As forecast, today was a very rainy day - and supposed to be rainy all day long, so it's not like we could have timed our bike ride for the dry part of the day. I chatted this morning with a friendly older gentleman at the breakfast buffet, he was also biking to Vienna. His plan was to take the boat from Aschach to Linz, and avoid the rain.
After thinking about it, checking the forecast, checking the ferry schedule, I figured that Peter and I could do one day of biking through the rain, especially on a short stretch (it's about 27 k to Linz). Also, we would have to wait till 12.40 to catch the ferry, that was another factor. So, we went up to the room, packed everything up water-tight (the dry bags are already water tight, and I put everything in our day packs into plastic garbage bags). Peter and I both have nylon jackets, but they're not water-proof, so we got wet. It was a little chilly, to be biking in the rain, but I figured that with a decent hotel at the end of the ride, it wouldn't be so bad.
And towards the end of the ride it was raining a lot less, so our clothing (which is all very quick-drying) was almost dry when we got into the hotel room.
The ride itself was very pleasant, mostly very quiet along the Danube, with just some fishermen out. Wish I'd gotten some photos of them - they have enormous umbrellas - like 10 feet wide - and multiple fishing poles going at the same time. There was almost NOBODY else biking at all, a big difference to what it was like yesterday. Peter was behind me the whole time, singing his songs (Mr Blue Sky, ironically) and I was singing my songs (a big medley).
The signage on the bike trail has been absolutely top-notch - there's no possible confusion as to where we need to go. I didn't need to use my mapping app almost at all. And once when I did have my phone out, looking at where we were on the map, a lady stopped her car right away to ask if we needed directions.
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| A rainy ride |
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| A memorial to handicapped people who were executed by the Nazis, their ashes scattered here |
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| Peter, across the river from the castle at Ottensheim |
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| Waiting for a ferry, Peter made friends with a cat |
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| We just missed the ferry, and it took a LONG time for the ferryman to come back over and pick us up. Finally another car came to be ferried over, and he came back to our side. |
My first impression of Linz was similar to Passau - it's very hip and cool, almost more so than Passau. People have funky hairstyles, they have interesting eyeglass frames, etc. Also lots of quirky, unique shops.
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| This is the bike storage area for our hotel. It must be VERY popular with large bike tour groups |
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| Electric scooters have arrived here, too |
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The cathedral in Linz - absolutely huge
We're back in the hotel room from our earlier stroll around town. The plan was to rest up a little, then go out again, but the rain has started up so I think we may be in for the night. At least we have a view of the cathedral from our room...
EDIT - the rain stopped and we did ended up walking around town a bit this evening. The roads are starting to make sense now, we got some ice cream for Peter, and walked by my uncle's house - it's not very far away. On the way home, we heard a concert (taking place just outside the cathedral) and listened for a while, along with many others.
In the Hauptplatz
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| Some of the cafes have monster big umbrellas here |
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| People listening to the concert |
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