Beebee - I did eat in restaurants. I was pedaling through the country but always stayed in small but relatively touristy towns (I mean that in a good sense - lots of cafes and restaurants).
I did feel uncomfortable at times, but usually struck up a conversation with the people at the next table or the waitstaff. Consider that there were a lot of Germans and Austrians doing more of less the same trip as I, so we would always talk about the day's travels.
There was also the time in Brannau when the waiter came up and said, "allora signora cosa prende". He was surprised when I responed in Italian ;-)
I ate dinner one night with a German couple I met on the road and another night with an Italian couple I met. We had spent the day cycling together and plan to get together here.
So I was alone, but it wasn't so bad. I would have prefered to do this with others but simply don't know any cyclists here. My friends all think I'm nuts! Cesare seems to be a bit more curious about cycling now, so maybe I can convince him to go next time.
Pauline - I only booked ahead in Salzburg, and that was just a phone call to the tourist office the morning of the same day. I tried to arrive at my destination by 4:30 or 5 each day to make it to the tourist office before they closed for a list of hotels. When they were closed, there was always a list and town map available just outside the door.
This was not high season so I never had problems finding a place to stay. I stayed in little pensions and hotels, very nicely decorated, right in the center, sometimes with sat tv and a chocolate on the pillow for 25-40 Euro, including breakfast.
Steph
Webfabbrica di RomaWeb Design & Search Engine Optimization
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