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Writeups for both Day 1 and Day 2 are included below
First Day: Passau to Neiderranna Sunday June 8 2014 It was our first day on the bikes and we were keen to get started. We had told the Dunphy’s to meet us at 8AM but we were up early and headed to breakfast at 7:30 AM to find out why the desk had suggested we not try to eat too early. The large breakfast room was filled with a large German-speaking bus tour group. We grabbed the last table available and hit the breakfast buffet. There was still plenty of food for our breakfast and to make a sandwich to take with us on the bike ride. That became our routine, take food from the breakfast buffet for a picnic by the side of the road. The Dunphy’s, still suffering the effects of jet lag, made it down to breakfast just after the room emptied of bus tour participants. We left them to enjoy the breakfast and went back to the room to finish packing our suitcases and put our essentials for the day in our panniers, one for the handlebar and one for the rear bike rack. It was a warm, sunny day but still perfect for biking. We had written suggestions of what to see along the route, a booklet with detailed maps that fit on the plastic sleeve atop the handlebar bag and instructions for finding our hotel at the end of the day. We were set. The route paralleled the Danube River on well maintained, paved separate bike paths. About half of the trip was along the path was shaded by thick forests and half passed through neatly kept farms. It was lovely. We stopped several times for photo ops. Our information had pointed out an ancient parish church beside the path at the small hamlet of Pyrawang. Other groups had joined us by then and we all took turns peering through a locked wrought iron gate trying to see the faint murals on the walls. It made a nice, short break anyway. The best move we made today was to stop at the
Stift Engelszell, an old Trappist Monastery that brews beer and makes
cheese. The monastery, established in 1293 as a Cistercian monastery,
operated until 1786 when it was closed after having gone through a
decline. It was reopened in 1925 by refugee German Trappist monks
expelled from the Alsace region after WWI. The Monks began brewing beer
using traditional Trappist methods, for just a few years. In 1939 the
monastery was confiscated by the Gestapo and the monks were evicted.
After WWII a few monks returned and the monastery was re-established. In
2012, hoping to make the monastery self sufficient, the monastery once
again began brewing beer and was accepted into a world-wide organization
of brewers allowing the beer to display the official logo of the
organization certifying that traditional Trappist brewing methods are
used. It is a great success. They now brew three types of beer, several
fortified liquors and make cheese. We visited the pretty little church
of the monastery and the store where we bought
a bottle of their dark beer and shared it for our picnic lunch in a
shaded picnic spot on the grounds. We also sampled the delicious cheese
that reminded me of my favourite Oka.
Day 2 Neiderranna to Linz Monday June 9 2014
Call the ferry by clanging the metal sheet Yes, Austria is in the middle of a heat wave. The biking starts cool in the morning but by early afternoon it has hit over 30˚C. The scenery is so good we keep stopping for photo ops and drink lots of water. The first part of our route is said to be one of the most scenic sections of the Danube. We followed the river as it meandered between high forested hills with granite outcrops. To get even a better look at this section Ray we elected to take the Santa Maria ferry from Au, around two big bends, to land on the same side of the river a few km further on. If the ferry is not docked waiting for customers, you just ring a bell or ring a metal plate hanging on a tree with an anvil. We didn’t have to ring as the ferries that day were crossing back and forth frequently. Most of the other bicyclists elected to simply cross to the other side on the ferry, so we had an uncrowded, serene day along the river. At one point the route headed a short way up a tributary, where we were to cross a bridge and carry on down the other side of the tributary back to the Danube. Marg and I were chatting, missed the bridge and kept going to find ourselves at large power dam. We had gone too far. There were signs pointing to mountain bike trains further into the forest. We retraced our route and found the guys waiting at the bridge. A road never taken is an opportunity lost? Our side trip meant that it was time for our morning Coffee break. We stopped at the next restaurant with an outdoor patio and tucked into a strawberry layered cake to accompany our coffee. After all, this is Austria and we must do as the locals do. Leaving our coffee break spot, we took another short ride down the river to better appreciate the view. After we disembarked, I looked back to see the perfect view of the impressive ruins of Neuhaus castle, high on a hill above us; yet another photo op. Instead of continuing right next to the river, the bike path headed inland a KM or two, ending in yet another small village. Feldkirchen had an attractive church with a clock tower, and more importantly, a fountain beside the clock tower where we all refilled our water bottles. This was the first such bottle refilling fountains we encountered. The villagers knew that the many bikers who pass by are always looking for a source of good water. The route returned to the river and followed a dike along the river. There was little shade in this section and the temperature had risen. We wished we had bathing suits to swim in one of the public lakes beside the path. Lots of locals were taking advantage of the cooling waters on the hot day. We continued on until we found some benches in the shade on which to eat our picnic lunch. Finally we reached the bridge where we crossed the Danube to the city of Linz. After taking one wrong turn we were at our hotel, the 4 star modern Hotel Speigenberger, on the banks of the Danube. We had ridden 68 km that day so a drink on the patio, overlooking the water before showering and changing for dinner, was just what we needed. The patio was also our choice for dinner that night. It is so nice to have daylight until 9PM and the weather still warm enough to be outside. | ||
