Möllbrücke, Austria to Tarvisio, Italy

I left Möllbrücke in the morning. It was a morning where it felt too cold to get out of the sleeping bag. I packed up my stuff and started towards Spittal. Möllbrücke was the intersection of all types of cycle ways. There was the possibility that I could reach Italy by the end of the day. It wasn't really a plan early in my trip, but it added some fuel to my legs.



The signage for the Alpe Adria Radweg was fairly clear during this part of the trip. I followed signs for R1 for the Drauradweg, which is named for the Drau River. There was a designated cycle path most of the way to Villach.



The morning went quickly, and it was a little chilly to the point that I wished that I had gloves with me. Clouds were blocking the view of the mountains as I was riding through the valley.



I still didn't have a means to get more cash, so I hadn't bought gloves in my state of forced frugality since Salzburg. I reached Villach before I anticipated, maybe before noon. I sent some postcards and then went to the ATM. It worked! Suddenly I had Euros, so I bought some gloves, a map book, and bought myself a warm drink at a place with wifi. Villach was a cute town too that was situated close to where Italy, Austria, and Slovenia meet.



I was feeling good, and it was early, so I continued farther south with a goal of reaching Italy by nightfall. The path was crushed and smooth gravel once I left Villach. I was very much in nature, and found myself again pedaling alone in a beautiful place. It still was boggling why I didn't see any other cyclists on the path even though it was only early October. Apparently it was the end of the season, but it was such a sunny and temperate fall day here. The Drau River was clear. I hadn't thought about it, but I was probably breathing in some really clean air for long stretches of the trip through the Alps.



The mountains were changing shapes and colors. They were no longer green and rounded, but were starting to look like teeth protuding from the earth. The mountains looked balder and rougher than what they had looked a few days back around Bad Gastein. I felt like I had to be in constant motion to meet my goal of getting to Italy, but I did see the EU sign for Italy as it was starting to look darker.



After you cross into Italia, there's a switchback on a hill that you have to climb that's part of the Alpe Adria Radweg. I was impressed with the path that they had in Italy. It was fun and challenging, like they knew exactly what cyclists would like. Some fun curves and hills. I was able to make it to Tarvisio without a problem. Tarvisio is a ski town, and I was there in between seasons before they had any snow. I had a hard time finding a place to stay. It was a little chilly, and I was hoping for a guesthouse or pension house somewhere in town. While getting lost in my quest for a hotel, I ended up going into a building that said "hotel," but it was no longer a hotel. Right then as the office women shooed me out the door, I realized that, jeez I know no Italian whatsoever, and it's a problem. I went around the corner and while getting myself lost, I did find this amazing shop of garden gnomes. I saw the "no fotos" sign too late. They were blaring Disney music sung in Italian from the shop. I nosed around, and eventually a man came around the corner. He didn't speak English, but he did speak German. I told him in my awkward deutsch way that I was searching for a hotel, and he directed me in German to 2 streets where I could go.



I found a restaurant that also was a hotel with simple rooms. The woman at the restaurant did not speak English either, but we got by with what little German I knew. She was very accommodating. There is the habit of showing you the room and giving you the choice of staying there. I followed her up 4 floors of stairs, and she never slowed down. I nodded when she showed me the simple and clean room, and then we ran back to the ground floor to the restaurant so that I could pay her. I was impressed with her fitness. I had a place, so I walked around Tarvisio a little bit and found a little Italian dictionary. Suddenly, there were Italian restaurants everywhere just by crossing a line somewhere in the mountains. All was well, and I felt very confident that I'd be able to reach the Adriatic Sea in a few days. The highest parts of the Alps were done, and I just needed to drift down to the coast.

Sankt Veit am Pongau to Möllbrücke

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.