30 Jun 2013

Day 8: Ruèras to Flachau


The next morning we woke up to blue skies and no forecast of rain after one of the best sleeps I'd had in a long time.

After a traditional Swiss breakfast of breads, meats and cheeses we packed up and headed towards Vaduz, Liechtenstein.

Morning view—no HDR required.

A quick rest in the shade.

Arriving in Liechtenstein.

The roads in Liechtenstein are very similar to Switzerland with the same type of signs and the same speed limits. It is such a small country that we were in Vaduz within 20 minutes of crossing the border.

We parked illegally on the pavement to nab a shot of the art museum—a perfectly rectangular building among all the old-world architecture.

Obligatory shot in front of the Kunstmuseum in Vaduz.

The castle overlooking Vaduz.

We did a 50/50 mix of autobahn and backroad riding since we had a considerable distance still to cover to reach Flachau where we were invited to stay with some friends. By chance we ended up going through the Arlberg Road Tunnel, Austria's longest tunnel at a nose less than 14km in length. For most of the length there is a slight curve but it gets to the point where you almost get hypnotised by the overhead lighting and is not for the claustrophobic among us.

Coming out of the tunnel on the Tyrol side we paid the €9 toll and exited the autobahn to carry on through some of the Alpine villages and towns.

Tyrollean Alps.

Being Sunday everything was closed but that didn't stop us using the car park of the local Spar for another break.

Charly's Hundefriseur for Fido's short back and sides.

And another stop.

Near the bottom of the last pass before Flachau—Hochkönig—like a complete divvy I decided to see how hot the brakes were by touching them after 10km of 18% grade… no more needs to be said.

Looking down the hill toward Mühlbach am Hochkönig.

We arrived in Flachau at roughly 8:30pm and spent the evening sharing photos and catching up with our friends in their gorgeous new Austrian-style chalet home surrounded by the juicy green landscapes from The Sound of Music before checking out for the night.


Alps 2013 quick links


Day 1: London to Lille
Day 2: Lille to Hagondange
Day 3: Slow road to Ammerschwihr
Day 4: Ammerschwihr
Day 5: Ammerschwihr to Thônes
Day 6: Thônes to.... Thônes
Day 7: Thônes to Ruèras
Day 8: Ruèras to Flachau
Day 9: Flachau
Day 10: Flachau to Wemding
Day 11: Wemding to Urberach
Day 12: Urberach to Antwerp
Day 13: Antwerp to London

The gear and how it held up
The trip in hindsight