Don’t call me a potty mouth. That’s really the name of a town in Austria. Although it’s pronounced Fooking.

I didn’t spend much time in Fucking. Actually I just biked through the tiny town in Summer 2007. I stayed at Yoho International Youth Hostel in Salzburg and one of the guys working at the hostel, a Kiwi, offered to take people on a free bike tour of Salzburg and the Austrian country-side. I rented a bike from the hostel and joined a group of about ten people for the journey.

I was sad to leave such a majestic place. Photo by Bobbi Lee Hitchon.

We started at the tiny chapel where Silent Night was first heard, which is on the Austrian/German border. Then we visited the hostel owners’ farm in Hehermoos and lounged at a lake in the country side. While at the lake, our group of 20-somethings played on a massive slide. I was wearing a bathing suit, so I walked away with severe slide-burn in some weird areas, but it was completely worth it. Finally, the group stopped at a traditional Austrian restaurant for schnitzel and beer. Fucking was just one of the towns we biked through along the way, but a pre-planned photo-op.

I don’t bike much, so the ride was really special for me. When backpacking a continent in a matter of months, you tend to miss all the little towns and natural sites, because it’s easier to stay in cities and travel by rail. To make sure you get a different view of a country, visit a town that’s not so well-known. But wherever you go, check in with the hostel for special trips and take advantage any.

-Every Wednesday is Hump Day photo at Heels and Wheels. I’ll post my favorite photos from that week on the trip with a summary of the story behind it. Travel photos always help me get through when I am not on the road and who doesn’t need a little boost on Hump Day. Since I have not left yet, I am just going to post photos from my last long-term trip, which was Europe in Summer 2007. I know it’s not Wednesday yet, but I am in the process of organizing my schedule and wanted to explain it early. Also, I am looking through old photos, because I can’t take watching the Eagles be massacred anymore and I have no one here to tell my stories to.-