Pedalling at full stream from the magnificent Austrian Alps to the Italian Adriatic. From the historic city of Salzburg, the famous cycle path lgads through the Salzach and Gasteig yalle Carinthia, then onto the Austrian-Italia bordét and on through enchanting cities like Taravisio and Udine until ending in Grado, on the Italian Adriatic. All together, the whole route covers about 410 kilometres by bike* We did about 2400 vertical metres, which we cycled up hill and about 2800 metres of downhil.
The path, by integrating old railway tracks and numerous tunnels, makes the Alpine crossing a pleasure tour on two wheels with culture, sport, and cuisine. The cycleway is considered one of the most scenographic cycling routes in Europe and offered us continuous surprises. We cycled through a lot of pleasant towns and characteristic villages, riding along the banks of placid rivers and foaming streams that sometimes disappear into wild ravines.
The highlight of the roadtrip for us was the border crossing from Austria to Italy. It was a magical experience for the both of us. The views were amazing right there. Tarvisio stole our hearts. The views on the Julian Alps combined with the cycleway built on a old railway tracks were simply breathtaking. I lost my heart right there.
*we did 535 km because we didn’t stop in Grado. We went southwards to Triest. To end our journey at Sezana, at the SIlovenian border.
We hired bikes in Salzburg and cycled to Grado in 6 days. Then we cycled all the way to the Slovenian border where we took a train to Ljubljana. We averaged 75 km a day.
We carrierd our stuff in the bags and slept in a tent
Day 0: Brussels – Salzburg (by train)
Day 1: Salzburg – St. Veit
Day 2: St. Veit – Mollbrucke
Day 3: Mollbrucke- Tarvisio
Day 4: Tarvisio- Lago Cavazzo
Day 5: Lago Cavazzo – Palmanova
Day 6: Palmanova – Grado – Sistiana
Day 7: Sistiana – Sezana
Day 8: Ljubljana
by Wouterig