We followed the lake shore south out of town and passed an old chessboard in the park. When we were here with our daughters in 2000 we stopped here to play with the chess pieces. I showed Amy how to position the pieces on the board, and while were were there a collection of old men gathered around to watch us. Amy would start to move a piece and they'd say "Nein, nein!" and then point to some other piece and direction. When I'd make my move they wouldn't say a word (although I think I detected a few snickers). Needless to say, Amy whupped me in short order.
The bike paths around Zell am See are marked extremely well, so we had no problem finding our way to Kaprun. We were less sure how we'd find our way to the car museum, but when we got into town there were large directional signs saying "Museum" that seemed to be worth following. In short order we were at Votter's Museum. Note that in the photo below "Oldtimer" is part of the museum name and has nothing to do with anyone who might be nearby.
The museum was lots of fun, but like many other museums in Europe they don't allow photos. I found that rather frustrating. They had the largest collection of Messerschmitts I've seen anywhere, along with a bunch of BMW Isettas. There was also a Zundapp Janus which has doors at the front (similar to an Isetta) and back of the car. The driver and front passenger face forwards and the rear two passengers face backwards. They also had a very nice Triumph TR-3 and a good looking MG-TF.
Beth was surprised when I said "Oh look, there's a Haflinger!" and pointed to a miniature military truck in the back corner. She couldn't understand why anyone would have ever heard of something like a Haflinger before. Common knowledge. There were several late 50s and early 60s VW bugs and a Kubelwagen.
My favorite vehicle was a Unimog snowblower. It was a fairly small Unimog (narrow with a short wheelbase) with a huge secondary engine in the back to drive the blower. My first thought was "How do they deliver the power to the blower?" and then I noticed that there was a drive shaft running from the engine in back straight through the cab (and windshield) to the blower out front. Very clean design, but not one I would have thought of right off.
We spent an hour or so in the museum and then headed back toward the lake. We were on a dedicated bike path that was flat and ran through pasture lands, so it was very easy riding.
The east side of the lake wasn't quite as nice. The bike route was still very well marked, but it ran on a two-lane road so we had to content with traffic. Not a huge problem, but not as nice as a dedicated path. Near the north end of the lake we were back on a bike path and Beth was able to try her hand at taking photos while riding.
The final section of the ride was along the lake and beneath the trees. It was extremely scenic and enjoyable, but we also had to content with clouds of gnats. They didn't bite or do anything particularly nasty, but if you weren't wearing glasses then you'd end up with them in your eyes. You also didn't want to smile while riding. When we'd stop you'd have to take a few minutes to brush them off your cloths and out of your hair. I'd always thought Zell am See meant "Zell on the Lake", but maybe it is really "Swarms of Gnats".
The map below is a track of our ride to Kaprun and around the lake.
View 2009.09.28.track in a larger map
Yay! There's finally bike riding to be had!
ReplyDeleteAre helmets not required there? How about if you're taking pictures & riding at the same time?