Traveling: October 2020

Saturday, 31 October 2020

Salzkammergut Bike Trail 2020 - Part 2

Salzkammergut Bike Trail

Friday - October 23rd 2020

Unfortunately the weather forecast didn't change for the next day and so we decided to shortcut the tour and cycle back to Salzburg today. After breakfast we packed our stuff and hit the road again. Today's tour took us from Unterach at Lake Attersee via Lake Mondsee and Thalgau back to Salzburg. The first part of the tour was very relaxed, because there weren't any ascents. Around noon we arrived in Thalgau, where we went to the supermarket to get something for lunch. Unfortunately we didn't find any good place to eat our lunch and so we continued cycling until Eugendorf, where we finally ate our snacks. From there we just had a couple of kilometres left until we arrived in Salzburg in the early afternoon. Although we had to skip part of our tour due to the bad weather forecast, we had a great time during our last bike tour this year.

Today's Tour

Along the Bike Trail

Salzkammergut Bike Trail

Lake Mondsee

Along the Bike Trail

Lunch

Along the Bike Trail

Tuesday, 20 October 2020

Themepark Roadtrip 2020 - Part 1

Going To Phantasialand

Sunday - October 11th 2020

Traveling in 2020 was very limited due to Covid-19, but although we had to cancal our big USA trip, we managed to do at least a couple of trips. For October Claudia and I booked a trip to Disneyland Paris, but we had to cancel thanks to coronavirus. So instead we decided to do a roadtrip through Germany and visit the following three themeparks, Phantasialand, Movie Park Germany and Legoland Resort Germany. So Sunday morning we got into our car and hit the road towards Phantasialand, where we arrived in the early afternoon. At Phantasialand we stayed at Chinese themed Hotel Ling Bao, which was beautifully themed. Check in took some time, becuase the staff had troubles printing out park tickets, but soon we got to see our room. The hotel room was very nice and had a wonderful bathroom. Once we unpacked our stuff, we headed downstairs again to hit the park.

Hotel Room

Our hotel had its own entrance to the China area of the themepark, which was very convenient. Since we had never been to Phantasialand and since we hadn't informed us beforehand, we really didn't know what to expect. Our first stop was ony of the big coasters at Phantasialand called Taron. This rollercoaster turned out to be our favourite ride at Phantasialand, because it was fast and intense, but also very smooth and confortable. Next was a small coaster next door, which was okay, but nothing to write home about. Now we were getting hungry and so we headed over to the African area to get vegan Jambalaya and French fries.

Hotel Ling Bao

China

Phantasialand

Taron Rollercoaster

Phantasialand

Vegan Jambalaya and Fries

Afterwards we just walked around the park to get to know it better and because we searched for Phantasialand's new land named Rookburgh, which was still in soft opening, so there was no guarantee to get in. However, we were lucky and were able to enter that amazingly themed land. Rookburgh is centered around the suspended flying coaster FLY, and it is definitely on the same level as Disney. Of course we had to get in line for FLY and we were amazed by that amazing attraction. Immediately we wanted to take another flight, but the line was too long and so we got a beer instead and admired this fantastic steampunk world. By now the park was closing soon and so we walked back towards the hotel. On our way we got a box of churros and once we finished them we got in line for Black Mamaba, another huge rollercoaster, because the queue line was pretty short. Now it was really time to leave the park.Back at the hotel we refreshed a bit and then we got some cocktails at the hotel bar.

Phantasialand

Rookburgh

Phantasialand

Churros

Phantasialand

Entrance to Black Mamba

Hotel Bar

Cocktails

Monday, 19 October 2020

Themepark Roadtrip 2020 - Part 2

Another Day At Phantasialand

Monday - October 12th 2020

The park didn't open before 10:00am so we had plenty of time for breakfast. Due to the current situation with corona we had to book a certain time frame. After breakfast we headed to the park and checked out the areas we hadn't seen yesterday. Since the park just opened, not all attractions were open yet. We got in line for Winja's Fear & Winja's Force, a common wild mouse coaster. Then we just walked around the park to check out the shops to get some souvenirs. Unfortunately Phantasialand didn't offer a lot of merchandise and so we only bought a fridge magnet. With our shopping done, we decided to give Mouse Au Chocolat a try, which can be compared with Disney's Toy Story Mania, and to our surprise the ride was quite good.

Hotel Ling Bao

Winja's Fear & Force Coaster

Mouse Auch Chocolat

After Mouse Au Chocolat we got a coffee to go and then we decided to get in line for Mystery Castle, a free fall tower. The ride was spooky, but also a lot of fun. Since it was already noon, we got hungry and searched for vegan options for lunch. We came across a burger restaurant and were happy to see a vegan falafel burger on offer. The burger was really good and so it was no suprise that this wasn't our last visit here. After lunch we walked to Rookbugh to see if the new land was open. It was open, but unfortunately the line for the flying coaster was quite long. Instead of queuing for an hour, we had a beer. Later the line was much shorter and so we took a flight over Rookburgh. Since it started to rain a little bit, Claudia and I ordered coffee and cake at the coffee house next door. It didn't look like the rain was going to stop, we walked back to the hotel to relax a bit.

Mystery Castle

Phantasialand

Falafel Burger

Rookburgh

Phantasialand

Coffee and Cake

Phantasialand

Hotel Ling Bao

After our hotel break the weather got better again and the sun came out. So back at the park we did Colorado Adventure, a mine train rollercoaster, which was officially opened by Michael Jackson many years ago. Since the sun was shining, we decided to get a beer, watch people and enjoy the lovely weather. Then it was time for more rides. First we headed to Taron, our favourite traditional rollercoaster at Phantasialand. Next was a dark ride like Disney's Phantom Manor, but based on Chinese Mythology. It was okay, but there's no need to ride it more than once. Back in Africa we rode the Black Mamba coaster before we had to get dinner. Like yesterday we got Jambalaya at the African restaurant. The park was about to close soon and on the way out we got churros for dessert. The rest of the evening we spent at the hotel bar and watching tv in our room.