In Salzburg

September 19, 2021

A river runs through it

Another beautiful blue sky day in Salzburg. Long range weather forecasts have been suggesting that these may be rainy days but it has been much better than anticipated. Today we have planned a similar ride as yesterday along the Salzach River to Oberndorf, about 15 kms north of Salzburg.

The early mornings are becoming a bit cooler now so a slower start to the day works well for us. Breakfast in the hotel is efficient and has all the ingredients that will get your day going but as the hotel is fairly large the ambience was not as calm as Stadhalle in Vienna. The offerings of bread, eggs, cheeses and meats were good and set us up well for the day.

At 11 am, obviously in no real rush, we unlocked our bikes in the garage and headed out down hill toward the river. At the bottom of the short decline we turned right and began to follow the river north. The weather was perfect and the scenery an equal match. A short distance along we crossed the river and followed along the east bank for a bit, only to find it dead ended about four kms along the cyclepath. On the backtrack to the nearest bridge Scott picked up a piece of metal in his tire. Our first flat repair. Good to get that out of the way!

We saw this picture on a signboard by a lake. Without any english on most signs we are often left trying to piece together the information being provided. Pat says it is Scott escaping her cooking. More likely do not eat the fish.

Such a cool way to add a pedestrian and cycle bridge to a standard road crossing.

This very cool, architecturally interesting dam is but one of the several river crossings provided for pedestrians and cyclists that we used today.

The crush gravel path leads almost all the way to Oberndorf and then connects with a series of road and path routes leading into town. Truth is we really did not find any real connection with the town of Oberndorf but the town of Laufen located just across the river had many interesting sites as well as coffee shops.

Pat on route to Oberndorf along the fine asfalto. (crushed gravel) Pat is not a big fan of this surface but it is in very good shape and lets you ride right down by the river.

Crossing the bridge from Obendorf to Laufen. This part of Laufen is a very cute little town. The bridge is pretty special too.

In Laufen there are many attractive buildings.

I thought this was cool. A storage locker that allows you to plug your ebike charger and battery inside a locker that has an electrical outlet. You can then close the door and take the key with you. A safe way to secure expensive batteries while they are being charged. Neat solution for ebike owners.

And this is how you pay for the service. one or two euros depending on your charging period.

Picture of the bend in the river near Oberndorf. This is an internet picture but provides a great view of the landscape. Laufen is in the middle right at the tip of the river bend.

Looking across at Laufen from the other bank right at the narrow bend of the river.

After dawdling around we eventually made our way back to Salzburg riding a slightly different route beside fields of corn, through farming areas and the towns of Anthering and Bergheim. Really very nice easy riding as we went back and forth across the river to where the cyclepath becomes much more congested and trickier to navigate near Salzburg.

Red light! No running the light here! The trains are fast and quiet and arrive very quickly once the lights are activated.

The Salzach river is often wide and smooth but in places where the river narrows you get a sense of its full force.

Interesting fish ladder located in a tributary feeding the Salzach.

A pretty church growing out of the trees on the banks of the Salzach. This picture is taken looking across the river from the east side of the river.

An afternoon beverage and an appy in a restaurant in the shadow of the Salzburg castle and the day was almost complete save one more exceptionally special event!

Marko Feingold Bridge crosses the Salzach right near the center of town, its many locks shining in the afternoon sun. The elegant Hotel Sacher in the background. Looking it up on Booking.com, it gets good reviews should you be looking for a place to stay.

The view from our afternoon refreshment break.

Through a chance encounter we found ourselves in Salzburg on the same night as some fellow bloggers on Cycleblaze. For people who follow the blog, Scott and Racheal do not need an introduction. Pat and I were thrilled to have such interesting dinner companions at a local Italian restaurant. We spent the evening swapping travel stories as well as cycle touring hints. We certainly gained more from this experience than we could offer, as the Andersons have been touring for over 2o years and now do it pretty much full time. At the end of the night we said goodbye to our newly connected friends and wished them well as they head south toward Italy. Our plan takes us east into Austria's lake district known as the Salzkammergut.

One half of team Anderson, our dinner companions for the evening. Rachael and Scott - preeminent cycle tourers and fellow Cycleblaze bloggers were in Salzburg at the same time as us. Definitely worth a dinner out.

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Today's ride: 59 km (37 miles)
Total: 109 km (68 miles)

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Rachael AndersonWe had a wonderful time visiting with you last night. Looks like the weather is going to be good fo several times. Have a great trip!
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