Pedaling in Mozart's tracks
Germany and Austria offer those who like to travel on two wheels superb opportunities for pleasant pedaling. My husband and I have biked many a mile through these countries which are crisscrossed with well-marked bike routes. A favorite is the Mozart Radweg (bike route). This 250-mile long route meanders through stunning scenery of mountains, lakes and undulating valleys, past places that featured in the composer's life. The trek begins in Salzburg, crosses into Germany, then leads back to Salzburg. Unfortunately, due to rain and a lack of time, we cycled only half the course.
Pedaling is primarily on bike trails. There is one nasty section on a heavily trafficked road leading up a long hill and down into the town of St. Gilgen, Austria, but most of the roads on the route have few cars. Long stretches of pleasant, flat-terrain pedaling along rivers and lakes and through lush fields and pretty towns are interspersed with some hilly treks. However, we found nothing to be super strenuous.
After visiting Salzburg's Mozart highlights (the house where the composer was born as well as the house where he lived) we set off on the bikes for St. Gilgen, some 29 miles away on a loop off the main route.
We headed through green fields with mountains in the background and villages with onion-domed churches. It was cloudy when we left Salzburg, but soon the rain started. The light drizzle of morning turned into an afternoon downpour. We had to reach St Gilgen that night, and the last two miles were the worst part of the entire trip - cycling up a long hill on a busy road with monster trucks roaring by, their spray adding to the water falling from the sky.
We arrived drenched and distraught in St. Gilgen. The friendly woman who runs the Haus Schernthaner where we stayed gave us a warm welcome, which, with some refreshment, lifted our spirits. By evening the rains had let up so we could walk around this picturesque burg with a flower-decked waterfront on the Wolfgangsee, an idyllic mountain lake.
The next morning we made a quick visit to the house where Mozart's mother was born and learned that she had seven children, but only two survived, Mozart and his beloved sister, "Nannerl," who was also a child prodigy, a gifted pianist overshadowed by her brother.
Unfortunately the rains returned. We were not anxious to pedal back up hill out of town on that terrible road in the rain. We did some research and learned we could take our bikes on a bus back to Salzburg. This cut out much of the loop that allowed us to visit St. Gilgen, but we'd had enough rain. Back in Salzburg we hung out at the train station waiting for the rain to stop. It never did, so we decided we could pedal north to Anthering where we had reservations at a wonderful hotel, the Hotel im Wald "Hammerschmiede." The welcoming crew at this delightful hideout in the woods - peacocks, geese, rabbits, chickens and cats - made us forget the rain.
We were blessed. No more rain the following day when we pedaled into Germany, riding 54 miles. We biked along the lake, Chiemsee, stopping at the town of Chieming for an ice cream break on the beach. This was a crowded area - lots of bikers and pedestrians on the path bordering the lake. We even encountered a frantic little girl who asked us in German if we had seen her goats. She explained that she had two new goats, "very expensive," which had gotten loose. We looked for goats as we continued on our route, but none were to be seen.
The day's destination was the Kloster (monastery) at Seeon situated on a mini island on a tiny lake, the Kloster See. Mozart spent time at the Seeon monastery, composing and playing the piano there. His family is said to have enjoyed the beer, for which the monastery is famous.
Because we did not have enough time to ride the entire Mozart bike route, we arranged transportation to Schneizlreuth on the southern portion of the route loop for our bikes and us. This put us along the Salzach River, which we followed to Bad Reichenhall, a lovely spa town where we took time out for some sightseeing.
We rode (without bikes) a 75- year-old cable car to the top of a mountain for some spectacular views. We pedaled through the town's pedestrian zone, through its beautiful "Kur" park to the Kur house with its amazing open-air inhalatorium - a 172 metre (568 feet) long, 14-metre (46 feet) high wall composed of 90,000 bundles of blackhorn and hawthorn twigs. Salt water from the mountains runs over the wall of branches emitting fumes, which are said to be healthy to inhale.
Mozart visited Bad Reichenhall, a city that has a passion for music and stages a "Mozart Week" every March with some of the composer's best works being performed. We did not have time for any Mozart music, but we did visit the city's Mozart café/konditorei all decked out with displays of Mozart Kugeln (balls). These are the famous candy made of chocolate, marzipan and nougat. "It's the best composition. Think of it as a Mozart composition," remarked a local.
Berchtesgaden was our next stop, but it was not easy getting there. The bike route took us through a forest on an uphill path of stones -- mountain bike terrain. With our hybrid bikes, it was too tough. We got off and pushed. When we finally left the woods we met a couple on bikes pouring over instructions who asked if we spoke English. They were British, 74 years old, and on their fifth bike tour of Bavaria with a British company. We compared maps and set off in the same direction. Fortunately, it was in the right direction.
In Berchtesgaden we enjoyed a fun Bavarian evening, dining outside to the sounds of a nearby oom-pah band. There's a lot to do near this town amidst mountains: visit salt mines, Hitler's Eagle's Nest and the lake Königsee, as well as hike in the hills. We opted for a boat ride on the lake surrounded by sheer walls of rock and mountain peaks. Small powerboats are prohibited on the water making for a serene, peaceful and totally relaxing experience. A great way to wind up the trip before cycling back to Salzburg.
If you go
The route is well marked with "Mozart Radweg" signs.We used the bikeline series "Mozart-Radweg" guidebook. Its strip maps are invaluable, as well as the symbols on the maps indicating elevation change.
For more information see www.mozartradweg.com and www.mozart-radweg.de
While we prefer to pedal hauling our gear, five and eight-day package tours of the route including hotels and luggage transport are available.
If you do not want to do the entire route and would like to omit a section but arrange transport for you and your bike so you can pick up the trail farther along, consult any tourist office along the way. They can help arrange transport. Cost will depend on distance involved.
