Bratislava to Cicov 80km

After a quiet night in the very basic campground, we headed off reasonably early and managed to circumvent the hills to get back on the Danube. Tom cycles quite a bit quicker than me, so after navigating out of town, he headed off for our destination. My lack of phone service meant I was navigating by very limited signage for the EV6 here in Slovakia. There is a distinct difference in the amount of signage and quality of the cycle paths here in Slovakia compared to Austria. There was a gravel section today that was completely unrideable, so I rode the road, as I’m sure many others do. Again, the levee riding gets quite monotonous, especially doing 80km, full sun, no respite. I ended up being slightly misplaced but managed to get back on track by hot spotting my phone from my iPad. I’m in a hotel tonight so looking forward to a decent sleep.  

Vienna to Bratislava 78km

It was a lovely day cycling out of Vienna although navigating out of big cities is always stressful. I’m still riding with Tom, so thankfully he did the navigating to get us back on the Danube and did an excellent job. The levee riding is very safe but it does get monotonous after a while as there is not respite from pedalling or the sun. 

I crossed into my sixth country today, Slovakia. Unfortunately. My phone does t work here so I have limited internet access until I hit Hungary. The old border crossing buildings still stand. 

Bratislava has a lovely old town. Unfortunately, I’m camping five kilometres out of town and up a hill so I had limited time to see the city. 

Vienna

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. 

Krems to Vienna 82km

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.

Ybbs to Melk, and Emmersdorf, then a scenic train ride to Krems 34km

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!