Thursday, September 5, 2013

The End of the Road

We headed out for our last day of the cycling trip. . .102km (63miles).  The rest of the group will continue on to Budapest, biking another 346km.  I have really enjoyed the trip and thanks to June Wheeler for recommending ExperiencePlus Bike Tours!!!

We had fun today. . .stopping often and taking pictures!  Here are some of the highlights






An interesting side note, I have an incredible fear of crossing bridges!  I do not like to drive over them in a car let alone on a bike!  We have had to cross a number of bridges on this trip and I have been really trying to work through my fear. . . I start some deep breathing as we start over to avoid a panic attack then stare straight ahead to the other side hoping that my bike won't hop over the railing so I plummet to my death :-)!!!

Our first stop today for coffee was at a little resort-ish restaurant . . .we were the first to pull in and then some of our fellow bikers came by to join us!


Paula and I spotted a woman trying out this hammock type swing and decided we would have a try. . . let's just say I could see one of these in our new side yard in Chautauqua!!!


We rode another 30km and stopped for lunch in a town name Tulln.  It had a beautiful square with a water feature that small children danced around in while we ate lunch!  Lunch was very good when we were eating it. . . although it may have caused some problems later.

We continued on the path enjoying our last kilometers of riding on the Danube.  We did ride by some naked sunbathers. . .probably in their late 60's or 70's. . .kinda wasn't expecting that on the side of the trail!  




There have been many swans swimming on the river but we hadn't taken a picture so we passed a swan on the side of the bank and I asked Jeanna to go back and take a picture. 

 Paula and I continued down the path waiting for Jeanna to catch up. . . we pedaled slower and slower and she didn't appear.  One of the guides was riding with us and her phone rang. . .I heard the word Jeanna and not too much else. . .Jeanna had had a flat tire so another guide rode back to help her so we continued on.  About this time my stomach started to gurgle and I knew I had to get somewhere with facilities quickly. . .damn lunch!  We went on ahead and stopped at a road side cafe to wait.  I decided that it would be best for me to skip the last 20km and go to the hotel in the van. . .Paula was thinking about joining me. . .when Jeanna whizzes by the cafe without stopping!!  Paula jumps on her bike to catch up because Jeanna thinks Paula is way in front of her. . .Paula sprints for 10km to finally catch up with her ringing her bell to catch Jeanna's attention. ..  .Jeanna is in front thinking to herself why the hell is someone ringing their bell like a maniac!!!  Too funny!  

Here is Jeanna's last shot on the path with Vienna in the background:

We later discovered that after fixing her tire Jeanna was getting back on her back to see if there was enough air in the tire. . .she was on gravel, the bike slipped out from under her and she got a pretty good road rash on her leg.  Not the best afternoon for Jeanna :-(!

Tomorrow we have some massages in the afternoon and will start exploring Vienna!  In the past 6 days we have biked 513km (I actually biked 478km) which is 319miles (297 for me)!  Pretty awesome for a non biker!!!!  

Great trip, great guides, great people. .  .life is very, very good!




Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Grein to Durnstein

Today was a spectacular day of cycling!  The weather was perfect and the scenery was gorgeous!  We headed out of Grein and as we looked back you could see the Castle Greinberg sitting on the top of the hill.

We biked about 21km and had our first stop for a little coffee (Coke Light for me) and a stretch

Then it was 27km to Melk.  Melk is the home of the best known Abbeys in Europe.  It is a grand baroque complex that was built between 1702 and 1736!  There were hundreds of tourists visiting this sight. . .mostly from the River Cruises that are popular on the Danube.  We just popped into the chapel to see the incredible artistry







We then cycled off into the Wachau region of Austria, which is considered a UNESCO World Heritage sight.  You ride through beautiful terraced vineyards and apricot orchards as far as the eye can see and then through small medieval villages. . .beautiful!!!  Here are glimpses of our ride today














A beautiful ancient church



Fresh grapes on the vines



A look out of hotel window


We ended our 76km (47mile) journey with dinner at the hotel over looking the Danube.  A perfect ending to a perfect day!

Tomorrow is our last day of biking. . .close to 70 miles. . .my body will be very happy at the end of the ride!  Then a weekend in Vienna relaxing and exploring the city!  Yippee!!







Linz to Grein an der Donau

Today was a hard day.  The weather was chilly and periods of light rain.  The ride was short at 63km (39miles) but it just seemed like a long day.

Our first stop was a visit to the Mauthausen Concentration Camp.  It was a labor death camp for mostly men who were "intelligentsia", who were educated people and members of high social classes in countries taken over by the Nazis.  The camp was the last one to be liberated on May 5, 1945, by then many prisoners from the all of the other camps had been sent there as the Allied Forces defeated the Nazi regime.

The air is different at the camp, it is heavy with the souls of a all the people that lost their lives as unspeakable crimes were committed against them.  It is beyond my comprehension how humans can treat other humans in such ways, it sickens me.  The worst part is that it still continues all over the world today. . . perhaps not on such a large scale as the Nazi concentration camps but it happens.  After the visit I was riding and just thinking about what I had just witnessed and thought to myself "Why do humans spend so much time hurting each other?"  I dream of a world were people could live in peace and that we would celebrate our humanity not our differences  - that kindness would be the priority.

Here are some images from Mauthausen:
Entering the camp complex

The "wailing wall" were prisoners were broken down


Baracks

The main doors of the camp

As we left the camp, we headed down the hill and looked for a place for lunch.  We rode for about 10-15 km with no luck at finding a place to eat. . .our blood sugar was plummeting (making a meltdown a real possibility) so we pulled off the road and took out all our snacks for lunch.  We shared the snacks and got back out on the trail. . .literally 500 m ahead we saw a little cafe that was part of a campground!  We stopped and shared some sausages and something to drink!  The woman was so nice and brought us out some little caramels!  Here is our lunch spot!


We then turned inland from the river to climb a VERY LONG STEEP hill to have a view of the valley below. . . .for those of you who know me this trip was supposed to be flat!!  We ended up walking up half of the first hill but made it up the second!!!  Small victories!!
Deb walking up the hill

Paula happy on the hill

At the top we were rewarded with stunning views of the valley and a swift nice ride into Grein!


We were promised that in Grein there was a pastry shop called Schorgi, meaning "Temple of Pleasure".  So we dropped our bikes off at the hotel and went directly to Schorgi's!!

Paula and Jeanna with their celebratory beers

Delicious Apple Struedel!

Here are a couple shots of the town:



Our day ended with dinner together with the group at the hotel.  Two more days of cycling to go. . . so far we have biked 315km (196 miles)!  I have learned that wearing two pairs of bike shorts is seriously the way to go on long rides and that bugs stick to your face when you wear sunscreen :-)

Here is a parting photo that Jeanna captured during the day.
Deb sticking her tongue out at Jeanna :-)