We travel to compare our imagination with reality.
Country
The five villages (Cinque Terre) at the Italian West Coast attracted me for quite some time. Ingrid was there before and was my tour guide. We returned via the Lago Maggiore and the province of Vorarlberg to Haag. We traveled by car.
Stopped a couple of times on Autobahn fuel stations.
Coming home to Haag safely.
A remarkable journey around Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, England, Scotland and France comes to an end.
I posted most of these blogs during the Corona shutdown around the year change form 2020 to 2021. I re-lived a wonderful journey and enjoyed every minute working on it.
In 2018 I was already in Sicily, in the USA, at the Plitvice Lakes and Croatia. Now I had to ride around Upper Austria again.
But after 2015 and 2017 with the Racing Bike and light luggage, I took the Touring Bike and a tent.
27.07.2018, Haag – Elisabethsee
28.07.2018, Elisabethsee – Grundlsee
29.07.2018, Grundlsee – Wolfgangsee
30.07.2018, Wolfgangsee – Leitgeringer See
31.07.2018, Leitgeringer See – Passau
01.08.2018, Passau – Haag
2016 was a year of cycling. My total mileage was 5.600 km and 42.700 m uphill. It started in March with the Cape Town ARGUS Cycling Race which I had accomplished about 8 times before. Next came to substantiate a long standing dream end of 2015 to cycle to Rome. We trained hard for it and did it in June.
Cycling with a touring bike and a tent is most enjoyable and gives a great sense of freedom.
To cycle to the Lake of Neusiedlersee in Burgenland was the proof of the pudding in July.
In total I cycled about 550 km and 4.000 m altitude and the trip lasted 7 days.
Somewhere on the way back between Neusiedler See, Semmering and Maria Zell the idea was born also to cycle to the French Pyrenees to Saint Jean Pied de Port, the starting point of the Camino Francais.
Day 1, 10.06.2019, Haag – Passau
Day 2, 11.06.2019, Passau – Landshut
Day 3, 12.06.2019, Landshut – Wörthsee
Day 4, 13.06.2019, Wörthsee – Öschlsee
Day 5, 14.06.2019, Öschlsee – Lindau
Day 6, 15.06.2019, Lindau – Meersburg
Day 7, 16.06.2019, Meersburg – Konstanz
Day 8, 17.06.2019, Konstanz – Bregenz
Day 9, 18.06.2019, Bregenz – Pettneu
Day 10, 19.06.2019, Pettneu – Innsbruck /by bike) – Haag (by train)
2015 was my first year of semi-retirement and provided lots of opportunities for sports. As a teenager I only once had the chance to ride a small motor bike to one of the lakes and sleep in a tent. I always dreamed about to repeat this some time using a bicycle instead of the moped. And here we are. I reached the main 14 lakes and was very pleased with that…
8 days with lots of fun.
Day 1, 21.08.2015, Haag to Ebensee
110 km, 1.200 m uphill
All set and ready to go in Haag.
First brake in Kremsmünster
From the lake of Traunsee I wanted to cross a hill to the 2 lakes of Langbathsee. It became on of the toughest stages I had to accomplish, because I lost my way and it was too late to turn around.
First nights rest in Bodensee at the lake of Traunsee
Day 2, 22.08.2015, Ebensee to Obertraun
40 km, 195 m uphill
Day 3, 23.08.2015, Obertraun to 3 lakes
78 km , 750 m uphill
Day 4, 24.08.2015, Obertraun – Mondsee
78 km, 786 m uphill
Day 5, 25.08.2015, Mondsee to 4 lakes
98 km, 825 m uphill
Day 6, 26.08.2015, Mondsee – Scharnstein
75 km, 643 m uphill
Day 7, 27.08.2015, Scharnstein to 3 lakes
55 km, 440 m uphill
Day 8, 28.08.2015, Scharnstein to Haag
78 km, 774 m uphill
Back home safely.
During my professional life at the BMW Group time for sports was rather scarce. But when I retired in May 2015 I was on the move. I looked up the route from the official website from the “Race around Upper Austria“. In order to navigate with Google Maps I had to simplify the one or the other stretch. I also avoided the full amount of uphill sections (Original 9.300 m).
I needed 3 1/2 days for about 570 km and 5.800 m uphill.
The 4 stages of the 3,5 days:
In August 2017 I set myself a new target to finish the round in 3 days, down half a day from 2015. Here is the result:
The 3 stages of the 3 days:
The pictures are the same of both events, and should give an impression of how beautiful my home province is.
Haag – Großraming – Unterlaussa – Unterlaussa Church
Hengstpass – Windischgarsten – Kirchdorf – Gmunden
Altmünster – Weissenbach – St. Gilgen – Fuschl
Hof – Seekirchen – Seeham – Ort/Innkreis
Osternacherhof – Schärding – Passau – Engelhartszell
Oberkappel – Ulrichsberg – Bad Leonfelden – Freistadt
Kefermarkt – Kefermarkter Altar – Ennsdorf – Haag
This would be the last day of 43 days on the road. It will be 100% highway and still need lots of attention. I had to have 3 “pit-stops” to make it mentally. At the end of the day homecoming was sweet.
Approaching border to Austria.
Approaching Haag.
Do not come with empty hands 🙂
On Friday, 31.07.2020, Ingrid and I left for our second attempt to play Golf in Steiermark and Carinthia. This time we were much more successful although also played in the rain twice.
To be continued.
On Friday, 12.06.2020, Ingrid and I started to a Golf tour in Austria with our motor-home. We came back already after 4 days on Monday, 15.06.2020, because of bad weather.
To be continued.
On Monday, 20.07.2020, I started to cycle southwards to Carinthia via Pass Pyhrn and Pass Triebener Tauern and then back via Mallnitz – Bad Gastein.
That would include about 700 km and 6.000 m altitude again.
Route maps and table:
On Wednesday, 24.06.2020, Heinz Weitenthaler and I met at the Mobil fuel station in Haag to start our 4 day cycling tour around Lower Austria. That would include about 700 km and 6.000 m altitude.
Route Map from the Race around Lower Austria. Route table below.
Day 1, 24.06.2020, Haag – Eggern, 175 km, 1.800 m uphill
Day 2, 25.06.2020, Eggern – Marchegg, 203 km, 1.100 m uphill
Day 3, 26.06.2020, Marchegg – Reichenau, 158 km, 1.800 m uphill
Day 4, 27.06.2020, Reichenau – Haag, 175 km , 1.900 m uphill
Route map 333 km
Summary:
Final day with easy riding towards south-east again to home town Haag. Only short pit stop in Autobahn restaurant.
Leaving Berg.
Arriving in Haag:
In these 33 days of my first long run motor-home journey I collected tons of memories and impressions which could last for a life time. The amount of endorphins was also remarkable. And the latter ones are possibly the reason why I feel the addiction has started to catch me badly…