clairedavieswriter

Day 4: Völs to Kramsach 63.9k, 235m climbed (of which, 107m in the last 1.5k)

Well this was definitely the highlight of my day:

I’d gone off piste to visit the small town Schwaz (of Swarovski fame) and this handsome trio (together with half the town, it seemed) were just leaving an outdoor celebration of the Feast of the Assumption in the church garden. When I asked the one on the left if I could take his picture, he grabbed his friends, and they posed proudly together.

I was aware of the day, but not its significance, so earlier, in the pretty little town of Hall in Tirol, whose church tower was decked out with flags for the Feast day:

I’d asked the young woman making my coffee what the day was about. After much shrugging and embarrassed giggling with her colleagues, she offered, ‘Maybe it’s when the Virgin Mary goes up to heaven? They’re usually about Mary.’

She was right of course, and the Assumption is A Big Deal round these parts. Everywhere I looked there were women and girls in dirndls, carrying bunches of flowers:

Fewer men were dressed up, and those who were tended to be part of a group. I think the ones in the top photo were in a band or a choir. These looked like a delegation of diplomats, but I’ve no idea what their role was:

Others wore more questionable uniforms:

The campsite was still quiet and the sun just peeking over the mountains when I left early this morning:

My route took me back through Innsbruck, which we’d explored yesterday. It was quieter at this time on a public holiday:

I knew nothing about Innsbruck before this trip except that it had once hosted the Winter Olympics. The Nordkett mountains certainly make a magnificent backdrop, even in this broiling summer heat. We were less impressed by the ‘golden roof’ (middle of the photo), a city landmark much-touted in tourist guides. As Pam from Gavin and Stacey might have said, ‘Is that it?’

Innsbruck is on the day-tripper circuit from Munich and there were quite a few other tourists, but we enjoyed the quiet lanes and traditional shop signs:

And a free concert of early music in the Hofburg gardens (baroque’n’roll?):

We admired the Stadtturm from below: I decided that it would be Against The Rules to climb the 148 steps to the top on a rest day:

But back to the cycling. Today was Team Bernard’s last full day following the Inn, and we made the most of it (I’ll come to that pointy bit at the end in a minute):

Aside from all the traditional dress, other highlights included:

Crossing the river on this beautiful covered bridge:

Passing signs to more ski resorts – though I won’t be going through these ones:

And of course the cycle paths:

With scenery like this, the photos take themselves:

But through 60k of flat, easy riding, I knew Guillaume was saving a special treat for the end, and he really excelled himself. It may say ‘7% remains’ (ie average gradient) but hidden within that was a chunky section at 13% in the boiling sun. He gave me a look as if to say, ‘this was your idea you know’.