Susan: Today started with a short bike to the Tulln Garden for a tour. Our tour guide provided us with an informative overview of the various organic plots. They also had tree-top walk - a 30-meter-high viewing platform where you can see the all the gardens below as well as vineyards, the Vienna Woods, the Danube, and mountains in the distance.
James: Today we made good time! The group has now self-ordered itself into the “fast riders” and the “not-so-fast riders”. Today we were in the fast rider group with Franz. Franz is great. He’s a gregarious Dutch guy who has been around but who takes his responsibility as a group leader seriously. He has some strict rules about taking sharp corners, crossing roads and staying in formation.
We had some ground to cover today, approximately 29 miles. The scenery was much different today. We rode through small towns, past quiet fields and through lush woods. Saw a lot of swans and ducks, many with their babies. It was what I had pictured in my mind when we signed up for this trip. The only downfall was, because we were riding in a group, there was no opportunity to stop and take pictures which I wanted to do about every twenty seconds.
We biked about nine miles before we stopped for lunch at a really cool place right on the river. The first thing that I noticed was a tall pole sticking up in front of the place with a Christmas tree attached to the top. I had seen these a couple of other times. Must be a thing in Austria. Most everyone ordered a Tuscan flatbread with pesto, grated carrots and cheese. It was a big portion. I ordered a big lettuce salad with feta, cucumbers and tomatoes. Delicious. When going through the restaurant on my way to use the bathroom, I noticed a couple of amazing looking desserts and ended up ordering a delicious cake confection. It had whipped cream and strawberries sandwiched between layers of angel food cake. It was big and tasty!
This restaurant is right next to the Zwentendorf Nuclear Power Plant that was constructed but never put into use. It is currently used for training purposes. Afterwards we rode for another hour and then stopped for coffee and ice cream. The place we stopped was busy for the middle of the day. They are famous for their ice cream. They have created a nice combination of extravagant ice cream sundae options. I was way too full from my lunch cake to partake. I sat that one out.
Susan: Today we came upon a barge going up river, and it was pretty interesting to see that we ended up passing it! Also on the trail, we saw two swans with their cygnets. The parents were very protective and hissed at us as we passed. We also came across some rowers on the river, possibly a women’s team, it was quite beautiful to see them glide across the Danube. Next stop was coffee and ice cream in Traismauer.
Then about 8.5 more miles to Melk. Our leader Franz missed the turn so we had to circle back and cross the river next to a busy high way. At times it felt treacherous as there was a significant amount of foot and bike traffic in addition to sharp turns. We had to walk our bikes around the round a-bouts. We finally ended at our hotel in Krems. It would be nice if our weather was better. It has been cold and rainy. But irregardless, the landscape is beautiful. We are now next to the Wachau Valley which is the wine growing area. They specialize in a white wine: Grüner Veltliner, which of course I had with dinner!
James: Krems is an interesting town. It is a good sized town of 25,000 people with a university of applied sciences including medical and dental. It seems to have a lively cultural vibe. Our hotel is called the “Arte Hotel” and is very modern. It is adjacent to the university.
Dinner at the hotel. Another meal in the private dining area with a fixed menu. Decent food, good conversation. We seem to have a lot to talk about! I tried the local Wachau Valley wine, a Gruner Veltliner. Interesting story about the wine industry in Austria. Back in the ‘80’s, one of the local vintners tried to cut corners to create a sweeter wine for the German market by cutting it with antifreeze. After a couple of people died, it created a huge scandal and killed the wine industry in Austria. It took several years and the Austrian government stepping in to help, but eventually they got back on their feet and are thriving again. Ironically German tastes evolved and now the local wineries produce a dryer, less sweet wine.