We fronted up for breakfast at 8.30am with Bevan and Vanessa and found the most elaborate breakfast buffet we had ever seen. Took our time and had our fill but made little impression on the huge amount of food there. Bevan had planned a bike ride for us today, so we went to the hotel bike rental garage where the selection was just as incredible as the buffet. Lyn was given the latest e-bike with lithium -ion battery and motor on the chain wheel. Malcolm was given a road racer with drop bars but swapped it for a super lightweight road bike with straight handlebars and narrow tyres. So we were both equipped to handle the hills that are everywhere around here. B&V used their IM bikes. We set off up the first long hill away from the lake on a wide separated bike path next to the main road. Lyn zoomed up the hill with Malcolm pushing hard behind her and we got to the top feeling confident. As we headed downhill we were relegated to a shoulder on the road itself, which disappeared after about 100 metres.
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| THE BIG DOWNHILL |
As we were now into the traffic, Lyn decided to call it a day and found her own way back to the hotel down the bike path. The other three hurtled down to Wolfgangsee (plenty of references to W A Mozart here) which proved to be even prettier than Fuschel. We continued on to Mondsee which was used in the Sound of Music then followed back roads through farming country next to beautiful rushing mountain streams even more impressive than the Scottish burns we had seen.
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| REST AND WATERING SPOT |
The last 9 km of the ride was hot and hilly so B&V cooled their heels waiting for Malcolm to ascend slowly.
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| CRESTING THE 3KM LONG HILL SOAKED IN SWEAT |
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| WAITING, WAITING |
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| AT LAST! HAD TO WALK UP THAT ONE - NO GRANNY GEAR |
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| NOW FOR THE BIG DOWNHILL BACK TO FUSCHL LAKE |
After Malcolm had a shower to cool off we had afternoon tea by the lake, then rested till dinner. Bevan booked a table at a restaurant right on the edge of the lake. The temperature had dropped comfortably, the food was delicious, and we had very enjoyable conversation. No power boats are allowed on the lake to preserve its purity, but electric ones are permitted, so there is an evening cruise people can do on a tiny ferry with a man playing the trumpet in the bow and the sound echoes around the mountains. They passed by our table twice. To finish our meal we had the house special desert of Salzburger Kochel which was a large plate of stewed berries hiding under a huge sweet souffle. It was meant for two people but we cut it into four. We stayed until they turned the lights out at 10pm. Another wonderful day.
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