12-23 deg C, mixed bag today; few clouds about in the morning, clearing to a fine day, then overcast with rain in the early afternoon
Ride G: 83km; total: 752km
Ride W: 83km; total: 736km
Walk G: 5km; total: 195km
Walk W: 3km; total: 188km
An even better day today than yesterday for riding - we had a tailwind for the start, some in the middle, and the end of the ride. We had to stop under a bridge again this afternoon to shelter from the rain. It wasn’t for as long as yesterday, and from there to the hotel, was about 20 minutes. That put us there about 30 minutes ahead the usual 3pm check-in time (the first time this trip that our room has not been available early). By the time we parked the bikes in the secure cage in the underground parking it was almost 3pm (2:54) and we were told it would be another 30 minutes at least. We were given a ticket to get a free drink each from the attached cafe, and we thought, oh well, they are trying and that is ok compensation. Although in the booking it does say that all guests receive a welcome drink. We didn’t have to wait longer than 30 min.
The ride today was smooth and mostly well signed, we missed a couple because we were too busy looking around but with the EV app going we quickly realised. The only real town of note was Grein, and that was where we had mornos. We could have caught a bike and person boat across the river, but decided to ride as it was such a lovely day, and only a 4km round trip out of our way. We stopped again, for lunch at Speilplatz Au an der Donau which is a local tourist hotspot due to its great location and plenty of camping facilities.
After unpacking, having a wash, putting the batteries on charge, Wendy sorted photos and put them on the blog while Greg had a quick 10 minute nap. Linz has the biggest church in Austria, so of course that will be high on our list of things to see tomorrow and the next day. We will also make a decision on our direction of travel from here, once we have consulted the info centre. The main problem is that there happens to be a large mountain range between here and Prague.
Because it was a big day, we decided to get our favourite chicken salads from one of our new favourite supermarkets and eat them in our room. Greg then went for another wander before returning to the room to complete the night time routine.
The river-side of our hotel, start point for today’s ride
Another combined hydro, lock and bridge on the Danube not far from our hotel
St Nikola an der Donau with the Parish Office of St. Nikola an the Danube (church)
Grein
The ‘ferry’ terminal on the other side of Grein
Mornos spot, we brought these mugs from home, and after the first few days in Hungary, we were thinking of chucking them out and buying new ones when we got home. However, we would not be without them now. We make a brew, either in the breakfast room, or our room, and take them to go so we can enjoy a cuppa wherever we stop for mornos - very civilised!
Raftmen’s Chapel, c1600s, at Au an der Donau
Fish Ladder at Au an der Donau
Doni the Fish, at Au an der Donau
Inside Doni
8Near the Camping an der Donau park, looks like a blackbird trying to eat a walnut
Some of the superb cycle paths we rode today
The ramp off the bridge into Grein
Ride route and stats
Hotel Schillerpark, room 418
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