A Snake in the Grass

Sunday September 25th
In Which we Spy a Snake in the Grass

The run of perfect weather was really starting to become a little unnerving. I had always expected that we would get at least 5 or more wet days at some time during the course of the ride, however when the day dawned perfectly fine and clear, it was evident to all that rain was not going to be a problem today.

We headed out from Grein in cool conditions and soon crossed from the left bank to the right bank of the river. The bike path was quiet and situated right on the bank of the river, making for exceptional cycling enjoyment.

At Ybbs I knew that there was an impressive bicycle museum. We had explored this museum on our previous rides along this section and I was looking forward to showing it to the rest of the team. The problem was that, when we arrived at the front door, it was securely locked

Apparently it did not open on Sundays. Oh well, so much for that idea. We proceeded to find a spot for lunch instead. We soon discovered that suitable lunch spots were also in short supply so had to make do with whatever we could find.

Our plan was to reach Melk in time to explore the huge Baroque Abbey there. This is surely one of the major highlights in this section and requires at least a couple of hours or more to do it justice. We increased the pace of the ride to make sure that we would not be late, however our progress was interrupted by a large black snake crawling across the bike path. I had to admit that this was not something I had expected and called out for the entire peloton to quickly come to a halt while it slithered off into the grass. So much for those who claim that there are "no snakes in Europe". I can assure you that there are, and they can be quite large as well.

We arrived at Melk soon after 1 pm, checked into our hotel and caught a taxi back to the Abbey. It was a little daunting to see just how many tourists had congregated on this spot. Busloads of travellers, each with their names printed on their large badges, were steadily being unloaded from a succession of huge buses. This is just my type of nightmare and I soon wished I was anywhere else but here.

I decided that it was hot enough for an ice-cream and lined up at the stall where a young maiden in a low cut dress was serving the crowd. Apparently ice cream was not the only thing she was serving as each customer was also served up a liberal does of abuse at the same time. When I worked my way to the front of the queue, it was my turn to cop an earful.

"I would like a coffee and an ice cream", I asked in my friendliest voice.
"I told you TO WAIT", was her abrupt response.

I felt like the naughty school boy who had been caught stealing the teacher's apple. While I was waiting I witnessed a stream of invective directed at anyone who had the temerity to try to place an order. Perhaps she was in the wrong line of work.

Against my better judgement I booked the "English language tour" at 3 pm. One of my basic travel rules is "never take a tour" and I should have stuck to this principle. When 3 pm arrived we were shunted into a huge crowd of shuffling, middle aged and elderly tourists and instructed to follow the yellow tour guide.

Although the young guide was easy on the eyes, she was impossible to hear over the background noise. I could see her lips moving, but that was all. Fortunately I remembered some of the details from my previous visits and was able to pass on some pearls of wisdom to others who were also unable to hear a word.

I was glad when the tour was over and we were able to seek solace in the lovely gardens outside. At least the crowds were much thinner there as most were already huffing and puffing their way back to their buses. The gardens were cool and peaceful and I managed to avoid getting impaled on someone's selfie stick.

After a couple of hours I was more than ready to return to the hotel.Read more