Vienna to Salzburg Unsupported Bike Tour, Summer 2014

Day one, 93km, 17/06/2014

We get up early but leave later because of some last minute work, nevertheless we are on the road by 9am. We make our way across Vienna getting used to the bikes loaded with panniers. Pretty soon we are on the outskirts of the city and along the Danube, before caravan parks and summer camps make way to farmland. The weather is sunny and cool with a light headwind.

The cycleway along the Danube is flat, straight and smooth and we make good time. 

We have lunch at a place just beside the world's safest nuclear power station, Zwentendorf, about 50 km outside Vienna.  It was finally finished in 1978 but never commissioned. Those in Australia promoting coal ought to be aware that just because things can be successfully built, they can still fail to become operational if political support changes. There is a token 300kW of solar with room for as much again at the site.

This eating place has plenty of cycling customers despite the nuclear plant a few hundred metres away.

We also stopped at Tulla where the boat artist Hundredwasser had is now moored.

A break somewhere beside the Danube

We have afternoon tea at Krems where we had visited before with Susanna's parents. Her mother was raised in here. It is in the Wachau area where stone fruit and wine grow particularly well because of the moderating effect of the Danube river and the steep valley sides. I am in front of the left tower.

We contine onto Durnstein which is a tiny but with impressive buildings and the ruins of the castle Richard Lionhart was kept prisoner in after his crusade adventures. The view from the lovely little hotel we stayed was impressive. We are exhausted but still enjoyed the excellent meal at the resturant overlooking the river.

Day 2,  135km, 18/06/2014

We continue along the Danube through wineries and small farming communities including Willendorf, the site where the 11cm tall 25,000 year old statue, the Venus of Willendorf was found in 1905. Even stoneage man thought the Wachau area was good.

There is very much a cycle culture along the Danube. Suz in front of a cycling route sign.

I am still not sure about lycra in churches, though. There were whole groups on matching bikes and panniers cruising along as well as families with all sorts of trailers and luggage carrying capacity - we even saw a tandem recumbant with a bob trailer in Melk. We arrived in Melk under very bright and warm sunshine via a large bridge which crossed the river and our first real climbe of the day. It was long but not steep and massive poplar trees still soared above the approach, some 3 stories above the water. On the other side, still more climbing but around a corner we suddenly found ourselves at the magnificent abbey (we had seen it from afar a number of times in the car on the motorway to Salzburg). According to the signage, it is the most beautiful baroque building in the world.

We had some refreshment and a brief look around before continuing.  More long, straight and flat stretches of cycleway.

At Grein, we crossed the river using a ferry. Whilst very old, the ferrry was particularly suited to bikes . . .

We passed many run of the river power stations. They actually still require considerable civil works as they contain locks for shipping (on the Danube) and flood prevention/control and more recently small river bypasses for fish and wildlife.

There is little river traffic, some cruise ships and large barges. Upstream, the barges travel at about half our speed and despite breaks for lunch and snacks, we managed to keep abreast of one tandem setup for a number of hours, finally losing it at Mauthausen when we cross the Danube for the last time. We ride away from the river then, around the back of Enns and through farmland. The route is mainly sealed single lane country roads. Another climb through now larger farms and forested areas until we eventually get to St Florian.  Naturally, it is on top of hill. We find a place next to the abbey with relief. Big day.

Day 3, 90km, 19/06/2014

A climb straight out of St Florian,with rolling farmland for the next few kilometres until we get to the Traun river at Haid. Riding upstream we follow the river which is fairly straight and flat and had two run of the river power stations. These sections are quite green with lots of vegetation and wildlife habitat. We have morning tea at Wels after passing straight by the town centre along the river and having to backtrack a few kilometres.

Lunch was rather ordinary and at a public swimming pool at Lambach as a public holiday means not much was open. We continued along the R15 cycleway through some very nice forest, past a rather large weir and some open countryside. We did have some rather nice afternoon tea at Laakirchen.

Arriving in Gmunden where the Traun river leaves the Traun lake, we cross a particularly scenic bridge and realise we have missed some pretty heavy rain.  The town is small but very old, over a 1000 years. It is very beautiful and we are now in the Salzkammergut area, Austria's lake district.

We booked in at the Zum Golden Brunnen, over 500 years old but recently renovated. Dinner was at a very traditional old building, deer antlers everywhere and the deer schnitzel was excellent.

Day 4, 115km, 20/06/2014

The rain was fairly steady in the morning so no rush with breakfast. We had raincoats but no shoe covers. If we were to make it to Salzburg in time for the summer solstice in the mountains, we had to just grin and bare it. We started out riding along the road on the west side of the lake toward the other end, darting under shelter when the rain got particularly heavy.

A photo of me, already wet and cold with Traunkirchen in the background.

At the southern end of Traunsee is a river which flows into the lake and we follow it upstream to Mitterweissenbach where we turn right and up the hill.  The final 5km back down the pass were on a separated but unsealed cycleway into Weissenbach on the shores of lake Attersee where we found a small place to have lunch in wet knicks with cold hands.

The rain let up a little and we continued west along the lake on some relatively busy roads and then along the river feeding into it, Seeache, to Monsee lake. Along side Mondsee, there was a very welcome kilometre section of old tunnel.  Barely 4 km along Mondsee, we turn left and the road goes up yet again and we ride over another pass to lake Wolfgang where we stop at some resturant for coffee and cake as a break is well overdue; the rain is coming down hard, the road is going up steeply and the traffic looks terrible. The view out the window, as wet as it is, is right down the lake and quite spectacular. The waiter is Asian, wears lederhosen and speaks fluent Dutch. Well, of course he does.

The rain dies down and we continue over another pass (probably around 200m of climbing) to Fuschl lake where we maintain the forest to the left and the lake a hundred metres down, on the right. We wind our way to Ebenau and another few kilometres before a final climb past organic farms and high end event centres. The road increases in width as we finally decend with tight corners down to the Salzach River.  We cross a bridge, ride along the river cycleway and make our way under the Festung HohenSalzburg to Susanna's flat.

A photo of the speedo in the apartments' underground garage.

Details of Friday's ride - it looks flatter on paper . . . .

We did not push a fast pace but as the kilometres were long (way, way longer than expected) so therefore were the hours (23 in the saddle) and there was not much time to do much exploring. We arrived at targetted towns, sorted accommodation and had showers before going for dinner. Maybe half a world cup match on TV before sleeping. As there was no real time for recovery, it was quite a slog. We did eat well, though and the scenery was exqusite. So was the weather apart from the Friday.

Why the rush to Salzburg? We wanted to be in Salzburg for summer solstice.

Saturday morning had us on the bikes again but only to Willie and Roswithas' place across town. They drove us to Werfenweng and up to their hut halfway up the mountain. I had been there twice before in winter. Never in summer and never by car (but by cable car).

The very top of Werfenweng mountain is only a few hundred metres higher than the hut and after lunch we walked up.

At 2pm there was a falconery display featuring a Pereguine Falcon, an Asian Eagle and the biggest owl I have ever seen, called Mia. The mountain is not very high but stands alone and so provides incredible views if the weather is clear and it was, of the surrounding moutain ranges. A spectacular background for very large birds to do their thing. The experience of standing barely metres away from a 1.6m wingspan eagle coming into to land is duly impressive.

Mia the owl

The big deal about the summer solstice and forecasted clear weather are the fires that are lit at 10pm on top of the mountains. We had a fire on Werfengwang, mostly to poorly cook sausages.

At around 9 to 10pm, a number fires could be seen on the range ahead of the hut. No, the photos did not come out.

Sunday

The weather was idealic so we went for a walk out to the foot of the ranges opposite.

Willie and Roswita ahead

After a very late lunch, Willie drives us back to Salzburg. Suz and I have a late dinner outside and under the Linden trees at a popular eatery with views of Untersberg in the fading light.  I am still getting used to the sun going down after 9pm.

We have breakfast Monday morning at a cafe opposite the train station before boarding the train which us back in Vienna, in extreme comfort, in less than 2 1/2 hours.