Bauer Saalbach

... hand at an ariel assault course....he came back a shell of his former self after 3 hours in the trees hanging from bits of wire and trying to keep up with 9 year old girls who were more agile than him..for my penance I had to play pitch and putt with Lauren using carved putters and wooden balls..no danger i'll be joining a golf tour anytime soon. 

Definitely worth a visit in winter for you keen boarders out there.

... cozy and German. Because it is surrounded by mountains we went for a long hike the first day. There is a lot to see in this area. Lots of little villages off the beaten path and the highlight is the Eagle's Nest.
Hitler spent a third of his time in Berchtesgaden. He had a small compound made here and it became the second seat of government next to Berlin. It was called the Bergoh and was his home. All the buildings were up ...

... through Berchtesgaden is an amazing colour, like blue-green-white. When you look into it, it is absolutely clear. Berchestgaden is a very pretty little town. After walking up and down a couple streets, we had a sandwich and some Cokes for lunch at a little deli. It was good to tide us over until supper but not too filling. With no further shopping prospects, we rested in our car until it was time to meet for ...

... down by the ankles to two vertical poles, then sawn in half down the middle. Right down the cleft. Thinking of all the roadside shrines and crosses I had seen in the Tirol, my mind strayed to wonder how the religious imagery of Christian Europe might be rather different had the Romans favoured this method of execution instead of crucifixion!

Behind the tower is a ...

... legs began to whimper and ask whether it wasn't time to gently ride back to base for a nice, cold beer. However, they quickly came to their senses and marshalled themselves for the coming onslaught: a long, hard fire road climb up 9 long switchbacks. Bigger than anything in South East England, for sure. The reward was worth it: a long singletrack descent with lots to offer in ...

... a little drop into a berm and I managed to confuse myself into doing something stupid and taking a brief trailside lie down. This is a trail with big, steep, fast, bermed sections and is fun to ride in sections and a bit scary in others, particularly on a 4" lightweight XC racing bike. Down at the bottom it goes a bit 4x and you can walk back up and practice this section, which is good, fast ...

... the hotel wouldn't be able to give us a lift into town. Okay, we thought, but would we be able to book the glacier trip? I resolved there and then to find our own way into town. How hard could it be?

Anyway, they taxied us out to our hotel after dropping the Kitzbuehel contingent as our hotel was out by the lake. First impressions - very beautiful setting and they gave us a room with an enormous balcony - even though we hadn't paid extra for ...

... Luckily I left that route and headed off higher into the mountains along the Jaufenpass and then the Timmelsjoch pass. The road was packed with motorbikes in both directions and riding was great. It was such a thrill to be doing three amazing passes in one day with unbelievable scenery all the way. I ended up riding for nearly five hours although it was only about 200 kilometres. I didn't notice the time passing, or my muscles aching or my ...

August 26-Monday
We left Kitzbuhel at 8:30. There was a brief stop in Berchtesgarden, in Germany, at 10:00. Up on the side of the mountain, we could see Hitler's Eagle’s Nest. It was rather chilling to see that part of history. The bunker is now a restaurant. Our rest stop overlooked a valley filled with wonderful homes. What a view! Back on the bus and on to Salzburg. Time 10:35.

... paintings, the artwork are incredible! On our approach to the church, along one side, was a small cemetery with decorated graves (just like the one in the Sound of Music). When we turned the corner and saw more graves winding around the church and up the hills, it was absolutely awesome. Graveyards here in Europe (at least judging by this one) are very different from those in the USA. Since there is much less space to devote to the dead, each family has a ...