Day 23 - Kalte Kuchl to Route 69

Thursday 19th July 2018

It’s a bright morning when we awake in the comfort of the Kalte Kuchl Alpengasthof. It promises to be very hot today.
We are heading south, down past Graz to the south east corner of Styria where Austria meets Hungary and Slovenia.

The roads here are classic. Summits are not too high as the last of the Alps dribble down to meet the Hungarian plain, but they are curvy and beautifully paved as we crack along winding up and down from one valley to the next and the next.

Parked up outside the church at Mariazell


Just over 40 km of great riding we come to the small and well appointed small city of Mariazell. It lies in the valley of the Salza in the North Styria Alps. A big church dominates the city and some very impressive hotels offer outdoor dining. Time for a coffee stop.

Mariazell church is a Place of pilgrimage for Austrian catholics



Coffee at the Golden Lion hotel


Back on the road we travel on the back roads through small villages before joining the autobahn for a while. It’s very hot and I had forgotten that this autobahn has two very long tunnels that charge a toll for the privilege. €9, half as much again as the 10-day vignette cost us.

The first of the tunnels is 8.5km long and because of road works the northern tunnel is closed and the extractor fans are not working. So in a slow moving line of traffic and in temperatures of over 50C we sweat our way through. Both bikes are overheating by the time we crawl out of this damn tunnel and so are we. And we just paid €9 for the privilege.

The second big tunnel is 10km long but at least it is cooler and the traffic jam has dissipated. We are soon through Graz on the autobahn and with relief we turn off the highway and are immediately back on the glorious back roads of Steiermark.

At the Route 69 biker bar and cafe


Our destination is the Route 69 biker cafe. They have a camping field behind the bar where we have stayed before. It’s a Harley-Davidson hangout and the entrance is marked by a hanging Honda strung up above the road.

They hang Hondas don’t they?


As luck would have it today is Ruhetag, which means the kitchen is not open. We are constantly caught out by this Germanic custom. It’s a bit like early closing used to be in the UK but you never know which day each establishment will choose.

Fortunately in anticipation we stopped at a Spar supermarket in the last town before Route 69 and laid in bread rolls, cheese, ham, butter and biscuits. I also spotted an amazing offer on a Chianti Riserva from 2012, two for the price of one. So for €6.98 I grab two bottles of a very fine wine from Tuscany. That’s me sorted. Mick buys a couple of big bottles of Weizen Bier so he’s sorted too!

Value or what?

We quickly set up camp in the meadow above the bar and enjoy our provisions while watching the traffic rush by on the B69 down below. Because it’s Ruhetag the normally thronged car park is empty.

In the middle of the night I stumble out of my tent for a call of nature. There is no artificial light source of any kind and the sky is a countless mass of stars. It’s like being in a planetarium and I stare up for a good while. Nature’s good innit?

Camping up above Route 69

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