in one face of a prism
We are inside a domed prism where each face reflects all the other faces. Quite stunning. stops and just enjoying the scenery and ride. It is a pretty valley and at this point I'd say it's more attractive than the Danube ride we did a couple of years back. The only complaint I have (apart from a sore back) is a sore bum while I adjust to a different bike and seat. Our ride today was 45kms.
Our hotel at Strass am Zillertal is a 200 year old traditional, owner run hotel. It is beautifully decorated in Austrian/German/Swiss fashion. Zillertal is at the bottom end of the Ziller Valley which is quite lovely and would be a great area to return to for biking or hiking. A train runs to the end of the valley to connect with a number of chair lifts for skiing or hiking higher in the mountains. We had a walk around the village and returned for a well earned Weiss bier and dinner at the hotel.
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Rob H
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Hotdogs!!
Ennjoying the blog but..... hotdogs for two clean living, fit-as, old persons who look after their health?? Hope they were nutritious abd tasty. Apart from that it looks like a really fun thing to do (minus sore backs) and very scenic. Take it easy and continue to have a great time.