As usual, especially with Lauryn, we left much later than desired. We headed back into the Alps by much the same route. Except, I didn't go by the Plansee. I decided that it was criminal to be in the neighborhood and not visit Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau, by, where else, Schwangau. This entailed simple not taking the 23 at Peiting and stay on the "Romantische Strasse", 17 to Fussen.
The famous 19th century castles, built by romantic, insane and last king of Bavaria, are just outside of Fussen. I pulled into a parking lot with room reserved for hoping there was no charge. I was immediately met by a woman who made sure we paid the parking fee, half the price for cars, a few marks. We arrived too late in the afternoon to get any tours, or even a horse carriage ride, as the remaining tours were sold out, which was just as well. So we had a late lunch in an expensive tourist restaurant. But the Bier helped. Lauryn really likes Europe. Since she is 18, she can drink all she wants here.
Finding a gas station in Fussen is nearly impossible, as there seem to be just a few on one street. After driving around in the miserably crowed tourist town and asking repeatedly, we got this information and found a Tankstelle. This necessity to tank up was unfortunate because otherwise I didn't need to go into Fussen at all, and wasted a lot of time. The road to Ruette, the same S14 I came up on, joins 17 just past Schwangau and just outside of Fussen, where one enters Austria again. So I showed Lauryn The Fernpass and then turned left at Nassereith onto the 314 instead of going back to Telfs.
At Imst, I used my old friend, the E60, to get down to the vicinity of Landeck, as we were running out of day. I had thought originally that I would stop at Fluela Pass in Switzerland, but it was just too far now. But I had discussed some options with Lauryn, and she really wanted to do the Stifser Joch Pass, because it was in Italy! She really wanted to be in Italy. Even if it was just for a short time and everyone spoke German.
If you turn towards the Reschenpass near Landeck, you enter a long tunnel that bypasses the town and must be new because it is not only any map I've seen. So it is a bit of a surprise. You come out near Fliess, where I had arrived by very small roads on my ride of the 6th.
It's been an easy ride, about 215km by the map, but it is getting late and this is Lauryn's first day on the road. I look for a nice place to stop. I see a sign to some ski resorts: Serfaus, Ladis, Fiss,and Ried. That's always good because they are always located in high picturesque mountain bowls and can be cheaper during summer than other nice places. The road up is great, steep with sharp curves. We stop at Fiss and register in a very nice place. And it is cheap - only about $50 a night for both of us. This is a real tourist destination but rather deserted in Summer. And there are locals. We stopped by one barn and a young woman showed off her English by explaining to us all of their cow and horse prizes before going off to mountain bike.
Hotel Garni Hubertus Hof
Franz-Pale
A-6533 Fiss 86
Tirol
+43 5476/6727
FAX 5476 20091
300 AS / person-night
It was still light but 9pm and all of the restaurant kitchens were closed. So we went to the pub next to the hotel. This was apparently the place to be in town, and seemed to be full of locals. The barkeeper brought us beer and a pizza and we were happy. The next day, the hotel didn't take credit cards, but there was a bank down the street that happily accepted my American ATM.
Part 7: The Longest Day