Friday 15th August London – Vienna
Our taxi was ready for us to depart at 4.10am to go to Heathrow Airport. It was pretty hard to stay awake in the taxi! At Heathrow we quickly checked in and made it trough security. We had plenty of time, so we went to get a bite to eat, Airyen did not fancy any of the food there – he wanted pancakes so we moved to Giraffe, where he did get them, we just got a lite bite and tea. With the lack of sleep Airyen wanted to leave and go to the plane – the gate had not been announced – but there was no reasoning, so we ended up in the normal lounge until the gate was called, then in a queue for 20 mins to board.
On the plane – Bhavni and I tried to sleep, Airyen decided he did not want to. It was just under a 2 hour flight to Vienna so we were soon landing. There were buses to get us to the terminal and it was really quick going through security and picking up the bags.
We took the S7 train towards the city followed by a tram to Südtiroler Platz. It was a short walk to the hotel Trend Beim where we left our bags, packing stuff away to reduce what we were carrying.
It was then to the nearby station to get the U1 line 2 stops north (I made us get the train the wrong way first). At the station exit there was a nice bakery where we got a few items for ourselves – all for €11. We came out near the opera house and walked to the near by park where we had a picnic. Pity Airyens sandwich had egg in it – but I enjoyed it and he ate part of mine.
We walked back and got the Vienna card from the office across the road (Bhavni and Airyen went and bought drinks in the Subway as most shops were closed). We had to go a little down the road to stop 2 for the hop on bus red route near the Palais Imperial with the nice plaza to walk around (for me). The bus was arriving in 20 mins and it was too hot Bhavni and Airyen, so they sat on the steps near the museum whilst I explored.
When the bus arrived we made our way to the top floor, this was a mistake as it was roasting, even when the bus finally moved – as there are only some vents and no AC. We spend most of the tour at the top, melting away and getting drowsy. Later we made our way down where it was a bit cooler. I don’t think we took all the information in.
Back at stop 2 we walked past a frozen yogurt place which was busy, but not what the guys wanted, so we found a very pink themed cafe that did ice cream (though I had a cold coffee drink). A bit slow service and apparently you only get water if you had a coffee).
From here we got the train and headed back to hotel getting into our room on the 7th floor. Bhavni passed out asleep, whilst Airyen refused to sleep and sat on his tablet instead.
After a couple of hours we got ready and headed out – taking the train 3 stops to the center. I did a personal walking tour of the area (with the research I had time to do at the hotel), surprising them with the Cathedral, the most expensive street, palace gardens and the town hall. All buzzing and nice to see in the cooler air. Airyen was now tired of the walking.
I then took them to Apapika Bowls for some poke bowls for dinner – which were rather nice. Then we walked to Hochstrahlbrunnen, the fountain, which was all lit up with colour changing lights. We sat for a little bit here, then caught a tram back closer to the hotel. We had to walk near a playground where Airyen played for a bit. Then back to the hotel to retire.
Sat 16th Vienna
We were down for breakfast at around 7.45, the breakfast was simple continental options. Airyen got a bit out of hand at breakfast, so by the time we left the hotel, it was a bit later then anticipated (I got some fruit from the supermarket quickly).
We walked to the station and got the red line to Karlplatz, changing to the green line to go to get the train and go to Schönbrunn, arriving at around 9.10. There were plenty of people going to the palace, so we just had to follow the crowds.
At the palace, we walked into the courtyard and then found the entrance to go directly in, due to the time. We were on the full palace tour, which included headsets to tell us about all the rooms (by typing the room numbers), which you got after the first few areas. There were many rooms, all with different themes according to which person occupied them – from opulent wooden rooms, Chinese influences and simple ones. There were lots of people seeing the rooms so you could not get a quiet photo though.
At the end of the tour was the souvenir shop, where we bought a postcard, then we exited into the formal garden area which was very nice.
We climbed the hilly area at the end (separately), past the fountain, which gave a great view back to the palace. We then walked back towards the front of the palace through the woods and some of the side gardens and past the orangery to the road.
We had to wait around 10 minutes for the yellow hop on bus, which eventually took us to outside the opera house, after going to the central station. The person on the bus suggested that we could do the boat ride as it was included, but going into the office there, we found it was not.
We again got some sandwiches from the same place as yesterday – but this time with a drink deal, having it in a smaller park this time.
Soon enough it was time to head to the opera house at 1.45, as we had the tour booked for 2pm. We had to wait inside for a bit for our English tour – they split it in 2 tours and we went on the first. The tour was pretty decent, with the girl showing us around speaking and explaining well.
We decided to catch the blue bus to stop 47. Airyen started to throw his toys out of the pram, so we went into the church there only had a bit of time inside, before walking to the town hall. This was followed by quite a rushed drink at a restaurant (not really worth it), before we had to get back to the stop to pick up the green line bus.
The green line went north to the top of one of the hills that overlooks Vienna (past the vineyards), taking around 30 mins each way. It was quite a good view, at the top, though we decided not to get out as we would have to wait 1h for the next bus. This bus gave some history of the expansion of Vienna.
Getting back to the stop in Vienna, whilst Bhavni did some research about dinner options, Airyen soaked himself in the mist cooler they had there. We then made our way back to the hotel using a tram and then walking for a bit.
Freshening up we went to a restaurant called Kekko near the central station, catching an Uber, where we had sushi and green curry. Airyen does not eat much though – Bhavni thinks its the cream cheese in the sushi.
We caught a tram back. Bhavni was feeling like a dessert, but the local cafe on the walk had run out of chocolate cake, so Bhavni walked into the Peruvian restaurant, so we sat and ended having pretty much a mediocre banana split – which I mostly ate. Then it was back to the hotel.
Sun 17th Vienna – Passau
It was a disturbed night as Airyen woke up at 1am complaining of pain and it took until 2.30am (with having to go to reception for a change of scenery) before we were all back to bed.
Waking up we decided to get the 10.13 train rather then 9.13 this morning, so we pack our bags then went to breakfast. I ate well – the rest so so. Getting our bags, we checkout and head to train station by Uber. The train was on platform 6 and we arrived about 10 mins before it was due to depart. The train journey was quite relaxed (2.5 hours and a few stops), with Airyen on his tablet, Bhavni sleeping a bit, and I doing a bit of computer work.
We get to Passau. Bhavni did a quick visit to the tourist office just nearby, then we walked with our bags to the hotel Spitzberg, around 600m with crossing over the railway on a bridge and slightly uphill roads. Getting to the hotel, we left our bags as we could not check in yet. We just picked up some of the cycling welcome pack.
We then took a walk to the old town, through the small park and then to the pedestrianised area. It was lunch time, so after some debate we went to Koi for bao buns etc, nice, also I liked the painting of Zoro (one piece).
From here we went to the cathedral as there was meant to be a paid walking tour, but it turned out that it was only in German. We had a brief look in the cathedral. The tourist office had suggested there was a nice museum up on the hill over the river, but we did not have that much time, so we headed to the glass museum as the description was that it had lots of lovely items – it did but it was rooms after rooms of glass pieces with just some descriptions, after the second floor we left, even then took a bit to get out.
We walked towards the conconfrance of the rivers, getting to the park there. Airyen had a few playground areas to unwind while we sat for a bit. Now looking at online maps on getting to the bike place (for when it opened at 4), it gave us limited options – maybe as it was a Sunday we thought. So we had to leave pretty soon and walk back – mostly along the river bank, but a good 30min walk to the bus depot. The maps had said to catch the 6106 bus, but we caught the 6 after asking if it goes there (using the included pack ticket).
The bike depot was not far from the bus stop. We got our cycles and an extra helmet for Airyen as ours were still at the hotel (some bargaining from Bhavni). We cycled back to hotel (around 20 mins along a main road) stopping at a petrol station to get water, they only had fruit flavored still water.
We continued to the hotel and parked the bikes in the bike garage and finished our checkin. We had to lift our bags up 2 flights of stairs to our room. A little sparse inside. We got ourselves ready and changed, then we went to get our bikes to go to the old town – I had a restaurant in mind. Just a little bit down the road I managed to clip the kerb and have a small fall, so Bhavni said go back while she dressed the knee wound I had got.
Anyway back on the road, we got into the old town (fast compared to the walk), but the restaurant that I wanted was closed. We tried a nearby Indian – weird as the waiter was not bothered with us and took a while to acknowledge we were there then blase-lly gave us menus with disinterest. Basically we think they did not like serving Indians – as most of the bad reviews were from them, so feeling uncomfortable we left.
We ended up at Koi again, though we had to sit inside. Though Bhavni and I ate well (a bowl and ramen), Airyen did not eat as much as we hoped, even though it was sushi. By the time we finished it was getting dark, so we just cycled back to the hotel (past the glowing fountain in the town center). Sorting out the bikes then ourselves before bed. The room was a little hot, but it was also too noisy outside to keep the windows open.
Mon 18th Passau – Engelhartszell
We were up at a decent time in the morning, and all of us got ready before taking our bags downstairs before 9 (down the stairs) and then to the breakfast room. The breakfast was decent enough.
We then got ourselves to the bikes, and got ready for the first proper cycle day at around 10am. We cycled along the river bank (after passing the park) to the confluence, this time actually making it. We had a little stop here to read the information here and take some photos of the rivers. Then it was back onto the route, crossing the bridge over the Danube. Here I was a bit confused about the route to take and took the cycle tunnel which was the wrong way – Bhavni was not amused.
Anyway soon we figured out the right way and carried on on the north of the Danube. We had a number of small stops en route to look back at Passau and the scenery, but not too long at each stop.
Our major stop was at Obernzall. We cycled into the main road and parked the bikes, then had a look at the options for us. The bakeries there were pretty limited in their options and also there was quite a bit of meat around which made it no good for Airyen to even investigate, so in the end (after 30 mins) we cycled back a bit to the supermarket (Netto), where we picked up some fruit and water and drinks.
We then cycled to the State park where we had lunch (debating whether to eat on the benches or cross the bridge – which we did). It was a pretty nice state park with fountains and lots of things, so that after lunch, which included theplas and puris, Airyen played, mostly with Bhavni and a little with me.
We were here about an hour before we moved on, and it was only around 30 minutes to the next stop which was the next hydroelectric station on the river. The Hanz Strom museum was closed today, so we could not visit but instead walked partly over the bridge here to see a ship crossing using the locks.
Potentially we could have taken the bikes across and carried on the other side of the bank, but we followed the tour and carried on the north side to catch a ferry across the river. Airyen got a postcard after offering the captains daughter some tick tacks when paying for the ride in cash.
Arriving in Engelhartszell, we were just near Hotel zum Goldenen Schiff, we parked our bikes there and then had to wait a bit as the owner only opened the door at 3.30. The owner first thing said that we had put the bikes in the wrong place, but then told us we could check in. I checked us in, paying the tourist tax, after which he told us that we could put the bikes in the store. We did so then went to our room – second floor. Quite a decent room, though a bit antiquated. We checked out the menu at the hotel (as google said that the restaurant I wanted to eat at was closed), the menu was a little limited – especially for Bhavni. We asked the owner if he would do a pasta (even just boiling it for Airyen if we bought it as he did not have any), but he said he did not have the time.
We then walked to the Spar down the road – it was quite a small spar, so getting bread and soup was not even feasible (packet soup), so we got some crisps for starters. We saw the pizzeria I wanted to go to on the way back to the hotel – it was closed due to illness.
Back at the hotel, Bhavni and Airyen went up to the room for a bit of time, whilst I stayed on the deck and ordered a beer enjoying the view of the river. I started talking to the people on the table next to me – turned out to be some American retirees doing almost the same tour as us.
Bhavni and Airyen came down and played Uno for a bit before we ordered dinner – 2 cheese grills and chips + salad. It was cash only.
After dinner we went to the room and retired for the night.
Tues 19th – Engelhartszell – Aschach
Well Airyen woke up in the night hungry, so had some thepla to keep him going. Due to that we got up a little later then expected. We packed and took our bags down for 8.30ish.
Breakfast was a more limited choice here – and again not the most accommodating host. We got everything ready and checked out just before 10am.
We cycled for around 30 minutes to the roman ruins in Oberranna. Its a free view of the ruins (mostly foundations) which is enclosed in a big barn building with walkways over them. Most of the info was in German, but there were plenty of English translations.
After finishing the ruins, it was a short cycle to the next bridge which we had to cross to the north bank, then just around an hour to the Schlögen loop. There were 4 different boats that you could take depending were you wanted to go on the loop and bank. We took the one from stop 1, which took us across to the “Schlögen” town – the right choice for us. Here we parked our bikes and a local confirmed that this was the way we wanted to go to the lookout. It was a decent ascent up to the lookout, taking over 30 minutes, but as the locals had assured us – it was worth it as the view was pretty good. We took some photos before having lunch up there which included crisps, thepla and apples. Some last taking in the views of the loop before we descended down. It was quicker but still a bit hard due to the gradient.
At the bottom we went to the Donauschlinge restaurant there, where we ordered some chips for Airyen and drinks all round. It was a nice place to stop – though quite busy, so we did not get a river side table (though we still had a view).
Chips done we then got back on our bikes and headed to our next destination around 2pm, we did not have many stops on our next leg getting to Gasthof Sonne around 4.15pm.
We check in and put bikes inside to the bike room at the back of the property. Out room was on the third floor, so it was a bit of an effort for me to pull our bags up there. Our room overlooked the main road and the river.
We got ourselves ready then headed out -out first task was to go to the spar at the end of the town, a 6 minute walk, to get water and other items. We then walked back and headed to the La Veneziana restaurant. (I quickly dropped our stuff back en route). The first waiter did not really seem to be with it but the second gave us a table. It was a nice meal – pesto pasta for Airyen, pizza bread, penne arrabbiata and salad for ourselves.
After the food Bhavni left Airyen and I to get the bill, as she wanted to go to get an ice cream from a rated shop before it closes. Meanwhile Airyen made a bit of a fuss about finishing his drink, so left me frazzled instead.
It was back (with one ice cream) to the hotel and then bed time.
Wednesday 20th – Aschach -Linz
Bhavni and I woke to take a picture of the sunrise, it was not that easy to sleep with sun coming through the window (too late we found there were better blinds), we were all wake soon after.
As usual we soon got our selves ready and headed down for breakfast with all our bags (easier then the way up). There had been a bit of commotion about missing sun tan lotion (and assuming we had lost it), but I checked Airyen’s pannier which was still on the bike – it was there.
Breakfast was a small affair – a few cereals, bread and cheese. The cheese and meat were next together and people were mixing utensils. So I asked the waitress and she gave me a whole stack of cheese.
After breakfast it was a quick check out, then we took out our bikes and started our cycle. We had a good cycle, crossing the river on another power station, with little stopping until we got to Ottensheim just before 11am. Here we stopped at a cafe called Wolfgang Gillhoffer in the town center. Outside the tables were full, so we went inside. It was cash only a place and the girl serving spoke English (the older ladies did not). I had a hot drink whilst Airyen bought a swirled bun, but was not really sure what flavor he had got.
Back on the bikes we cycled to Puchenau, where we stopped at a Spar to pick up some supplies for lunch. It was then a short cycle to Linz. We get there by 12.15 at the Art Technica museum, parking our bikes in the full parking racks.
We took a few minutes to locate the entrance and bought our tickets for €33. We firstly headed downstairs to -2, the AO floor exhibit. It was pretty good with lots of interesting things and interactive displays, such as generative scenery, motion detection and data visualisation, as well a a nice AI art generator from our drawings – Airyen trusted the AI to find safe mushrooms.
We spent a good while on this floor, before moving to -1, this was more of a display level showing materials and items as well as a whole section of 3d printing, where a lady was making some fun stuff for the children to play with. After this we went to level 0 and got some of our bags from the locker and headed to level 4. This was where the glass enclosed terrace was and we had our lunch there. It was nice and warm while we ate, with a great view of the river in front of us and the city after with no one else around. It was the last of the thepla and puri with fruit and crisps.
After our lunch we made our way down to the ground floor where the English projector exhibit was happening at 2.30. Here they had a number of 4k projectors and tracking systems in a room, so we had some cool 2d and 3d demos that we sat in- with all 6 sides having projections.
After that we went to floor 1 which was the child lab. There were a few interesting things, such as marble runs and music generation – Bhavni got told to be careful with a microscope. Airyen then spotted a Minecraft based game to generate clean energy- which meant we spent 1 hour on this floor and had to drag him away.
Outside we unlocked our bikes and then tried to head out – going in the wrong direction due to the one way areas until we retraced our steps. Bhavni was interested in going to the lookout on Pöstlingberg, so we started cycling to a station that the tram goes from but it was quite late (4pm), and uphill, so we gave up and headed back over the bridge into Linz, following google maps to get to our hotel – Hotel Schiller Park – a modern high rise hotel. We had to go park our bikes underground which meant we had to go through the side entrance, which took a couple of tries getting new cards from reception to open the door. We then checked in to our room on level 2.
While Airyen had a bath and Bhavni got ready, I had time to go to level 4 and have a sauna, before getting ready. All cleaned up we headed out for dinner at 6.30 to the Maharaja Indisches, a little walk away. The food was quite good, the proprietor liked taking to Bhavni in Hindi.
From here we walked to the main plaza. Ice cream was bought for the 2 for desert and on the way I took a zig zag route to see the sights. The plaza was nice to stop at.
Bhavni noticed that there was the tram to Pöstlingberg here, and there was one leaving at 8.30 to the top of the hill, so we jumped on it. It took 25 minutes to get to the top. Here I jumped out and quickly found the lookout area as we only had half an hour until the tram went down – otherwise we would be here one hour more. It was a really good lookout. The tram down took around 20 mins.
We walked back via the cathedral (finding a cash machine that did not take commission), then back to the hotel to retire for the night. Airyen knocks out quite quickly and we watched Austrian bake off a bit before we slept.
Thurs 21st Linz – Au an der Donau
Today we woke up one after another from 7.30. Again we got everything ready and went down just a bit before 9am. Its a decent enough setup for breakfast, just the usual limited items for us, especially as they ran out of bread rolls. Today there was rain predicted and the skies were cloudy – it had rained over night – but we were to be lucky as it did not rain while we cycled.
We checked out at 10 or so and got our bikes, taking the obligatory photo in the front of the hotel. We made our way to the supermarket across the road to get some water and supplies for the cycle, before heading out of Linz. We had to first cycle through the town to get to the Danube where we crossed it on the suspension bridge. On the north side of the river we had to cycle past the whole industrial area, which stretched on for quite a while near the highway 3.
The route pushed inland away from the 3 for a little bit, here we cycled past a Billa supermarket, then decided to turn back to get some drinks, I stayed with the bikes in the front while Bhavni and Airyen got the items. Then it was a really short cycle to K2 – Café & Bistro, getting there about 12.20. We grabbed some menus and sat outside, where we ordered a coffee for me and a toasted cheese sandwich for Airyen, which we had with a little bit of the stuff from the supermarket. There were some students (I think) who were having a supermarket picnic on the paved area in front of the cafe which was amusing to see.
It was then a short push to Mauthausen (15 mins), where we stopped at Roma Eis, an ice cream place which the guide book recommended – natural flavors. We parked our bikes just to the side of the parlor and sat in the front under the covered area after ordering the ice cream – it was pretty decent ice cream
It was then a 30 minute push to Donauhotel Lettnerhof, our hotel for the night. We got there about 2pm. The hotel was the hotel that we had had to pay extra for – quite a nice looking place. While Bhavni and Airyen stayed with the bikes downstairs I went through the hotel to the second floor and checked in, this was quite a long process. Eventually after finishing we got our keycard and put the bikes in the bike room, before going to out room on the ground floor.
After getting changed, we asked about food options at the restaurant. The guy there was friendly and was helpful for Bhavni as she had limited options. We then chilled in the veranda on the ground floor for a while. I found Sara (from the Americans) here, who told me that they had a washing machine here, so I found out how to pay for the powder and put a load in the wash.
We then walked to the Spielplatz nearby (Airyen being coaxed), past the harbor looking at the boats and the large raven statue here. Airyen then played in the park for quite a while, so I had to go back to put the clothes in the drier, and change my clothes that had got wet.
Airyen and Bhavni eventually came back as it had started to rain, but Bhavni had lost her key card – so I had to go to the park and retrace the steps – I found it near the zip line.
Back and out of the rain it was around 5.30, so we got ready and headed to the second floor for 6pm for dinner. It was spinach dumplings for me, lasagna for Airyen and mushrooms and potatoes for Bhavni. Mine was quite nice and Airyen always enjoys pasta. Bhavnis was OK. We had cake for desert.
After dinner we played some uno flip before bed time.
Fri 22nd Au an der Donau -Grein
Today we got up just after 7am and packed all the washed clothes. We were out of the room around 8.15 and went up to breakfast taking our bags with us to reception. We saw some of the Americans here for breakfast, which was ok – the standard bread, cheese, cereal. Today Airyen was being a little unsettled and did not want to wait for us to finish – sort of what was to come today.
So after checking out and getting our stuff, we got the bikes from the bottom, exiting and leaving our key cards where they suggested, before starting our cycle – it was quite cloudy at first, but got better over the course of the day.
While cycling Bhavni was ahead of Airyen and I and she did the thing of looking at us round a corner rather than the road – so had a fall. We had to clean and plaster the cut on her hand.
Our next stop was to the old iron village at Lehen, just before 11am, which was a little diversion from the R1. We got there and again ran into the Americans who had just been there. We got tickets and then had a look around the village – mainly a lot of buildings for different purposes, with us reading the English description on a guide of what was going on. Airyen liked seeing the animals that were there. We also got to make a hut from putting pieces of timber together – like a puzzle. We left here nearer mid day.
From here we carried on our cycle – going slightly the wrong way as a path that google maps suggested was closed, so a little retracing and we carried on to join R1 which swung next to the river again.
We had a little snack break with bananas and snacks, before a push to Grein. Just before the town proper we went to the Hoffa get some more supplies – water and lunch. Then it was to the town and checking into the Landgasthof zur Traube, after putting our bikes in their store at the back. Our rooms were right at the end of the hotel, but as our bags had not yet arrived, we changed into the day pack we had. We could have had food on the little balcony that our room had, it was overlooking fields, but Bhavni thought that it smelt too much of a farm. I thought maybe we could go to the top of the castle and find a place to eat, but Airyen (and Bhavni probably also) was quite hungry and it looked steep, so we decided to have food on the benches in front of the hotel on the green.
After lunch, our bags still had not come so we walked into town. We passed an Italian restaurant called Restaurant- Pizzeria Schwarzes Rössl and talked to the chef and booked it for 6.30. A bit of sight seeing and we walked to the river front to enjoy the view there. They have a solar system exhibit here where there are scale models of all the planets and the sun, with the appropriate distance between. We saw the Earth, Venus, Mercury and the Sun, then after Mars. After around 4pm we had a stop at Cafe-Konditorei where we got an ice cream – they are famous for it and it was quite good. Heading back Bhavni wanted to go to see the shops in town, so Airyen and I headed back, but as he was being difficult, so I headed to the castle – a few steps up. The castle was closing at 5pm (and was closed for a private event the next day), but they said I could look around the sides that were open – a bit of a view of the river and town. Airyen was still being himself so Bhavni joined us up here for a view before we went back down to the hotel at around 5pm. The bags had arrived, so we could get changed for the evening and while they chilled in the room, I got a beer at the hotel cafe in the front.
We walked to the Italian restaurant for around the right time – deciding to sit outside. The chef came and found us and suggested we sit at the back tables as it would be the most comfortable. It was a decent meal – pasta all around – aglii oli and pomedorro with a burretta salad. The chef came out to ask if all OK as well.
After dinner we went back to Cafe-Konditorei, going to the upstairs cafe. Airyen chose a piece of cake that we all shared – though had too much jam which we did not know. We had a bit more of a walk on the river front seeing Jupiter and Saturn, then it was back to the hotel for the night.
Sat 23rd – Grein – Marbach an der Donau
Like normal we got ready and went to breakfast at around 8.30 – though the bag drop was next to us – again the standard fare for breakfast. We checked out and got our selves ready, getting our bikes from the back.
Out route went a bit back on its self, to cross the bridge before Grein. We had got a little bit on the other side and taken in some lovely views of Grein when Bhavni said to me that Airyen must be in the lower gears – a standard by now – but that was not the problem – the problem was that Airyens front Tyre was flat. We stopped and I inflated it hoping it was a slow leak, but it was not far down the road before it was flat again. So I had a look at it but our kit that the bike people gave was missing the tyre levers. Bhavni was panicking a little saying we will have to go back to Grein and a bike shop. But we had the puncture repair kits, and I saw that there was a cafe nearby < 500m- Manuelas Radlerstation. So I inflated it again and we headed there.
As we got there and were just investigating, a group of local students came in cycling. Bhavni asked one of them for help and they were more than happy to help – they had tyre levers to get the tyre off. I found the leak and confirmed it was the only one in a bowl of soapy water before patching it. We then had some drinks – including an early beer for me. They 2 of the guys then helped us put the tyre back on. Bhavni paid for 2 of their beers.
It was past 11am now, so we pushed on for the next hour to near next bridge – Airyen was a little hungry and there was a cafe – Bistro Mogador. I ordered a coffee, but they did not have much that we wanted. Airyen started to have a little of his packed sandwich, but the waiter came out – no one else was there and loudly shouted Airyen cant eat his sandwich. So I finished the coffee and had a chat to him that you can not shout at children.
The route was to cross the bridge, but we carried on to the park at the beginning of Ybbs an der Donau. This was a nice place to have out picnic, and after Airyen got to play a little on the playground, such as balance bars end climbing frames. After our lunch it was a short cycle to the Fahrradmuseum – a bike museum. This was a bit of fun, with us first all getting up on a penny farthing in old timey hats, followed by seeing bikes through history, starting with things like the “Bone shaker”, all the way to early 2000’s – wood to carbon fiber.
After seeing the museum, at a little past 2pm, we cycled back to the power station bridge and crossed. Our route on the map told us to cut across the land rather than take the r1, but it would have been easier to just go round (though a bit longer) as there was a bit of a climb. It was then the r1 near the big motorway, until we arrived at our hotel – Hotel Wachauerhof, just after 3pm. After checking in, Bhavni suggested I go to the local supermarket to pick up some fruit and supplies. It was a 2 minute cycle – but it did not have any fruit, so I bought some crisps. So then I decided to cycle to the next spar – 5km further. It was good going and I picked up some fruit. Now getting back was hard as there was quite a strong wind.
Airyen was happy as he had a bath, but then decided he wanted to chills in room watching TV (Simpsons in German). Meanwhile we went downstairs and I had a drink.
Bhavni had asked about dinner as there were not any options near by, so at 6pm we had dinner with a nice view of the river – I had the vegetarian dumplings, Airyen had pasta, Bhavni had vegetarian balls with salad. Bhavni had the short straw here.
After dinner we retired to the room and chilled.
Sunday 24th Marbach an der Donau – Mitterarnsdorf
Today we got ready a little later and headed down for breakfast and as usual leaving the bags – similar setup to the rest of the places. By the time we checked out and got the bikes (making sure Airyens was OK), it was around 9.25. Our cycle was to continue then cross the next bridge and cycle towards Melk. The Americans has told us there was a tour in English at 11am, so not a lot of time, but we ended up initially making great time.
We got to the bottom of the abbey, seeing it above us, but was not sure of the way up. I thought maybe to follow the r1 a little further, but this led us the long way, going with the main road to the Abbey. Bhavni was not impressed. It was about 11 when we got to the Abbey, and looking for the parking for the bikes. I left Airyen and Bhavni to lock up the bikes whilst I walked and got the tickets. The tour had just left, but we could catch up, so when Bhavni and Airyen came, we went through the courtyards and up the stairs (giving in the tickets). The tour group was there including Susan and Chris (part of the Americans). The tour of the abbey gave some background to the building (it would be hard if wondering alone). Some of the rooms were quite nice (though there was no photography), as well as the views from outside.
At the end of the tour we had a quick look around the chapel, as it was going to close for prayers. In the courtyard outside we had a nice view again and the rest of the Americans also came here. We then went to the tower, which was included in the ticket to have a look out – Airyen was getting hungry so we took the stairs down to the nice small formal gardens and had some fruit and sandwiches, before having a small walk around part of the grounds.
A little wonder back up the tower then we left the abbey, but had a wonder at the entrance plazas which were quite nice – such as the water features. Then it was to collect our bikes and head down – about 1pm. This time Bhavni suggested using walking directions and this took us down a much easier route, past all the cafes and to near the place where we first arrived. Following the suggested route, it was a little cycle along the river then across the bridge to the other side of the river, where there was a little climb before the route became easy again, the nicest bits were where it went away from the main road and we got to see the vineyards appearing.
We continued our cycle arriving at Spitz around 2.45. We just to the ferry terminal and waited – though I got tempted with all the other people having ice cream, so I got some. We then crossed on the ferry to the other side and then cycled to out hotel – Gasthof zur Wachau, where we checked in. We ended up swapping rooms as the one they gave us had yellow water coming out of the bath. The hotel had a swimming pool, so we headed there. Not big, but some unwinding for Airyen. Bhavni and I had a chance to use the Sauna for a bit also.
After the swim we got back to the room and got ready. Sara had asked Bhavni if she could have some euros for Dollars as the ferry only took cash, so we did a little swap. It was about 5.30 when we headed by foot to the ferry, as food would have been very limiting at the hotel (after asking). We managed to negotiate the price down a bit as we had been on the ferry before – at fist the guy was adamant that we would just have to buy singles, but then gave us the multiple pass.
Crossing we went to Donauprinzessin, where we had a nice pasta dishes x2 with a shared garlic flat bread. It was petty good and we sat in the indoor part, but still had a good view of the mountains. For desert we had a Mozart cake.
The captain of the boat had warned that the last boat would be just a little after 7pm, so we made it to the pier by then and got the boat at around 7.10. The view of the river on the other side was pretty nice in the fading light. Getting back to the hotel we chilled for a while before calling it a night.
Mon 25th Mitterarnsdorf – Krems – Vienna
Airyen and I went for a swim in the morning, whilst Bhavni a bit of packing, then it was our breakfast routine at the usual time, with a similar spread of food in the hotel. We said bye to the Americans as they were staying an extra night here. We checked out just before 10am and got to the bikes, with the short trip to the port. The ferry was just arriving so it was good timing for us.
In Spitz we cycled back to the entrance of the castle ruin (Ruine Hinterhaus), which the Americans had tackled last night and recommended. Parking the bikes it was a small climb. The castle was defiantly worth it as the views from here were really nice and you could go right to the top.
A little past 11am we went back down and got on our bikes for the next cycle, though we had a quick stop near Wehrkirche St. Michael. It was then cycling to Weingut Schneeweiß – a winery where we picked up our complimentary wine for the tour. Airyen also got a nice ceramic bowl. We had a little fuel stop with some fruit outside before continuing on.
We decided here to follow the route the guide suggested – through the old town – rather than just go along the R1. This was a good idea as it gave a nice view and we found ourselves going past an Italian restaurant – Achleiten Stube – and as it was lunch time (12.30) we stopped. It was nice having the nice pizza and pasta overlooking vineyards.
We were back on the cycles at 13.45, but it was not long before our next stop at Dürnstein, where we took some pictures of the cool church. After this it was the final push to Krems, going through old streets before arriving at the train station at 2.35.
We caught the train to Vienna at 2.50 – it was a double decker bus – so of course we sat at the top – after belting our bikes down at the bottom. It was around an hour on the train arriving in Franz-Josefs at around 4pm. We got all our stuff and took our bikes off – your have to make sure you remember everything as the train was gone soon after. The front of the station had some works going on which foxed me a bit. The guide assumed you had not been to Vienna, so you could cycle round the ring road, but as we had seen this, I chose a route to the hotel which meant we were on cycle paths nearly through out – around 5km.
Getting to the hotel it took us a while to find it – google maps did not give us a precise location – it was in the end a bit like Punch and Judy – it was behind us. I checked in then I moved my bike to the cycle store, quite a long cycle underground. Bhavni and Airyens were left parked out the front for now. We took pretty much everything up to our room as this is where we leave the tour.
After getting in the room and cleaning up there was a lot of “debate” about what to do today and tomorrow – though I had made a plan. Anyway a little later we all went down. Airyen and Bhavni were going to move the bikes – but when Airyen followed Bhavni he had a small fall – getting cut and grazed a bit, so had to go and put a plaster in the hotel. In the end I took the big bike and Airyen his to the parking. We then went and got the tram nearby at around 7.20pm. It was then a 10 minute walk to the Hundertwasser Village, with the living wall – quite a cool building with the trees and planting.
After looking around for a bit we walked and caught the train just before 8pm to near the Danube tower. I had checked directions and there was a bus that took us nearly all the way to the Danube tower – this is in the middle of a park with nothing else around – Bhavni had had a bad experience so had been quite negative about the visit. But with the bus it was a short walk where we used the last of our Vienna pass tickets to go in around 8.30. We went to the top cafe, which revolves, where we had a hot chocolate each, whilst spotting the sights through the windows. Lovely experience – though it took a while to order. Airyen wanted to go down the slide, so I purchased a ticket for him and we tried to film it – very quick.
It was around 9.30 when we left – we called an Uber to take us to the station (that surprised the driver), then we caught the train to Prater, following the crowds into the amusement park. This place was busy.
First ride Airyen wanted to do was the bumper cars. We then did a roller coaster, then finally a fun house (Airyen bumps into perspex many times) , all this whilst wondering the large grounds. By the time we left here it was nearly 22.40. Bhavni did some research and we walked to the nearby Green Oasis Bowls & Burger, where we got a large poke bowl. We took this with us back to the hotel (via a tram from Praterstern).
We are the dinner in our room after 11pm then soon it was time for bed.
Tues 26th Vienna
This morning we packed up all our stuff early, before going down to breakfast. As it was a bigger hotel it had quite a nice spread for breakfast – the usual things we had been having plus also things like make your own fresh fruit juice. We finished up and got our bags from the room. We then checked out but left the bags with the hotel just before 9.30am.
We caught the train to the city center getting to the opera house. We had to meet just behind it for a walking tour, that I had booked yesterday, at 10am. The tour was a 2 hour tour, going first near the Albertina (art) museum before concentrating around the Hofburg palace, with a little break in the middle then parts of the city.
A little before 12, the tour had finished and we made our way towards the cathedral, thinking to get a look inside, getting there for the midday bells. While we were outside there there was a big precession which went into the cathedral, with a marching band playing – they ended up playing right in front of us. Probably not a right time to go in.
We then made our way to the Central Cafe. There was a queue (in the sun) to get in. Bhavni thought she might be able to do a quick shop whilst I was in the queue but I had to call her back as it was moving faster than she expected.
We got a table deep inside with the vaulted ceilings. We ordered some soup and bread rolls (as soup does not come with it), for our lunch. I did get told off about not eating the cream which had gone into the soup. Anyway we got some deserts after, with the 2 looking at the selections available in the counter, and a Vienna coffee for me. The waiter gave Airyen lots of chocolate to top it off.
Near 2 we left, Bhavni wanted to do some shopping, and I wanted to look at some historical stuff so Airyen and I went to look at Palais Daun-Kinsky, which was a nice free landmark with a lovely painted ceiling. Airyen was a bit painful after this for quite a bit.
It was then off to the Roomz hotel, getting there just after 3pm. We picked up our bags and made our way to the now renamed 4 points flex (where we had stayed at the beginning) getting there around 4.30pm. We chilled here for a while.
At 6.30 we headed out – getting the train to near the state opera and then going to the Poke bowl (Apapika). It was not quite as good as the first time. We then walked to the Ritz Carltion, as their roof garden was meant to be nice – it was closed today for a private event. After a quick run down of options we decided to try to go to Daz Loft (taking the tram there). There was no problem getting in – though the bar was on the 18th floor and was labelled as such which Airyen took to mean adults only. It was not that busy and had great views of the city. We got 2 mocktails – Bhavni got something off menu and I got one with a bit of matcha in it. Airyen had a lemonade but kept eyeing Bhavnis drink. We stayed as the sun went down and it got dark with the lights turning on on the sights.
We left just after 9pm, taking the tram to near the hotel. Back there we called it a night.
Wed 27th Vienna – London
We had to get up decently early today, going to breakfast then checking out. To make it easy for us we took an Uber to the central station, to get the 8.40 train to the Airport (which was on a upper platform) – surprisingly it was delayed 7 mins. At the Airport we checked in – our bags were over weight, but the person was fine with it.
Our flight was scheduled for 11.10. We ended up arriving early in Heathrow and our bags did not take long. We had to wait a bit for the taxi, then it was off home, getting there around 2pm.