Blogs from Ebensee, Upper Austria, Austria, Europe

The forecast was for a good day in the morning but not so sure about the afternoon, so the Langbath Lakes looked like a good option. It was a warm day with a very warm breeze blowing. The skies were clear and the lakes looked stunning with their mountain background. The Langbath lakes are 8 km from Ebensee and sit in an open basin. They are very popular with walkers, cyclists and bathers. We bought a picnic lunch of rolls, ham, bananas, Snickers bars, apples and a drink and set off around the lakes. The bottom lake is the larger and is a lovely acqua colour with clear water. It is surrounded by forest with wide walking paths. Despite it being Thursday there were still a lot of walkers, hikers and swimmers out and about enjoying ... read more

After getting thoroughly wet yesterday, today is a beautiful clear, sunny and warm day. What a contrast! Our fellow cyclists from Arizona have finished their cycling holiday and left this morning. They will be replaced by another 2 people who weare yet to meet, but it will be fleeting as we leave for Obertraun tomorrow. After yesterday's long distance we decided on something a little shorter today, but unfortunately all uphill for the first part (so much for easy). Since it was sunny and likely to be hot we decided to take the Seilbahn (Cable Car) up to the Feuerkogl in the morning, a peak at 1600m which was along our intended route. I gather the name Feure refers to fire or hell - not sure why. On arriving at the top and marvelling at the ... read more

After spending time Skyping my sister and getting all the Taranaki news, we set off for Gmunden which is down the other end of the Traunsee (Lake Traun). The weather was looking dicey so we loaded the pannier with our rain gear and lunches and a back pack for incidentals. It was also cold, much the same temps as we had been having at home before we left. On the way we passed the village of Traunkirchen which we visited 2 days ago and continued on the R2 bike path. It is a well marked biking path wide enough for 2 abreast on concrete or asphalt so it's pretty easy going. Close to Gmunden is a promontory covered with lovely trees and the building for Central Congress and the Land Castle Ort. Over a long wooden ... read more

Time to move on from Salzburg. It's another lovely day so we filled in the time until pickup by doing a circuit of the river and as we arrived back the driver taking us to Ebensee (Aybensee) had arrived. It was a hour and a half's journey in one very hot vehicle as the air conditioning only worked in the front. We thought that running the inside vehicle temperature at 35 would be a good practice for the Froudes going to Bangkok! However, despite the heat, the driver was friendly and informative. He eventually found the address at Ebensee and it seemed we wound our way through the whole town. On reflection, we did because we're at the back end from the lake. We're now settled into Gasthof Rosenhof which is a large modern guest house ... read more