Tunnels and waterfalls. I had no idea. Last night, I did learn that I would have to take a 10 minute train ride from Bad Gastein to Mallnitz through a mountain that was impassable by car or regular cycling, which other people had hinted about. I did a lot of pushing my bicycle of certain hills this day. The amount of support for cyclists on the Alpe Adria cycle path is amazing.
The first part of the day took me through some areas where they process aluminum. I had some climbs, but they were mostly doable. This day was marked by 3 or 4 major tunnels through mountains that had bicycle access. Every tunnel meant that I wouldn't be climbing a mountain, so I was very thankful. You can see my face of gratitude from within a tunnel below. I was excited not only to be in the Alps, but to be actually inside an Alp.
I was amazed that they even burrowed a tunnel for bicycles only in the mountain too.
Where was everyone? I didn't see anyone else riding today. As far as I knew, nobody I knew had ever talked about the cycle route in Europe in the Alps. It was so easy and scenic with a train that ran along side the same towns in case anybody wasn't feeling it on the way. I kept riding and eventually was just north of the town of Bad Gastein where the train station was. Bad actually means something like Springs in English, so its a town with natural springs. They have a natural spa there if you so desire. It was an incredibly steep climb to reach the top, but the rewards are many. I was walking my bike up the hills that lead to the town center. If you do take the train from north of Bad Gastein to Mallnitz, I would at least stop and get out here. How many towns have a waterfall flowing through the center of the town? It reminded me of the Wes Anderson film Grand Budapest Hotel. Someone gave me the tip of hauling my bike up through the multi-story parking garage by the waterfall in order to climb to where the bahnof was. It helped me to exactly locate where the train station was. If you're on foot, it's easy to use the elevator in the garage to climb the hill too. Here are some pictures of Bad Gastein.
Some of my day was spent figuring out the location of the train station. I talked to a woman at a cafe and then a young man who said he was the manager of a football player, the friend who was waiting at the bus stop with. They were carrying bread and potatoes. He was all of 20 years old, and we chatted about languages for a little while. He liked practicing English. After I reached the train station, I had an hour to wait. I was scolded for bring my bicycle across the tracks. The train does have a place for bicycles, but make sure to buy a ticket for you bicycle too. The train agent seemed annoyed that I had a bicycle with me.
The train basically goes through a tunnel that climbs a little higher through Bockstein. I got off the train in Mallnitz (3907 ft elevation), which is exactly one stop from Bad Gastein. This was the peak elevation of my trip on the way to the Adriatic Sea. Everything else would be downhill from here, with little hills along the way. I basically just held onto my handlebars for miles and miles after I left the station. It is unlike anything I ever experienced with cycling. It seemed a little unbelievable that I was riding my bicycle through here, thus the face.
I was able to cruise through Obervellach onto Möllbrücke by the end of the day where I was able to set up camp at a place called Möllcamping. I got a chance to practice my German again with someone who spoke no English. Below is a picture of a sticker I saw on a window of the campground. I felt proud that I was able to understand the words "schneller besser billiger" without a dictionary. All words were nonsense just a month before.
It's possible I could have kept going the 10 km to Spittal an der Drau, but I was unsure if they'd have camping available since I had ridden off the pages of my map at this point. I tried getting out some money at a local grocery store ATM, but I was still unable to withdraw anything. I did buy a loaf of pillowy white bread that had stars and stripes on it, probably to signify the quality of the bread. These were small towns mostly. I knew there was the possibility of getting to Italy the next day if I was able to get on the road and moving early. It was chilly during this part of the trip. This was the first time I used my sleeping bag liner inside my sleeping bag, and it made a huge difference.
Here is the map of what I did today. You can see where the road stops and picks back up again. I did 60 kilometers this day.
Tunnels and waterfalls. I had no idea. Last night, I did learn that I would have to take a 10 minute train ride from Bad Gastein to Mallnitz through a mountain that was impassable by car or regular cycling, which other people had hinted about. I did a lot of pushing my bicycle of certain hills this day. The amount of support for cyclists on the Alpe Adria cycle path is amazing.
The first part of the day took me through some areas where they process aluminum. I had some climbs, but they were mostly doable. This day was marked by 3 or 4 major tunnels through mountains that had bicycle access. Every tunnel meant that I wouldn't be climbing a mountain, so I was very thankful. You can see my face of gratitude from within a tunnel below. I was excited not only to be in the Alps, but to be actually inside an Alp.
I was amazed that they even burrowed a tunnel for bicycles only in the mountain too.
Where was everyone? I didn't see anyone else riding today. As far as I knew, nobody I knew had ever talked about the cycle route in Europe in the Alps. It was so easy and scenic with a train that ran along side the same towns in case anybody wasn't feeling it on the way. I kept riding and eventually was just north of the town of Bad Gastein where the train station was. Bad actually means something like Springs in English, so its a town with natural springs. They have a natural spa there if you so desire. It was an incredibly steep climb to reach the top, but the rewards are many. I was walking my bike up the hills that lead to the town center. If you do take the train from north of Bad Gastein to Mallnitz, I would at least stop and get out here. How many towns have a waterfall flowing through the center of the town? It reminded me of the Wes Anderson film Grand Budapest Hotel. Someone gave me the tip of hauling my bike up through the multi-story parking garage by the waterfall in order to climb to where the bahnof was. It helped me to exactly locate where the train station was. If you're on foot, it's easy to use the elevator in the garage to climb the hill too. Here are some pictures of Bad Gastein.
Some of my day was spent figuring out the location of the train station. I talked to a woman at a cafe and then a young man who said he was the manager of a football player, the friend who was waiting at the bus stop with. They were carrying bread and potatoes. He was all of 20 years old, and we chatted about languages for a little while. He liked practicing English. After I reached the train station, I had an hour to wait. I was scolded for bring my bicycle across the tracks. The train does have a place for bicycles, but make sure to buy a ticket for you bicycle too. The train agent seemed annoyed that I had a bicycle with me.
The train basically goes through a tunnel that climbs a little higher through Bockstein. I got off the train in Mallnitz (3907 ft elevation), which is exactly one stop from Bad Gastein. This was the peak elevation of my trip on the way to the Adriatic Sea. Everything else would be downhill from here, with little hills along the way. I basically just held onto my handlebars for miles and miles after I left the station. It is unlike anything I ever experienced with cycling. It seemed a little unbelievable that I was riding my bicycle through here, thus the face.
I was able to cruise through Obervellach onto Möllbrücke by the end of the day where I was able to set up camp at a place called Möllcamping. I got a chance to practice my German again with someone who spoke no English. Below is a picture of a sticker I saw on a window of the campground. I felt proud that I was able to understand the words "schneller besser billiger" without a dictionary. All words were nonsense just a month before.
It's possible I could have kept going the 10 km to Spittal an der Drau, but I was unsure if they'd have camping available since I had ridden off the pages of my map at this point. I tried getting out some money at a local grocery store ATM, but I was still unable to withdraw anything. I did buy a loaf of pillowy white bread that had stars and stripes on it, probably to signify the quality of the bread. These were small towns mostly. I knew there was the possibility of getting to Italy the next day if I was able to get on the road and moving early. It was chilly during this part of the trip. This was the first time I used my sleeping bag liner inside my sleeping bag, and it made a huge difference.
Here is the map of what I did today. You can see where the road stops and picks back up again. I did 60 kilometers this day.
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