Take a hat

Bad Hofgastein just got better The bear has a new home. Who's looking for Honey? We are back for a December ski trip but it was definitely not a case of  'same old'. Lunch fit for a sKING at the Baerstein A brilliant new gondola lift has been installed to get us to the top of the mountain - but that is not all.  There is a wonderful re-invention of the Baerstein. Same old welcome -  but a new beautiful building. A refurb at the Kleine Scharte lift station restaurant got the thumbs up from us. There was a new restaurant in town, the Aurum, very nicely fitted out by Sendlhofer, a bit too pricey for us but very nice as a special treat. Oh, and a new Weitmoserin bar in the valley lift station, very convenient for a pre-ski coffee and a well earned post ski beer.  We do miss the old HaitzingAlm chair though. TW loved her ride up through the trees for a bit of virtual skiing and a coffee. Snow scene from the 'other side' in Bad Hofgaste...

An Eight Day Grand tour to Italy Day One: Home to Vietri Sur Mare Bit of a last minute thing but we decided to go to Italy and survey the Amalfi Coast. EasyJet gave us the best deal on flights to Naples but it meant a very early start at 1:45 am. Road closures bedeviled our journey and we made the 06:40 flight from Gatwick with only 10 minutes to spare! Anyway, a happy landing in Italy. We headed for the bus into Naples followed up by two train rides. One train to took us to Salerno and then, after an OK lunch at the seafront, a Regional Train full of school kids to Vietri Sur Mare. Our lodgings were just down the road from the station and our hostess was waiting for us at Casa Mare, a nice little private Apartment. Vietri is renowned for its Ceramics and is not as posh and touristy as other towns on the Amalfi Coast. Lots of little shops and cafes in the busy town built high on a steep cliff-side. It takes about 20 mins to get down to the water with its beaches and restaurants. ...

Alpe-Adria bike ride - the remake! We often see bike tourists laden with panniers pedaling through the the Gastein Valley when we are in Bad Hofgastein. I always imagine they are heading for Italy and the Adriatic sea and invariably I am pea green with envy. Having ridden North from Grado to Bad Hofgastein in the rain a few years ago I really wanted to do the trip in reverse. A Southerly trip must be easier surely? Anyway, an opportunity arose in September 2018. I still have the legs and a very nice tourer so off I toddled. Leaving our Apartment in Bad Hofgastein is never easy. Apart from it being a bit of a sad departure after a lovely trip, we have to leave it 'Austria clean' with all our private stuff safely stowed away. I had to be up at 6 am to get my chores done in time. Day One Bad Hofgastein to Paternion via Spittal - 85km Stage 1 - Bad Hofgastein to Paternion I eventually headed off in light drizzle at around 10:30 am. A left turn onto the cycle path headi...