Once again, we were on a traffic-free path. It was gravely, but I'll take that over traffic any day. Our bikes have 40-60 pounds of luggage, so gravel is not a great medium. My bike is so heavy, I can't lift it. That said, we headed to the bike path and were greeted by cloud covered mountains, a babbling brook and purple, white and yellow wild flowers. The kids were optimistic and very soon were singing and making up puns. More than once they expressed their awareness of the beautiful surroundings.
We had agreed, from the beginning, to stop at any soccer field. After about 2 hours through a nature preserve, we exited and, of course, there were two huge, pristine fields. Saya (5) was goalie. Lucas and Sho took turns on offense/defense. Charlie and I were co-goalies/cheerleaders. After half an hour we road the last 5 miles into Bah Kohlgrub.
I have experienced some hills, but OMG, this was something else. As we approached the village, the hills became steeper and steeper. I was doing a pedal rotation every two seconds! We would come to a corner, convinced we were approaching a flat area only to see another incline. The boys started saying 'are you kidding' about every half mile.
The last hotel we were in recommended Hotel Schillingshof (google it!) . The Garmin said we were just 2k away...but imagine that pretty much straight up. We made it riding half way and then had to push the bikes. Charlie had been holding off on some chocolate cookies and Lucas, Saya and I declared half way 'chocolate cookie time'. What a relief some calories were! I pushed Sho's and my bike the last incredibly steep 1/2 mile up. I am confident that my heart works - it almost decided to jump out of my chest and into one our our bike panniers.
Ok - SO IT WAS ALL WORTH IT. THIS HOTEL IS AMAZING!!
I had simply booked the place based on the recommendation of the previous hotel staff. Maybe they didn't like us and wanted us to do the incredible climb, but maybe, just maybe, they decided to recommend a once in a lifetime place. We are not in high season - that would be ski season or August. We got the rooms for about $150 per night in a hotel that would easily get 3 x that in the high season.
After checking in and storing the bikes, we took the kids to the indoor pool where they had the pool to themselves. It was at 25M pool with a view of...the clouds. I had my goggles and did some laps hoping I could recall this experience next time I'm swimming, sleepy, in Nashville at 530 am.
Dinner was included and was a buffet of salads, cheeses, pasta, meats cheeses, veggies. Dessert included chocolate mouse, tortes and fruit. Lucas said 'I am going to eat until I can't eat any more' (a rarity from him).
At first I thought all the flowers were silk, but then realized that the 20+ large vases were full of local roses and hydrangeas. Flowers everywhere!!! Mom - if you are reading this, I kid you not, they had Edelweiss for sale at the farmers' market!!!
After dinner there was pool (billiards, not water). Then the kids relaxed for the evening. The weather is supposed to be clear tomorrow.
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