The southern half of the large Mozart loop leads deep into the Alps without overtaxing the leg muscles (or the battery). Rushing white water, precious salt water and the Watzmann silhouette decorate the route - which once again explores a landscape full of regional specialities.
Audience with the Emperor: on the Mozart cycle path through Kaiserwinkl
Stage 4: Nussdorf - Erl - Niederndorf - Walchsee
approx. 26 km / 300 hm
Early in the morning, when high mountains rise out of the mist above the Inn Valley, thoughts of its enormous importance for transport are far away: this is where the border between Germany and Austria runs, where the most important car and railway routes cross the Alps - but we hear and see none of it. Instead, the Blue Spring behind the inn of the same name works its magic: up to 1,000 litres of crystal-clear water supposedly gush out of the ground every second. The small lake is seven degrees cold and, despite appearing to be knee-deep, up to four metres deep.
In Erl, it is worth making a detour to Kufstein Fortress above the old town. 2025 is Passion Play year here. The stopover in Erl can therefore be perfectly combined with a visit to this cultural highlight (www.passionsspiele.at). Shortly afterwards, the Mozart cycle path climbs so steeply that the composer's coach must have had trouble getting to Walchsee. At the foot of the Zahmer Kaiser, a small, rugged mountain range in the Tyrolean Limestone Alps, only e-bikers whirr towards Walchsee, breathing calmly and unperturbed. Once at the top, the day is still so young that we circle the south side of the magnificent lake on the way to the village instead of cycling directly along the main road. A quiet bathing spot is also quickly found...
Info: www.chiemsee-alpenland.de, www.kufsteinerland.at, www.kaiserwinkl.com
Character
After a flat start along the Inn, this short stage climbs over 300 metres in altitude in one go, with some steep inclines. Two kilometres of main road are unavoidable, but the asphalted side road that soon begins is quiet and full of views. www.mozartradweg.com
GPX data for the 4th stage of the Mozart Cycle Route
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Overnight stay
The Walchseerhof offers luxurious accommodation, with a room with lake view and balcony, you won't want to leave the hotel. www.walchseerhof.com
Regional & good: refreshment tips for the 4th stage of the Mozart Cycle Path
Blue Spring Inn
Just before Erl, the traditional Blaue Quelle inn is located on the road. Unfortunately, the gourmet kitchen, which has been awarded two "toques", was closed during our visit, but the eponymous Blue Spring behind the house is open to the public. www.blauequelle.at
Ledererhof
At the highest point of the route to Walchsee, you will almost inevitably pass the Ledererhof. Situated at the foot of the Zahmer Kaiser, the Ledererhof is both an excursion restaurant and a production facility for its own food. Almost all the ingredients in the restaurant come from the region. www.ledererhof.tirol
Cheese dairy Plangger
With its large car park and technical architecture, the Plangger cheese dairy is anything but a cosy Alpine pasture. Organic pioneer Plangger is so successful with its hay-milk cheese that it moved into the new building in 2021. The "Felsenkäse" cheese, which matures on the shelves in a large rock cellar, is particularly well-known. You can watch it through large windows. www.kaeserei.at
Between cheese, kayaks and table salt
Stage 5: Walchsee - Kössen - Lofer - Bad Reichenhall
84 km / 680 hm
Behind the flat Walchsee bowl of green landscape with cow pastures, forested mountains rise up and squeeze rivers, roads and paths ever closer together. While fields, pastures and orchards still characterise the landscape in the northern part of the tour, we now roll into rougher terrain. Ski lift posts protrude from some forest aisles and the grey limestone peaks become increasingly rugged. In the Saalach valley near Lofer, the water roars so loudly that the road on the opposite bank fades into the background. Cars with trailers full of short, colourful kayaks had already suggested that this could be a playground for advanced paddlers and a box seat for interested cyclists. We tuck into our pretzels with local mountain cheese and enjoy the splashing spectacle.
The route remains varied and refreshingly cool close to the river. Sometimes gravel crunches under the tyres, then asphalted connecting paths lead through villages and hamlets. The route planners have done a good job and created a stage from a patchwork of roads and paths that never feels tough despite its length and gradients. However, Mr Mozart is more likely to have been travelling along the ancestors of today's main roads. A good 230 years ago - when nobody had yet thought of the motorised carriage or even the e-bike - the widest and smoothest path was certainly the best. Today, planners have realised that motorised carriages and bicycles travel better on separate paths.
Info: www.kaiserwinkl.com, www.bad-reichenhall.de
Character
This rather mountainous stage runs for the most part on cycle paths separated from the road through narrow Alpine valleys. The five kilometres on the main road behind Griesenau can be shortened if you skip St. Johann and turn off straight away to Kirchdorf - depending on the volume of traffic, this can be pleasant. www.mozartradweg.com
GPX data for the 5th stage of the Mozart Cycle Route
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Overnight stay
Hotel Sonnenbichl, Bad Reichenhall - This family-run hotel with spa resort flair is quietly and centrally located. It does not offer dinner, but the "Schwabenbräu" restaurant recommended by the hotel is also within walking distance (www.wieninger-schwabenbraeu.de, make sure you book!) is a pleasant place. www.sonnenbichlhotel.de
Regional & good: beer, vinegar, cheese - the delicacies on the 5th stage of the Mozart Cycle Path
Loder Beer and Vinegar Manufactory, Walchsee
Alois Loder is a multiple Austrian national champion. Not in sport, but in the brewing competition. In the former fitness centre of his home, he brews small quantities of strong beers with up to 12% alcohol. It's more of a hobby than a livelihood, so he takes a sporty approach: "When there are national championships, we train beforehand. And with my small quantities, the purchase price of the ingredients doesn't really matter, I can buy the best ingredients." When brewing, his wife Petra is not allowed in the cellar, as she specialises in fine beer vinegars - and their bacteria would ruin his beer. www.bieressig.at
Organic cheese dairy Walchsee
At the western end of Walchsee, the large cheese dairy is hard to miss. However, similar to its competitor Plangger, only windows allow a glimpse into the production area. The Walchsee cheese dairy is a co-operative to which 60 organic farmers from the surrounding area supply their milk. The factory shop invites you to shop and enjoy a snack. www.biokaeserei-walchsee.com
Between salt water and Salzburg
Stage 6: Bad Reichenhall - Berchtesgaden - Salzburg
48 km / 370 hm
It sticks its head out very briefly - or is that dark thing up there just a particularly dark cloud? The Watzmann, also known as "King Watzmann", rises to 2713 metres at its highest point, the Mittelspitze. A striking figure with an abysmal east face and a narrow ridge that experienced climbers shudder over. But here today at Stanggass, probably the best Watzmann panoramic point on the Mozart circuit, multi-layered clouds simply cut off its summit. The dark thing peeking out at the top was far too far to the right anyway, so no summit... After the early morning ascent from Bad Reichenhall, a pretty high valley had opened up wide, with a beautiful forest track away from the main road. And somehow this is also good for the head, because the distant views and open horizons are a nice contrast to the previous tour of the tunnels in the Reichenhall salt works.
The damp cold in this impressive industrial monument quickly leaves your bones as you walk uphill, but the topic of "salt" inevitably circles around in your head for a while. The Salzach Valley, the salt mine in Berchtesgaden and the route to Salzburg have it in their names anyway. Despite all the reverence paid to Mozart, the disdainful sodium chloride has probably left more traces in the language and landscape than the travelling composer. Almost at ground level, the 450-kilometre Mozart Cycle Route finally turns into the home straight. No more ski lifts, but the fine decorations on the buildings increase. Garlands of stucco, pastel-coloured houses, church spires like meringue bonnets - yes, yes: it is very Mozartian in Salzburg. Just now, on a park bench with a view of the castle, let a Mozartkugel melt in your mouth. Smooth out the metallic wrapping paper. Smile at the strangely grey-headed young Mozart on it and thank his namesake: "Nice way, Mr Mozart, really exciting!". And then, unfortunately, we have to hurry to the railway station.
Info: www.berchtesgaden.de, www.salzburgerland.com
Character
A very steep (>10%) and long forest track gains 200 metres in altitude directly from the town to the Hallthurm Pass. The remaining metres in altitude to Salzburg are marginal, mostly downhill. The few kilometres on busy roads are harmless, there is almost always a cycle lane. www.mozartradweg.com
GPX data for the 6th stage of the Mozart Cycle Route
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Regional & Good: Historic finale
Gentian distillery Grassl, Berchtesgaden-Unterau
"Mountain gentian from the Berchtesgaden National Park" sounds like thick advertising, but it has a true core: the Grassl company has been distilling schnapps since 1692, including from gentian roots, which can be dug up in the remote mountains despite the strict nature conservation regulations. The right to do so is older than the national park itself, and the collectors take care not to collect more than will grow back out of self-interest. The tour of the distillery (and sales room) is exciting. Very pleasant: you can taste the high-proof products - preferably very moderately - without immediately ending up in sales talks. www.grassl.com
Old salt works Bad Reichenhall
The cardboard boxes with the white and blue diamond and the inscription "Bad Reichenhaller" are so commonplace in this country that a visit to the former production site triggers a small reality shock: "This really exists!". Salt from the mountains once made towns like Salzburg and Wasserburg rich. The brine was extracted in the Berchtesgaden salt mine and is still pumped into the salt works via the brine pipeline to Bad Reichenhall. And you can see from the over 150-year-old pumping and conveyor systems how valuable the water with the dissolved salt from the Berchtesgaden tunnels was. The marble tunnels and trenches deep underground as well as the decorated water wheels can be visited as part of a guided tour. Impressive even for museum lovers! www.alte-saline.de
