Innradweg Day 7 to Bad Fussing

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It was great weather for biking today. Another Baby Bear day. It was a little cloudy and sunny all day. Because it's Saturday everyone of all ages seem to be out on bikes and I'd say 90% of those would be on ebikes. It almost seems to be a national pastime as people exercised, visited taverns, picnicked, went fishing or bird watched.

We pondered which side of the river to bike on and decided on the Austrian side so 4kms down the road from Kirchdorf we crossed the river to Braunau. Our trail took us up through the main square where the town was not unlike Wasserberg and Muhldorf in terms of buildings and colours. Soon we were back onto the bike path and cruising our way along the river and to Hagenau where there was a chateau and a castle. From hereon we cycled through lovely fields, through trees, along embankments and through many villages, some with useable castles and others with ruins. See pics. At a place called Mining there was a bill board showing the largest agate I've ever seen but I'm not sure it was for real though. Even though the location is known for agates, I couldn't find a picture of that one.

The whole stretch of the river today was a Nature Reserve with islands and channels across the wide river edged with wetlands. There are many ducks, swans, waders and the occasional crane. We've seen these before further back but in this area there is noticeably more wildlife. There are the inevitable crows and doves but not many small birds.

Eventually we reached Obernberg where we crossed over the river back into Germany. Here, we had to cycle 4 kms to find our accommodation in Bad Fussing. We thought we had followed the instructions but once again we were off course. We were supposed to be on Innbruckstrasse and not Inntalstrasse! We ended up in the centre of town and could not find our street. We called into a café for a coffee and encountered and very friendly Croatian waiter. He wanted to know all about NZ and to boast that his small country almost won the World Cup. He told us to go to the Information Centre where we found another helpful person. We were to be in Kirchham not Bad Fussing so back onto our bikes for another two and a half kms to a large Health Spa. It is a bit of a rabbit warren and there are no lifts to the 2nd floor so we have quite a way to haul the bags and get them upstairs. At least the room is large.

We have now reached 300kms and our backsides feel ready for a rest from a bike seat! So, just one day to go to Passau and we would have completed a 1000km stretch from Innsbruck to Budapest. Passau to Budapest we did two years ago.

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Photos

The chateau at Hagenau
This had a lovely setting of a lake and boats in front of the building

A ruined castle at Frauenstein
This part of the castle wasn't being used but the area above by the electricity dam was been used as a tavern and restaurant. It seems to be a favourite location for cyclists to come to for lunch.

A wide part of the river with islands and channels
This area is protected for wildlife. It shows that despite a large population all around, wilderness areas can still be found.