So Sunday dawned clear and beautiful, and we decided to try out the new bikes. So we headed south (more or less) along the Salzach River to the little town of Hallein. There are bike paths on both sides of the river, and there were people out all along the way, some zipping along on high-tech bikes, some running or walking, everybody enjoying the weather and the scenery. We took a little break at this bridge, and decided to take a photo to show off our sturdy if not flashy new vehicles.
There's a salt mine in Hallein which was the source of the wealth of Salzburg's archbishops for a long time ("white gold" they call it), and way back before that the Celts mined salt there too.
We didn't actually make it to the salt mine on this trip--it's up in the mountains outside of town. But we stopped in at the Celtic museum, which has a lot of beautiful exhibits, especially things they've dug up from graves and other sites nearby. The explanations were nearly all auf Deutsch, so we spent some time puzzling them out, with moderate success.
Then, of course, we found a place to eat, and topped it off with wonderful apple strudel and coffee. Some parts of our anatomy were rather sore by the time we got back--it's an hour or so on the bikes each way--but we agreed that we haven't spent many Sundays in Bluffton this way.
Two of my classes meet for the first time tomorrow, so I spent a good deal of time making final preparations today. My North American Civ. class is up to 140 students--it won't make much difference until grading time, but I'm a little afraid that the leisurely pace of our time here so far will change abruptly once I have to start reading student work. That's a problem for another day, though.
7 comments:
Love the pictures. Perhaps you'll write some inspirational mountain poetry. A Prelude?
Wow - those are some awesome bikes! What's up with the 'forbidden' sign in the background with the screaming man and the hand? Some sort of abstract art? Miss you guys! Can't wait until the next post! - Jess and Nate
sorry - i was the one who did the 'comment deleted' - i messed it up the first time. i think i've got it now.
There was a batch of machinery on top of the dam/bridge--on the way back we crossed over the river here, and the way wound in around it all. In the States there would have been barbed wire and concrete barriers, probably, so a few signs didn't seem all that bad . . .
Hey dad, so now that I found your blog I suppose I'm going to be reading a blog regularly for the first time in my life. But since it's relatively free of the excruciating minutia that tend to come with blogs, I guess I'm okay with that. Hope the whirlwind tour of Italy and Slovakia and so forth goes well!
-Ben
So you WANT comments - I suppose the jealous kind, as we sit here in the scenic and historic midwest observing yet another snowfall. Sounds like your trip is great so far and I, as a fan of old Schwinn 3-speeds, really do admire your new bikes.
Yeah, my bike is definitely not a Schwinn, but it has some of those qualities. It allegedly has 5 speeds, but I think only 2, maybe 3 actually work. And it has a coaster brake on the rear, which makes it especially cool, along with the basket.
We've been in Italy this week . . . Florence and Venice and now Duino, little village on the Adriatic. More blogging to come, but not tonight!
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