Day Eleven 23.8 miles (38 km), 2 hours 12 minutes, 405 feet (123 m) of elevation (climbing).
It was a hodgepodge of sights today. As we rode along the Danube, we realized we were in wine country. We rode by so many vine-covered hillsides that it was pretty surprising to me. I've really not seen Austrian wine promoted in the US, but definitely drank several glasses while we were in Austria. Such a nice view to look at from the bike, too. There were miles of vineyards along with wineries. If we had been riding through here in the afternoon, instead of early morning, I would have been tempted to stop at a winery for a tasting.
We rode through several little towns or villages with cobblestone streets, winding our way from village to village, sometimes through vineyards. We got to our first big climb up to the foot of this castle ruin. The view from the top of the climb was really great. It was clearly a popular tourist stop given the number of people and souvenir shops around. We were at Durnstein Castle. There was a big arch opening that was the entrance to a hotel.
As we moved further down the route, we saw a sign that told us to walk the bike and then another that pointed to a public pay toilet (which I used). While I was waiting for my husband to use the facilities, I ended up talking to a Canadian man for some time about our tour and their tour. I think we both appreciated having someone to speak English with. It was very crowded in that little tourist area, so I was glad to move along. We opted not to try and tour the castle:
Eventually we came to the city of Krems, which was a surprise after riding out in the country for so long. The cycling paths through the city were nice and we really enjoyed this section of our ride on a Saturday morning as there was not much traffic There were also many interesting buildings to look at:
It didn't take long before we were heading out of Krems by way of an industrial section of the city. We have not encountered many of those so far on any part of the tour. I think they are kind of sad and lonely. But the bike path was really smooth and well-paved throughout the section.
Eventually we ended up back along the Danube, where we took a short break (so I could eat some M&Ms...) We could hear a motorboat and when I looked up, I was not expecting to see people actually waterskiing on the Danube. I should not have been surprised because I've seen this in Texas, but it seemed out of place here. I took a video of it, and this is a screenshot from the video.
Our route took us back across the Danube yet again. I should count how many times we've crossed over it during this trip, either by ferry or bridge. This time it was a big, imposing bridge with a bicycle lane underneath it. That was something new. This isn't a great picture, but it shows you the ramp curling up to the bicycle lane underneath the bridge:
We had to walk the bike up most of that ramp as the corners were too tight. When we got to the top, we had to stop and remount. It was then that another cyclist came barreling around the corner and barely missed ramming into us. He was quite annoyed we had stopped where we had to mount our bike. I suppose we should have moved further along the lane before mounting the bike, but we didn't see anyone riding when we were walking up the ramp.
One thing that really does bother me about many cyclists in Europe is that they do not announce their presence when approaching you. In the US, cyclists usually say something like "On your left" or "On your right" when passing someone. Many people ring a bell. We ring a bell and if I feel like they didn't hear it, I will also say something as well to let them know we are approaching. I can't tell you how many times we were taken unaware of cyclists passing us on this tour. I find that very unsafe.
This is what the bicycle lane under the bridge looks like:
It was a big bridge....(yes that is my husband).
We finally rode into Traismauer, Austria and our hotel was in the old section of the town, which we enjoyed walking around. There was an old church and lots of buildings. Since it was Saturday, everything was pretty much closed. In the US, the town would have been very busy on a Saturday. That was another interesting cultural difference to me. It seems like shops close on the weekends. In the US, that's when they do their best business. We rode through this city gate to find our hotel:
Our hotel was a lovely little pension that was definitely in one of the old city buildings. It had an interior courtyard that all the rooms opened into. They had a great place for us to store our bikes, too.
We were able to check in early, which was a plus and then we went in search of lunch and found the Ararat Restaurant. I had a burger and my husband decided to get a pizza. I'd never seen corn on a pizza before but apparently, it's a thing here? It was really good pizza, too.
We did a little exploring which was really a short walk as the old part of the city, where we were, really wasn't that big. I was glad to have a short mileage day so we felt like we could spend the afternoon relaxing for the next day.
You can see photos of our cycling adventure on Instagram under the handle 7th_decade_redhead, where we started riding in Prague, Czech Republic in early May and continued to ride until we reached Budapest, Hungary at the end of May.
If you would like to read more about our three week-long bicycle tour starting in Prague, Czech Republic and ending in Budapest, Hungary, here are the links to our entire adventure:
Day Zero in Prague (Weather or not I wanted to)
Day One.... The Hills are Alive .... and I am not
Day Two....Vistas and Grocery Stores (and an angry cashier)
Day Three.... Are we Hiking or Cycling? (Today it was hard to tell....)
Day Four.....My Favorite Place on the Entire Tour (and a nod to the Beer of Kings along the way)
Day Four and a Half (I couldn't do it justice in one post)
Day 5 ...... Will This Day Ever End???
Day Six... Pausing in Passau (AKA This is the way we wash our clothes.....I think....)
Day Seven - Off down the Danube (If we'd only had that meeting.....)
Day Eight - We needed a day like today.....
Day Ten Cycling the Danube - Cloudy With a Shot of Melk
Day Eleven Cycling the Danube... A rare short mileage day!
Day Twelve Cycling the Danube - Aahhhh Vienna!!!
Day 13 - Our Day in Vienna (It's not supposed to be this HOT)
Day 14: Vienna to Petronell-Carnuntum (Apparently, I can speak some Italian.....)
Day 15 Petronell-Carnuntum, Austria to Bratislava, Slovakia (Rain and broken Chain...)
Day 16 Bratislava, Slovakia to Gyor, Hungary (There's a snake in the grass....)
Day 18: Komarno, Slovakia to Esztergom, Hungary (A tense tummy and a tense moment......)
Day 19: Esztergom to Budapest, Hungary (A long ride for the last day)
Day 20: A Day in Budapest (We had to see the last of the "Stevens/Stephens")
