Category Austria
Vienna’s Vortex of Doom
In between orienteering and visiting other countries, we’ve been dipping into Vienna in bits and pieces, riding the U-Bahn, the S-Bahn, and the Strasse-Bahn (tram) all over the city. We’ve seen an array of sights in this city of many contrasts. But did you know that Vienna has its very own Vortex of Doom? Just […]
Vienna O Challenge (cont)
We arrived early to Kurpark Oberlaa, the venue for the last VOC race. We chatted to some of the large Israeli contingent, who were amazed that we’d travelled from Australia, to orienteer in Vienna. We didn’t know what to expect in terms of complexity today, but as you can see from the maps below, this […]
What Lies Above
Back before there was orienteering or cycling, there were horses. They were my life and my passion from childhood, and they kept me bankrupt but happy from my teens until my early 30s. A beautiful horse still makes my heart flutter. Consequently I returned to the Spanish Riding School today. Last time I watched Morning […]
Vienna Orienteering Challenge
After farewelling Ljubljana, we took a 6 hour bus ride across northern Slovakia and southern Austria, mentally switching to German as we crossed our umpteenth border. We duly checked in to our final apartment, visited the local supermarkets, washed a ton of grotty clothes, and tried to rest up before Race 1 of the Vienna […]
Aargauer 3 Day Orienteering, Day 2
But first, a short walk into Germany … Bad Saeckingen’s main claim to fame is Europe’s longest covered bridge, crossing the Rhine and providing a border crossing for pedestrians and cyclists (no customs booth). Built 400 years ago, it was restored in 1990, and is a thing of beauty. It smells of very old timbers, […]
The Amazing Race
We have several big travel days planned, and this was one of them. We needed to depart from Bad Ischl at 8am, drop off the rental car in downtown Salzburg by 9.30, and stroll across to the railway station, where we would board a Railjet train to Zurich – a 5 hour journey across the […]
Inside the Ice Mountain
Hooray! The clouds parted and blue skies returned. We could see the mountain peaks again. Time to head for the hills. Back through Hallstatt again (still no parking to be had), and on to the base of the Dachstein cable car. We ummed and aahed about the cost, but decided to buy tickets for the […]
Nothing Bad About Ischl
Our plans for mountain views had come a little unstuck due to the weather, but there was a forecast for clearer skies in the afternoon. We decided to go for a short walk around Bad Ischl. The town was about 20 minutes away on foot, following a pedestrian trail across the river and shortcutting the […]
Inside the Salt Mountain
Today was a visit to another place that’s long been on our list – Berchtesgaden, just across the border in southern Germany. It was a scenic drive hugging the shore of the Wolfgangsee, then onto the freeway to skirt around Salzburg. Past the border sign welcoming us to Germany, then 10 kms along a river […]
Bad Ischl
It was time to say farewell to Vienna, and board the train for Salzburg. I have to say, Austrian trains are the best I’ve seen – so clean, comfortable and punctual. We settled in upstairs for a 2.5 hour trip. After leaving the suburbs, we were soon in typical Austrian countryside – rolling green hills […]
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