Next
Sunday July 7, 2019 and Monday July 8, 2019
El Granada to Vienna
I booked American Airlines and British Air into Vienna through Chicago
and London, and booked United
partner and Lufthansa subsidiary Austrian Air from Innsbruck to Vienna
to LAX to SFO. There are less than a dozen flights a day out of
Innsbruck, and Austrian is the only major airline that flies out of
Innsbruck.
Schönbrunn Palace oval room, one of the East
Asian Cabinets
This picture does not begin to do justice to how amazing this place is.
2019/07/10 11:34
The crown of Rudolf II (1602)
Mantle of the Austrian Emperor
2019/07/10 11:39
Chain of the Mexican Order of the Eagle
Chain of the Order of Our Lady of Guadeloupe
Sceptres
Cane of Emperor Maximilian of Mexico
2019/07/10 11:47
2680 karat emerald
2019/07/10 15:55
Raphael
2019/07/10 16:00
Caravaggio
2019/07/10 16:25
Johannes Vermeer
The Art of Painting
2019/07/10 16:30
a room full of Rembrandt
2019/07/10 16:30
a room full of Rembrandt
2019/07/10 16:31
a room full of Titian
2019/07/10 16:32
a room full of Titian
2019/07/10 17:53
Claude Monet
View of Vétheuil
2019/07/10 17:54
Pierre-Auguste Renoir
Portrait of a Young Girl
2019/07/10 17:56
Claude Monet
House among the Roses
2019/07/10 17:58
Claude Monet
The Water Lily Pond
2019/07/12 10:43
Grossglockner-Hochalpenstrasse Edelweissspritze
I made it!
I've climbed 7 of the 10 highest paved roads in the Alps!
I'm soaked and hypothermic and I'm shivering uncontrollably!
The only dry clothes I have with me are a second pair of socks.
My hands and fingers were very, very cold and barely functional.
Fingers are important since they are used to control your brakes.
Failure to brake properly downhill can result in some very bad outcomes.
My iphone battery said 50% as I saved my gps track, then it died
suddenly within about a minute..
It did not like to cold..
2019/07/12 15:13
Finally I arrived in Heiligenblut, starting point for the race tomorrow.
Grossglockner is hidden in the clouds behind one of the snow covered
peaks on the right.
2019/07/14 10:14
It was simply gorgeous and getting better with every turn up the
mountain.
I decided to take another cycling selfie....which took quite a
while...perhaps I'll get better with practice...
2019/07/14 12:16
Kaunertaler
Gletscherpanoramastraße
I made it!
It is gorgeous!
There is a restaurant!
They have beer!
The weather is nice and it isn't raining or freezing cold!
I ended up seeing maybe 25 cyclists, 30-40 motorcycles, 30-40 cars, and
2 buses today.
Kinda remote here.
2019/07/14 12:25
Kaunertal 2750m !
2019/07/14 15:33
This was undoubtadly the best artifact on the ground floor.
Next we climbed up the first floor.
2019/07/14 15:57
The bottom crushed helmet is one of the oldest metal helmets in Europe.
The top helmet is a modern reconstruction.
2019/07/14 15:58
Swords and daggers broken as a sacrifice and buried
2019/07/14 15:58
2019/07/14 16:00
picture of the spot where the second hoard was found
2019/07/15 13:08
Ötztaler Gletscherstraße
I made it!
The highest paved road in the Alps!
I've climbed 9 of the 10 highest paved roads in the Alps!
My knees hurt and my fingers are numb cause glaciers are cold!
That is crazy steep!
and my helmet is crooked!
The exit to the tunnel over my head is the highest paved road in the
Alps - 2830m
The ski lift above it more or less follows the path of the tunnel.
This ride was almost nearly car free..
ok, there were buses, construction vehicles, and a couple dozens cars
and maybe a dozen motorcycles, but generally i was very alone and it
was excellent
2019/07/16 10:16
Timmelsjoch / Passo del
Rombo
Finally I could see most of the way up to the pass itself.
2019/07/16 12:20
I made it!
It was gorgeous!
It was a little chilly toward the top as the cool breeze
blew
from the north.
The sign says 2509m, but the road only gets up to 2474m
View from my room
2019/07/17 09:54
Gavia
I made it!
I've climbed the ten highest paved roads in the Alps!
Gavia was a bit of a letdown for me, I'm still not sure why.
I suspect because it just wasn't that pretty and I had high
expectations.
From the pass you look south toward the highest peaks, and they are
shaded, that probably has alot to do with it.
2019/07/18 11:11
Otzi is on the second floor.
This is the line to see Otzi through a 18" x 24" window into his
freezer.
I didn't realize it when I took this picture, but you aren't allowed to
take any pictures on this floor since this is where all the cool stuff
is.
I didn't try to take a picture of Otzi himself or anything else on that
floor.
2019/07/18 11:44
This is a reconstruction of Otzi and his gear on the 3rd floor, they
let you take pictures here.
2019/07/19 09:32
The first few turns up Oscheniksee.
Steep.
Insanely steep.
Painful.
Did I mention steep?
2019/07/19 10:19
2019/07/19 11:39
Großer Oscheniksee
I made it!
This was crazy steep and painful, certainly the hardest climb I've
done...
My knees ached and my legs were completely wiped out...
There is no way I'd be able to do both this and Mölltaler on the same
day.
Significantly harder than Ötztaler
Gletscherstraße, the highest paved road in the Alps I did on July
15 which is known for its steepness...
All hail ibuprofen, without ibu none of this is possible...
I hadn't seen another person on this road.
I was very, very alone, and it was cool...
I made sure to bring a whistle with me today in case I got hurt.. I
wanted to be found....
It was not very warm, and the clouds came in as soon as I got to the
top...
Unfortunately that is one of my strongest memories of this climb,
losing the sun at the top..
I considered the top pretty barren and utilitarian and not terribly
scenic, at least compared to many of my other climbs
2019/07/19 11:40
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2019/07/19 11:41
2019/07/19 11:43
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2019/07/19 12:04
This picture probably best shows how steep this ride is.
2019/07/20 10:59
I stopped here for a while and took perhaps 15 pictures of the shadows
of the clouds crossing the mountain above me.
The road was very, very steep, and it was so nice here I had very
little motivation to keep pedaling uphill.
2019/07/20 11:35
Kegelsee and the dam for Großsee high above.
2019/07/20 13:02
Großsee dam and the single turn above it leading to the service door at
2470m
I reached the close / right side of the Großsee dam.
The road then drops quickly down below the center of the dam before it
hits a punishing grade to climb up to the other side of the dam.
Crazy steep and painful.
The road up here was covered with more and more rock shards the higher
I went.
It made one more long hairpin above the top of the dam.
The road was now almost covered with rock shards, it was quite a job to
try to ride between the biggest shards and hope I didn't get a flat.
On the very last stretch approaching the service door the road was
covered with snow for perhaps 30 meters.
I got off the bike, pushed it up in the mud next to the road, then got
back on for the final short stretch to the top.
2019/07/20 12:17
I made it!
The service door above Großsee is behind that snowbank.
My last big climb of this trip.
The weather was sunny and warm.
For the first time on this trip I was able to relax in short sleeves at
the top of a ride and enjoy the sun.
Did I mention this place is gorgeous?
This is my now second favorite ride after Nivolet, Kaunertal is now my
third favorite ride.
I enjoyed my well earned lunch.
2019/07/20 12:18
2019/07/20 12:18
2019/07/20 12:23
2019/07/20 12:24
I finished my lunch and noticed another cyclist slowly making their way
up the mountain.
Then I heard very loud motorcycles, and watched as two motorcyclists
crossed the dam, one very quickly, one much more cautiously.
A fall off either side of this dam is pretty much certain death.
The third motorcycle took the road, avoiding the dam.
The motorcycles were not here legally and were disturbing my peace and
quiet....
2019/07/20 12:45
2019/07/20 12:49
2019/07/23 13:14
I watched the Sassolungo "coffin lift" all during lunch, then went over
for a closer look.
