Just finishing off from last night as we were treated to a bit of a local Austrian dancing from a group of adults and children who performed in the town square directly next to our hotel. The fellows dress of lederhausn was great and they did the knee, bum and feet slapping routine very skillfully. It was most entertaining.
We awoke to blue sky after another night of very heavy rain. Firstly we got awoken at about 5.00am by the very noisy bin man wheeling the metal bins over the gobble stones and after going back to sleep it was the melodic peeling bells from the belfry which Di would gladly have shot out with an AK47. She is sooo over church bells now!!!
Breakfast and then onto the bikes for a 40k day up to Lake Hallstattsee. We biked along the Edge of Lake Wolfgangsee and then headed inland for about 15k and then hooked a right at Bad Ischl for a further 25k. They really do do their town gardens on the lake edges beautifully.
The area we are heading to is very famous for the little town of Hallstatt. Many of you will not know the name but when we put the pictures up tomorrow, you will will definitely recognize it.
We are starting to see a lot more tourists now when we come into the towns and many of them appear to be Japanese. There has been a significant reduction in cyclists as we are getting into a very hilly region of Austria.
We just made it into the hotel before the heavens opened which was predicted. We are both rather disappointed where we are staying as it is very expensive but feels like a Youth Hostel. It is all because of the region we are in. We had one more night of accomodation we needed to book for Sunday night and thought we may stay up here but we are now put off by the place we are staying and apart from Hallstatt which will only take us a couple of hours there isn’t enough to do to warrant another day. The weather is not being particularly co-operative either.
Our options for dinner tonight would to say the least extremely limited. We walked about 1.5k down the Main Street of Obertraun and did not find anything open apart from the small food market and the local pizza joint. So pizza it was. Kind of a weird sort of place as it had a bowling alley in it.
Our plan tomorrow is to arise early and head up to the cable car if the weather obliges to go to the Dachstein. This area is a World Heritage Site. It is known for the panoramic views it gives you. The weather is forecast for clear skies and full sun from 9-11am – fingers crossed for us. We will then return to Obertraun where we are staying and bike the 4k to Hallstatt for the obligatory photos.
Rowkin Rovings Blog 