Almost

- June 19, 2025

Well, it's sunny and 83 degrees, which is perfect June weather in Austria, but it's also outside the two-degree range of comfort for Oregonians, so we are hot.

Some of what we're experiencing this afternoon -- speaking for myself, at least -- is the jitters. Anticipatory heat stroke, haha. What were we thinking? I feel like I got lulled into believing we could bike over the Alps by articles like this:

The Alpe Adria trail starts with roughly two days of gentle climbing. There’s then a nice descent to the Villach basin, another climb and finally a couple of days on a gently descending path down to Grado.

Lyle was studying the route yesterday, and there are multiple 15% grades and about 9,000 feet of climbing. Did I realize that when I suggested this route? Too late now. I'm along for the ride.

This morning was delightful. We rode our bikes (sans gear) down to the blue-green Salzach River and cruised along shady, quiet paths to Mozartplatz. There were so many folks out -- kids on playgrounds, families on bikes, folks on foot and on scooters -- such a cool scene. There was also an amazing procession with choir making its way from church to church. Church bells chiming every few minutes, etc. We finally figured out (duh) it's Corpus Christi Day here, an Austrian holiday.

We took the funnicular up to the 11th century fortress on a hilltop and took in the fairytale views.

We also discovered a classic car show, which Ruby especially enjoyed.

Backing up a bit -- last night we arrived by train around 6:30 pm. We unloaded the bikes in order to hand them down from the baggage car and onto the platform. We regrouped on the platform, and then made our way down a long flight of stairs to ground level. Another adventure!

Our campground is kind of fancy, with beautiful views, 5-star bathrooms and showers, and a whole row of washing machines. We couldn't help ourselves and ate dinner in the classy campground restaurant.