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Day 1: Saturday, May 25, 2002
The overnight flight on US Airways to Munich went well, but the bike box was torn a lot at the bottom and the lowrider racks were bent. Probably my fault, as there was a lot of weight in the box, I think, with the front panniers, all the parts, etc. It took about one hour to get the bike unboxed and put together at least enough to roll down to the van transfer in the lower level. Putting the bike together when we arrive is always a challenge, not because it's difficult to do, but because I'm usually sleep deprived after the long flight.
Before leaving home I found a van service on the Internet ("4-Seasons Travel") to take us to our starting point in the town of Krimml, Austria. The three-hour ride cost 147 Euros, which didn't seem too bad given that we were the only customers in the van (it's not a normal route that the van company serves). The other option to get to Krimml requires between six to nine hours on trains, including transfers in Munich, Salzburg and Zell am See. Alternately, you could take a scheduled van service to Salzburg, and then the train from there to Zell am See and then onward to Krimml via the narrow-gauge Pinzgaubahn. We didn't fancy the idea of spending six hours on a train after eight hours on a plane. The van company normally provides shuttle service to and from Innsbruck and the surrounding ski areas, but was willing to deliver us to Krimml. They had a small desk in the airport's lower level, near the travel agencies and the S-Bahn station, where our driver was waiting for us. We managed to get the bike in the back of the Ford Transit van pretty much complete, only needing to remove the wheels. (Other options on getting to Krimml are also available.)
Although we were pretty sleepy, we enjoyed the scenic van ride south toward Innsbruck and then through Austria's famous ski region (Kitzbuehl, etc.). The weather was a bit overcast, and it began to rain when we got closer to Krimml. We checked into our pension, Haus Waltl, and got a nice apartment with a balcony overlooking the valley. Not bad for 44 Euros. (Note: I've stayed at Hause Waltl on three separate occasions and have always been pleased with their accomodations and services. The pension is run by a young woman who speaks some English and is very friendly.) We walked down toward the falls and had lunch at one of the tourist Wurst stands (2 small Frankfurters and Pommes/fries for 4 Euros).
Unfortunately, the normally tranquil setting was marred by dozens of loud, high-revving alcohol-fueled race cars lining up for a "rennen" (race) over the switchbacks of the toll road that parallels the waterfalls. Not very relaxing! We decided not to go up the falls trail, since we were tired and it was drizzling (and it was pretty noisy). So, we headed back to the pension. I put the bike together the rest of the way (about 1.5 hours, which is longer than usual because I was really tired and kept messing things up), and then we went out to dinner. We had a really good Cordon Bleu meal at Hotel Krimmlerfaelle for 11.50 Euros each, including a one-trip salad bar and dessert. Ginny had her first Radler beer of the trip and was happy. We retired early to bed, with rain lightly falling, and had a great night's sleep.