After a pretty rough night with restless legs and tummy discomfort, Tom and I headed out reasonably early to see as much as we could of Vienna for our rest day, despite the rain. We had a fabulous breakfast at Das Vivet with lots of GF options! Fabulous food and great service. We used a combination of the tourist bus and the metro to see as much as possible. Then back the Gasthaus Zum Wohl for an early dinner.
The ride from Krems to Vienna today was mostly beside the Danube swapping from the north and south banks. This meant the ride was relatively flat which was a good thing as I’m suffering from severe stomach cramps. I suspect an issue with contaminated water/water bottles again so made sure I used the product Susanne helped me purchase in Ulm, to wash the bottles before refilling, this time with bottled water.
Tom did the navigating today and did a superb job as once we hit Vienna, the capital of Austria, things got a little spicy with road crossings, and a multitude of bike paths. We eventually made it to the accommodation and once settled, headed out for food. We were both starving hungry as it was past 4pm and the last time I’d eaten was breakfast! We found a dedicated gluten free restaurant with GF beer! Yay, finally! The food was delicious.
I had planned an easier ride today from Ybbs to Emmersdorf via Melk, as it was possible to take a scenic train to Krems, with bikes! Tom and I rode together again today at a leisurely pace although the rain was chasing us all the way to Melk. Tom was also keen to check out the train ride. It is the Wauchau Railway and takes you through the world heritage UNESCO site.
We ran into Vincent and Helen from Holland, having coffee in Melk so decided to join them for a chat. I’ve camped at the same campground as them a couple of times earlier on the Danube so it was nice to see them again and share stories.
The ride to the train station wasn’t far but what we didn’t realise is that it was at the top of a very decent (unrideable for me) climb. I was pushing the bike so slowly that my Garmin didn’t register the gradient.
The lady at tourist information indicated that it was too late to book the bikes on the train but it should be okay given it was a Monday. As it turned out, we were the only bikes onboard! It was a very scenic train trip with information in German and English. We travelled through amazing vineyards hanging to the sides of steep cliff faces with incredible stone walls that seemed to continue forever. Much of this view is not possible from the Danube cycle path. We spent the night in Krems with the next big push to Vienna and a rest day!
I left Linz at a leisurely time, around 8:30am with the intent to ride to Grein. It was quite industrial on the way out of Linz but the signage and infrastructure was fantastic.
The weather wasn’t looking so great and I’m not keen to camp in wet weather so I was keeping an eye on my options for accommodation. I made it to the campground in Grein by lunch time, noting that most of the campgrounds are closed until 2-3pm. I met Tom from Florida who is also heading to Budapest, outside the campground and we chatted about route options and the advice he’d been given to back track slightly and cross the Danube to ride the South bank.
Tom and I decided to ride together for a while and headed to Ybbs, where there is a bicycle museum. We had a great time exploring the museum (thanks for the tip Brian!). We decided to stay in the town for the night and had been looking at options earlier due to the impending wet weather. We found great apartment accommodation at Travel and Bike Apartments right in the centre of Ybbs. These apartments are great, newly refurbished with secure bike storage. They have full kitchens and can easily sleep four. They are also very well priced for anyone looking for somewhere to stay in this area! Just a short distance from the Danube cycleway.
After such a big day yesterday on top of some consecutive days, I took a day off cycling today to explore Linz. It’s such a pretty city with beautiful architecture and lively streets. I took a tram ride on the Postlingbergbahn. It’s been operating since 1898 with many renovations over the years. It takes you from the main place in Linz up to Postlingberg and the pilgrimage basilica Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows, built between 1742 and 1747.
