POST 5 OBSERVATIONS from the SADDLE of a BIKE
Villach is a city located in the federal state of Carinthia in Austria. Nearby is Italy and Slovenia. We were drawn to Villach because it was
POST 5 OBSERVATIONS from the SADDLE of a BIKE
Villach is a city located in the federal state of Carinthia in Austria. Nearby is Italy and Slovenia. We were drawn to Villach because it was in this city that the Add-e motors we had fitted to our bikes in Brunnen Switzerland were made. I was interested in meeting the designer and seeing where this wonderful innovation came from.
Before describing our experiences in Villach we should have a map for orientation purposes.
Archaeologists tell us that if we wound the clock back 12 000 years we would see people similar in looks to us wandering around going about the business of killing animals and grinding grains with stone tools and generally making a go at surviving. And then if we were to wind the clock back even further the mountain range in the previous photograph would have been under water as the mountains are basically marine deposits in the form of limestone.
Villach today is an active seismic region. There is an earthquake every couple of years, not big ones like the one in 1348 (around 6.9 on the Richter Scale), which coincidently for some marked the start of the Black Death in Europe. Many people at the time suggested that the unexpected tremendous earthquake and unforseen cataclysmic spread of the Black Death were acts of God against Man the sinner.
The Drau River runs through the centre of Villach and is the sixth longest tributary of the Danube. According to references, it is the most energetically exploited river in Europe with almost 100% of its potential used for the generation of electricity, with twenty-four hydro plants along its 709 kilometre length.
When we gaze upon European rivers such as the Drau I think about the biodiversity and ecology of the river. Does it have a biodiversity or has man exploited and destroyed what did once exist? Surprisingly, it seems all has not been lost. I am of this opinion after reading a story called ‘Drava Life’, a publication published by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). In 2011 five countries, Austria, Croatia, Hungary, Serbia and Slovenia signed an agreement to protect ‘Europe’s Amazon’. It does of course remain to be seen if the Drava can be protected. Following are some images of a ride we did along the Drau (Drava) River.
Limestone is a wonderful resource. It is the basis of cement, is used as road fill and building construction. It is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral and molluscs. It’s hard to imagine the extent of the sea that once covered a big proportion of the European continent.
One of the main reasons for visiting Villach was to visit the inventor and designer of the Add-e motors we had fitted to our bikes. The Add-e factory was located close to the YHA where we stayed a couple of nights between Couchsurfer hosts Klaus and Bernd.
The Add-e motor has evolved like most inventions and it has taken some years to develop it to the successful stage it is at now. The development started when Fabian, the principal of the Add-e company, was an engineering student. Whilst at the Add-e factory he gave our motor installation the once over and discovered the tyre ran slightly eccentric because I had a thorn-proof inner tube fitted to the rear wheel of my bike. This necessitated the change of a tube and a slight adjustment.
Whilst in Villach we stayed with two Couchsurfer hosts and also spent time in a Youth Hostel. The hostel was difficult to find as it was set within a sporting complex and no obvious signs indicating its location. Hostels have changed over the years. In the particular one we stayed in there was no communal kitchen so Bev and I cooked outside, not a problem but having no kitchen meant no social intercourse with fellow travellers. Another noticeable change affected us at breakfast, the tariff included breakfast and unfortunately not a soul spoke to us during this time, everybody in the dining room were totally engaged with their smart phones. These devices have a lot to answer for.
Our first Couchsurfing host in Villach was Klaus who was able to accommodate us for one night. He was preparing for an extended holiday of rock-climbing in Thailand and Australia. Klaus was a materials specialist and worked for a company who developed snowboards and snow skis and as a consequence we became informed about the materials used in the manufacture of such sporting goods.
Finding Klaus’ flat was not easy as the address we were given was 28/2 and we assumed no. 28 flat 2 but no, it was no. 2 flat 28. There is a vast difference between the two, so there we stood as the sun sank slowly in the west at a loss as to where our host lived. Fortunately Klaus went out on patrol in his car and found us.
Our second Couchsurfer host was Bernd who we stayed with for two nights. He left the key to his apartment 