Straubing to Pyrawag (122km)
Well rested we set off in good spirits. The rain caught up with us after a couple of hours. Fortunately the wind was following us so riding was easy.
At Deggendorf we parked up outside a cafe and enjoyed filled rolls and bircher muesli for lunch. Gravel trails in the afternoon and continued drizzle made for slow riding.
Passau was starting to flood when we arrived.The German town is at the junction of the Inn river, the Donau, and another smaller river. Apparently the sight of the blue river from the Inn joining the Donau are normally impressive, the scene that greeted us was a swirling sea of brown. People were scurrying around boarding up shops and laying sandbags to hold back the rising water. The cycle trails around the old town were mostly flooded. Bedraggled, we arrived at the local campground/canoe club. Unfortunately a school group had beaten us to it. The place was overrun with kids singing Bruce Springstein badly. It was the first time we had seen school kids in Germany who were not throwing rocks at waterfowl but the singing was terrible so we opted for more riding in the rain.
Just east of Passau we passed a sign confirming we had entered Austria. The campsite in Pyrawang was nice and the hot showers greatly appreciated. We made curry-wurst with konodle for dinner and chatted with a German chap who was taking an old German skiff down the river to the Black Sea. Mark had been keen in some canoe touring after the bike trip so extracted as much information as possible. They were managing about 50km/day but portaging the boat over locks sounded pretty arduous.Day 53: Thursday 25th June
Pyrawag to Feldkirchen (67km)
We awoke to more drizzle. After a long wait the rain eased and we broke camp. We visited Engelhartzell with its Trappist Abbey. The church itself was impressive as was the glass cases with skeletons of the aristocracy adorned in jewels.
Around noon the rain cleared and we reached the Schlogen bend. This impressive stretch of the river was formed by the water hitting an granite formation, being unable to wear through the rock the river makes a u-turn and then wiggles north until it finds an opening. The bike path was almost deserted and the riding excellent. In one bend we came across a viking long-ship with a party on-board and stereo blasting. The vikings made some motions about attacking and Mark responded by mooning them as we sped past on the bikes. Old castles adorned the edges of the valley making this one of the more scenic sections of the Eurovelo 6.
In the afternoon we stopped in Aschach for a coffee and strudel. We pitched camp at a quiet campsite near some artificial lakes. We made good use of the washing machine and spin dryer.Day 54: Friday 26th June
Feldkirchen to Au (56km)
Awoke to the bright sun and a mouse scrabbling at the tent wall. Our clothes and tent dried out for the first time in days. Setting off around midday we passed a cable-ski operation. It looked inviting but mostly set up for wakeboarders, not slalom skiing.
It was easy riding on stockbanks to Ottensheim where the cycle trail started running parallel to the main road into Linz. We ground against the traffic for ages and were in no mood to cross the bridge and explore the town. Leaving Linz we played the usual game of working out what each of the the factories, quarries, refineries do.
Late afternoon we were jolted by a massive thunderstorm. A stockbank is not a great place to be during a storm, but at least it was better than the tower back in Sancerre. Fork lightening got progressively closer and struck the power station about 500m away. The resulting thunder crack was almost enough to knock the wind out of your chest.
Wet again we pitched camp at a nice little campsite by the river. Mark took a brief detour to pick up beer and a yellow watermelon (that's right yellow) to supplement dinner.
Day 55: Saturday 27th June Au - Melk (65km)
Spent the morning riding along stockbanks. We poked our nose into an outdoor museum then kept riding through deeper and deeper puddles. Sodden shoes riding through farm roads underwater. Turned back after about 1/2hr when we reached a digger clearing the deep mud on the trail.
Enjoyed lunch outside a supermarket and then continued back to river along busy main road. Finally reached a dry section of cycle trail and crossed to the south side of the river.In Ybbs we visited a small but informative bike museum (E3.00) and stopped off at Lidel to buy a fix for the pannier bags. Opted for shoe laces which have been holding up well. Rode on to Melk where the campsite had been flooded and was covered in silt.
Around 6pm found our way up to the amazing Melk abbey. Officially it was closed but we were allowed into the courtyard areas. Back at the bikes we found a camera which had been left behind. We returned the camera to the reception at the abbey where the woman insisted we leave our details in case the owner of the camera returned.
The campsite across the river looked even worse so we backtracked found a high spot on the grass at the previously-flooded campsite. Nachos, chilli con carne, and a bottle of Spanish red for dinner. We had ditched our cups back in Donnauworth to save weight/space so felt a bit peasant-like eating beans and drinking wine from the bottle for dinner. In the cold however it felt like a 5* experience.
A van-load of french campers arrived late and night and left early to avoid paying. They made some effort to be quiet but it was a disturbed nights sleep none the less.
Day 56: Sunday 28th June
Melk - Tulln (100km)
Crossed to north side of river in the morning. Drizzle and mist surrounded us in the Wachau vineyards. Mark found a milk vending machine and enjoyed a creamy glass of fresh milk for brunch. Mark got chatting to a group of Spanish cyclists as we rode and got a few tips on possible trips. We stopped in Spitz for Goulash soup (a Hungarian speciality) and coffee.
Hillside Durnstein was touristy but nice. We tried a dash of apriocot liqour and apricot schnaps, being local specialities. The drizzle was setting in again so we stopped off in a little wine tasting shop. We tried a variety of local white wines. They had a series of obscure grape varieties, which we had never even heard of. The Reisling tasted like mud. French wines still seem to be comming out tops.
Setting off from we ere stopped by a couple of cyclists calling out "Are you Mark from New Zealand?". After the initial surprise it turned out it was the people whoose camera we had found at Melk abbey. They insisted on taking us for a coffee, which we gladly accepted. Yoga and Godfried were from Holland and spending a week cycling along the Donau. They had children around our age and we enjoyed having a sensible conversation in English (being Dutch they were fluent in Dutch, English, German etc.). Farewelling our new friends we rode on to
Krems and crossed the river to find more flooded cycle-ways.
We came across three people debating alternative routes in German. It soon became apparent two of the riders were English and one was Dutch. Switching languages we agreed to ride on alternative roads to Tulln. It was great to share stories as we rode. It turned out the two English lads, Alex and Leigh, were med students studying at Leeds. They had been following the Eurovelo 5 from Calais towards Vienna (a month riding and only 1 day without rain). Your mind does wander as you ride day after day and it was great to share some comaradery as we rode. Being in a group of 5 was fun, and less cumbersome than we had imagined. It also made us a great presence on the road, meaning more slipstreaming and traffic being less inclined to tail-gate a group.
That evening we shared a bottle of pomegranate liqour we had procured in Durnstein and chatted about bikes, touring, and future plans. Our Dutch friend was testing out his shiney new cycle gear in preparation for a possible trip along the silk road. Sounds intriguing....Day 57: Monday 29th June
Tulln - Vienna (94km)
After farewelling our Dutch friend at the campsite the remaining 4 of us rode on the north bank until the floodwaters enveloped the cycleway. We followed the main road into Vienna. Marks tyre split just inside the city limits and after replacing inner tubes and sealing the hole with duck-tape (MacGyver was right, the stuff is brilliant) we limped into town. We farewelled the guys outside a bike shop and after procuring a new tyre and inner tube (the old one was starting to look a bit like a sieve) we set off again.
Trzesniewski in town as a great tip from Alex and we enjoyed some tasty pate before hunting out some information about route condition to Budapest. The main info centre in Vienna was a bit hopeless - the staff agreed that much of the route would be in flood but could offer no specific information or alternatives. A book shop in town had a myriad of biking options but none that looked to be suitable alternatives.
Frustrated, we headed to camp just east of the main centre. We took over the kitchen area and debated our next move. With most of the route to Budapest under water, and Google confirming some rivers in Hungary had some of the worst flooding in 50 years. What should we do? Join the trucks heading east on the main roads in Eastern Europe, or back-track into the mountains?...
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