For breakfast this morning - no breakfast buffet! That was a first, this trip - the lady who runs this particular private room (Anita's Zimmer) didn't offer it. Luckily there was a Spar (the grocery store) nearby, where I bought some rolls, bananas, yogurt, and a poppyseed pastry. We went to the playground opposite our room, which had a covered picnic area, and had a decent breakfast.
The ideal side of the Danube to be on was the north side - the opposite of where we were. Here on the south side, the trail went up a long hill, and also went right next to a somewhat busy road for a long stretch. But after that it was fine - a nice wide paved trail (road), with a very occasional car on it, for people that live right off it. We didn't hit any gravel sections at all, and apparently there are almost none, here on the Danube bike trail. On the Inn bike trail, it's about 80% gravel. It really slows you down, too - it was very noticable, how much faster we went on the paved trail.
There's also much, much more bike traffic. It's not annoyingly crowded or anything, but there are at least 10 times as many bikers on this trail as there were on the Inn bike trail. That means there's more opportunities to talk to people as well. I talked to Scottish couple who were here with folding bikes, and going a bit faster than we were (which isn't saying much). I also spoke to a Chinese biker, living in Paris, but taking a really long bike ride, and camping all the time. And he said he mostly does wild camping, i.e. not in campgrounds. So, no facilities or anything.
Overall, it was a very pleasant day. I copied a bunch of song lyrics to my phone, which I can attach to my handlebars with a silicone holder, and belted out a few songs when nobody was around.
It was supposed to rain, but it ended up raining only after we'd been in the hotel a few hours - around 4 or so. It was actually kind of cozy, sitting in the hotel room and watching the rain and thunder outside.
Most evenings, after we've gotten to our hotel for the night, I wash out a few items of clothing in the sink. That's the only way that we can travel as lightly as we do - by continually doing laundry. It doesn't take me very long, and Peter helps with the wringing out, which is the most strenuous. I carefully chose all our clothes for this trip, and one of the factors was the "quick-dry" ability. The long-sleeve one that I bike in most days - seems like it only takes
about 30 minutes to dry.
I heard from my uncle in Linz today. We've exchanged emails, and then I reached him on the phone - the first time we've talked in 30 years, probably.
He's headed down to Kaernten today, and will be back on Sunday, when we'll hopefully see him and the family. But we arrive in Linz tomorrow - maybe we'll check out the science museum, since it's supposed to be raining all day long.
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| Often when I look up into the hills alongside the river, I see a castle |
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| Beautiful smooth paved bike trail |
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| Villa along the river - probably gets flooded frequently |
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| Another castle |
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| Taking the ferry across the Danube at Schloegen |
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| Swans were everywhere |
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| This stone table/chair reminds me of the Lord of the Rings |
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| Some campgrounds have these interesting round structures, for people to stay in |
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| The dam just above Aschach |
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| In our hotel room in Aschach |
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| Most comfortable mattress yet |
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| Interesting use of the traditional Lederhosen |
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