Hotel St. Florian Kaprun

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 ...

... s Nest a couple of times because he was afraid of heights.
Our last day in Berchtesgaden was beautiful so we went to the nearby lake Konigssee. It is a little too touristy for us but good to see. We hiked up part of the mountain and looked back down on the lake. They have lots of boat rides on the lake but all our electric boats so it was very quite and peaceful.
Overall we really enjoyed being in the mountains and ...

... 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 ...

... all of it but enjoyed what I could.

We lunched on snack bars and fruit after another big climb then did more challenging singletrack descents. I get a bit of vertigo on some of the trails where there's a steep drop to the side.

I was now on my 6th day of riding and when Keith asked whether I was up to another big climb to sample yet more singletrack descending ...

... 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 ...

... technical singletrack which was much more of a challenge for me and I had to work on shifting my balance on the bike, keeping the weight much further back, and trying to take a more balanced approach to braking, as I was heavily favouring the back brake (to such an extent that the rear tyre showed significantly more wear at the end of the week). Mountaintop lunch was a "Strammel Max" (ham, eggs ...

... 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!

On our second day full day in Austria, we drove a short distance south to the district of Kaprun, and the ski area of Kitzsteinhorn. Even though it was only late September, the main ski lifts were in operation and there were a handfull of skiers and snowboarders hitting the slopes. Although we weren't there to ski, we took the lifts as high as they would go, which turned out ...

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.

August 24, Saturday
We arrived in Kitzbuhel, at 1:30 pm. We were advised not to take a nap because it would delay our adjustment to the time difference. We are staying at the Hotel Jagerwirt, a very quaint hotel. There is a small balcony off our room and the view is spectacular! We are sitting in a valley surrounded by the Alps…awesome! To help stay awake, we took a walk, the first of many, into town. It all seemed like a dream. I couldn't believe ...