A Tandem Tour of CZ and Austria

Krimml to Zell am See Austria (44 miles by bike)
Day 9: Sunday, May 30

We awoke to a perfect Alpine day and the nicest weather so far on the trip: warm sun, totally clear and sparkling blue skies, and snow-capped mountains. It was one of those days tailor-made for bike touring, where you can't wait to hit the road. We packed before breakfast and headed down to enjoy the buffet. There were a surprising number of people there, mostly bicyclists, but also some motorcyclists. There weren't any eggs on the buffet, and we didn't realize until the end that they were by request only. Oh well, we had plenty to eat with the usual assortment of Semmels, meats, cheeses, yogurt and cereal, etc. And, plenty of orange juice, which made me happy!

Krimml is the "official" starting point for the Tauernradweg (bike route) that runs along the Salzach and Inn rivers all the way to Passau, Germany, where the Inn River joins the Danube. We had previously ridden this route in 2002 and really enjoyed it, and were looking forward to retracing some of our route and adding on a new section from Zell am See to Salzburg.

After checking out of Haus Waltl I did a few adjustments to the bike, and then we loaded up to begin our hard-earned long downhill out of Krimml -- very nice! Ginny didn't complain about the speed too much as we made our way back down into the valley going over 40 mph even with our drum brake on (we were very happy to have it along!).

There weren't many bikers on the road yet, as I think most of the groups got a later start than we did. We stopped now and again for photos, but since we had just ridden the same route yesterday we mainly focused on enjoying the ride and getting back to Zell. We passed an open bakery in Mittersill (this was Sunday on a holiday weekend, when most everything is closed) and did a U-turn to go back and get a few treats for lunch (ride to eat!).

Coming into the town of Hollersbach we decided to stop at a trailside swimbad (swimming area) to use the toilets. Since it was a private area, we had to go through a cashier's booth on the way in. We said we just wanted to go to the cafe to get something to drink, so she let us in for free but made us leave the bike at the booth, which we didn't quite understand. We walked up the path to the cafe building and the bathrooms. This very nice setup has a small swimming lake with a zip-slide, playground, grassy "beach" area, and a small cafe with a patio. We bought two large "Magnum" ice cream bars and sat on the patio and relaxed for a while. Only after finishing our good, but nondescript ice cream bars, did we notice that we could have got orders of Palatschinken (crepe-like pancakes) with ice cream for about the same price. Well, next time!

We rode on a bit more and stopped at a gas station to get some cold drinks for lunch (we really like the local Austrian Radlberger brand of fruit sodas). Ginny visited the WC (the first rule of biking in Europe: never pass up an open and free toilet!) and came out with a funny look on her face. "You've got to see this," she said, and led me back into the bathroom where she pointed out the unique (to us) cleaning mechanism of the toilet. After it is flushed, an arm comes out of the wall, grabs the seat and spins it while applying a disinfectant, and then retracts into the wall. Modern technology! We could only imagine the scare it would put into a user if it malfunctioned and activated while a person was still sitting on the toilet.

After another five minutes or so we stopped to eat lunch at a nice bench right on the bank of the Salzach River, with cows and fields to our back and the river in front of us. A man and woman were busy in the field raking and harvesting hay. As we often do when riding "official" signed biked routes, we had bypassed the main route to seek out a quieter stretch that was scenic. Often the Tauern route will take you on side trips that require ascending hills just to keep you away from a little bit of traffic, which we don't mind so much. Coming out of Krimml, for example, it's much nicer to ride the road rather than the dirt path, as it's a great downhill with sweeping vistas and not much traffic (especially in the morning).

While eating lunch we noticed many paragliders soaring off the nearby peaks. At one point we counted over 20 in the sky at one time! Later in the day we would see large glider planes (probably from the airfield in Zell) soaring effortlessly on the mountain thermals. It certainly was a perfect day for any sort of soaring.

As we got closer to Kaprun and Zell we began to see many more day riders and lots of inline skaters (much of the path is well-paved and great for skating). We rode through a few herds of cows (literally: they were standing on the bike path!) and came out to the town of Kaprun. Out of tradition, rather than hunger, we stopped at a trailside "Imbiss" Wurst stand where I've eaten on two previous trips and got a "Bosna Wurst" for 3 euros. A "Bosna" is a thin, spicy sausage that's flash-grilled and garnished with sort of a Thousand-Island dressing and some spices (curry?). Anyway, it's good (and messy). Ginny took a few bites but wasn't terribly enamored of it.

After a brief respite enjoying the wurst, we headed on toward Zell where we decided to look for a private room with a balcony near the lake since it was such a nice day. We looked for "Zimmer Frei" signs, and rang a few bells, but nobody seemed to be home. At one place I rang the bell and was greeted after a short time by an older lady in a bathrobe who apologized for the delay and said she was "in the sauna." The only room she had was in the basement, so we passed on that. When I got back to where Ginny was waiting with the bike, she noted that she saw the woman get up from nude sunbathing on the terrace and come to answer the door. I was glad she put a bathrobe on! We rode around for another half hour or so looking for a place to stay, with no luck. Apparently most lodgings were full because of the horse show in the vicinity.

We decided to try the Zell am See Jugendherberge (hostel), since we had stayed there on a previous trip and knew it was nice. Unfortunately, the office didn't open until 4:00 p.m., an hour or so away. So, we sat on the outside lakefront terrace and napped and read while we waited for someone to show up and open the office. At 4:00 p.m. exactly the office opened (never doubt the punktlich Austrians!) and we found that they had a double room with private bath for 43 euros. We were happy that the top-floor room adjoined a very nice balcony with lake views! The room also had big windows opening directly to a lake view. The only downside was that it had bunk beds, but that wasn't that big of a deal (yes, I took the top bunk!).

We dragged the chairs from our room out on the balcony and read some more while enjoying the sun and beautiful weather. It really was a beautiful view from the balcony, with the lake on one side and snow-capped peaks surrounding everything.

After reading a bit we cleaned up, changed, and headed the mile or so into the main part of Zell am See in search of dinner. We ended up at an out-of-the-way small Greek/Italian restaurant (Restaurant Caesar). Ginny got a pizza (average), while I dined on tortellini (excellent).

We rode back to the hostel, where we enjoyed the lakefront terrace and the view a bit more, then went to bed early. There was a little bit of noise at night from what seemed to be a school reunion group (adults), but nothing that a set of earplugs wouldn't fix.

Daily costs 5/30 (euros): Lunch: 6; Zell am See Hostel: 43; Dinner: 19. Total: 68 euros/$84 USD.