ГерманияBavariaKelheim48°54’58” N 11°53’30” E
16 сентября 2016 г., Германия ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C
Friday September 16th
In Which we Take a Boat Journey
After the terrible night at the Pfeffermuhle Hotel, I was not sorry to see the last of the place. Even the Internet was a proverbial pain in the bum. We all hoped that the next hotel would raise the standard again.
Since the Ghostriders would be starting from two different hotels we had arranged to each leave and then meet at the church in the next town. At risk of sounding repetitive, the weather was perfect, the sky blue and the temperature absolutely ideal for riding.
We arrived at the church in question and waited in the sunshine for the others to arrive. They didn't. Instead I got a phone call from Douglas, informing me that they had missed the turn and were already several kilometres further ahead. We climbed back on the bikes and enjoyed an easy paced ride of around 55 km.
Much of the ride was along the tops of imposing levy banks. This gave us a clear view of how much higher is the Danube than the surrounding countryside. I tried not to think of what would happen if these banks were ever breached.
A short distance further along we rode past what is apparently the world's largest gas fired power stations. The three large towers looked impressive and the humming power lines high overhead gave some indication of the massive scale of the operation. I guessed that, if you were interested in such things, you would have stopped for a longer look. We weren't.
Our morning tea stop was alongside a beautiful small creek and consisted of coffee and cakes from the nearby bakery. With the warm day and the relaxing sounds of the running water, it was very tempting to declare a siesta break, however I decided that we should push on instead
The final 10 km was directly along the banks of the Danube. By this time the river has grown into a mighty waterway - a far cry from the modest stream we had been following since Donaueschingen.Our passage was eventually blocked by the narrowing of the river into the Danube Gorge.
At this point the only way to proceed is to board a large ferry boat to transport us through the gorge to Kelheim. We boarded the boat and I was looking forward to enjoying the short cruise and the views of the towering cliffs on either side. My plans were interrupted by an inquisitive German cyclist who wanted to know everything about our group, where we were going, where we had come from, what sort of bikes we had, how many times we had come to Germany, my mother's maiden name and my preferred sock colour. He was a friendly guy, who I guessed might have been lonely, so I tried to be informative as possible. But I also wanted to take some pictures and talk to Maggie as well. It was just that, every time I turned around, he was standing about 50 cm behind me. I had not really been looking for a new best friend, but I think I inadvertently found one on that boat.
We reached the lovely town of Kelheim and I almost expected my new friend to follow us to the hotel, however he waved us off and wished us a safe journey. Probably I misjudged him.
Our hotel was right in the middle of the old part of the town and I was relieved to find that the rooms were not only cooler, but they were quiet as well. That was absolute bliss.
The weather forest for tomorrow is for heavy rain, so it appears that the incredible run of fine weather has finally reached an end.Читать далее
ГерманияBavariaRegensburg49°0’39” N 12°5’38” E
17 сентября 2016 г., Германия ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C
Saturday September 17
In Which the Rains Came (and the Luggage Left)
Logic would clearly advise that it would never be possible to cycle across Europe from Bruges to Budapest without getting at least several wet and/or cold days. Since we arrived in Europe over 3 weeks ago we have been blessed with fine and warm weather every single day. The utter perfection of it all was almost starting to get a little monotonous. although I never thought that I would actually look forward to a bad day.
The long awaited day finally arrived on our ride from Kelheim to Regensburg. I could hear the rain falling outside the window during the night and, by the time our alarm sounded in the morning, it had well and truly settled in to a steady downpour. This then gave us the chance to skip the sunscreen, don the wet weather gear we had bought with us and hope that the panniers were watertight.
A couple of our ladies tried their best to audition for the job of village idiot by visiting the local sports store and purchasing one of the owner's slowest selling items.
Carol and Gael emerged from the shop with bright red plastic tea cosies (which the shop owner had told them were "bike helmet covers"). The 10 Euros each that the ladies handed over must have surely sent the shop's profits skyward.
Thus decked out in rain jackets and silly red hats, our peloton rode out from Kelheim and headed along the Danube riverbank towards Regensburg. The ride was only going to be about 40 km in length and would have been a real doddle, if it hadn't been for the incessant rain. The gravel path was soon turned to soft mud which splashed up our legs every time we rode through a puddle (which was every few metres). The mud and slop from the path was soon spread liberally over all of us. But did we mind ? Of course not. We were actually enjoying ourselves immensely.
A short distance out of Kelheim we spotted our first huge "pyjama boat". It was cruising downstream, laden with idle tourists who had come from all over the world to spend their time eating and sleeping across Europe. I was amazed that, at 9.30 am in the morning, virtually all the drapes were drawn and the decks were completely empty. In true pyjama boat style, it was obvious that none of the passengers had yet crawled out of their beds. On the other hand we were riding our bikes through the mud, already soaked to the skin and having to pedal our own way down the river.
So who was having the most fun ? It wasn't even close. None of us would have swapped places for quids. This was exactly what we had come to do.
About this time, for no apparent reason, Dave had another of his rushes of blood and disappeared into the distance. We were happy to ride along at around 18 kph while he was no longer visible.
We continued in this fashion until we came to the town of Bad Abbach. In German tradition, this does not mean that the town is really bad, it just means that it once had a spa (or bath) there. It was time for morning tea, but still no sign of David. As we were discussing what to do, my phone rang. It was David wondering where we were. Where we were ??? It was he who had bolted, and we now found that he gone along the wrong path. We headed to the coffee shop while David rode back to meet us.
The day was also significant for another reason - it was Carol's birthday. So at every opportunity we made sure to sing the familiar Happy Birthday song.
This had become something of a tradition last year in France, and I could see no reason why the tradition should not be maintained. David finally rejoined us and we continued on our wet way.
We soon encountered a large bunch of riders, apparently from the Colombian cycling team since they all looked like Nairo Quintana. Our highly trained elite riders had no trouble in catching the South Americans and passing them with a dismissive wave of the hand. The kilometres were ticking by quickly and soon we were on the outskirts of Regensburg itself.
The final few kilometres into town followed the riverbank and gave a wonderful preview of the town itself. It was a pity that we could not see anything at all, due to wet glasses and eyeballs. Regensburg is regarded as one of the most picturesque towns in Germany. On a better day we would have stopped to admire the scenery, but by now our only thoughts were to reach the hotel.
Of course the problem was that we arrived at the hotel far too early, just in time to see the bolters group approach from the other side. We tramped into the lovely foyer of the Munchner Hof, leaving a trail of mud and water across the floor. I apologised to the staff and expected to be soundly chastised. You can imagine my surprise when they welcomed us to bring our bikes right through the foyer to the rear shed. (They were still cleaning up our mess an hour later).
Fortunately most of the rooms were available, even though our luggage had not yet arrived. We went to the rooms and kept warm as best we could till the luggage arrived. Around 2.30 pm the familiar van pulled up and started to unload the suitcases. I felt like I was standing at the luggage carousel at the airport, waiting for our familiar cases. My case was unloaded, but no sign of Maggie's. I asked the driver if there were any more. "No more", he said.
At that time I was reminded of the familiar words of Corporal Jones of the Dad's Army TV show. "Don't panic, DON'T PANIC". It was too late, Maggie was already panicking.
I rang the previous hotel and was told that the missing case had been left by the driver in the foyer. He must have had a bad day or been distracted, but now he would have to drive all the way back to Kelheim to retrieve the missing case. It eventually arrived safely about 2 hours later.
Unfortunately it still far too wet to explore the town. We are all hoping that the weather will improve in the morning and allow us a couple of hours to see something of its wonderful buildings.Читать далее
ГерманияBavariaStraubing48°52’55” N 12°34’20” E
18 сентября 2016 г., Германия
Sunday September 18
In Which we Arrive in Straubing at Market Time
After the deluge we endured the previous, day it was something of a miracle that we could even consider getting back on the bikes again. Fortunately due to very efficient heated towel rails (and a huge electricity bill for the hotel) we all managed to wash and dry our saturated clothes and shoes.
Since the ride to Straubing was only around 50 km and since we are all now getting fitter (and probably fatter) every day, that distance did not constitute a challenge. We decided that we could spend some more time exploring Regensburg, since most of us were too wet to have any chance of doing any sightseeing the previous day.
The breakfast at the Munchner Hof was certainly in a league of its own. Not only was it served in a beautiful timber panelled room with a decorated glass ceiling, but the array of food options was easily the best we have had so far on this trip.
There were even about 8 different types of juice to select from. I spent some time looking at the long line of bottles before making my final choice - orange juice. I have never laid any claim to being an adventurous diner.
The hotel also offered to make us lunch boxes for only 5 Euro each. This saved us the trouble of wandering the town looking for a supermarket.
I was pleased to see that the rain had temporarily stopped and so we were able to spend some time wandering the impressive city. Apparently Regensburg was never severely damaged during the war and so much of the ancient medieval city has remained intact. It is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Since it was a Sunday morning, it was initially very quiet and we were able to walk the streets alone, however this did not last for long.
By 10 am the streets were starting to fill with numerous groups of tourists from the dreaded tour buses. There was a proliferation of flag carrying guides spouting off their own versions of history. A huge crowd of bored looking individuals had obviously been part of some "Viking Tour" and were slowly shuffling down the narrow streets of the old city.
Our lovely solitude was gone for ever. Since I am a bit of a mischief I even gave some thought to gathering our small group into a mock tour group so that I could start making up some fantastical stories to yell at them.
My dialogue would have gone something like this:
"This thing is a church, it's a pretty big one, probably old or maybe it just needs a clean. On the top you can see some big pointy things.It's got a bell with a giant donger inside. It's called a brown church. Down there is a big river with lots of water going downstream. It's got a big bridge over it. There's probably lots of other stuff here as well, but we don't have time for any of that, the bus is leaving in 5 minutes".
I reckon it could have been quite a hoot, but we decided to get on our bikes again and seek the solitude of the bike paths instead. My two basic travel principles are (a) never take a "selfie" and (b) never, ever join a tour group and I wasn't going to change now.
We returned to the hotel, mounted our bikes and rode out of the city.
Very soon we were back in the countryside, briskly riding on lovely smooth bitumen. Our first (and only) stop was to be the huge (and incredibly hideous) monument called "Walhalla". This huge structure was modelled on the Greek Parthenon, however it lacks all the beauty of the original and instead just stands as a sad monument to German aggrandisement. The structure is situated on a prominent location and commands a panoramic view of the surrounding countryside. To get there you can either ride up the road, walk up a back path, or a combination of the two. Several of us rode as far as we could up the gravel path and then climbed the hundreds of stairs to the memorial itself.
The interior of the structure is filled with statues to commemorate famous, high achieving German citizens, however the selection seems to be rather biased with many deserving candidates having been overlooked for recognition. We decided not to pay the entry fee but to spend our money on a coffee instead.
The ride was then resumed until we stopped about 20 km further on for lunch outside a village church. We opened our boxed lunches, enjoying the rolls, but quickly deciding that the apples were far too tart to eat. We then only had another hour or so of easy cycling till we reached the lovely town of Straubing
Although there were many nearby black clouds we managed to avoid the deluge and arrive at the hotel still dry.
Due to an incredible dose of good fortune we arrived just in time for the Oktoberfest Market in the centre of town. The whole main street precinct was filled with dozens of stalls and groups of talented singers kept us entertained for ages. A large Bavarian "oom pa pa" band, decked out in national costume, was obviously the main attraction. Thousands of people wandered the streets or sat in the open sipping at huge glasses of frothy beer. We were so fortunate to have arrived at precisely the right time and it gave us a unique insight into this facet of German life.
Just as the market was being dismantled late in the afternoon, the sky blackened and the rain came flooding down again. By this time we were safely in our hotel room and were able to watch the entire spectacle through our window. We are now being told by the weather forecasters that this wet weather could continue tomorrow. Bring it on.Читать далее
ГерманияBavariaDeggendorfFischerdorfBogenbach48°50’11” N 12°57’9” E
19 сентября 2016 г., Германия ⋅ 🌧 16 °C
Monday September 19
In Which we Dodge the Drizzle into Deggendorf
I awoke to the sound of steady rain falling outside our hotel room. A glance out the window gave the type of scene that is dreaded by all long distance cyclists - soaked streets and a sea of umbrellas. Although we know that it is unrealistic to expect to ride 2000 km across Europe without getting wet, I do tend to inhabit a fantasy world where the impossible is often highly likely.
I decided to re read the weather forecasts. No joy there. The easiest approach was to do nothing for a couple of hours and see what happened. If the weather improved we would leave immediately, if it got worse we would have another coffee and wait even longer.
While we were waiting for the weather to change it gave me a chance to go down to the basement garage to examine the scene of a serious car accident
While we were sitting in the foyer yesterday the concierge left his desk in a state of agitation. When I asked what was the matter he replied that an accident had occurred in the basement. When we followed him downstairs we were amazed to see that a new BMW SUV had driven straight into one of the concrete supports at a quite high speed. The car was demolished and the occupants had been transported to hospital. It was hard to understand what had happened, although I suspected that it was another case of the "mixed accelerator with brake pedal" syndrome.
When I re examined the scene the following day I could see that a parallel set of skid marks led across the car park, directly to the concrete post. It appeared that the driver had accidentally floored the accelerator and spun the wheels as he headed for disaster. The car's back seat had been piled high with luggage, so I felt sorry for the holiday makers who had had their plans so greatly altered by this event. The post showed very little outward evidence of the accident, showing just how unequal the conflict had been.
By 10.30 am the rain had stopped and I tried to round up the riders to make use of whatever respite we had. The difficulty was that most had either switched off their phones or were too deaf to hear them ringing
We proceeded to search the hotel and town for the missing people and, about 30 mins later, we were finally ready to head off.
Today's ride was relatively short and mostly on lovely smooth bitumen paths. This meant that we could cruise along happily at quite a good speed. At the town of Bogen we found a beautiful bakery to stock up with supplies for a picnic lunch further down the road. Somehow, although there was rain all around us, we managed to ride in a patch of fine weather. Quite often it works the other way round, where a little rain cloud can follow you all day, even when the rest of the district is in bright sunshine. Fortunately on this day, fate was in our favour and we were able to complete the entire ride without a single drop of rain.
We arrived at Deggendorf around 2.30 pm and decided to have a hot drink before heading to the hotel. When we did finally arrive at the hotel we were met by a confused crush of people at the counter, all jostling for keys at the same time. The hotel staff seemed to just give up and hand out keys to anyone who asked for one (even when they were not part of our group). This meant that, by the time David and Carol reached the desk, they were told that "all the rooms had been allocated". Obviously they were not happy, nor were they happy when they were offered a single room with an additional fold up bed.
They eventually had to wait quite a while, until a room was vacated by a late checker outer.
Maggie and I were also not impressed when we were sent to a room without windows. Well technically it did have a window, but it looked straight into the beer garden, meaning that both the window and curtains had to be continually closed. Paul and Jan were sent to a room in the crawl space in the ceiling. The only window they had was a small round porthole at floor level. The only way to look out was to lie flat on your stomach and crawl to the edge.
The hotel's restaurant also had no idea what a vegetarian was. We tried to explain that vegetarians do NOT eat meat soup, but the sour faced waitress insisted that it was very rude and ignorant not to eat the soup that was provided. No choices were offered, just an evil glare and some muttered abuse. Hardly world's best practise in the hospitality industry. This battle of wits lasted through the whole meal with just about all of us managing to incur her displeasure for some misdemeanour or other. She didn't even approve of the way we had stacked our empty plates. We were glad to leave the stifling and noisy interior and get some quietness and fresh air outside.
Tomorrow marks the end of section two of our Odyssey ride as we reach the famous 3 rivers city of Passau. Three riders will be leaving us and other 5 riders will be joining for section 3.Читать далее
ГерманияBavariaPassauHaidenhof48°33’42” N 13°26’45” E
20 сентября 2016 г., Германия ⋅ 15 °C
Tuesday September 20
In Which we Arrive at the City of the Three Rivers
It really was a brave decision to go ahead with an overseas bike ride with so many strong minded people. Never before had we ever faced the problem of coping with so many riders. Just to give an idea of some of the problems I faced each and every day I thought I would give you an insight into a typical day. Some of the day's dialogue would go like this.....
"What time is breakfast ?"
"7.00 am"
"No, Dennis said 7.30 am for today"
"When did he say that ?"
"At the briefing last night"
"Was there a briefing ? I went to bed"
"I went to the briefing but could not hear a word"
"I went to the briefing but cannot remember a word he said"
" I want to start now, let's go"
"But it's not time yet"
"Time for what ?"
"Which way do we go ?"
"This way"
"No, that way"
"I am ready for coffee"
"I need a toilet"
"I need a toilet too, and I could be some time"
"It's too early to stop"
"I want a cake"
"C'mon why are we riding so slow?"
"Too fast, I can't keep up"
"I need to take my coat off I'm hot"
"I need to put my coat on, I'm cold now"
"I need a toilet stop"
"I don't want to ride with those people"
"I want my own group"
"Group of what ?"
"Why can't we all be the leader ?"
"Where are we going ?"
"To Budapest"
"I meant, where are we going today?"
"No idea "
"I want to go shopping"
"What's keeping them so long"
"They stopped to take some pictures"
"Pictures of what ?"
"Look at that old dog over there"
"Where ? Can I take its picture?"
"I need another toilet stop"
"I want coffee"
"We've only been riding for 20 minutes"
"Dennis has no idea, does he?"
"Idea of what ?"
"Who's Dennis ?"
"Is it time for coffee yet ?"
"I'm not stopping"
"Stopping everyone !"
"Keep right"
"Right of what?"
"Bollard !"
"I am not riding up THAT hill"
"It's not a hill, don't stop"
"I've just wet myself laughing"
"So have I"
"Are we there yet ?"
"What part of 'I need a toilet' didn't you understand ?"
"Is that our hotel ?"
"That's a Rathaus"
"Let me get to the desk first, I really need the toilet"
And so it goes on every day. There is one recurring theme that repeats so often, that I am seriously thinking of changing our name from the Ghostriders to the Incontinents.
I once had visions of a cohesive line of yellow clad riders riding in pelotonic precision all the way from Donaueschingen to Passau, but that unrealistic goal quickly became impossible when Carol washed her's and David's cycling clothes with her new black underwear and thus ensured that their jerseys would emerge covered in black stains and thus could never be worn again. From that moment everything went rapidly downhill.
And yet, in spite of all the mass confusion, we did all manage to complete our set task. Over 600 km (and about 967 toilet stops) after leaving Donaueschingen we did all somehow arrive safely and triumphantly at Passau. The weather also co operated by providing a dry day, with the clouds breaking up, just in time to let the sun shine through for the final few kilometres.
As we entered the lovely old city and past the famous old decorated clock tower, the massive bells started to announce our arrival with an extended melodious peel. It seemed a fitting way to end such a memorable ride. Our plan had been to ride through to the actual confluence of the Danube and the Inn Rivers and you could imagine my surprise to spot a familiar face in the small crowd that was gathered there. It was none other that John Mudgway. He had no idea that we would be riding into town at just that moment and was just as surprised as us.
The real reason he was there was that he was looking for a toilet ! Old people are like that. At least he was able to assist by welcoming our achievement and acting as camera man to take the group photo.
John is one of the five new riders that will be joining us at Passau. We also bade farewell to Lou and Rhonda Torelli and also Mary Jonas, who will be leaving us at this point. It had been great to share stages one and two with them.Читать далее
ГерманияBavariaPassau48°34’10” N 13°26’30” E
21 сентября 2016 г., Германия ⋅ 19 °C
Wednesday September 21
In Which we Observe the Pajama People of Passau
"Do you think you should be going to Europe now ?"
"I would never go to such a place ever"
"I am too afraid to leave my front door, and you should be too"
And so the well meaning advice went when I told people that I was planning on cycling across Europe from Bruges to Budapest. Obviously the media had done a great job in convincing the masses that the whole of Europe was a seething cauldron of suicide bombers, millions of illegal immigrants everywhere you go, and every one of them determined to put a premature end to every Australian cyclist they see.
Now that we have been here for over four weeks, we have yet to see a single person that made us feel afraid
We have cycled for over a thousand kilometres across a large part of the continent and been amazed every single day at the quietness and tranquility of the place. The interactions we have had with locals have not been because they were trying to murder us, but because they were in awe of what we were doing and wanted to know all about it. If we had listened to all the well-intentioned advice that we received, we would all have missed out on one of the greatest adventures of our lives.
After the first twenty days of cycling, we reached the famous 3 rivers city of Passau. This region is regarded as one of the cradles of civilization and has been continuously inhabited for thousands of years. More recently, Passau has gained notoriety for an entirely different reason. This city is now one of the major centres of the exploding business of using huge boats to daily transport thousands of grey haired tourists along the rivers of Europe.
On our previous trips to Passau we watched the way these boats filled up with their cargos of passengers as they shuffled the short distance from the big tourist buses to their cabins, puffing and panting as they went. At that time I commented that, once on board, they could change into their pyjamas and stay that way for the entire cruise
Thus we christened these giant boats as "pyjama boats". The name has stuck ever since.
I have always loved to observe people and see how they go about their lives. It is not possible to spend any time in Passau without seeing these huge crowds of pajama people jostling for selfie taking positions in front of every decorated building. I quickly came to the conclusion that I would be more in danger of losing an eye on the end of someone's selfie stick, than being attacked by some crazed terrorist.
These pajama people wander the city in clumps, each clustered around their allocated tour leader and laughing on queue when the guide tells the same well rehearsed joke they have told hundreds of times before. After they shuffle around for an hour or so, they are herded back to their pens (sorry cabins) and then the boat moves to the next location so that they can do it all again. Of course the real die hard pajama people seldom venture beyond their cabins or the dining room. In that way they can eat and sleep the entire way around Europe.
Even after only few hours of such "sightseeing" I was already keen to get back on my bike and start riding again.
The more I do such travel, the more I am convinced that the "real Europe" does not consist of the crowded tourist hot spots, it is not the huge churches and museums, or the castles on the tops of hills. Although these places do give an appreciation for the depth of history, the real Europe is where the real people are. The farmer working his fields, the school children going to school, the mother teaching her 2 year old how to ride a bike, the old people sitting and chatting in the village square, the man sitting with a fishing pole by the river, or the shepherd using his dogs to control his sheep. I also love to watch the swans sliding across the water, the dog sitting obediently by their owner in the little cafe, the geese migrating south for the coming winter or the little squirrels running across the road in front of us. On the nearby hills the onset of autumn is already starting to change the colour pallet of the forests. In a few months these same hills will be blanketed in a carpet of snow and the cycle of life will continue to turn.
Yes, there is no doubt that Passau is an impressive place, but somehow I cannot escape the feeling that it has been a little too restored. The buildings are just a little too immaculate. I would not mind seeing even a little peeling paint or a cracked wall somewhere to remind us of just how old these buildings really are. Perhaps that is one of the differences between Germany and France. In France they don't seem to be afraid to show a little wear and tear on their historic buildings.
Tomorrow we resume our ride towards Budapest and early in the day we will be crossing the border in Austria, the fourth country we will be traversing on our journey. Our time on the German Danube is almost complete.Читать далее
АвстрияOberösterreichSankt AgathaMitterbergAdlersbach48°25’27” N 13°52’14” E
22 сентября 2016 г., Австрия ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C
Thursday September 22
In Which we Cycle the Schlogen
Today marked the start of section three of our European Odyssey. This meant that we would need to collect new bikes to carry us from Passau to Vienna. This would have been simple if the bike supplier could have delivered them to our hotel, but they didn't. They instructed that we would need to collect then from their depot, about 6 km out of town.
Just to make sure that the handover of bikes would take place as efficiently as possible I rang the representative of the bike company the previous day and explained that we would be arriving in two groups of 14 people, about 30 minutes apart. "That is great, we will have the bikes ready and tagged with your names", she promised. It certainly never worked out that way.
We arrived at the strangely named "Globus Garage" right on time at 8.30 am, expecting to be able to collect our bikes and get going
The only person in the cavernous warehouse certainly did not seem pleased to see us.
"What do you want ?", he demanded
"Our bikes" (Why else would we have come to a bike storage warehouse?)
"You can come tomorrow", he growled
"Not tomorrow, we need them today !" (Why was my stress level starting to escalate?)
I handed him the vouchers, showing the date of collection. He just grumbled and went to look in a big book. Then he gets on the phone to someone from his company. Twenty minutes later there were still no bikes. Eventually he starts to just grab bikes seemingly at random from the hundreds of bikes at his disposal. None had been prepared in advance. The only thing that the guy gave out freely was abuse.
The shambles continued for the next hour while, one by one, we finally got a bike that was reasonable. This whole fiasco could have been been avoided if they had prepared the bikes like they were supposed to. While this was going on I rang the girl from the bike company and explained the disaster that was taking place. She simply replied that they could not be prepared as people needed to "try their bikes"
I was not impressed at all. Every other operator we have dealt with has been able to prepare bikes in advance, except this company.
The situation became more farcical when we asked for spare tubes and tools. I was met with the same torrent of abuse. Eventually he handed over one tube and a small box of tools. ONE TUBE for 28 bikes and about 500 km of riding ! The only way this grump would hand over another tube was when he was handed a 10 Euro bribe. We had also ordered one Ebike as part of the order and we discovered that the battery had only been partly charged, This was a really disappointing way to start this part of the ride and we were all glad to be finally out of the place and start pedalling our way to Vienna. Things could only get better from here - and they did.
At least the weather was superb as we followed the left bank of the river out of Passau. We were now cycling one of the world's premier bike paths and we all knew just how lucky we were to have such a privilege. As Passau shrank into the distance behind us we looked to the mighty Danube on our right hand side. The water from the three rivers that join at Passau each has a distinctly different colour, and you can see these different colours in the water for some distance downstream
After about an hour of riding we stopped to readjust our bikes and recover from the trauma of the bike collection, it was time for our first morning tea stop. We then climbed back on the bikes and continued till about 12.30 before stopping for a leisurely lunch. The last time we rode through this spot it had been a hot day and they had a sprayer rigged to cool passing riders. Today we had much milder temperatures and the sprayer was not required.
Although we passed the occasional rider the path was actually very quiet, again emphasizing that this is the VERY BEST time for this type of trip in Europe. The hotels are quiet, most of the tourist hordes are back home again and the weather is usually great for cycling.
It was interesting to pass the Gasthof Draxler at Niederanna, the place where our group stayed on our first Danube ride in 2009. I had many happy memories of that place and the fun time we had shared there.
The final section of the ride took us further along the left bank to to the famous Schogener Loop
This is where the Danube has to make a series of fantastic bends to get around some sizeable mountains that block the more direct route.
Opposite the little hamlet of Schlogen we all crowded aboard a tiny ferry to cross to the other side of the river. This is the start of the walk to the famous Schlogener Blick (lookout). This is surely the most spectacular view of the river that we will get for the entire ride and well worth the short but quite strenuous walk to the summit. We all admired the view and took a camera full of pictures before returning to the base.
Although we had originally planned to cycle to the hotel where we would be spending the night, I received an email the previous day to advise that the hotel would provide a lift for any that did not wish to ride (as it turned out everyone)
The only problem was the the mini bus could only take 8 people at a time and the ancient bike trailer took an eternity to load and unload each time. This meant that the final group to be transported were half frozen by the time it was their turn for the lift. Fortunately the hotel Kocher at Sankt Agatha was probably the best hotel of the entire trip and our hardship was soon forgotten as we explored this lovely Shangri La, high in the Austrian mountains
The views stretched out in all directions over the green rolling hills. Scattered over these mountains were the classic small villages, each clustered around their own church.
By the time I arrived in the final batch, most of the women were already enjoying themselves in the swimming pool. Since Maggie had the room key, I was locked out and had to languish outside our room while she enjoyed the warm pool. I eventually managed to shower and change and get to to the the dining room just in time for dinner.
The dinner was absolutely superb and so I was finally able to retire to bed in good spirits. It had been a long and very eventful day.Читать далее
АвстрияOberösterreichLinzHauptplatz Tram Station48°18’28” N 14°17’11” E
23 сентября 2016 г., Австрия ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C
Friday September 23rd
In Which we All Enjoy a Perfect Cycling Day
There is an old adage about "what goes up, must come down" and, after spending the evening on the top of a mountaintop, we knew that we would have a spectacular descent back down to Schlogen the following morning.
We enjoyed a superb evening meal and retired to bed early. When the next morning dawned we found the surrounding rolling hills were covered in a blanket of white mist. After discussion some decided that it might be safer to travel back down the hill in the hotel's bus, while the rest decided to live a little dangerously and cycle down instead. It turned out to be a rather uneventful descent with very little traffic.
When all the team were safely gathered at Schlogen, some enjoyed a drink in the sunshine while those who had missed out on climbing to the Blick the previous day climbed up to enjoy the view.
The day's riding was about as perfect a day's cycling as you could imagine. It was yet another superb day of sunshine and no winds and a temperature of around 20C. The paths were sealed the entire way, there were few other riders and the path followed the river for most of the ride. We even had a ferry crossing and a boat trip to add variety to a very memorable day.
At one particular ferry crossing we were confronted with a speaker box and a couple of buttons. Janna used her language skills to work out which button to press. This met a response of someone speaking rapidly in German. I asked her what he said and she dutifully explained that "it was a recorded message". At this time a helpful local guy walked up to us and asked if we needed help. We told him that we needed to go down the river. He went to the box and then conducted a conversation with the captain of the ferry, presumably apologising for the stupid foreigners who had been pressing the button and then not answering.
Seeing our new friend had been so helpful, we decided to ask his advice which side of the river we should ride on. he immediately replied that the left bank was definitely the better option.
The final few km into Linz were next to a busy highway and served to announce the proximity of a large city. We finally crossed the main bridge from the left to right banks and started searching for our hotel. When we reached the other side of the river I started checking the GPS for directions, when another friendly local guy asked if we needed help. We told him the name of our hotel. "Follow me", he instructed and then proceeded to take us to the path that would bring us to the hotel. It restored our faith in the Austrian temperament. That shows that not all Austrians are grumpy after all.
We finally arrived at the hotel at around 5.30 and found our way to our rooms. When Janna opened the door to her room she discovered that, like the three little bears, someone had been sleeping in her bed. There were towels and mess all around. Obviously the room had not been prepared, but a change of rooms soon solved the problem.
Maggie also had a panic of her own when she realised her wallet was missing, along with all credit cards and money. After a hurried search it was eventually found in the pannier still on the bike. Problem averted. Perfect day preserved.Читать далее
АвстрияOberösterreichGrein48°13’42” N 14°51’46” E
24 сентября 2016 г., Австрия ⋅ 21 °C
Saturday September 24th
In Which Paul Gets a Grein Pain
Like just about every previous day, the morning dawned clear, cool and fine. We rode out from Linz along the riverside bike path till we reached the large park area that serves as Linz' main recreation region. A few of us decided to ride around the lake while the rest waited on the bike path. The problem was that,when we returned to the path in about 10 minutes time, there was no sign of the rest of the riders. We searched in vain for some time but they were nowhere to be seen. We had to assume that they had ridden on for a little distance and were waiting for us. They weren't.
We eventually rode on for over 10 km without seeing any of the missing riders. I was starting to get concerned,but eventually we caught them when they had made a wrong turn and were heading out over a weir in the Danube. They seemed unconcerned and explained simply that they "knew we would find them".
This day involved an option to ride up to the site of the WW2 Mauthausen Concentration Camp. Most of the riders decided not to make this detour as they did not want to see the absolute depravity that was evidenced there. We met up with with Ken, John and Gonny who were enjoying coffee and apricot cake while some of the riders were at the camp.
We then followed the Danube along an elevated levee bank for quite a distance before finding a lovely lunch spot about 10 km before Grein. Although the small town looked deserted, Carol disappeared into a small bar and emerged a couple of minutes later with a look of triumph on her face. Somehow she had used her fluent gibberish to persuade the proprietor to re open the closed supermarket and make us all sandwiches for lunch. It was one of those amazing events that makes travel just so much fun.
We were soon all sitting on the grass eating our lunches of cheese rolls, drinks and sweets,
The final few km into Grein would have been absolutely delightful if about 100 trillion tiny bugs had not chosen that same afternoon for their annual outing. We struggled along with these tiny insects in our eyes, hair, faces, mouths, ears and clothing. It really was hard to see where we were going or to concentrate on our riding.
We were all relieved to finally reach Grein and get some relief from the onslaught. Grein is a lovely town that I remembered fondly from my previous rides along this section. On this occasion we discovered that it must have been home to every aging motorcycle rider within a 200 km radius. They were all gathered in the open space near the ice cream shop and took turns to leave the car park with as much noise and spectacle as they could. It was NOT a quiet way to enjoy the town.
Because the hotels in this small town were not large enough to accommodate all of us in a single location we had to split between two hotels about 600metres apart. The evening meal was at the other hotel, meaning that a small group of us formed a walking peloton to walk to the other hotel. That was OK in the daylight, but when the time came for us to return in the dark , it was another story.
We were groping our way along a narrow, dark cobblestoned alleyway when I heard an almighty crash behind me.One of our walkers had taken a serious fall. My immediate thoughts were "Oh no, not another broken leg" (We had two on our last overseas ride).
We found that Paul had crashed heavily and was lying on the ground dazed. He proceeded to wipe away the blood and progressively examine each of his ancient limbs looking for protruding bones or missing pieces. After a little time of such examination, he announced that it was only a flesh wound and staggered back up on his feet. It could have been much more serious, but he would live to continue the ride another day.Читать далее
АвстрияNiederösterreichMelk48°13’56” N 15°20’20” E
25 сентября 2016 г., Австрия ⋅ 20 °C
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.Читать далее
