August 4: Aufiderzein Austria

Aufiderzein Austria! What a magnificent ride into Liechtenstein today – glorious views of the craggy peaks of the Austrian Alps, rolling green foothills, charming little villages, and lush meadows and some fun hairpin turns tossed in for good measure.

Waking up this morning I could see the foothills of the alps outside my window, circled by a wispy ring of fog and covered by dark clouds. Not sure when the rain forecasted for the day would start, I headed west towards Innsbruck and decided to embrace the weather as it was.

As I rode up and over the one mountain side after another, I found that the fog was quite beautiful – settling like a soft white baby’s blanket on little villages, hovering like strands of cotton candy around the steeples of churches, and nestling like the lint in a dryer in the clefts of the valleys.

Although traffic was thick again today, it did not take away from the views of cattle grazing peacefully in the alpine pastures, wood chalets decorated with hanging pots of bright pink geraniums, and the thickly forested slopes of the peaks around me.

The road rose steeply in elevation as I approached the Arlberg ski area, the temperature dropping noticeably and the trucks in front of me struggling to maintain their forward momentum. As I crested the top of the pass, I couldn’t decid what excited me more – the glorious views of the alps on the horizon or the view on my GPS of the road in front of me – one tight switchback after another, cascading down the mountain like a pile of spaghetti heaped on a plate.

Shortly after making my way down the mountainside, I entered the country of Liechtenstein, greeted with a smile by what looked like a border control agent. I followed the Rhine River to the capital city of Vaduz where I stopped for gas and food and checked into my hotel for the evening. Another great day on the road