St. Johann – Obervellach

Wow, today’s scenery was jaw dropping. I could have took 100 photos and not captured the beauty of the scenery. We saw and did so many things that it’s hard to remember all of it.

We started the day off with a cool and cloudy morning where we rode along the Salzach river a bit before turning up into the hill country. Green Bavarian hills dotted with cows, goats, sheep and small Bavarian farms. After going up and down a few hills we passed under another two via tunnels. One tunnel was 1.4 km long and was incredibly loud from the car traffic that was amplified in the tunnel. After passing through that area we rode through another wide green valley towards the multiple towns of Gastein.

As the sun started to burn through the clouds, we stopped for cappuccinos in the town of Hofgastein which appeared to be a ski and hiking village.

After getting a caffeine boost we pressed on towards the steep hills of Bad Gastein which is a resort town from yesteryear that is being revitalized. There are some impressive older hotels here that are/have been renovated.

We were thankful for the fabulous e-bikes today (the best ones of the trip) as they made easy work of the hills. Even the steepest ones were manageable. We were still huffing and puffing, but just minus the heart attack at the top. In the center of the town is a waterfall where we stopped to snap a pic.

We pressed on past the Bad Gastein hotels and into the impressive region above the town where we cycled along the beautiful stream that feeds the waterfall. Soon we reached our next stop for the day where we boarded a train to take us to the other side of the mountain. The train runs every hour and ferries both cars and passengers to the other side. The train ride lasted about 10 minutes which was nearly all in the tunnel through the mountains.

After unloading our bikes from the train we pedaled on to the top of a short hill before descending 8 km down hill. It was an impressive down hill ride that I wished I could have filmed. But since we shared the road with cars, and the down hill speed it was not practical. As we reached the bottom of the hill, we entered the town of Obervellach and quickly found our hotel. The hotel had a menu of the day meal planned and we opted for it. It was a delightful five course meal. Soup, Salad, Pork Loin Steak or Spinach Dumpling with Chocolate Moose for desert. I had the Pork Loin and Lori had the Spinach dumpling.

It was a whirlwind cycling day with so many picturesque moments to see as we cycled through the Bavarian Alps. We can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings.

I did my best to capture some of today’s highlights in pictures and video. Yet it still falls short because so much was missed as the day was filled with beauty that the camera just cannot convey.