Day 12. And even dozen entries. Munich!

Farewell to our most esteemed travelers. It was a fantastic and fun group to experience the Barbarian area of the world. It is beautiful! Down to 4 explorers we found our way to Marienplatz in city central Munich. It was certainly an interesting trek. We were quite successful finding our way there and back to our hotel. The Hoffbrau house was a hoot, not to mention a ton of fun. A final beer, bowl of goulash and off to study the inside of our eye lids. Officially, on our way home. Not too many pics for your entertainment, my canon camera is no more, camera shopping is in the near future. Thank you for traveling with us. Cheers and here's to more adventures!

Day 11. Hop on, hop off

Our last day in Salzburg, we chose to take it a bit easy and ride the tour bus around this fascinating city. You hop on, and you can hop off. Easy peasy. At first we had the whole bus to ourselves so decided to make the most of it by riding the whole route before hopping off. The driver was a ton of fun and amazingly adept at maneuvering this beast of a bus through, around, over and about numerous obstacles. It was fun to see the expression on pedestrian's faces when realizing a huge vehicle was snugged up to their backside. That will serve them right to walk in the bus lane.... It was a nice day to see the city, check out any unturned stones and then gather with the remaining tour group for a last toast. Our first hop off spot was Hellbrunn Palace. Markus Sittikus, arch bishop built it in the 1700's. He had a bit of a sense of humor when it came to "tricky fountains". Ask for the stories when you see of us. Then on to meet with our fellow travelers, one last time. Of course there was beer involved. Just before our appointed time to meet, apparently a rather raucous crowd of soccer fans gathered. It was pandemonium. Police in riot gear, helicopter overhead, loud booms like a m-80 firecracker going off, beer and chards of glass everywhere in our favorite little beer garden. Guess there is passion here when it comes to soccer. So about the time our tour group appeared, the staff was busy cleaning up the debris. The timing was good to have been after the chaos. The last toast with our travel mates was fabulous. This has been one of the best groups! Safe travels to one and all. Tomorrow we begin our trek home. One more entry, so, be sure to log in to read the concluding day!

Day 10 Kehlsteinhaus, sound familiar?

Today we poked around this fascinating city of Salzburg. Enjoys views of the river, gardens near the palace, a bridge with about 10k locks, and more. The afternoon found our way on a private tour for our group of 8 through the countryside and into Germany. Destination- Kehlsteinhous. Or as you know it, the Eagles Nest. Kehlstein is the name of the mountain on which the tea house sits at 6017 feet elevation. It was built in about 13 months for military and social gatherings. Commissioned by a Nazi high ranking official, Martin Bormann and paid for by the Nazi party for about 30 million. Only 12 lives were lost in its construction. Turns out Hitler was afraid of heights, so only visited the tea house on 14 occasions. The treacherous drive up through 5 tunnels brings you to the 407 foot long tunnel and the elevator which takes you up to the tea house. Ironically, the polished brass elevator and Venetian mirrors was made by Otis, an American manufacturer. The views from up top were breathtaking. All the buildings from Hitler's complex have been destroyed. One of the photos from above you will see some buildings where the complex was once. Enjoy the views! Tomorrow, it's hop on, hop off --- the sightseeing bus that is.

Day 9 Salzburg!

Another goodbye, hello start of the day. Good bye to guides, our hotel and off for a 2.5 hour drive to Salzburg! Love signs that can not only evoke a smile but out loud laughter. See the second photo, the sign is pointing to a Beauty Farm ?!? Hum.... wonder what grows there.... not to mention how the fruits of their labor is cultivated.... hum. On to Salzburg! Very interesting city. First stop was to the funicular to the fortress for fabulous views. Then up river to the Augustiner Brau house for, bet you can guess .... we had quite a raucous time. Sadly had to say good bye to Deb who is well on her way back home at the time of this writing. Tomorrow more exploring and discoveries. Do keep reading! Oh, last step report... our room is once again in the rafters (this has been the case in every hotel during this tour) of this structure built in 1407... only 65 steps. One down.... legs are getting in great shape!

Day 8 Hello, Goodbye

Seems like we just said hello to our bikes, guides, and gear. Today, we say goodbye. What amazing rides over the last 6 days!!! Like non other experience in this lifetime. Our ride today took us around Lake Worthersee in Austria. The weather was not as favorable earlier this week. We made the best of it and we're lucky enough to not get too damp. Enjoy a few shots of today's ride. The first is the the view from our room of the lake. Has there been mention of steps? Stair steps that is. Our fourth hotel, only 24 steps,...down. So guess it is a minus from total hotel climbs. On the other hand, it is a plus to get back up to the lobby.... stay tuned for our next hotel stair counting - Salzburg!!!

Day 7 The Tri-Country Ride

Above, a true Austrian, below our guides.

Started the day riding out of Kranska Gora to make our way back to Italy and on to Austria. Fabulous ride through the mountain passes and valleys. Not many visuals to post so imagine the forests, switchbacks, streams, rivers and mountains of this lush countryside. It was interesting crossing the boarders. Only white 3' high pillars flanking the trail marking the boarder between Italy and Slovenia. Austria is a bit more ominous. The buildings now appear abandoned. There is a red line still visible. See photos. On up into the hills of Austria we rode to a quaint establishment in the woods along a river for a scrumptious lunch. Spaetzl, goulash and salads. Yum! Then off we went on the optional extension. A lovely one kilometer climb. That is pretty short compared to previous days' climbs. We were ready for it. New hotel and new places to explore. Do keep reading!