My first shoe wearing day
Trip Start
May 23, 2008
1
13
54
Trip End
Ongoing
Tirol,
Austria
Friday, June 20, 2008
so i havent had much of a chance to do a blog update, but alot of stuff has been happening so i am sort of dreading the next couple of entries, they are probably going to be huge. After my last entry on Monday, i went for a 2 hour walk along the river, watching the mountains being eaten by huge big fluffy clouds, and admiring the green-ness, the houses, the flowers, everything. All the houses in the area seem to be in the same sort of style,
white or greyish, with dark timber balconies, shutters and flower boxes full of bright flowers. Mostly reds and pinks. The house that we are staying in is exactly that style, with a barn down one end, and the house down the other. the original house is over 200 years old. I crashed that night, so tired. watched an episode on my ipod and then fell asleep.
Tuesday was my full day in St Johann, and i decided that altough it was overcast, it seemed like a nice day for a bike ride. I hired a mountain bike for 15euro, and sussed out my 3d map. i decided to ride along the river towards a town called Kosser. I couldnt actually see the town on the map, it was behind the 3d mountain, but it looked like an okay ride. I assumed that because the trail followed the river, it would be pretty flat. NEVER ASSUME
ANYTHING. The ride was absolutely amazing, firstly through some huge open fields, then through a patch of forest. after about an hour and a half, i hit my first hill. the track wound away from the river and up through the forrest where they seemed to be doing some logging.
my bike trail
the track wasnt too bad, but it was pretty steep. After spending most of the last 3 weeks lying around on the beach, i cant say i was in the best shape to be tackling alpine mountains on a bike. I had a rest stop on the top of one hill, i pulled out a roll i had bought from the bakery and my tube of vegemite, and had a little snack. i must say, that vegemite has been a lifesaver. God bless Australia.After i got some energy back, i continued my conquer of the trail. after about 2 and a half hours of pedalling i reached my destination town. I didnt know what to expect when i got there, from what i could tell it was a town used more in the winter as they had quite a nice hill with a chairlift for skiing. its summer here of course, so the only people i could find were a pack of schoolchildren walking somewhere. thrilling. i pedalled around the town for a while, looking for a cafe or something. i found one in what looked to be the town square. As i started to sit down it began to lightly rain. i figured it would probably be a passing shower, and decided to hang out there while it passed. i ordered a huge cup of tea, followed by some soup, and read my book for a while. at about 3pm, 2 hours after i arrived, the rain still hadnt cleared, and i decided that if i didnt start back, i would probably be sleeping in the cafe overnight. Which could have been cool, but i didnt want to pay for another days bike hire.
The rain here was different to the rain back home. It wasnt big fat raindrops, they were so small and light, it was more like mist.
creek coming down the mountain
it soaked you, but it didnt hurt. there was hardly any wind, so it wasnt blowing straight into my face. it was the nicest 2.5hr ride in the rain that i have ever had. it probably wasnt helped my the fact that i was in Austria, surrounded by amazing rugged mountains, fields of green grass and flowers, and winding rivers. I even had an encounter with a herd of cows who decided to block up my only path through. stupid cows. because the track went through private properties, there were a few times that i was riding in the same paddock as livestock. this situation found me on a stretch of road with a fence on one side, and a steep hill on the other. there was about a metre each side of the road, and so no matter what i did, the cows thought i was chasing them, and they just kept walking. i got passed a few by hanging to one side of the road, butit took me 10 minutes to get past them all, and the last ones got startled and piss-bolted up the side of the hill. very inconvenient.There was only one other problem on my way home. halfway home my arse was soooo sore. and my legs were killing me. 5 hours on a bike, after doing little to no exercise for the past 3 weeks, is a killer. My back was covered in mud (from the back wheel flicking it up) and i was exhausted. But i absolutely loved it. one of the highlights of my trip. im not sure how far i rode, im guessing it was about 20 - 30km, if anyone has some spare time and wants to work out the distance from St Johann - Kosser then be sure to let me know! when i got back i
was soaking wet, covered in mud, and so proud of myself.
flowing into the river
the guy at the bikestore laughed at me. i must have looked pretty funny. But if you ever get a chance to ride through the Austrian alps on a bike, DO IT. Its amazing.As you can imagine, i was incredibly tired, dirty and cold when i got back (remember, this is the alps. summer its like about the same tempreture as back home now) so i had a hot shower, got changed, and then went back into town to buy some supplies for dinner. as i couldnt cook anything i decided on strawberries for dinner, and pringles for desert. figure that one out.
In the house there they had a sunken lounge area with chairs and bench seats so you can lounge around, make a cup of coffee and talk to some of the other travellers. They have also covered the walls with dead animals, mostly the skulls and horns of deer. kinda creepy the first time we saw it, but it added to the character of the house. There was 5 people downstairs when i got there, including 2 sisters from Melbourne, and a couple from Sydney.
he couple had just gotten engaged in Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland. One of the most beautiful places on earth (so i hear). We all chatted for a while, i fed the couple advise on the Greek islands - they were going in a couple of days to start the same tour as what i did - and also convinced the sisters to go stay at Mykonos, as they had not met anyone who had been there and had no idea which island to stay on. Annalise also joined us for a while, telling us about the history of the house. she was born there, it was originally her grandfathers house (although he didnt build it) and it was originally only one story high (its now 3) and they kept all their animals out the back in
the barn.
my bike trail 2
she told us about the introduction of the euro from the shilling and how it made them quite poor, and gave us shots of peach schnapps - the austrians love it and its so strong it burns your throat for ages after. it also is very potent, you dont need much! We all went to bed pretty early, i was exhausted and still nursing my sore legs.I cant remember if i mentioned, but my room was on the 2nd floor and looked out over the huge mountain range. it was like looking at a postcard through your window. the mountains spent most of the time covered in cloud, especially as it was raining, but it decided to clear up just after dinner (what a suprise, right after i get saturated). and the great thing was, that they always looked different. I probably could have watched them for hours. I didnt, but i could have.
Now for a couple of random things.
Because of the euro cup, there are cars everywhere with little flags flying to simbolise there given team/country. the first time i saw one, i thought that the car must be carrying some sort of prince or something. but i figured it out after the 14th time. its especially prevelant in austria as they and switzerland are the countries hosting the games. im still trying to learn all the different flags. there are alot of them.
I have started to speak in a very basic english, mostly when talking to people in shops etc. And in Austria i said things with a German accent. Probably because most people only have a basic hold of english. I find it funny when i catch myself out, like instead of saying "hello" i say "hallo". Its unnententional, but u think thats the easiest way for them to understand me.
for the first time since i have been away, i was forced to wear shoes for the bike ride. not very happy!!!! but it was worth it. the rest of the time i was still in my flip flops. even when it was raining. thats when im at my happiest though. so dont tease me.
Well i think this is enough for one entry. stay tuned for Venice!!!
Comments
Riding in shoes
Well, finally had to put on some Real footware. Did you see many other people when you were out riding or were they all taking the easy way of being tourists? Good on you for being alternative. Have beensitting up waiting for your blog so I have been rewarded. will now wait for the next bit. Do you want us to send more vegemite? luv Mumxox
Re: Riding in shoes
no... funnily enough i only saw one other person on my travels. maybe everyone else wasnt so stupid as to go riding in the rain!!!
i still am all supplied up with vegemite, thanks though :)
Keeping Fit lol
Hey Kate see you should've worked harder at gym and the bike ride would've been easier,glad you had shoes on. I love how you describe everything about where you're staying and what their houses are like.Sam and I just had our lovely weekend in Queensland so we got some warm weather and now we're back to cold again. At least getting wet saves on showers and clothes washing haha. Anyway great blogs look forward to more reading luv Donna xx