Hotel Pichlmayrgut Schladming

... the women then the men to follow. Got to the bottom of the track just in time for the final few riders. Sam Hill won for Australia by 3 seconds with Fairclough of Great Britain in 5th. Great day. The riders partied through the night so we put our ear plugs in and got some sleep ready to move on to Salzburg the next day.<br><br>Here's some pics before the camera broke....<br><br>

Early start had us at Verona station for 8.30am and we were soon on the train heading for Innsbruck, Austria. After Clare scoffing a chocolate custard doughnut in record time we boarded our connecting train in Innsbruck to Scladming, finally arriving at 6pm. Clare was sweating at the thought of a similar room to Verona, so it was an anxious walk up the stairs to ...

... the top of the mountain are also a bit on the narrow side. A large section was also a bit scary because there was construction work being done that closed one lane so there was only one skinny shared lane remaining, and at times I wondered how a car any bigger than ours could squeeze along. We figured there must be another way to the top that our GPS failed to use because there were some large ...

... coffee. Austrians know how to make coffee, that is for sure. After yesterday I had to tell her I would just be having tea from then on. I was bouncing off the walls and my heart was racing for hours afterwords. It reminded me of Starbucks Christmas Blend. If you've ever had that, you know what I'm talking about - WAY too much caffeine! But regardless of the racing heart, we still relaxed on our balcony that morning. We also discovered Bad Ischl that day. We hiked up ...

... funicular compared to the others I&#8217;d been on. It was very steep and long. And the views from the top were worth it, even though it was still cloudy and I couldn&#8217;t see the tops of the mountains. Instead of taking the funicular back down, I decided to walk down through the woods. It was nice, but I had to go really slowly because it was steep and I had my big backpack on.<br><br>When I got back to town I was hungry and decided to ...

... on, and it was the track directly opposite where I got off. Except that the display board for that track was displaying a destination of Vienna, and I think it said something underneath about it being 10 minutes late (in German, of course). A few minutes later I heard an announcement in German and all I could understand was &#8220;regional express.&#8221; I knew that was probably referring to my train, and I assumed they were announcing a track change for the ...

... as when<br>the sunset it got instantly cold....hmm this wasnt in the emma and<br>kathleen brochure! Tuesday morning we got up and went for a walk - well<br>mini hike really. I looked totally out of place... everyone had their<br>hiking boots and poles etc... then here I come, shorts and cardi,<br>converse sneakers and long pink ...

... and then hit the road for areas less populated. Destination: Hallstatt in the salzkammergut area of Austria.<br><br>An hour and a half out of Salzburg, the little village of Hallstatt sits perched on the edge of a lake. It is built on a hill, has really only one street suitable for cars, and is in a gorgeous mountainous setting. The camping is half a kilometer out of town, and across the road from the main city park with swimming area in the lake. Wahoo ...

... Once I made it out to the Autobahn though, the driving became significantly less complicated. That little Audi can move, I only wish I could drive at those speeds back in Canada. The highway portion of the 300kms drive went smoothly. Lots of tunnels and scenic mountain views. My first problem occurred when I reached a town called Schladming. It just seemed like I had been driving for too long since my last turn and the map told me ...

Salzburg is beautiful. It evokes strong emotions, most of which involve wanting to break out into song while strolling through its charming cobbled streets. Paul couldn't help but to sing a few bars of Edelweiss while Mel twirled along behind him. The hills are alive with the sound of music (the famous movie was filmed here). The hills are also alive with tourists ...