Through Salzburg to Hallien - Munich to Paris the Long Way Round - CycleBlaze

July 28, 2019

Through Salzburg to Hallien

It is so good to ride in cooler weather

The Gut Enderman was truely a beautiful hotel. We had a delicious meal last night of veal, potatoes and salad and even the Grampies and the Clausens would have approved of the breakfast although I didn’t count the number of jams - yes and nothing  in packets.  I do know that my Bircher Muesli and fresh fruit were really just what I wanted

Leaving the hotel
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We were somewhat concerned about how we would escape from this Sound of Music country as there seemed no recognisable bike routes, I just had to set Komoot for Salzburg and hope for the best.  What we were concerned about were the Mountain Bike routes of yesterday and before long we were plunged into forest on gravel tracks. However this time the terrain was not so steep and the gravel not so loose so it was OK.  After about 5km we were spat out onto paved small roads and soon came to a recognised route into Salzburg.  Now we could relax and enjoy the beauty around us.  Seamlessly we were taken through the outskirts of Salzburg until we were put onto the cycleway along the Salach with hoards of others enjoying the views it provided.  

A 3cylinder Deutz
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Beautiful gardens along the way
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We reach Austria
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The classic Salzburg view
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We have been to Salzburg twice before so we had decided not to stay there but just to stop and poke around for a while.  We sat in the square watching very elegantly dressed and important looking people going into the concert hall.  After that we just wandered the streets for a while and we lucky enough to see the beautiful ‘egg shop’ which reminds me so much of my lovely sister-in-law Jocelyn. We didn’t go in this time though as my record in that shop is not good!  Worse than a bull in a china shop

The Egg Shop
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Now was the time to find the route out and into the mountains.  We had the Bikeline Book and it was an easy tranquil route beside the river and easy of course to follow.  This was well used with cyclists and walkers, we stopped for a while to talk to some cycle tourists on their way to Slovenia.  They were somewhat uncertain if they could get over the alps this way so took photos of our maps before pushing on.  They not surprisingly were much tougher than us, camping all the way and not using camp grounds - they were about 40years younger.

A cycle highway
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Arriving in Hallien we found a lovely cafe in the centre of town.  It was packed with largely touring cyclists and we  had a rather strange but delicious lunch.  The translation of it was ‘eggs in a glass’ and that was what it was two eggs softly poached in a glass.  Our hotel seem adequate certainly not the splendour of last night. Our room is a symphony of purple, pink and brown - it would not get many points on the Block

Hungry cyclists are parked up
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Egg in a Glass
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Last night we were feeling a little dispondent about our progress and had come to the conclusion that we were really to old for mountain passes and that we should stick to rivers and canals, so should take a train to somewhere more suitable.  However today’s ride has filled us with confidence and we have decided to push on and see what happens - watch this space.

Today's ride: 41 km (25 miles)
Total: 214 km (133 miles)

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Comment on this entry Comment 7
Steve Miller/GrampiesYou are NOT too old for this type of travel. Take it easy, as you are doing, with shorter days and distances, and enjoy the journey. There are usually bike shuttles of some sort over the passes and it is smart, not shameful, to use them. Loving your trip so far, and really jealous, since this is the route we had originally wanted to do this fall until life events interfered.
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5 years ago
Keith ClassenGlad you decided to push on. We had intended to do this route for the past several years ago but either ran out of time or changed our plans onroute. We have ridden portions of it so looking forward to following along.
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5 years ago
Suzanne GibsonYou have the toughest part of the trip behind you! Now comes the lovely bike path. You are going to love it.
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5 years ago
Tricia GrahamTo Steve Miller/GrampiesIt is actually a really great route just the steep loose gravel getting to us
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5 years ago
Tricia GrahamTo Keith ClassenIt is really beautiful here just as long as there is no more loose steep gravel
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5 years ago
Tricia GrahamTo Suzanne GibsonI think I know your journal of this route off by heart! Tomorrow we do the part on the busy road which worries me a bit especially if the predicted rain comes
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5 years ago
Suzanne GibsonTo Tricia GrahamI too had been worried. But when we rode the stretch I found that Bikeline had exaggerated. We had rain, too, btw.
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5 years ago