Day 5: St. Johann to Fusch an der Großglocknerstraße (69 km, 575 vm)

I had a good sleep in my cosy little hotel room. I got up at 5:30 got everything ready, had breakfast at the hotel terrace and enjoyed the view of the Wilder Kaiser Mountains. I left at 7. Today started with an incline of about 350 vertical meters. The bike path from St. Johann to Hochfilzen led me along a paved road through a forest, far away from the state road. It was nice, quiet and most importantly cool. When I arrived in Hochfilzen I met a local biker who was just going for a ride around the mountain range. His name was Helmut and he showed my a beautfil way from Hochfilzen down to Leogang. He was an avid bike traveller as well and we exchanged some stories from past travels and possible future ones. Shortly before Saalfelden our paths parted. I now was headed for Zell am See where I intended to take my lunch break and have a swim. The arrival at Zell am See was stunning. The lake is surrounded by mountains and you can see the main mountain range of the Alps in the background.

From Zell am See it was only 15 km left to Fusch, my destination for the day. I stopped in Bruck to do some shopping for breakfast for tomorrow and then slowly headed on. I arrived in Fusch at 1 pm. Unfortunately check-in for my Hotel starts only at 4 pm, so I had some “Eisschokolade” this to bridge the time.

After I checked in I went to a little public pool not far from my hotel. While all other public swimming places must be swarmed with people on a hot day like this, this one was pretty empty. Well, who goes to the remote village Fusch to a small pool if lake Zell is only 13 km away. I hung out there a while doing a mixture of reading and dipping in the pool to use the magic of endothermic reaction to cool until I was dry again just to repeat the routine.

Tomorrow will be a very early start. My plan is to start cycling at 5 in the morning. This way I can not only avoid the heat on the way up but also possible traffic. Großglocknerpass is very popular with motor cyclists but also tour busses and caravans take this route. I estimate about 4 – 5 hours of uphill – I better get some good rest tonight.