TravelStream™ news feed for member kremser on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/kremser en-us Copyright ©2010 TravelPod.com Sun, 07 Sep 2008 16:49:44 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kremser/3/1219777200/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kremser/3/1219777200/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kremser/3/1219777200/tpod.html Sun, 07 Sep 2008 16:49:44 -0400 Part 3 of our MTB Trip to Santiago di Compostella, this time from Tirol (Austria) to Lugano (Switzerland)

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Lugano, Swiss Alps, Switzerland

Our final day of travel started off with a late breakfast, some additional sleep and me going for a swim across the Gravedona bay at round 11'clock. Starting at midday, we set off south to Menaggio, sometimes following the old and sometimes the new road that went to Como. At Menaggio, we had to take our last pass up to Grona, which we managed within 30min. Then the road took us west to the Lugano Lake. Shorty before Lugano, we had to climb up the mountain again (unsuspected, we were already thinking about a cold beer) before reaching Lugano (sort of little Geneva). Since we didn't want to take chances, we had to ride to the train station (yes, again up the hill) and then went back down to the city to our Hotel, Walter au Lac. Avoid this dated hotel that should have two but not four stars!!!! But the Italian restaurant right next to it has probably the best food and bargain prices in Lugano.

Summary: 50km, 800m climb, 3h15 ride: Gravedona-Menaggio-Lugano
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kremser/3/1219701600/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kremser/3/1219701600/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kremser/3/1219701600/tpod.html Sun, 07 Sep 2008 16:41:28 -0400 Part 3 of our MTB Trip to Santiago di Compostella, this time from Tirol (Austria) to Lugano (Switzerland)

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Gravedona, Lombardy, Italy

Since we made into Switzerland faster then initially scheduled, a discussion broke out whether we should stop in St. Moritz like planned or continue our ride down to Italy. Because of the great weather we choose the latter and as we knew this was going to be a long day, set off early (as always). The initial ride towards St. Moritz along Road 3 was marked by a steady up and down in a beautiful Alpine setting, with no steep ramps to climb (we already had enough the day before). Therefore, we reached St. Moritz within 2 hours. While dad was having coffee and cake, I took the time for a swim in the St. Moritz Lake (pretty lonely, considering the cold lake temperature). After getting some applause for my fast swimming time across the lake and back, we set off to Silvaplana and reached its lake under 30min. What a breathtaking site, beautiful weather, and because of the great wind sailors and windsurfers were crowding the lake. When we hit the Malojapass, we could see the long valley coming up from Italy right up to the pass and rejoiced to finally get to Italy within our "camino"! The ride downhill to the valley of Chiavenna took us a whole hour! From there we went on to Mese and St. Vittore where we took the bike trail to Lago di Mezzola. As the bike trail stopped, we needed to take the (busy) road on the western side of the Lake Como. Bella Italia: summer, sun, water, and beautiful little villages with old architecture were to be seen everywhere. We made it to Gravedona after the longest trip of our journey, with some sitting pains and reduced strength but in high spirit!

Summary: 116km, 850m, 6h16 ride: Zernez-St. Moritz-Chiavenna-Gravedona
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kremser/3/1219611600/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kremser/3/1219611600/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kremser/3/1219611600/tpod.html Sun, 07 Sep 2008 16:28:18 -0400 Part 3 of our MTB Trip to Santiago di Compostella, this time from Tirol (Austria) to Lugano (Switzerland)

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Zernez, Swiss Alps, Switzerland

At the fourth day of our trip, we were already ahead of our initial schedule and really looking to ride in on of the most beautiful parts of Europe: Southeast Switzerland. We left on a beautiful summer morning from Ried and followed the Inn bike trail all the way to the Swiss border (look it up at tirolwest.at/innradweg/). After crossing the border on the Road 27, we followed the bike trail right up from the border, first along the road, then crossing the Inn River at Chaflur. At this point, we made the mistake to believe that a bike trail in Austria and Germany means the same in Switzerland.... We were wrong; the trail took us high up before bringing us back down along the river, travelling through mud and over tree stumps crossing the trail. Even tough we eventually made it to Scuol unharmed, we had lost a lot of energy for actually a short travelling distance, THEREFORE, on your way from Austria to Scuol, if you are travelling with luggage, stay on the Road 27. After a lunch break with a beautiful view over Scuol, we continued our trip biking on Road 27 to Zernez. It was probably our hardest day, considering the time and energy we had spent on the bike trail. At the end, we made to the hotel shortly before sunset.

Summary: 78km, 1200m, 5h15: Ried-Pfunds-Scuol-Zernez
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kremser/3/1219525200/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kremser/3/1219525200/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kremser/3/1219525200/tpod.html Sun, 07 Sep 2008 16:19:22 -0400 Part 3 of our MTB Trip to Santiago di Compostella, this time from Tirol (Austria) to Lugano (Switzerland)

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Ried im Oberinntal, Austrian Alps, Austria

We took some time off in the morning to recover and wait for dad's bike to be propped-up with even broader tires and stronger brakes by the local bicycle shop.

At 10'clock, we started off south towards Biberwier before taking Road179 to the Fernpass. Of course we knew we were having a day with a lot of cars on the road, but travelling with luggage, we were not taking chances, not knowing if the foot trails running to the left and right were not dead-ends and we would have to turn back. Luckily, the car traffic was so tense that the cars had to travel at walking speed, so we actually passed them on bike on the way up the mountain pass. At the Fernpass, we took some time to look down to the Blindsee mountain lake before continuing our journey down the pass, riding close to castle Fernstein before arriving at Nassereith.

The next part of the trip was easier, because we found the local bike trail, away from the highway going southeast close to the Gurglbach towards Imst. There, we followed the Inntal bike trail that led us along the Inn River to Landeck (look it up under tirolwest.at / innradweg). From there, we went south towards the Swiss border. Before arriving there, we stopped after a long day at Ried im Oberinntal for the night.

Please note: Starting from Ehrwald, we followed part of the old Roman road (from the Northern Rhine to Rome) called Via Claudia Augusta right on to the end of our day trip. Look up the story at viaclaudia.at

Summary: 77km, 900m, 5h: Ehrwald-Fernpass-Imst-Landeck-Ried im Oberinntal
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kremser/3/1219438800/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kremser/3/1219438800/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kremser/3/1219438800/tpod.html Sun, 07 Sep 2008 16:10:18 -0400 Part 3 of our MTB Trip to Santiago di Compostella, this time from Tirol (Austria) to Lugano (Switzerland)

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Ehrwald, Austrian Alps, Austria

After a strong start the day before, we set off early because by sheer numbers, this was going to be our longest and hardest day. We took the 307 along the Sylvenstein Lake going east. The sun cleared up the morning mist, showing us the beauty of the mountain landscape around us. At Vorderriss, we got on the "Deutsche Alpenstrasse", biking along the beautiful Isar River with high mountains to the left and right. When we hit the Road 11 going south, we choose a smaller road going parallel to it, therefore keeping the view on the beautiful landscape without car noise.

Mittenwald showed up to be a "dream like" Bavarian village, with a beautiful center that we inspected and where we stopped for food and (soft) drink at a local bakery. After refueling, we turned left at the south side of Mittewald, going up the Leutasch valley in direction to Klamm. The valley proved to be a beautiful sight, and we stopped at Klamm after another 1.5h of biking, because the Ehrwald pass was in front of us. Leaving Klamm, we went up the Gaistal Valley with its mountain river, the Leutascher Ache. After 4km, we left the public road and went on the unpaved trail next to the creek. Around us was one of the most beautiful mountain valleys, a breathtaking site. As expected, it took us 2 hours to get up to the top of the valley, looking down to Ehrwald, a typical Austrian mountain village that succeeded in keeping housing construction off the pristine Alpine plain. Having overcome the very steep downhill and a flat tire, we arrived at our (****) hotel after a long day of MTB.

Summary: 70km, 1200m, 5h ride: Fall-Vorderriss-Mittenwald-Leutasch-Klamm-Gaistal-Ehrwalder Alm-Ehrwald
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kremser/3/1219335000/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kremser/3/1219335000/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kremser/3/1219335000/tpod.html Sun, 07 Sep 2008 16:00:02 -0400 Part 3 of our MTB Trip to Santiago di Compostella, this time from Tirol (Austria) to Lugano (Switzerland)

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Jenbach, Austria

First words:
Finally, after waiting one whole year, we continue our bike trip towards Spain where we stopped last year (see our 2007 Blog): Jenbach in Tyrol, Austria. Knowing that we were hitting higher Alps this time, we (dad and me) spent even more time training our endurance to manage the upcoming mountains. The setup for the travel, being so successful in the past, stayed the same: dad on his adapted citybike with broader tires and stronger brakes; me on my 13 year old MTB with the trailer, taking on both mine and much of dad's luggage (around 25kg like last year, including his notebook). Together with the bike plus trailer it meant 45kg to pull; adding my bodyweight I was moving 135kg with pure muscle strength!

The trip:
We met at the train station at around midday, but started off only after 2pm do to the fact we had to look for a good hiding place for dad's expensive (rental) car. From Jenbach we took the direct road north towards Maurach. The mountain left us no time to adjust, starting at 6-8 percent, and continued to get even steeper, hitting 12 percent towards the end of the 4km climb!!! We both made it without having to get off our bikes, but admitted that taking the adjacent highway or the train ride could be a serious option for the less trained adventurer.

In Maurach we picked up the bike road next to the train station and rode down towards the beautiful mountain lake Achensee. What a view! Intertwined between the Karwendel Mountains to the west and Rofanspitze to the east the lake proves to be a perfect place for windsurfing, which was the case at the time we past. We made two stops next to the lake, me going for a swim near the camping grounds of the north shore. Going towards Achenkirchen, we continued to ride on the bike trail that goes parallel to the Road 181 to the north. Before Achenwald, the bike trail leaves the road for about 3km before touching again with the road. Don't be afraid! You will get back to the road.... After Achenwald, the road turns left in direction to the Sylvenstein Lake. Right before the bike road crosses the road and leaves for the mountains to the left. Your choice! The bike road takes you along beautiful rivers, water falls, and backcountry and you will see civilization only just before the hamlet of Fall and there are a lot of ups and downs. OR take the road, stay next to the lake, FASTER but less adventurous and beautiful. Finally, we arrived at Fall at 5pm the evening.

Things to remember: Throughout this day, we followed in large parts the Via Bavaria Tyrolensis, so look it up under via-bavarica-tyrolensis.com for further details

Summary: 50km, 1000m, 3h47min, strenuous trip: Jenbach-Maurach-Achenkirch-Achenwald-Fall
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kremser/jakobsweg_2007/1192010700/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kremser/jakobsweg_2007/1192010700/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kremser/jakobsweg_2007/1192010700/tpod.html Wed, 10 Oct 2007 10:31:59 -0400 Part 2 of our bicycle trip to Santiago di Compostella.

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Salzburg, Austria

We picked up the camino to Santiago almost exactly one year after we had finished the first part of the trip in August 2007 in Salzburg. Dad and I were really excited to get started and get going! Our equippment hadn't changed since last year except that we tried to reduce the weight we carried. I repeat... we tried. In the end, it was again around 22kg of baggages for me to take along!

We went off at about 3 o'clock from the train station and followed the river for about 5 km upstream before turning left to the city of Anif. There, we took the road 160 to Berchtesgarden. What a view! Beautiful alpine landscape right and left combined with refurnished old farmers houses. Berchtesgarden itself is very similar to Salzburg in point of architecture and that it is crowded with tourists !. We stopped for a short drink at the fountain before taking the small road next to the stream going up to the lake Königssee. Again, breathtaking.. a lake surrounded by huge mountains to eather side, only to be travelled by boat.

We then went on the road 20, turned left and caught up with the road 305 to get to Ramsau where we stayed the first night. "Best western" hotel, of course!

Summary: 3h Ride, 45km, 500m climb, Easy
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kremser/jakobsweg_2007/1188486000/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kremser/jakobsweg_2007/1188486000/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kremser/jakobsweg_2007/1188486000/tpod.html Wed, 10 Oct 2007 10:25:30 -0400 Part 2 of our bicycle trip to Santiago di Compostella.

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Wörgl, Austria

Since it continued to rain, we had to cancel the rest of the trip and get back home. After waiting for the rain to stop, we went back to the Inn valley and turnued left towards Wörgl. Luckly, we were able to take a road away from the cars next to the Inn River.

Great trip, we will be back next year and continue our adventure !
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kremser/jakobsweg_2007/1188309600/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kremser/jakobsweg_2007/1188309600/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kremser/jakobsweg_2007/1188309600/tpod.html Wed, 10 Oct 2007 10:20:10 -0400 Part 2 of our bicycle trip to Santiago di Compostella.

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Alpbach, Austria

Because of the pouring rain, we decided to take the day off. I did take a stroll of about 3 hours around the beautifull village, where the restrictions in constructions have kept a valley very quiet!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kremser/jakobsweg_2007/1188225600/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kremser/jakobsweg_2007/1188225600/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kremser/jakobsweg_2007/1188225600/tpod.html Wed, 10 Oct 2007 10:14:40 -0400 Part 2 of our bicycle trip to Santiago di Compostella.

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Alpbach, Austria

This proved to be our greatest day. From Landl we took the road the Acker Alm. We soon found out that the road was to be a lot more strenous than thought! After one hour we arrived at the top, havinf completed 600m climb at an average fo 10% !

After a great lunch eating local fancies (Speckkasknödeln) we drove downhill through a forest road to the Erzherzog Johann Klause. From there, we went south to the Kaiserhaus and the Pinegg. Unofrtenetly, the road went up again to Aschau, litterelly breath-taking! before going downhill to the Inn valley. Turn by turn, i found that the bike was wobbling more and more. I soon found out that i was loosing tire pressure fast. We arrived at Brixlegg at the last second and were able to change the tire there. - One exploding tire due to too fast inflation with a car pressure tool left unmentioned - .

Because of the really really exhausting day, the road up to Alpbach was started at the most reasonnable speed possible. And still, 45 min later, we where there!

Summary: 4h37min RIde, 44 KM, 1400m Uphill
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