dora (Niederösterreich) - hasslach (bavaria) -fürth

fürth - weissenstadt

weissenstadt - sosa

the Three Borders
14.05.2008

Sticking closely to the Czech border, the far north of Oberösterreich displays an array of opposites; old houses built in a simple but utilitarian bohemian architecture adjacent to single spa luxury hotels (apparently built by Michael Jackson himself), here rural proof of existence coupled with commuter's houses there and over the border to Germany everything suddenly feels a lot richer with less old cars, more new houses that are build with an abundance of wood panels and massive balconies.
The first 'verboten' follows promptly, and a second 'warning' goes "you can't go there, it's verboten". I went for the track anyway to get an image of the derelict Praha-Passau railway line, sometimes you simply have to go for it...
Right there at the border at Haidmühle three women and a child walk over to the German side, waiting in a little hut for car drivers to pay an euro for parking, or, if in the know, buy some contrabrand cigarettes possibly smuggled in via Ukraina. Sometimes it pays to not follow the rules.
Funny old world, just like the many Germans stopping at Austrian filling stations, everything seems to tend to find an equlibrium.
It feels a bit sad to leave Austria, I found the people amazingly open and friendly, much more down to earth than their German counterpart.
But this is maybe because i'm from Swabia myself and people there can be simply outrageous in passing on their opinions.
So there, back in the mountaians between Bavaria and the Czech Republic and it is so silent there's only the whisper of the trees. Altitude 1062 metres above sea level, much more like it. I love this corner of the world, old land with even more history...

status bike: loves the oil left from glasses of feta cheese for the chain
status max: less sun burned
status weather: sound with thunderstorms brewing over the border land.