Fri 19th
You wont be surprised that I did the Nockalmstrasse again this
morning. The cloud lifted early, so this time I rode it in full sun.
Only a little traffic this time, mostly coming the other way from the
southern entrance.
From there to the Villacher alpen strasse, a similar toll road, but
thankfully free with the local discount card from the hotel. Only a
tad less good than the Nockalm, but there is an almost 360 degree
panorama from the top. Unfortunately, it was very hazy, so pics not
that good.
Then cut eastwards, along with other bikers, to pick up the B69. Just
getting into the swing with alternating left right 3 rd gear curves,
when the dreaded Umleitung signs appeared. We were directed some miles
on a single lane forest track, just like the ones aj finds on his
mystery tours of Wales. I was ok on the GS, but pity the poor guys on
sports bikes.
After that, I headed S over a pass into Slovenia for the first time.
Did not look vastly different in prosperity than Austria. Not as stark
a difference as Italy and Austria.
Roads I chose were on the edge of the Michelin map of Austria, on
which I have been relying. They could have been quite good to ride,
but traffic was heavy. My old Garmin 550 showed nothing beyond the
Austrian boarder. Fortunately, the new one is more new Euro superstate
minded, and shows just as much detail as home.
Went through few light industrial towns, before getting into the hills
and forest. Asked the price of the first 3 star hotel I found, only to
learn B&B was higher than the half board I had been paying in Austria.
Set a route on the sat nav that would take me back to Austria on a
circular route, if I did not see an attractive hotel or B&B. There are
any number of the latter in Germany and Austria, but I was beginning
to dispair of seeing one, when I saw a sign. So I am overnighting at a
small farm B&B in the hills about 30 miles within the country. No internet of course.
The only downside was having to get back on the GS to have a very good
dinner in a restaurant 2 miles away. Sadly the wild boar on the menu
was not available, but I had a very tasty cheesy meat dish instead.
- Slovenian farm
- Achtung Kinder! You know my views on kids, but these were quite cute
Sat 20th
After a walk down the lane, and a chat with the grandfather about the
size of the farm, and the bad vine crop ( disease, and lack of sun ),
I set off for Austria again. There were a few roadside hotels, and a
couple of B&Bs on the way so I would not have been stuck last night,
but I'm glad I stayed where I did.
with less traffic, some of the riding was quite good. On the flatter
land, there were small plots of hops, but most had been picked.
My route brought me out onto the B69 again. Always good to do a 69
from head to tail. Turns out, it's a bit of a tour route for bikers
and car clubs alike. Good choice of hotels, and B&B, which were to
elude me later in the day.
The rest of the morning was spent having fun ( with local weekend
bikers) on the hilly roads that form a figure of eight centering on
Twimberg. Some of the best riding I have had, so it shows mountains
are not always necessary, although one of the 'hills' peaked at just
over 6000 feet.
My enjoyment would have continued, had it not been for light/medium
rain for an hour and a half. But since that is the first significant
precipitation I have had in eleven days, I can't complain.
It dried up again for full enjoyment of the roads in the Tauern
region. Some really nice 4th and 5 th gear sweepers up and down the
hills.
As I intimated earlier, there wasn't a great choice in accommodation.
The sixth place I looked at and asked the price, was a wood cabin kind
of place, with a central function room and restaurant, popular with 20
somethings
ing. So you can see how well I fit in here.
Chris