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Published: June 14th 2013
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Biking along the trail to Obertraun
Biking towards Obertraun at the end of the lake Hallstatt Today we had to leave our lovely hosts, Robert and Catherine. We had so much enjoyed staying with them, but we must move on and cover the rest of the trip.
The first leg was to bike back to Bad Ischl where we'd been a couple of days ago when it was raining. Today looked dicey too with a few spits but nothing major. We took an alternative route closer to Bad Ischl and guess what? We got off course again and had to backtrack to the right side of the river to get into town. We found the popular café known for it's cakes along the esplanade and ordered a couple of slices with coffee. Very nice. We had a walk through the central area and then figured we'd head across the river and up a hill for a walk where there were great views out over the town and view the mansion there. We crossed the river, got out our map to figure the best route and was asked by a man if he could help. He duly gave instructions to go back over the bridge on the town side, go 500m, turn left, keep going over the
Haus Hepi
Our excellent accommodation in Obertraun river and we'd be there. Yeh, right! We ended up back where we started. We couldn't go back as he was watching across the river and waving us on. I don't think Bad Ischl likes us at all. So, forget Bad Ischl and head to Obertraun.
The problem now was to find the bike path from where we were and there were no markers anywhere and we were in danger of getting onto the motorway again. We found a path that went under it and kept on, confirming with a lady that we were on the right route. Finally. After we headed away from the main road, the path was very nice, going alongside the river and through small towns, small lanes and rolling countryside. The floods had made a mess of one section of the path and the large stone chunks weren't easy to bike on. Once we met the lake we took the left hand side and continued on a lovely path with no traffic close by. Part way along we came across our first real rises and my legs couldn't get up the hills. After a week of biking each day it is time for some time-out. We had done some 45kms or so and to finish on hills wasn't kind. To add insult to injury, the Guest House we were going to was up a hill too.
Lake Hallstatt is most attractive with a road running along one side of the lake. It is one of the main tourist attractions in Austria so is very busy as we will no doubt find as we start to explore the area. Even though the area is mountainous, it is very different from Switzerland and New Zealand. This is a glacial terrain with narrow, steep sided valley's often with a lake in it. Switzerland has a high folded belt of mountains with the only commonality being access. New Zealand's lakes are just stunning - they sit in splendour in broad valleys unencumbered by roads, towns or people but without the easy access of many paths, cable ways and mass transport.
Our accommodation in Obertraun is with Larry and Lisa of Haus Hepi who are also gracious hosts - Larry is known for his culinary delights and has lived up to expectations. Their accommodation is much smaller that the Rosenhof, where we were most spoiled in terms of spaciousness.
In terms of biking, today showed that with even the best intentions it can soon catch up with you. A day off the bike will be excellent for the backside, the hands and the legs. I still prefer to walk than push a bike around but you can cover more ground on a bike.
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