25 May 2009

Bike Trip to Eisenberg

I just took a 20 km bike trip to Eisenberg and back through Hopfen am See. I refuse to accept the fact that it's so much harder to ride north away from the mountains than it is down into Austria. I guess it's because it's the foothills of the Alps. All up and down and up and down again and again. I'm exhausted and I only biked for three hours, compared to the seven hours (42 km) I biked last weekend. It doesn't help that most of the ride is in direct sunlight and it's more than 80 degrees outside today. Every time I ride to Eisenberg, I end up turning around because I'm too tired to climb up to the ruins. Maybe next time I'll take the train to Eisenberg and then bike a little further; after climbing to the ruins of course.
I did see the mansion in Hopferau, though. I stopped there to eat my lunch. It's nice: another big, old, fancy house.

Not much else going on right now, but one of my best friends is coming to visit for a week, so things will pick up soon. I can't wait to show someone else how great this place is. I have a list of about ten things we need to do when he's here. I'm thrilled!

There aren't too many photos today, since I've done this trip before.


Schloß Hopferau


Hopfensee
Me & my bike

...'til next time-tschüß!

19 May 2009

Tirol (Austria) Bike Trip Day 2

Here are the photos from Weißenbach, day two. This is where the party was the night before.

Our hosts, the Arzl family (Jonas, Angela, Markus & Laurin)

Angela raises chickens, and we had the pleasure of playing with the cute little guys. I wanted to take them home.

Baggersee

Is that a chicken in your pocket or...?

Chickzilla poops on Antarctica.

Chickzilla is also musically inclined.

Chickzilla doesn't look so tough anymore.

Our sad departure. The ride back to Füssen
Lechtal
Stuibenfälle revisited
And finally we were home. It was an excellent weekend in every sense! (Check previous post for day one)

Tirol (Austria) Bike Trip Day 1

This weekend my cousin Alex and I took a bike tour through Tirol, Austria. The first day we rode about 26 miles, which is probably the longest time I've ever spent on a bicycle. Most of the trip was fairly easy, but we did have to walk uphill for about a half hour at one point. Shortly after that we stopped by the Vils river to take some photos and Alex's camera fell in the river. We couldn't believe it! He set it on a bench, pressed the button and next thing you know it was gone. This farmer and his wife came by and offered to check the next day when the water was a bit shallower, which was really nice. I don't think either one of us thinks we'll be hearing from them, but who knows?
We proceeded to Weißenbach am Lech, which is where we stayed for the night. We couch surfed with a nice family who live in a farmhouse. They were having a party for their son's birthday in the nearby woods, which was a blast. Everyone was really friendly, the food was great, there was a campfire, music, beer…what more could you want?

Where the hell are we? A break by the Haldensee
Nothing like a Radler and a bowl of Bärlauch (wild garlic) soup
Are you gonna eat your leaf?

The party in Weißenbach am Lech