The Wachau Valley

With only two more cycling days remaining after today, we all are aware that our long adventure is inevitably drawing to a close. In some respects, those early hot days in Hamburg seem a lifetime ago, but in other respects it has all gone past so quickly.

There was no denying that we had some significant challenges along the way. The most serious of these was the "once in a hundred year" flood event that we managed to find ourselves right in the middle of. If we had been just a couple of days earlier or later on our ride to Dresden, we almost certainly would not have been able to make it as far as we did,

Compared with the floods, the steady rain that we experienced yesterday was just a mere bagatelle by comparison. Even though we arrived at the hotel in Melk rather wet, it did not seem to have much effect on anyone's morale. And those beautiful, heated towel rails certainly came in handy.

Today's ride took us from Melk to Krems. In the process we rode through the famous Wachau Valley - famous for its wine growing and also for the hordes of people from the passing pajama boats that jam the streets of the towns every day.

Ken had promised us that he would lead us to the "best cake shop in Austria" in the town of Spitz, about 20 km from the start of the ride. That was certainly something to look forward to, The only problem was that, when we arrived, the place was locked up tight ! That was a big disappointment.

Actually, all was not as it seemed, for the German sign promised that it would open at 11 am. And it did. We were sternly told to sit at the tables on the balcony while our orders were taken. Anyone who did not follow these directions was given a lecture in correct protocol.

As for the cakes, I am not sure whether they were the best cakes in Austria, , but they did go down well, although the tiny size of the coffee cups meant that the coffee was consumed in the blink of an eye.

The next stop was at beautiful Durnstein, with its narrow streets and even more tourist throngs. I found a place that claimed to sell toasted ham and cheese sandwiches. Although I would only score the offering about a 4/10 on the toasted sandwich rating, it was the first one I had been able to find since leaving Australia.

After lunch we climbed back on the bikes for the short final leg to Krems. It would have been easy if our hotel had not been situated at the top of a very steep road high above the city. It was just as well we all had plenty of battery power remaining and the fine, modern hotel was worth the effort of getting there.Read more