These routes included (in our minds) a lot of different parts. There was connecting from the Inn through the lake district that included Chiemsee, the Silent Night area of Laufen and Oberndorf, the spin around the Salzkammergut by the series of small lakes, the wonderful city of Salzburg, Hallein, and the run to Radstadt. Whew!

At first we viewed this section as mostly just a connector between the Inn and the Enns, but in fact it turned out to be a terrific destination on its own, and not just for Salzburg. However, since it involved more than river runs, there were more hills than we normally like. Most (younger) people would not consider these hills to be much of an issue. But with heavy bikes and Dodie's knees noticeably weakening, they were a factor for us. It was still worth it, though.

Austria, in general, is number one for scenery, for baroque churches, and for pastries. The bike paths and marking are as good as or better than in Germany, though we did run into more on road cycling than expected with these routes. We feel like campground prices are a little high (but maybe not different from Germany), and pastry prices are high. For example, 1.80 for a qwark tasche at Spar is kind of harsh!

Salzburg is unquestionably the most interesting city around, rivalling Vienna, and we really also enjoyed the two Silent Night places, as well as the salt mine near Hallein. The overriding impression of the whole thing is of high mountains, lakes, meadows, churches, and history - all in more generous helpings than in other places,in Germany and France. So it's thumbs up for the Mozart and the Tauern!

Pros

Mountains, meadows, chalet style houses
Baroque churches
Salzburg
Good route marking and path surfaces, normally
Lots of campng, many guest houses

Cons

Highish prices
On road sections
Bad drivers - less patient and courteous than France and Germany