Athens to Copenhagen Day 28 WeiBenkirchen to Grein

Today was exactly the kind of touring day I wanted Gigi to have. We left Weißenkirchen, after a nice breakfast at the hotel, with only about 41 miles to ride and took our time. We skipped the early ferry rather than wait, stayed along the Danube, and accidentally found the fortified church at St. Michael. It turned into one of the best stops of the trip—we wandered through the church, climbed the old defensive tower for incredible views over the Wachau, saw the little “Seven Hares” along the roof, and lit a candle before moving on.

A few miles later we took the little ferry across at Spitz. I asked the ferryman when he was leaving and he just shrugged: “Whenever.” On board we asked a German tourist to take our picture. He kept saying “Bussi,” Austrian for a little kiss. To my American ear it sounded like a very different word. I tried to explain that to him and his wife turned bright red. We all ended up laughing.

We stopped for coffee overlooking the Danube, rode past Melk Abbey, and eventually rolled into Grein around 2:30. Bikes washed and locked in the garage, laundry done, showered, beer from the hotel vending machine, Grein turned out to be exactly our kind of town—small, quiet, beautiful, and almost completely free of the crowds we’d had in Vienna.

Walking around before dinner, we stumbled onto the local soccer match. The little grandstand was packed, people were walking around with beers in real glasses, and almost as soon as we arrived Grein scored a penalty right in front of us. Dinner at Zur Traube was excellent—we shared quick-fried venison, and the apple-red cabbage was the hit of the meal.

Forty-one miles, but today really wasn’t about the miles. A proper touring day with my wife of 40 years.Read more