We spent the morning in Spittal an der Drau just goofing off, sitting in a park, trying to repair my Wahoo head unit that lost its connectivity, and doing not too much else. We had a train to catch after lunch that takes us through a mountain to Bad Gastein.
Bad Gastein is an incredible site to see. The city is perched on a semicircular gorge with a roaring waterfall plunging through the center. The upper falls are right at the street, the lower falls are a torrent of water crashing into a lagoon pool before swiftly heading downstream. It’s a unique place.
The descent out of the town is dramatic, with extreme grades of ~15% sometimes, as well as crowded streets filled with walking tourists and other cyclists. Good luck to you if you’re riding from north to south!
The rest of the day was a typical ride through farms and villages. With some interesting civil engineering sights, like a balanced hydroelectric plant that takes water from a high reservoir through a pipe, into the turbines, then when electric costs are lower, pumps it back up the hill. We discovered the high reservoir empty, so perhaps it’s out of service. Still cool to see, though.
We got in late to Bischofshofen, but with enough daylight to see the famous ski jump set into the west hillside. Hopefully, we can come back during winter to see it in action.






