Traveling: Alpe Adria Bike Trail

Thursday, 20 August 2020

Alpe Adria Bike Trail 2020 - Part 1

Alpe Adria Bike Trail

Saturday - August 15th 2020

Thanks to Covid-19 traveling in 2020 was not so easy and so Claudia and I decided to try something new. For the first time ever we wanted to go on a bike tour. We planned to try the Alpe Adria Bike Trail, which runs for about 400km from Salzburg to Grado, but instead of doing the whole trail to Italy, we only bicycled half way to Villach in Carinthia. Since it was our first tour of that kind, we planned our stages ahead and booked all the hotels in advance. Before our tour started we made our bicycle fit for the trail and finally the day was here and our bike tour started.

Today's stage took us from Salzburg via Hallein and Bischofshofen about 65km to St. Johann im Pongau. So Saturday morning we grabed our stuff and soon we were on our way along the Salzach river. The official starting point of the Alpe Adria Bike Trail was the statue of Salzburg's most famous composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, so that's where we officially started our tour. Unfortunately the weather wasn't that great, but we made it dry to our first stop in Hallein. There we stopped for a short break to get coffee and to check out a small festival. The weather started to get better and so we continued our tour to Golling, where we had lunch.

Our First Day

Mozart

Hydro Power Plant

Salzach River


Alpe Adria Bike Trail

My KTM Bike

Coffee in Hallein

Hallein

Along the Alpe Adria Bike Trail

Lunch Break

After luch the first challenge waited for us, because we had to climb our first mountain pass. Unfortunately it wasn't our last for the day, since just a couple of kilometers later we had to face our next ascent to Castle Hohenwerfen. Luckily afterwards the trail flattened out. In the afternoon we arrived in Bischofshofen, where we stopped for vegan ice cream to power up for the last remaining kilometers to St. Johann. There we arrived in the late afternoon. In St. Johann we stayd at the hotel "Das Martell", which was conveniently located next to the bike trail. After check in we had to get our reward in form of a refreshing cold beer. Later we showered and then we headed to the village for dinner. We decided to eat at an Italian restaurant, where we both ordered pasta and bruschetta for starter. A delicious dinner later Claudia and I just walked around the village until we returned to the hotel, because it started to rain heavily.

Along the Alpe Adria Bike Trail

Fortress Hohenwerfen

Werfen

Along the Alpe Adria Bike Trail

Ice Cream in Bischofshofen

Hotel Das Martell

Our Room

Pongau Cathedral

Italian Restaurant

Bruschette as a Starter

Dinner

Wednesday, 19 August 2020

Alpe Adria Bike Trail 2020 - Part 2

Alpe Adria Bike Trail

Sunday - August 16th 2020

The second day of our bike tour started with a lovely breakfast at the hotel. After we checked out, we headed to the next local supermarket to get some snacks for lunch and then we were on our way again. Today's tour was shorter than yesterday's, however today we had to face some hills and our biggest ascent of the whole tour. First we just rode along the river Salzach until it was time for our first incline up to the water reservoir for a hydro power plant. From there the way continued up and down until we reach the juntion into Gastein valley, where we stopped around noon for our lunch breack.

From St. Johann to Bad Gastein

Breakfast

Alpe Adria Bike Trail

Along the Way

Water Reservoir

Claudia's Bike

Alpe Adria Bike Trail

Along the Way

Lunch

After our lunch break we continued our tour towards Bad Gastein. In the early afternoon Claudia and I stopped in a small village for a cold beer and then it was time to tackle the last stage. Since Bad Gastein is about 1000 meters above sea level the incline was pretty steep. On the way up to the village we were overtaken several times by e-bike rides, which was really frustrating, but eventually we made it as well. Once we found our hotel, the first thing we did, was to order a refreshing beer to reward ourselves. In Bad Gastein we stayed at Hotel Mozart, which wasn't the most modern hotel, but we felt comfortable. They even had two vegan meals prepared for us without even asking. After we showered, we headed into the village to check the famous waterfall. Bad Gastein would be a beautiful mountain village with its grand hotels, but unfortunately many buildings are empty and are falling into disrepair. Back at the hotel we had dinner at the restaunt. Claudia got a vegan curry while I had a salad with vegetable patties and fries. Both meals very really delicious and we were very grateful that the hotel staff prepared something for us, because it would have been difficult to get something vegan in Bad Gastein. The rest of the evenining we spent sitting on our balcony enjoying a glass of beer while watching the thunderstorm roll over the valley.