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Salzburg (unplanned)rest days) - (04/05-May-2019)


Not quite the rest days I had in mind. Took the detour to Salzburg to avoid the bad weather forecasted for the weekend. Just as well, as it’s snowing outside as I write this blog. Snow and cycling just don’t go. 
Tomorrow, the plan is to cycle to St Gilgen, a short 30km ride with a twist, a steep climb. The short distance is governed by finding suitable accommodation. Tomorrow’s forecast is not much better than today’s, will make the final decision to ride or not after I get up.
Salzburg, I am over Sound of Music which is played nightly at 8pm in my accommodation. It’s amazing how much of the town’s economy is attached to the movie.
Took a stroll down to the old town, full with tourists and very friendly local folks. I could write about all the tourist attractions visited but I believe Wikipedia/Google would do it more justice than I. 

What I will say is that right in the middle of the two main squares in the old town were 100’s of secondhand bicycles for sale, a separate bicycle auction, stalls selling new bikes, accessories and a free bike cleaning service provided by the town council, Happy days for me, went straight back to my accommodation to get my bike and brought it to the stall which gave the love it needed; a good wash and dry. It’s funny how good a bike feels after a wash and dry. It’s not going to last that way for too long as the forecast for the next few days means it won’t be long before it’s dirty again.


Met a nice young lady from Delhi, India (at the hostel) doing an MBA in Madrid on an exchange program; always interesting to share stories of cultural differences between the young Indians living in the western culture and the parents generation coming to terms with it. 
This is my first experience of staying at a hostel; not disappointed at all. Friendly staff, great facilities and environment and vibrant energetic friendly young people. Am talking with an Australian from Melbourne, two from India and a Canadian to boot whilst writing this blog exchanging travel experiences and sharing views on anything and everything. The nicest thing is no one sits in judgment of the other. The Melbournian is die-hard Liverpool supporter like myself; lucky bastard is off to Liverpool next weekend to watch the last game of the season. The food served in the hostel is comparable with RSL clubs with a free salad bar so one goes hungry if they are short of a Euro. This is my second time in Salzburg; the first time the weather was equally as bad as this time. I may have to go through Salzburg again in my planned route; hopefully it will be third time lucky. 

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  1. Sharad and Ursula Tank5 May 2019 at 15:26

    How pretty is Salzburg ! However, it looks so freezing cold ! Hope your ride today will be a little warmer and dryer. Enjoy.
    Luv - UT

    ReplyDelete

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