France, Austria, Slovakia, Czech - Summer 2019 European Road Tour Part 1 of 2

Heading off to the Continent

An early Summer tour - 30th May 2019

First thing to do - choose the route. There are two basic routes to Austria from UK after reaching Calais. Go a bit North and travel through Belgium and Germany or head South via France, then into Germany. Despite the toll roads we opted for France with it's better and quieter roads. After a trip through the Tunnel we headed for Champagne. The Eurotunnel Terminal was busy with Spurs and some Northern team supporters heading for Madrid and the European Cup Final. We wished the Spurs fans good luck. On our way and paying for tolls on the hoof is really easy with credit cards now.  I still received some flack from her Ladyship for not driving close enough to the payment machine. If you are in a right hand drive car you are supposed to back into the toll booth so the driver can pay! It saves having to wake up your passenger. Anyway, we did not regret our French decision as it was a leisurely run down to the Champagne area and our overnight stop. Seemed to be burning a lot of fuel with the bikes on the back so we slowed down.

TW is ready for Dinner

We received a warm welcome at a lovely B&B in Marson, Le Marsonnet. Mind you, even a B&B costs £100 these days. No Restaurant in the village so we were directed to the Hotel Le Clos de Mutigny about 20 minutes away and we certainly ate well. Bit posher than our digs and very French.
Cost 67 Euros. Had nice Gardens as well. Not sure if they had any rooms but it might have been cheaper to stay here. Glad to hit the sack after a long day.

Marson

Marson is a very small village, the sort of place where you know your way around in about 10 minutes. We spent an hour or more wandering around after breakfast so we know the village backwards. We even found a solitary British war grave at the Church.

Harold Mason from WW1 is buried there, none of his mates around but a spooky similarity between his name and the village name so hopefully that made him feel at home.

Our Gite

We like to have good look around our stopping places but the downside is we lose time on the road.
Anyway, we headed off across Champagne on bit of a detour to Epernay then picked up the Autoroute and headed for Germany. Our Sat Nav Lady had a bit of a senior moment as she decided to send us round in a big circle. We ended up in Ulm eventually. Sadly our late start and the detour meant we were too late to book ourselves into a nice Gastof. We ended up in a massive modern Hotel by the Autobahn. Our fellow guests were mainly Harley Davidson owners. They were having a bikey convention. The men and women looked pretty scary in their leathers and wild hair but, happily, they were friendly and we had a good look at the massive array of bikes the next morning. We were on the road before they headed off. They planned a tour in convoy around Bavaria on their much loved machines. The only rusty one had Italian plates. Stereotype perhaps?

Harley heaven

The Italian job

Next stop Bad Hofgastein Austria and our little place. Very nice to be home and we arrived in time to watch the Champions League Final, the less said about that the better. An early penalty put paid to Spurs hopes.

Our morning view

Bad Hofgastein - Walking on the Schlossalm

Walking down with J & T

Up in the clouds?

Time to head for the hills and a Summer ride up on the new lift. Still loads of snow on the ground as we headed down the Schlossalm from the Kleine Scharte for an interesting walk to the Middle Station and a Baerstein lunch! We had to walk very carefully over some tricky traverses through the woods. Normally it's a very sedate path through the trees but today with piles of icy snow at intervals it was quite tricky. One false move and we would have been sliding down the hill into oblivion. Anyway, we made it and the crew at the Baerstein were pleased to see us. It would certainly not be the last visit to our most favoured lunch spot on this trip.

Heading home across the fields

It was stunning June 2019 weather so we had to make the most of it. One of our favourite bike rides is to Bad Gastein via the Erzerhog Johann Promenade. It's a steep climb initially as the road wends its way up the Angertal past grazing cows and fields of wild flowers. Then the route flattens out as we head around the Stubnerkogel mountain. We always stop for a coffee, and maybe more, at the Hauseben Mountain Distillery. Then we continue on the Promenade to Bad Gastein. Today, we pedalled through Bad Gastein to the Kochbachtal. We were heading for a rustic restaurant, the Himmelwand, that is part way up the valley for a light lunch. It was all going swimmingly until TW knocked over a Schnapps on the neighbouring table. She immediately offered to replace it but the Lady was bit of  a sourpuss and did not see any humour in the situation. If looks could kill we would be pushing up daisies. Mind you, her clothes were probably ruined. Some of the schnapps varieties are more corrosive than battery acid. By the way, some of the Huts make their own Schnapps but this particular owner has been spotted by our friends buying it in a Supermarket!

TW out on her bike (at a favourite coffee stop)

I was hungry at Hauseben!

Hauseben -cosy inside

Hauseben - nice view with your coffee

Come on, no dawdling! She's electric.

Great views on our favourite route to Bad Gastein

Melt water

Not sure about these animals

The e-bikers on tour -I counted them all out, and I counted them all back.

Tina on her rocket bike

A team of 5 left Bad Hofgastein for a ride down the valley to Dorfgastein and up to the Hauserbauer Hotel for a bit of lunch. Everyone was keen and gave it a go but two of the team had not been on bikes in recent years so there was a bit of concern. The run down to Dorfgastein on the bike route went very well and we stopped for a celebratory coffee on the Terrace at the Hotel Romerhof, another of our favourites. It has a pleasant area at the back with plenty of shade. We then decided to attempt the Alpine Section of the tour! We headed uphill to Hauserbauer Hotel. A few breaks in the Peleton going up but it was a contented group that reached the sunny terrace overlooking the town ready for a drink and a nice salad. We are well known there as well and the waitress was very friendly

John just loves his bike

TW ready for lunch a Hauserbauer

A is our lanterne rouge

After Lunch, the descent! A fall on the second corner caused a slight dip in confidence and, later, a tumble into a field but we all made it back to Bad Hofgastein in one piece.

John wanted to get his moneys worth on his rental so we decided to pop up to the Fundner Alm for a dust buster. I was on an ordinary pedal mountain bike and had already done quite a bit of climbing so I was a bit slow getting up there. It is a steep climb though of about 550m. At least I made it eventually and John bought the beers. We then descended via the middle station and on past the Baerstein Alm before going off on a forest track through trees down to Hundsdorf and Bad Hofgastein.

First time on an Electric Mountain Bike for me - not like the real thing, better!

 Birthday Boy - Another year older

Our birthday walk was to a hut, new to us, the Steiner Hochalm. We took the car down past Dorfgastein to Maierhofen, parked up and walked. And walked some more up to 1550m. I had a bit of trouble with TW as she thought we were going the wrong way. Luckily there was a signpost so I was vindicated. Bit of a relief to get to the hut. My beer came from a traditional Alm cooler, a cattle trough, and did not touch the sides. Margit was very friendly and she gave us some lovely schnapps made with the herbs that grow around the hut. She is also an expert Krapfen (doughnut) maker and gave TW a lesson. It's beyond us why they are so nice because the mix is put into hot fat but they don't end up at all greasy? So after a nice lunching experience we headed back down the same route in the lovely summer sunshine to our car. We were off to the Salzburger Hof for dinner.

Birthday Boy

It is this way madam!

Crikey, I am older than this building, its a worry

Table Manners

Margit, our friendly Hostess cooks us some Krapfen

Fresh Krapfen in the pan (Austrian doughnuts)

Fresh Krapfen on the table - they did not last very long

....And Later

A super evening at the Salzburger Hof in the Square with great company.  We were well looked after with a nice bubbly drink to kick things off. It's great having a June Birthday somewhere with decent weather. TW organised a cake and candles.

Dinner at the Salzburger Hof

The obligatory Cake organised by TW

Salzkammergut Day Trip

We had the car with us on this trip, which is unusual, so we took the opportunity for a little tour around the Lakes north of Salzburg and to Bad Ischl and Hallstatt. The weather was a bit dull but we had an enjoyable day, there is plenty to see in the Salzkammergut.. We had a spot of lunch in Bad Ischl and a good wander around the smart spa town. We toured the Kaiservilla, the Summer getaway of the Emperors, with a local guide. She spoke only in German, not sure how many guests knew what she was saying but we had cue cards to read.
Down the road in Hallstatt we had our first encounter with the massive hordes of Chinese that now visit Europe. The Chinese have a knock-off version of Hallstatt back in their homeland and have put the original on their tour itineraries. It is a lovely place but sooo.. busy. Get me back to the mountains!

A day trip to the lakes

Bad Ischl locals

Outside the Kaiservilla in Bad Ischl

Hallstatt Selfie - had to be done

Potty Mouth

Hallstatt

Hotel - Discussing the Evening Menu?

Heading East to Veggie land

Our Austrian country garden in Breitensee

The next phase of our trip took us to the East of Austria, near to Vienna. We were catching up with Franz and Maria, fellow skiers who live in the same block as us. In Winter they live in the Alps and in Summer they reside by their own Lake in great cycling country. It was a long drive over from Salzburgerland! The Austrian Autobahn service stations are not set up for customers wanting a quick cup of coffee. It seems you have to sit and wait and be served. We struggled to find somewhere en route and eventually we had to sit and were served!
It was extremely hot, a foretaste of things to come. We eventually made it and checked into our lovely cottage in Breitensee, our home for the next 5 nights. With plenty of space and a nice private garden it was perfect. We were given the keys but did not see our hosts again. We popped in to see F & M in Lassee and made plans for the following day. We were going to Slovakia on our bikes! Next morning we needed to be up with the lark. Austrians are rarely late. As we expected, they turned up at our place early. We were almost ready! It was pretty flat so perfect cycling county when the wind is not blowing. Today it was windy, of course, but at least we were heading into a nice warm hair dryer on our way to the border. We passed the, Schloss Hof, a very impressive Summer Hunting Lodge from the 1700's. We could have gone in but the Entrance Fee was a bit steep and we were enjoying the cycling too much.

Looking back to Austria - the bike bridge over the March

We crossed the March River into Slovakia on a wonderful bike bridge and stopped for a drink at one of Franz's favourite watering holes. The owner was very friendly and had worked in London. I thoroughly enjoyed our first taste of Slovakia and it was a pleasant shady stop that included sampling the local schnapps. We then pushed on in the valley towards the Danube and our Lunch stop at a typical Slovakian eatery near the river. It's not long ago that we would have been shot for crossing the river - hard to believe today that the iron curtain separated Slovakia and Austria. 

Slovakia - Franz, Maria and TW with empty plates.

Lunching Ladies in Slovakia, we liked the hat

Please don't light the fire. Marchegg in Austria

Getting the bird and the buzz - The Storks at Marchegg Austria

A short distance from Breitensee is the Marchegg Stork Village, a WWF site. The storks fly all the way up from Africa to breed here on their massive nests. We can see the attraction of the place and enjoyed it so much we went back a couple of days later. There are dozens of the birds, the only downside being mosquitoes! Even though we covered up as much as possible for our second visit they still ate our hands and faces and we ended up sprinting, or perhaps limping, for the car. The nests are huge and we could see hungry chicks in many of them. Storks are, as is well known, responsible for delivering babies. They drop them down the chimney on the due date. As a thank you, Families with a newborn in Austria put a Stork sign outside their houses.

Just  popping out for a Pint or a delivery to make?

Marchfeld area is famous for its veggies

Franz on his Lake

Cooling off in the Lake

Enjoying the flat terrain

Schloss Hof

A day trip to Bratislava, Slovakia
Cannot really get my head around the name Bratislava as a City. Sounds to me like it should really be the name of a country. Our original plan was for us to cycle over there but it was too darn hot. Anyway, Franz very kindly drove us to the B word and we had a super day in the old part of town playing at being proper tourists. We motored around on a little red bus with an earphone commentary, had a nice lunch and walked the narrow streets. There were other tourists around but Bratislava did not feel swamped like Prague. We loved it! Franz particularly likes the Maximillian Chocolate Cafe,  we can see why.

Drain Brain

The streets of Bratislava

 

A Franz favourite, the Maximillian Schoko Cafe

Maxmillian in the Main Square

On the Buses - easy touring

Tourist eating Chocolate with her Coffee

Bratislava and the Danube

Vienna - Lunch at the Wiener Prater

Lazy tourists at the Schweizerhaus. We had a wander in the Prater and a nice lunch. We perhaps should have rediscovered Vienna but we had a pleasant day out and some lovely pork and beer. The Prater is famous for its big wheel featured in Third Man film.

Someone has his eyes on the prize

Waiter go!

Looking a bit green but that is because of the brollies

Franz and Maria

Nice!

Breitensee - Loading up for the next leg

Heading for Czechia via the Donau

It was time to leave Breitensee after our very enjoyable 5 day stay. We were heading for the Czech Republic. We opted to drive through Austria in the direction of Linz and then head North rather than going via Brno. That route meant we could stop on the Danube in the Wachau area to do a bit of riverside pedalling. This turned out to be a great decision. We stayed in Wosendorf near Durnstein and pedalled down-river then crossed over on the bridge at Krems and pedalled back on the South side of the river. We, naturally, had to stop for a beer on the way of course. Our crossing to the North near Weissenkirchen was on a very environmentally friendly ferry. A cable is strung across the river and it just uses the flow of the water and steering to get across. No engine and it takes cars as well. Dinner was in a Winery https://www.weingut-eigl.at/ that seemed to be only open for a short period. We did not fully understand it but there seemed to be a rota of wine growers who each opened their doors for a few weeks. Anyway, the wine was good and the food simple.

The Source - Gruner Weitliner

Gastof Blondel where we stayed last time

The Green way to cross the Blue Danube

Crossing the Donau (Danube)

Loading up a our B&B - The Rosa Denk in Wosendorf

Dining...

...and wining at the https://www.weingut-eigl.at/

Cesky Krumlow from Austria to the Czech Republic

Not sure we got our navigation correct for the entry into Czech as we ended up on a dirt road. We were heading for Cesky Krumlow, a medieval town in Bohemia, for a two night stopover. We had not expected so many tourists. It is a pretty place but, like we were to find in Prague, it has been included in too many tour itineraries. In the end we gave up snapping the buildings and took photos of the tourists instead. 

Rough road to Czech

Cesky Krumlow - Penzion U Hamru just out of town

We stayed in a Pension just outside and walked to the town. It was not worth cycling in to the centre as it was so busy during the day and the streets were narrow and cobbled. It was only about 20 minutes on foot.

Cesky Krumlow

Enjoying a leisurely lunch

Pancake time - Someone has a sweet tooth

Move a bit to the right - nooo!

Where have all the tourists gone?

The highlight of our Bohemian stopover was taking the car down to Lake Lipno on the border with Austria. Unfortunately the most direct road along the river was closed so we ended up on a detour. When we eventually got there we unloaded our bikes and had a super ride around the Southern section of the Lake. The cycle path was great and it was a lovely mild, not too hot kind of day. We had a lovely lunch at Marina Lipno. A great setting and not too pricey either. They have skiing here in winter but pretty low altitude stuff. Lipno is definitely a nice place for a day out or perhaps even longer.

En route to Lake Lipno

Lake Lipno

Alcohol free of course

Ferry Busy across the Lake

Lake Lipno

Onward to Prague and upward

Our accommodation in Prague was pre-booked so all we had to do was find our way there. Actually it was not that bad although driving in Prague itself was a bit dicey. Trams and lights and traffic combined to make it just a bit stressful. Our Lidicka Apartment was on a one-way street with speedy trams and a narrow entrance but we squeezed in there and had a very fine welcome. We eagerly accepted the advice of our Host on where to go and what to see. 

Funicular ride to the Park

We walked off into town and took a busy funicular up to the Petrin park and then a tiny lift up a mini Eiffel Tower with an impossible name to get an overview of Prague. Magnificent view from up there. We also booked at the Hergetova Cihelna, a Restaurant that our host recommended. It was a bit pricey for a former brickworks and it was fully booked for the evening sitting. We ate early and had a lovely table on the terrace overlooking the river. We had no time to go home and change, we just walked there after our afternoon of touristing. We were very surprised to learn afterwards that it ranked only 138 on Tripadvisor, the other 137 must be pretty marvellous! The food, service and location were all as good as you could possibly hope for. Outside there was an unusual sculpture of two guys having a wee on a a map of Czech, don't ask me what it means.

Roses are blooming in - Prague

Prague uplift - Up the Tower to the observation Platform

View from the top of the tower - This is what we saw (1)

This is what we saw (2)

This is what we saw (3)

Charlies Bridge

Not sure why this young Lady is taking this picture near our Restaurant? An Unusual fountain with 2 guys having a wee on a Map?

Great meal out at the Brickworks - Hergetova Cihelna.

Charlies Bridge

Astronomical clock in the old Town Hall

Selfie among the tourists

Riverside Pizza

Just the two nights in Prague but we really enjoyed it. Could easily have stayed longer. We felt quite at home, we even went to Tesco's. Lidicka Apartment had a good value Cafe Restaurant with and brewed its own beer so that was a bonus. Unfortunately the popular tourist locations are totally swamped by punters, even in June. Next day we were up bright and early to drop TW at the airport for her flight back to Bournemouth. Bit of a tricky drive, glad we did it early before the commuters appeared. Don't think I will drive to Prague next time, let the train take the strain. Our Sat Nav did not have the Airport as a location so that did not help. At least the Airport was well placed for my drive South.

End of Part One