October 1, 2021
Day 2: To Hallstatt
Today was even better than yesterday, the sun was shining - but it didn't feel much warmer at the start. By the time I got home yeserday evening, I was freezing. I expected balmy weather today and dressed accordingly. But it is autumn even if the sun was shining bright, and it was windy, too.
Our destinaton was Hallstatt on the Hallstätter See. Janos hoped, if time permitted, to get in touch with a friend in Hallstatt whom he hadn't seen in about 20 years. Again we had a stunning ride. We made an excessive number of photo stops and very slow progress.
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We followed the signs for the R1 bike path and the route was not quite the same as my planned route, but better. Once we reached the lake, there wasn't always a choice of paths. At one point the railroad line hugged the shore while we had to climb, sometimes on a stony and steep bicycle and foot path.
Then came the part where Janos and I lost each other. How could that happen on a path like this where there are no turn-offs? Janos decided that we would take the ferry from the train station on the lake to Hallstatt, thus saving a few kilometers if we rounded the end of the lake. We now have communicating helmets which makes it even harder to understand. If the distance is too great or if there are trees we do lose contact. But that wasn't the case yet. Janos was ahead of me and out of sight. Me, "Where is the ferry?" Janos, "Just keep pedaling, I can see you." "I can't see you. Where is the ferry already?" "Just keep pedaling." So I did just that until we had no more contact. I pedaled and pedaled and pedaled and was almost at the end of the lake. We finally made contact with our phones. Apparently there was a BIG sign to the ferry. I didn't see it. And the person Janos saw behind him in a red jacket wasn't me.
Together we rounded the southern end of the lake and by the time we got to Hallstatt it was after two. We wanted something to eat, have a quick visit with a friend and get back home before it was dark. I remembered how cold it got at the end of the day yesterday and was getting a bit anxious. I was also remembering the rough bit of trail that we had to do again. Fortunately (for me), the visit with the friend didn't pan out.
In the meantime we were having some wonderful views of Hallstätter See.
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3 years ago
We didn't spend too much time looking around in Hallstatt. Janos knew it well and I had been there once before. Still under different circumstances, it would have been fun to take our time there and some pictures. After a bowl of warming soup, we headed to the ferry landing and called ourselves fortunate that a ferry would be leaving within 15 minutes.
We are finding advantages and disadvantages to out-and-back rides. It is very nice not to have to pack up everything in the morning and to ride without the full baggage. On the other hand, with the full baggage you always have everything with you, including all the warm layers. I don't know if you can call it a disadvantage, but when enjoying a long downhill run, it shoots through my mind that this will be a climb on our way back. However, I am surprised to find on the way back that the climbs aren't as long or as steep as I had remembered. And so was the case today. I worried about riding that rough bit again, and it turned out that it was actually short and not that menacing. We didn't take any pictures on the way back and were in Bad Ischl in no time. The wind had stopped, the sun had warmed the air and I didn'tfreeze - so what was all that worry about? We strolled around Bad Ischl and did some shopping for our evening meal. Bad Ischl has some elegant coffee houses from days of yore and it might be nice to come and sit for a coffee before we leave.
Today's ride: 57 km (35 miles)
Total: 85 km (53 miles)
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3 years ago
3 years ago