From Villach to Spittal an der Drau - All Roads Lead to Italy - CycleBlaze

September 17, 2017

From Villach to Spittal an der Drau

We really prefer older Gasthofs, like Mosers Pension, as they provide solid comfort, are super quiet, full of character and offer exceptional value. The Pension was built in the 1500's and has been run by the Moser family for several generations. It helps that the price is often lower for these older establishments, but that is just a perk, as we would prefer these anyway.
Last night we could see out our window that the cemetery around the church was illuminated by candles set on each of the graves. It was quite a sight. We now realize that today is a special Sunday for the church. People are arriving in traditional dress, the church has been decorated and the church bell is summoning the community to come to the service. 
It promises to be another cold and wet day, so we will bundle up and head out. We are learning that shorter days of travel are the best way for us, so we will aim for Spittal and see how it goes.

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Comfort and charm in our room at Moser's Pension.
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The cosy breakfast room and restaurant at the Pension.
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Pension Moser reception
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Packed up and ready to go
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Our guesthouse was right next to the church. We were there on Sunday morning. There was a special service and the congregation were dressed in their best traditional clothing.
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The church was nicely decorated to celebrate the harvest season. Each pew was like this
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This church is considered to be one of the most impressive Baroque churches in Carinthia region of Austria. Very old frescos can be seen on the ceiling and on some of the walls
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At the entrance to the church, you can see the fruits of the harvest.
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A pretty floral and evergreen garland around the entrance to the church. The exterior of the church is very plain which belies the grand baroque interior.
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Barry discussing the weather with a beautiful horse in the village
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The barns are very distinctive in Austria....and this one comes equipped with a satellite dish.
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We have been following the River Drau. The river is alarmingly high and is close to flooding.
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The Drau River flows through Villach
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We met an Australian couple who are retracing the journey they made in the early 1970's. Bev and Fred have Tern folding bikes that have been outfitted wit
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Villach
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Distinctive style and colour of church in this part of Austria. As you can see, the weather is once again closing in on us...time to move on.
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All through Villach there are interesting statues
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A statue of a fireman
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The trail out of Villach was very good for about 7 kilometres. It then turned into a muddy mess. We decided to ride the road instead.
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The day started with rain and briefly cleared in Villach, but by lunch time the rain started again and it is very cold. About 10 km out of Spittal, the storm really hit with heavy winds and driving rain. It was hard going. We stopped at some guesthouses and they didn't want to make up a room for us. We pedalled on and were received warmly at Pension Kasperle in Spittal. We were pretty desparate by the time we found this place as the weather just kept getting worse.

We had lunch in this bus shelter.
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When we were in Italy we came across a cow painted in the colours of the Italian flag. Today we came across the Austrian version, so we of course had to stop.
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When we were in Italy we came across a cow painted in the colours of the Italian flag. Today we came across the Austrian version, so we of course had to stop.
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This wee church was situated in the barn yard, surrounded by cows.
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Love this breed of cow with its touchably soft looking ears.
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Isn't this lovely?
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From a distance, we watched this shepherd expertly herding his sheep high up on the slopes.
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Theses cuties were watching us watch the sheep up in the hills. It was funny as they were right in front of us and we noticed them later.
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We got a kick out of this cow who clearly really enjoys "getting into" drinking from the tub.
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Today's ride: 51 km (32 miles)
Total: 2,544 km (1,580 miles)

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