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Wednesday, August 28th - Graz to Soboth, 9961 km
It is hazy to sunny today. We are planning to head south-west to a youth hostel in the mountains in a village called Soboth. But of course there is the matter of getting Mathias up at a reasonable hour so we can cover the eighty or so km to get there. Jochen and I saunter around Graz for an hour or so, which I don’t mind since it is such a lovely city.
We get Mathias up and moving a bit easier than the past two mornings, and we are on the road by 11:30. Mike, my cycling partner during the first three months of this trip, doesn’t seem all that bad in comparison. We don’t want to tease Mathias too much though or he might set a hard pace for us once he does get going. Seriously, I am not that concerned. They are both fun and good company.
We set off heading south to Seiersberg, and then angle south-west through Pirka and Lannach. There are three small hills between them but beyond Lannach it is a
constant series of rolling hills for the next couple hours. We stop at a park in Stainz that has picnic tables and make a picnic lunch. These guys are full of laughs, especially Mathias who can joke about anything. Jochen is the sweetest, most thoughtful guy, but quieter by nature. He is more smiles than laughs.
We set out again, more southward than westward. We are gradually moving closer to a real mountain range to the west. We reach the foot of that range at Hollenegg. The Schloss Hollenegg is set on a hill above us as we pass. Our road weaves back and forth at the base of the hills for another fifteen km until we turn west onto another road, Hwy 69 (!!), at the village of Aibl. Hwy 69 climbs steadily into the mountains from 400m at Aibl until it reaches a pass at 930m. As we climb the mountain we climb into the clouds.
At the pass we encounter at checkpoint for the Austrian army. We stop for a break and talk to the soldiers. They tell us they are there mostly to reassure the citizens of the area that there will be protection from incursions by Yugoslav forces over the border into Austria. Apparently, when Slovenia has declare
independence from Yugoslavia in June the Yugoslav army moved in menacingly. Austria, which has long historical ties with Slovenia, cautioned the Yugoslavs to leave it alone and the Yugoslavs retaliated with threats of punishing Austria. Since Austria is neutral (not part of NATO) and has a much smaller army, the threat is ominous indeed.
This is Soboth, at 1050m. It isn't much of a village. The youth hostel is set out in a field a couple hundred metres off the road. It has an incredible view of the
valley below to the south-east. The light is already fading towards nightfall so our timing is perfect. Because this hostel is so out of the way there is plenty of room for us. There are only a couple other guests at present. We make our dinner in the kitchen and spend the evening playing cards and talking. There is not to do out here. Just before bed, the three of take a walk up to the highway and back to look at the stars. It is truly beautiful here. The scenery gets better the further we go. I can't wait to get into the real Alps in a day or so.
I have crossed the 10,000 km mark of my tour today
PHOTO 1: Mathias and Jochen in Graz
PHOTO 2: Mathias and Jochen, having our picnic lunch
PHOTO 3: this lovely part of Austria is known as Styria
PHOTO 4: orderly Austrian farms
PHOTO 5: Schloss Hollenegg
PHOTO 6: talking with soldiers at the checkpoint
PHOTO 7: fog
PHOTO 8: Mathias in pink
PHOTO 9: Soboth youth hostel
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