Blogs from Austria, Europe - page 4

Our last full day in Vienna. We have plans to do lots of things both ride related and leisure related. I doubt we'll get them all done. I'm fast out of the blocks, up early to have breakfast and work on the bike. It needed a good clean but I also needed to swap my front and back tyres around as the front tyre has a wider profile. I was done and dusted by 9:00am, a good start. Jeff had on his list to get some rim tape at a bike shop, patch a couple of tubes and rotate his front and rear tyres to even out the wear - none of which was done before we all left for the city about 10:30am. Tom, having just arrived had nothing to do on his bike. What ... read more

A couple of hours to the southeast of Innsbruck lies Hohe Tauern NP - the largest protected area in the Eastern Alps. Many of Austria's highest peaks rise amongst this mountainous wonderland, including the country's highest, the Grossglockner (3798m), and its fourth-highest, the Grossvenediger (3660m). Though I harbour no interest whatsoever in scaling any such ice-clad peaks, my passion for wandering amongst lofty mountains combined with my newfound love for staying in alpine huts had found a perfect outlet in the form of the Venediger Höhenweg: a 5-6 day hut-to-hut walk curving around the southeastern slopes of the mighty mountain. Unfortunately, though the weather forecast was predicting mostly sunny weather for the Saturday, Monday and Wednesday (my first, third and fifth days on the trail), the same could not be said for the Sunday and Tuesday ... read more

We strolled into the modern part of town for dinner last night. We found an outdoor restaurant that was packed. There was an Austrian band playing, with lots of brass instruments included, they really had the place engaged with everyone clapping along. As it was so busy we were seated at a bench table with 3 others who also happened to be cyclists. The pertinent information we found out from them was that August 15th is a public holiday and everything will be closed. This was significant because we planned on going past the supermarket on our way out of town in the the morning to pick up our days supplies. We scoffed down dinner and made it to the supermarket before it closed - disaster averted. Another short days ride so there's no rush in ... read more

We entered Austria during the night, after our German feast on board. The next morning was again gloomy and overcast and the inevitable rain. Our included tour was in the town of Melk. We were driven to the highest point, overlooking the river and the town, to Melk Abbey, a UNESCO Heritage site. After alighting from the bus we walked down 60 steps and through some beautiful gardens to the Abbey courtyard. This had been a Benedictine abbey for centuries. It now houses a museum and a school still run by religious staff. We were not permitted to take photos inside but could of the splendid buildings, beautifully restored. Where we were taken was mainly set up as a museum, starting with a room concerning St Benedict and the rules of his order. Our guide described ... read more

As has become the norm, let me flip back to yesterday. Dinner was at an Italian restaurant (pizza) and then, at Jeff's suggestion, we went back for another crack at the Go-Karts. I had tried to convince him for another round when we were there earlier in the day but it obviously took a bit of time for the "fun factor" to sink in for him and want some more. This time we were on the track with two others which makes for a bit more manoeuvring on the track. We both improved our lap times from the afternoon and it was just as much fun as the first time. Back at the hotel we made use of the sauna and as we returned to our rooms we heard fireworks outside being let off over the ... read more