Austria – Days 125 – 131

Sunday (7/17). Austria is making us predictable. Before our rest day for Sharon’s birthday, we spent four hours grinding uphill before coasting into Wolfsberg. Today leaving Wolfsberg we spent another four -ish hours and twenty miles of low gear work before gravity again became our friend. The up side (pun intended) is that from our hard won perch, we have a birds eye view of the Austrian Alps. That has made the sweat and tired legs all worth it.

Historic note: I was a bit surprised to see the city of Judenburg on our route today. In English it would be “Jew’s Castle” or as local history plaques suggest “Jews Borough”. Apparently back in the day, Jewish people were extremely active in trade in this region. When Hitler annexed Austria prior to WWII, there was talk of renaming the town “Adolfsburg” – but I guess he got distracted! It never happened.  The town was the site of a concentration camp connected to the main camp in Mauthausen. It was used to house slave laborers. Due to lack of food, clothing, and regular abuse, over 50% of the prisoners died. Nothing remains of the camp today.

A few miles north of Judenburg we stopped at the house of Georg and Christi. They are Warmshowers hosts in the town of Pols. They and their two delightful daughters welcomed us into their family. Sharon “read” stories to the girls. We shared beer and treats. We were able to shower. And by the standards of cyclists and parents of small children, we talked “late” into the evening. Thanks Goerg and Christi for a wonderful time.

Monday (7/18). In addition to his duties as OR nurse dealing with trauma and orthopedics, Georg enjoys a multitude of outdoor pursuits. One hobby is long distance cycling. Not the slow, plodding kind of riding we do. Race bike, very fast 180 miles at a time kind of riding. Wow! Because of that, he possesses tremendous knowledge of practically all the roads in Austria. Better yet – he is happy to share.

We followed his suggestions as we made our way north. It involved climbing over two mountains, but it was so worth it. I’ll just say “wow” and let the pictures speak for themselves. 

Tuesday (7/19). Our location in the heart of Gesause National Park along the Enns River practically demanded that we stay another day. We emerged from the tent at a leisurely 10am to a comedic attempt at breakfast. We had been looking forward to French Toast. Have you ever seen hardboiled eggs for sale next to regular eggs. Nope! Neither had we! Fortunately the tiny camp store had uncooked eggs for sale at sixty cents per! Ouch! Pricey, but crisis averted. Then we went to add cinnamon to our egg/milk mixture only to realize we’d grabbed the hot pepper powder instead of cinnamon. Argh! Start over… again. We did eventually end up enjoying our tasty breakfast.

We spent the day soaking in the beauty of the place and chattng with a few other campers. I wanted a closer look at the peaks, but for most of the day it was too hot to consider more than cowering in the shade. Finally though, the call of the peaks was more than I could resist. I made my way to one of the local mountain hutte. These “huts” are more like small guest houses. They offer rooms, serve meals and provide appropriate beverages to the thirsty climbers (with cash). What a great concept.

Wednesday (7/20). Today we began to leave the alps. Over the course of the day we followed the Enns River on its path north. It was a gradual process that still involved lots of climbing. We ended the day nine hundred feet lower than where we started. As has been true throughout Austria, we were treated to picturesque villages that wear their antiquity with ease. The river valley gradually broadened and agriculture appeared. We arrived at an adequate camping spot in Groszraming about the same time as Bart and Famke from the Netherlands rolled in. Their company and conversation made for a lively evening.

Thursday (7/21). We continued to follow the Enns River towards its meeting with the Danube. Steyr was the highlight of the day. Such an amazing mix of new and old. With dedicated bike paths for much of the day, riding was pleasant. Unfortunately there were no campgrounds anywhere within a comfortable range today. With wild camping verboten! our only choice was to find a guest house. Thalinger Hof in Kronstorf got the nod.

Friday (7/22). Today was consumed by our visit to Mauthausen concentration camp. Yes we biked and camped, but that all seems trivial in the face of the depravity that was Mauthuasen. Some of the other camps were designed specifically as death factories, killing and disposing of as many people as rapidly and efficiently as possible. Not so with Mauthausen and the dozens of satellite camps scattered around Austria. They were designated as Type III camps – i.e. “work people to death” camps. Under the most inhuman conditions, these slave laborers were literally worked to death to further Hitler’s agenda. In the pursuit of that goal, no opportunity was missed to brutalize those unfortunate souls who found themselves on the wrong side of Hitler’s racially and ideologically pure National Socialist paradise. It is one thing to read about those atrocities in a book. It is another to stand where victims were gassed, to stand where they were tortured, to look over the edge of a cliff where thousands were pushed to their deaths. Spend time here and you realize there is no limit to the cruelty people are willing – and eager – to inflict on others. It is disgusting! And it is appalling to hear some of the same sentiments and ideologies being espoused today. It was also troubling to realize how many Austrians wholly embraced Hitlers agenda and eagerly worked in these camps. And at the end of the war, almost none of those thousands was held to account. They went back to there lives and told themselves whatever lies they needed to tell themselves to sleep at night. It is a horrible place to visit. It is a place everyone should visit.

Saturday (7/3). We were haunted by our visit to Mauthausen. Even as we passed through some attractive countryside, we kept talking about what we had seen. It is hard to process.

Still, it was a very good day. Linz is a large city, but with its plethora of bike paths and public transport, we experienced none of the stress we usually feel trying to get around a big city. After wandering the streets for a bit, we headed out along the famous Danube River bike trails. It was amazing. No traffic to worry about. Flat. Hundreds and hundreds of other cyclists. Not spectacular, but very pleasant scenery. Don’t know that we would want a steady diet of this kind of cycling, but is a welcome change of pace. Rooms were a bit scarce, but we did manage to find a vacancy at a cool and moderately creepy schloss (castle). There didn’t seem to be anybody around. We have a theory that the very old woman who grudgingly checked us in was actually the ghost of someone who had died a hundred years ago.

So ends our next to last week on the road… staying in what seems to be a haunted mansion. It was another good week. We are excited for the next week in the Czech Republic. We are excited…and not a bit sad to see this journey coming to an end. Until next week – and our last “On the Road” blog from this trip – have a great week and STC!