Day 24 - Into Austria through the Back Door

Tuesday 30 July 2019

We Leave Kamnik after ‘toasties’ at Pod Skalo. Croque Monsiuer if you be French. 
The big K is so much happier, and so of course am I.

Our route back to Austria is up and over a small pass road that I haven’t travelled before. Slovenia never ceases to amaze. Lots of bikers will know the famous Slovene routes; Predil Pass, Vrsic Pass, the Soca Valley, Lake Bled and so on. But the country is just full of stunning back roads and interesting places outside the usual tourist areas.

The road takes us up winding small roads to the village of Luče and onto the 428 road across the mountains in the Logarska Dolina range to a tiny border crossing into Austria near Bad Vellach.

Climbing up the Logarska Dolina range

On the climb we arrive in a gorge which seems to be called Adventure Valley. It is quite stunning and we stop at a road side cafe to explore a little.
Rock finger on the 428 road in Slovenia


Didn’t see any warning signs, but high trucks may have a problem here

Wibbly wobbly bridge over the gorge in Adventure Valley

Coffee stop in the gorge

The climb up to the border is on very small roads but the surface is good, the sun is shining and all is right with the world.
There is virtually no other traffic as we climb up and around hairpins through the virgin forest. We are low enough for deciduous trees to predominate, pines take over as we climb higher.
Wonderful forest roads in the Logar glacial valley

And so to Austria. Another opportunity for Stickerman to leave our spoor

The view over Austria

The road down the Austrian side is fantastic. It’s a great pass road but has no name and no cafes or other form of human infrastructure. Just glorious twisties. We could be alone in the universe.
Great twisties down into Austria


We hit the main 85 road and crack on, bypassing Villach to join the 99 at Spittal. This is a fast twisty through a river gorge north up past Gmünd to Kremsbrücke where we turn off for Innerkrems and the starting point for the Nockalmstrasse.

We will ride that fantastic road tomorrow. Tonight we need to find digs and stop at a previous overnight place, Gasthaus Zirbenhof.

We have been looking forward to an overnight stop here. Good rooms and outstanding breakfast. But oh no, they are full. However they recommend the Hutmannhaus just a kilometre up the road and it is just as good.
The Hutmannhaus, our home for he next two nights

Bike parking outside the Hutmannhaus 

It has been a long day. After a bowl of goulasschsuppe and ‘hausgemacht’ Würst and chips we get our heads down and I dream about the curves of the Nockalmstrasse, our entertainment for tomorrow.
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