Wandering Retirees

A beautiful day for a ride. We set off around 10:30 heading west along Rt 189 through towns whose names sound very different to the American ear. Towns like: Imst, Mils bei Imst, Landeck, Grins, Pettneu am Arlberg and St Anton. The valley became more narrow and lush and seemed almost otherworldly to us Americans from the mid-Atlantics.

We stopped at a Gasthaus in St. Anton (also on the Arlberg River) for lunch. St. Anton is known as a rather famous and pricey ski area.

The Gasthaus was quite fancy inside; the outside where we sat seemed to attract bikers and hikers. So naturally we met 3 younger riders from Munich, Germany riding smaller off-road bikes; and an older gent from Innsbruck wearing cowboy boots, leathers and riding a tricked out Harley Davidson Dynaglide, of which he is immensely proud. There were a number of big Hondas gliding on by with geezers on board, and crotch rockets by the dozen.

After lunch we headed north through the winter resort towns of Stuben, Zürs and Lech on Rt 198. We traveled through part of the Zugspitze Arena again. It was heavenly (again!). We then wound our way back through the Fernpass and Fernsteinsee as we did yesterday. We don’t push the speed, yet the twisties, especially the switchbacks, are so much fun and very satisfying. This is such good prep for our tour next week.

Connie has taken a ton of pics and vids today. Hope those she shares give you a taste for what we saw.

A note in passing: I’ve used words like quaint, cute, neat and charming to describe the towns and villages we’ve ridden through. It feels sometimes like we’re encountering a country and people frozen in time and neatened up for the benefit of tourists like us. The truth is very different. The towns and homes we see are filled with hard working people who are raising families and building lives just like we do. We sometimes ride behind big farm equipment and construction vehicles and transports who together are making their country work and grow, again just like in America. We are so aware that we are guests who stay for a short while and revel in the wonders of their land. And we’re grateful for the kindness and generosity with which we are met. Acting like guests in someone’s home. That’s the ticket. And a big hint.