Austrian Tyrol Day Two

Hello Everyone,

Me paragliding over the Austrian Tyrol!

Mountain bike tour & BBQ Lunch:

After good night sleep and a quick breakfast it was time to head off on our mountain bike tour around the picture-perfect Austrian mountains. We each lined up while the mountain bike guides distributed out our bikes and got us fitted for helmets. I hadn't rode a mountain bike in years and was a little confused with the gears and breaks to begin with. I was a little nervous as the ride seemed like it was going to be a little more serious than what I though it would be. The guides were explaining that we were about to go on a 25km mountain bike ride around the Austrian mountains and it would take approximately 2 hours depending on how fast our tour group was. I was thinking omg this is going to be the most exercise I've done months since slacking off at the gym over Christmas.

Hamed actually knew alot about mountain bike riding and was a speed machine which was a shock and he helped me adjust the gears on my bike to get me started. Rachael shocked me when she told us just before heading off that she does 40km mountain bike rides with her parents some weekends!lol She was a gun on the bike that day and beat most of the boys, go Rach!

We were all excited about riding our bikes although Alice was looking a little bit scary and wobbly on hers. We started on the main road along with the other traffic which was a little scary but then took a scenic route through the mountains. The trail was beautiful and we got to ride past lots of beautiful green grassy fields and along beautiful rivers. I was puffed out along the first part of the trip becuase there were heaps of hills and after 19 days of drinking, eating fatty food, tonnes of snacks and smoking it wasn't too good for the body and my fitness levels ha We stopped about every 5-10km and also got a group photo at the half way point of the journey. Lots of people were given advice that the half way point that it was the last opportunity for them to turn back before we reached more hills and it got to difficult for them to find their own way back. Lots of people turned back but there were heaps of us that continued on!The second part of the trip was steep but when we got to the highest point of the mountain bike trail we got to really enjoy the scenery and take in how beautiful this part of Austria actually was. Towards the end of the journey we got to free peddle down really step hills which was so fun and although the trail was quite tough I loved the experience!  

Contiki Group Mountain Bike rides through the Austrian Alps

Some of the scenery along the way

Alice looking wobbly on her bike to begin with

Me with my mountain bike at the top of the mountains before free peddling down

Getting our instructions before heading off on our mountain bike ride

Views along the mountain bike trail

When we got back to our Contiki site we got to eat an included BBQ lunch and sit around outside in the sun with our friends. The food was just what we needed after we had worked up an appetite! I then had some spare time to upload photos and catch up on facebook (which was rare) before my tandem paragliding adventure.

BBQ lunch after our moutain bike ride

Jess, Hamed and Rach eating their BBQ lunch

Enjoying our BBQ lunch in the sun with our Contiki group

Tandem Paragliding:

At around 2pm the mini buses came to pick us up and drive us through small Austrian towns towards the paragliding area. When we got there a man named Bernie asked me if I would like to come with him and he would be my tandem paragliding partner. Bernie explained to me that he had been pararglding for the same buiness for over 20 years and still enjoyed every minute of it! We walked together and got on the gondola which took us all the way up to the top of the hill we would be taking off from. We were fairly high up and there was also snow on top of the mountain. This was Sam's (one of the guys in my Contiki) first time ever seeing and touching snow which was so cool for him.

I wasn't scared as I had sky dived before over a lake in New Zealand and that was definately the scariest and most adrenalin pumping experience I have ever had! We got up to the top of the hill and Bernie gave me a few instructions on what to do as we walked towards the edge of the hill. I had to run forwards and backwards and then the wind was so strong we took off almost straight away. My belly dropped a little to begin but then I was able to relax and enjoy flying over the Austrian mountains with an amazing view from the sky. We floated and spun around back down to where we began which took about 10 minutes in total from the top of the hill to the bottom. I got to hold the strings and direct which way the parachute would go for parts of it too. I did have the opportunity to buy photos of Bernie and I paragliding but I looked gross in mine so I didn't buy any lol

Me in the gondola on the way up to the top of the mountain

Me paraglding

Me landing after an amazing paragliding experience

Getting all set to take off!

Me looking over the Austrian Tyrol :)

paraglding views :)

Tight, White and Bright Party:

For the remainder of the day we got to take time out with our friends to relax until the 'tight, white and bright' party at the Contiki bar/club that night. We didn't have an opportunity to buy anything exciting for the party as the shops in Hoftgarten were crap and this meant I had no outfit to wear :( I was so stressed out getting ready that night because I always usually go shopping to buy a new outfit along with accessories every time I am going clubbing or for a night on the grog. I hated not being able to wear what I wanted for the theme that night. I borrowed a dress of Bec which was kind of bright but didn't feel confident in it at all as I'd put on so much weight. I was having a melt down in the room before heading down late to the party. Rachael and Hamed were calling out to me to get my ass down there from the outside smokers area but I just felt like crying!Anyway I ended up getting over it and heading down to the party and having lots of drinks to de-stress ha Their were fluorescent lights which made our outfits glow which looked cool. The shots were 2.50 euro each which was so cheap so everyone was getting pretty drunk as usual. I ended up doing my first body shot ever off one of the Contiki on site guys abs which was weird lol He made me lick the salt off his thigh, shot the tequila from his belly button and suck the lemon from his mouth ha Then he told me to get up on the bar and he did they exact same thing back to me which was fun. 

We danced and had an awesome night with my friends and the rest of the group at the tight, white and bright party. Hamed also told me at the bar that night that I had a beautiful heart and that he wanted to catch up with me back in Australia. This was so good to hear and we ended up hooking up back in my room while the party was still going. We talked about how even though we might flirt with other people but we only actually really liked each other and established that we weren't going to hook up with anyone else on the trip. We went back down to the party and our usual group ended up being the last ones at the bar where we were killing it on the dance floor to the song 'Niggas in Paris' by Kanye West lol Steven was adamant he wasn't going to bed before he heard that song! ha

Me on Steven's shoulders at the Tight, White and Bright Party

Me and Tara at the party

Body shots with the bar man

First ever body shots lol

Getting ready to sip tequila from his belly button lol

I had an amazing time in the Austrian Tyrol and loved every minute of all of the adventure activities we did along the way. This was definitely one of the highlights of the trip for me and a place I reccomend that you visit if you ever head over to Europe.

Love the Paragliding Backpacker

x