Cycling along the Drava River

It's that time again: summer holidays, the best time of the year, and we're on the move again on two, four, or even dozens of wheels, with this mode of transportation once again proving to be the most unreliable. But let's start from the beginning...

Our summer tour this year will take us from the easternmost corner of South Tyrol, still in Italy, first to the westernmost corner of East Tyrol, Austria, all the way to the Slovenian border, following the course of the Drava River. And all of this is supposed to be done in the tried and true way: by bike. For the sake of convenience, we have rented bikes to avoid the arduous transport of our own bikes by train. Especially since we'll be adding a week in Croatia afterwards.

The journey should have been comfortable, and we were already comfortably seated on the 'Railjet' heading towards Innsbruck when it happened again. Exactly one year ago on the same day, this very train came to a halt about 15 km before Innsbruck due to a track defect, causing a delay of nearly 45 minutes. We didn't mind back then because we were staying overnight in Innsbruck. But this time, we had just passed Bludenz when the locomotive overheated. And this time, we were supposed to catch a connecting train. Except that this time, the delay extended to more than an hour, and we could forget about our connection. Conclusion: 1.) NEVER use the 'Railjet' towards Innsbruck on a Wednesday during the first week of summer holidays! 2.) The ÖBB should possibly rename this train connection to 'Snailjet,' which would be much more fitting.

Well, somehow, with a transfer to replacement buses - the ÖBB also think it's a good idea to renovate the Brenner line during peak travel season - we finally made it to our destination for the day, Dobbiaco/Toblach. In our honor, a street festival was held there, where we could enjoy hearty meals and cool drinks. So far, so good. The hotel bar of our accommodation turned out to be the obvious 'place to be' in Toblach, which did not contribute to a restful night's sleep, just like the owner's hunting dogs, which barked at every drunken latecomer in their kennel right behind the hotel - and therefore directly in front of our room.