Day 5 – June 30, 2025
It was yet another fine day we woke up to. I sacrificed the €3.50 to take a shower - that is more like a morning coffee for me.
Still life at the campground
It took a while to get ready, but when we did start, there was quite an incline waiting for us, we were headed up to 1,628 meters (from roughly 1,055m).
Nice switchbacks
Allez, allez, allez!
If you look closely, you can see the waterfall in the middle
Still smiling!
At the top
Levente waited yet another half an hour or so for me to arrive, but I was glad to have reached the top at 1,628 meters. Now it was a downhill ride - a herd of cows greeted us on the other side
"Moooooh" said the lead cow
Soon we reached a viewpoint, looking at a lake called Durlassboden.
A nice reservoir
We crossed into the state of Tyrol and a nice looong climb - only to have some unexpected traffic - another herd of cows almost blocked the road.
Traffic
We got into the skiing town of Gerlos, which was now quite empty, with just a few occasional hikers. We stopped at a local SPAR, where we were served by a Hungarian employee and we chatted about his life in Tyrol for a while.
Gerlos - pretty, but also pretty empty
We now had a looong drop, via many switchback and rather steep places, down to a pretty town (well, most of the towns in that area are pretty) called Zell am Ziller.
Dropping down to Zell am Ziller
Usually, having completed a major pass, I feel great for having done it - but I often have the feeling it would have been a lot-lot harder from the other side - this was definably the case here; so if you happen to go to the Krimml Falls by bike, I recommend following the route we had taken - and not the other way.
Im Zell we took a short tactical rest on the beautifully maintained lawn of a small park - tactical, as we were discussing our next step. As much as I would have enjoyed riding further with Levente, the clock was ticking and he had to return to Budapest by train in the next day or two. One viable option was from Innsbruck, which was not all too far, about 65 kilometers away, following the Inn River - getting there was a relatively flat terrain. The other option was to go up to the Brenner Pass - which also with a rail connection - via a mountainous road through a small town called Tux.
Regarding option 2, the road on Google Maps looked so small I actually called the Tyrolean tourist office to ask whether they knew anything about this way, whether it is paved at all. The lady thought I was making a prank call, she asked me twice if I really meant what I was asking, sort of saying, if you are crazy enough, you can do it, and yes, it is paved. She told me, though, she would think twice about it even by car.
Remember, we skipped the Grossglockner Hochalmstrasse - that would have meant a elevation gain of some 2,000 meters over 55 kilometers. Looking more closely at the map, we figured why she was so hesitant to suggest it: it was even more that the Grossglockner...! So we decided to forego this challenge - not only due to the strenuous climb, but it was also unclear where we would be able to find a suitable accommodation. Further, the weather forecast showed there would be rain that afternoon. So thanks, but no thanks, maybe another time. (OK, I wrote a lot about this, maybe some of you out there might want to bike this...)
Innsbruck it is, that is where we were headed. After quite a push due to strong headwinds (despite the road dropping slightly), we reached the valley of the River Inn close to Jennbach, where we were again surrounded by beautiful nature. (Such a boring country, Austria, everything is so pretty, eh?)
River Inn
Who would have thought it would rain later?
Now we were riding on the same place I had ridden the previous year. Alas, the forecast was correct and we got rained on yet again (not for the last time on this trip) , we sought refuge in a bakery of a tiny town - address unknown - and we had to use the public toilet. Too many details, you might correctly say - but I am mentioning this to pay tribute the amazingly clean, modern facility that is financed by the public hand. This, too, is Austria.
Levente recommended we follow the main road - as the bike path tends to be a lot more wet (the wheel of the cars and their motion dries the road a lot faster), it was not really busy. We made good distance and reached the town of Schwaz, a wonderful place and a former silver mining town. A year ago, I was amazed by thw wonderful church there - and made it a point to show it to Levente.
Safe for the car, like in the middle ages
The courtyard of the church
No crowds
Still life
Look at that bridge...!
We were now just 30 kilometers shy of Innsbruck and contemplated which campground to stay at close to the city. The forecast showed a small chance of rain that night - but just looking at the clouds we convinced ourselves that the more viable option was to go for a hotel - and after quite a search, we found a "boutique hostel" a few miles off center, with an acceptable price tag.
On the road to Innsbruck, the architecture started getting interesting...
A cool building next to the main road leading to Innsbruck
...not to be outdone by architects within the city limits!
Not bad, either!
Google Maps led us to the hotel on a horrible road - it was a field where a grumpy lady with her dog barked at us (the dog did not mind) for biking there. Anyhow, the place was better than our expectations - two friendly ladies from Poland greeted us warmly and while our room was tiny, it was bright and clean, with a well-equipped bathroom. We threw our stuff down and rode to town for some sight-seeing.
Hübelebalázs me did not think there would be rain that night - and despite dark clouds gathering, I thought they would pass. I was wrong, very wrong. The moment we reached the iconic landmark of the Golden Roof (Goldenes Dachl), a huge wind arouse, the certain sign that the steep mountains surrounding town would soon send a spelll of thunder upon the city. Still in denial, I wanted to guide Levente around downtown - "game over", is what he said and started riding in mega gusts of wind towards the hostel.
Just before the storm
The gods were on our side, we did not get wet, but what followed after us getting back to the building was a full-fledged storm, lightning, then a few seconds later thunder that shook the entire building and lots and lots of rain. There was a patio in front of the hotel, but it was only partially covered - so not much fun getting soaked there. One option was to have our dinner in our tiny room. We went for another, rather unconventional option - we opened the double glass door of the hotel´s entrance and placed two armchairs there - and pulled a table from the patio (thus practically blocking the entrance of the hotel) and spread out our plentiful food supply. We were pretty much convinced no one would be arriving at this hour - and probably no one would want to leave into such weather.
The war zone we had created
How wrong we were. There were multiple guests arriving, some with their large suitcases and we helped them bypass the barricade we had set up. There was even a large group of teenagers, completely wet, arriving - and after a few minutes, some of them left again, probably to go clubbing.
It was still a memorable experience, our "last dinner", watching the elements of nature evolve up above. The Polish ladies, when finishing their duty, smiled at us and wished us "bon appetit" - a welcome change, we expected to be shouted at.
Our bed was small even for one person. Levente did something quite surprising - we pulled his blanket and laid down on the floor...He told me he had slept well that night, so did I.
Here is the map of the day Day 5 - June 30, 2025 - about 104 kilometers.