Hotel Barenbachhof Saalbach

Stayed at a beautiful spot in Austria (Saalbach) with Hilly, Stu's old friend and new Father..actually felt sorry for him, the poor sod was knee deep in relatives, in laws, newly purchased crib and nappies, etc.....we stayed for afew days and it was neatly timed with the arrival home of new born Frankie. Hilly's place is 3 feet from a field of horses so Lauren was easily kept busy with feeding duties.

Stu tried ...

... the mountains and on his 50th birthday the Nazi gave him the Eagle's Nest as a present. It was a retreat for him and was built on the peak of one of the highest mountains. To get there we had to take a special bus up a one lane road straight up the side of the mountain. When we got to the top we walked through a tunnel that went straight into the side of the mountain for 124 meters (406 feet) then we came to a huge brass elevator ...

... shop at Eagle's Nest were Italian-made. Bleh! This is getting discouraging.) We walked down to the bus platform; then headed back to the tour office, switching buses again at the bunkers.

Another long, late day, not back at hotel for supper until 8. But we did manage to get the desired picture of the billboard we had seen in the other direction for Rumpfinger. Almost better than Barf-Buffet!

... of courtyards and buildings, and eventually a steep tunnel leading down to the courtyard below.

At 12:00 the Heldenorgel or Heroes' Organ pipes up and swells the courtyard below with its tunes.

I didn't see much to recommend more than a day's visit but we were glad to have stopped off here.

We wandered along the river back to the van to head off to Munich.

... of challenge and reward, leading ultimately right back to the farmhouse and that long-desired beer. There was a smell of burning coming from my rear brakes!

We packed ready for departure. Keith and Manu joined us for dinner, serving up a lovely home-made quiche followed by goulash made from one of the farm's own cows, and a home-baked apple-strudel. All great stuff.

... but it's steep and challenging in parts and has added challenges from the wandering cows. Further down it lapses into fire road then tarmac, and winds along the valley's Radwanderweg back to the lift station.

I did this three times then broke for lunch at a restaurant near the lift station where I had a rather salty burger. It was a poor choice as it was a bit too heavy for a ...

... views. We made it down to dinner just in time for the last servings, and celebrated by buying some local red wine recommended by the tour guides en route. Staff seemed very friendly too!

It was a bit dark to go out exploring so we took in the atmosphere from the balcony, drank our wine which they let us take upstairs and considered our plans for the next few days, the peace of the mountains slightly spoiled by the disco music from the triathlon!

... and an epic fortress it built with the proceeds. Most importantly, it acts as a hub for the dodgy el cheapo airlines (the one's calling Air China to buy charred wrecks just for parts, 'melted planes mean hot hot prices!') - and it was the prospect of flying to London for $15 that saw us drawn here. This blog will be somewhat short - not because of a lack of things to do nor the fact we only spent three days here - but because of price elasticity ...

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.

... give a concert in the old part of town, so we decided to take a walk over to listen. What a treat! The band came marching into the square to the applause of the town folk. These people here really enjoy themselves. It is a pleasure just to watch them. We sat by one of the many cafes in town (they are called konditorei) that features nothing but desserts, so we had some (had to…you know, when in Rome…). The people here do know how to live. The ...