Day 73: Holzoster to Salzburg, Austria: Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht
Our camping spot was more of a back yard of a gasthaus. This was great because we had it all to ourselves. Nearby was not only the sanitary facilities but our favourite thing, a shelter with tables and power. After cooking our oatmeal in this luxury facility, we set out.
This meant going to the first intersection and looking at the vast array of radweg signs. In fact, there are at least a dozen signed routes weaving through this area. We chose a likely one to take us to the Tauernradweg, which runs beside the Salzach, up to Salzburg.
There are a crazy number of bike routes in this region.
As we made our way along the marked “roads” (we would call these bike paths, or maybe (if a little wider) “driveways” in North America, we realized that this was really biking heaven. Little towns were typically a kilometre apart , and the roads wove and twisted among them through the gentle countryside.
Eventually we reached the river and turned toward Salzburg. While the Tauernradweg (R3A) yesterday had had a lot of slow going gravely bits, we now got 15km of good paved path, right by the river.
Houses have balconies and flowers, but not shutters.
We wanted to be sure not to miss Oberndorf, the town where Silent Night was composed and first sung (in 1818). No problem, because not only is Oberndorf right on the radweg, but signage directed us right to the chapel that stands on the site of the original (St. Nicholas) church. The Stille Nacht Platz includes the chapel and a museum/gift shop, as well as the Stille Nacht Café. None of this is even slightly garish. It is wonderful and touching. In the chapel are tributes to Joseph Mohr, who wrote the poem, and Franz Gruber, who composed the music. These tributes take the form of two stained glass windows, one dedicated to each person.
We were thinking about eating out today and the café in the square looked really inviting. For a second I thought it might not be wise (for price and quality) to go to a café right at such a famous attraction. No such thing. First off, the people around were not so many, and almost all had come by bike (i.e. our kind of people). Next, the prices were reasonable and the food was truly excellent. We spent over two hours at this pleasant spot, a highlight of the day.
We thought about going into the centre of Salzburg for a quick look around, but took the easier way of spinning off the river to a camping spot about 4 km northeast. This spot did have a lot of campingcars, but they were nicely placed in treed spots. There was also a pool and play area for kids. Unlike kids we have complained about in other camping, the ones here were just fully enjoying the facilities. The sound of kids having fun (but without shrieking) is music to grampies’ ears, and we have sat here blogging and watching the kids play, happily for a long time.
I have blithered on almost daily (ok, daily) about whether a camping spot has table, chair, and power, and wifi. This one has that, but also something so dear to Dodie’s heart she may never leave: a centrifuge for drying clothes (free). Actually, free washer and dryer would be the best, but this thing is allowing our stuff to sun dry in a time frame that works for us. On top of that there is coffee, some groceries, and fresh bread in the morning at the camping office. This creates about as much Grampie happiness as a 400-600 year old cathedral!
Back to the R3A by the river. The density of cyclists got greater and greater, and in spots it got dangerous. Few ring when passing, some try to sneak by on the right, others approach riding double, and then there are the speed demons blasting through everyone.
Outside picturesque old towns there is often an ugly ring of new town. Why, with our modern wealth and equipment do we make places that are so unfriendly?
