If you’ve stayed in Lienz the evening prior, the morning is free for wandering the city a bit more. Officially, our tour starts today at 11:00 AM when gather our Nomads clan, get a proper bike fit, share a first lunch, head off for a short 21-mile ride to a nearby ski area high on the mountain, then circle back to town following the Isel River. With a mid-afternoon return to our hotel, you should have ample time to explore Lienz, to visit churches, museums, castles, or the medieval old town. We’ll gather early evening to share dinner as we begin to form bonds with our Nomad clan.

We’ll gather after breakfast, toss our gear onto the van, hop onto our bikes for a quick climb into the hills above Lienz, then drop back into the valley. Today’s 33-mile ride generally follows the Eurovelo 7 route downstream along the Drau River but for much of the day, we’ll find ourselves enjoying small lanes and paths on hillsides above the river. Whether we’re looking up from the valley floor to soaring mountains on either side or looking cross-valley to mountains rising forever, the scenery is even more magnificent than photographs can capture. Every mile reveals another idyllic farm or a view to another hidden peak, with light changing the mood of the place from hour to hour.

Near the end of our ride, we take an abrupt turn uphill, climbing precipitously to our evening’s destination three thousand feet above the valley floor. It’s your choice to experience the joy of tackling a major climb on an eBike, or you can opt for a lift in our support van to get a jump start on enjoying the evening’s relaxation. Located in a ski village, our hotel, Sattleggers Alpenhof, is an outdoor oasis in the sky. Hiking, hang gliding, and spa treatments are just a few of the offerings of the hotel and village. Dinner is on your own, or you can join the “Nomads Table,” a place where the Nomads team will welcome any who wish to join.

Following our new ritual of breakfast, tossing gear onto the van, and hopping onto bikes in the cool air of morning, our trek continues down the Drau valley. This amazing day start with a re-trace of yesterday’s climb to our hotel perch, but this time as a high-speed thrill ride down mountain switchbacks. For those whose morning may not be ready for such daredevil feats, the van will be available for a short hop forward.  Overall, this day will be one of variety, both in ride characteristics and ever-changing scenery. The Drau River takes us to its confluence with the Moll River, where we turn upstream, picking up the Alpe Adria bike path that will carry us to the top of the Alps. Technically, we’ll be on a dead end path, as we hit a wall of granite and no way over the top. But even the seemingly impassable Alps are no impediment to eBike Nomads.

At the conclusion of our 41-mile ride, we reach Mallnitz, which is also where the bike path and road we’ve been paralleling comes to an abrupt end. But we won’t stop here. We’ll load our bikes and van onto the car train that will ferry us quickly through the Tauern Rail tunnel, 5.2 miles through to the north slope, and a short distance to our destination at the charming Das Schider Hotel in Bad Gastein.

Surrounded by ski slopes and mountain peaks, Bad Gastein is a summer wonderland of hiking, biking, and everything else this most beautiful of high mountain setting can offer. Dinner will be on your own, or you can join us at the Nomads Table to share the day’s tales of awe.

There are a lot of miles to cover today, so we’ll start with a shuttle forward to Lend, where the Gasteiner Ache that trickled through Bad Gastein merges with the Salzach River. In Lend, we jump onto bikes and begin our trek down the Salzach River valley towards Salzburg. At 50 miles, this is our longest day on the bike but the general downhill grade, plus the beauty of a valley transitioning from mountains to hills to fields, will make the miles pass all too quickly.

Despite our ability to move quickly, we’ll be pulled to slow things down, the better to absorb the sense of this amazing place. But we won’t want to linger too long with the treasures of Salzburg awaiting us. Our home for the evening is the elegant Hotel Villa Carlton in the heart of the old city. Dinner will be on your own or you can join us at the Nomads table.

On this day, we’ll pause our journey to soak in the treasures of Salzburg. Home to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, inarguably one of Europe’s greatest composers, Salzburg remains the beating heart of classical music. Mozart died an untimely death in 1791, but his 800-work collection of compositions lives to this day; without question, few have weathered the centuries better. Salzburg, his native city, shares that value as it stands as a monument to architecture, music, and European cultures as lasting and brilliant as any Mozart masterpiece. Theaters, concert halls, grand churches, fortresses, historic buildings call to us—and we will undoubtedly respond.

We’ll sneak in a fairly short 27-mile ride, first visiting the Salzberg Fortress perched high above the city, then continuing into the hills and forests south of the city. We’ll return in plenty of time for evening activities, where you’ll be on your own to take in a concert or theater or dinner. With so many options, the challenge will be deciding how best to spend your evening of leisure.

We leave Salzburg after breakfast and head north along the Salzach River, moving into the Bavarian region of Austria and Germany. This area is revered for its natural beaty, nestled near high mountains and amongst rolling hills of meadows and forests. We’ll mostly follow the valley but will venture into the hillside a bit as well. Today’s 38-mile ride will eventually lead us into the spectacularly scenic city of Burghausen and our first crossing into Germany.

Nestled in a valley and protected by ancient fortresses, Burghausen is an historic wonderland. Our lodging for the night is the classic Hotel Garni Lindacher Hof near the old town center. We’ll plan to arrive in time for exploration in the afternoon. Dinner will be on your own or you can join us at the Nomads table.

Leaving the Salzach River behind, we head north into the Bavarian countryside. The theme of this day is meandering: jumping from hills to valleys, forests to meadows, over rolling hills and crossing rivers. Our day-end goal is the idyllic Bavarian town of Bad Birnbach and its natural hot-water springs. Our 35-mile ride will take us to our lodging for the evening at Hotel Lenauhof, just steps away from the hot springs. We should arrive in time to allow for a dip, a short nap, or quick exploration of the town.

On this, our last night of this portion of our Grand Tour, we’ll share a meal as a Nomads clan and talk of which points along the way lingered longest… and how soon before we make plans to return. The latter will be easy; the former, choosing amongst the many amazing places we visited, will undoubtedly be much more difficult—but oh, so wonderful to contemplate.