Distance travelled: 58km

Number of times we had to stop for directions: 9

We set off at the respectable hour of 8.30am maps in hand and confident that we could find our way after our earlier trial run. hmmm…. The touring company had provided us with a very undetailed map and ‘translated’ written instructions as to how to navigate the more tricky sections of the route.

The first 15km took 3 hours!!! Once we worked out that ‘turn right’ sometimes meant ‘turn left’ and ‘underpass’ sometimes meant ‘overpass’ – we decided to ditch the instructions and go with our gut – at least until we found a village with an information centre, English speaking guide & new maps. From then on it was much more straight forward (well a bit).

The scenery was spectacular. Gorgeous green fields full of dandelions between Salzburg & The village of Eugendorf…..

the leg from Eugendorf to Thalgau took forever – many missed turns – ended up in the middle of someone’s paddock at one stage. But retained our sense of humour and tried not to panic at the thought of the remaining 50km of uncertainty.

Once we hit the Salzkammergut Cycle path we were able to relax and follow our noses & enjoy our surroundings more. And wow – this is spectacular countryside!

We arrived at our hotel at about 3pm. Right on the edge of the beautiful Attersee Lake

All in all a fabulous, albeit challenging day – we are SOOOOO glad that we gave this a go!

May Day in Salzberg heralded the post-winter opening of the Untersberg Mountain cable car, so we donned our winter woollies and headed up. The cable car trip up was eerie as the mountain was shrouded in clouds.

However with the promise of the fog clearing we holed up in the tavern and waited it out

David in his second favourite habitat[/caption]

We weren’t disappointed

After a quick trip back to old town to mingle with the masses in traditional dress celebrating May Day, we managed to talk a guy from a bike hire place into selling is two tyre tubes to replace spare we used on the flat from yesterday (as all the shops are closed today). So we are now set to head off early in the morning on the first leg of our ride, from Salzburg to Attersee – fingers crossed the weather is kind to us!

Flat tyres: 1

No pictures tonight. Just a quick entry to say we did our first test ride tonight with a minor hurdle to overcome first – a flat tyre. But a great opportunity to test out our bike maintenance skills before heading out into the wilderness – and we did it!

Rode the first 10km of the route we will be taking on Friday just to make sure we know our way out of the city (maps are in German). It’s actually really easy to get around by bike – only the first 50m is on roads and the rest on designated cycle paths or lanes – well at least for the first 10k anyway 🙂

As you can imagine we attract a bit of attention- lots of call outs as we go by – the words ‘tandem’ and ‘helmut’ seem to be part of the universal language. Not sure if they are calling out “she’s not pedalling on the back” or “you look like idiots in those helmets”.

Cyclists are everywhere and ride quite sedately here- no Lycra in sight (which is refreshing). All very friendly. One chap rode along side us for a couple of km chatting about the city and his visit to Oz. His parting advice was “Stop in the beer hall next to the church on your way home, and get rid of those helmets!”

hmmm – maybe if we put shower caps over the top of them people won’t realise we are wearing helmets???

Strudels consumed: 1 each
Outrageously funny tourist experiences: 1
Belly laughs: 100+

WARNING: If you are not a Sound of Music fan exit this post NOW.

We woke up bright and early today – David could hardly contain himself, as today was the day of the Sound of Music Tour!!! With the rain teaming down (yes it was the Sound of Music tour and not the Singing in the Rain tour) we skipped down to the bus singing about our favourite things – it kept raining.

So…let’s start at the very beginning…a very good place to start… (Collective groan)

Our tour guide Peter was hilarious – but also really knowledgable about Salzburg – so it was actually a great way to get to know the city. Although cloud cover obscured the mountain views in the Lakes district.

The route down to Mondsee (the town with the church where Maria & the Baron got married) was the same as we will be taking on the first day of our ride (or the bike track along side it) – so it gave us a sneak peek of what we will be in for.

We finished up at the Mirabell Palace (palace built by the Archbishop for his mistress with whom he had 14 children….go figure) where all the Do Rei Me scenes were filmed.

As luck would have it, it was the Mayor’s birthday, so we were treated to a traditional ceremony, complete with strapping (although aged) men in lederhosen and an armed salute.

From here we went to the Hohensalzburg Fortress stopping only for a quick tour of the Mozart residence on the way. The fortress was spectacular with incredible views of the city…

Finished the day with a traditional hearty pub meal of boiled beef and potatoes (for me) and sausages and sauerkraut (for David) with the inevitable stein of course.

Last job before bed was to assemble the bike (thank goodness that’s over!). Will test ride today – only 2 more days before the big ride starts!