A Long Hot Day of Riding on the Danube

August 17, 2017

We were very happy with where we stayed last night. We got the last room available. They didn't have any doubles left but the owner gave us an extra large two bedroom family room for the same price. Breakfast was ok and the coffee was excellent.

Melk is a beautiful little city with a wonderful historical centre and an outstanding abbey. It also can get very busy with tourists when a number of river cruise ships are in for the day. It was a relief to get on the bike and start riding along the Danube. Much of the day was spent riding through the Wachau valley. On both sides of the Danube vineyards and apple orchards can be seen.

We stayed in Gasthof Weisseslamm. This building has a long history of being a Gasthof in Melk.

Melk is such a pretty town with much charm and character - the main draw here is the spectacular Abbey which dominates the town, but there is much to enjoy by wandering the lanes and backstreets.

Fred and Eva are from Vancouver, Canada. We met them outside our hotel. Eva saw Barry's Canada cycling jersey and came right over to talk to us.

A lovely detail on the wall of the town hall/post office.

When we leave a hotel room or campsite we always double check that we haven't forgotten anything - "did you check under the bed?". When I was taking a photo of the room Mary Ellen's socks showed up in the camera's viewfinder.

No matter where you are in Melk, the Abbey dominates the skyline above the village.

Liked this old stone bench with big feet holding it up.

This is our second visit to Melk. We stayed here 6 years ago during our first trip to Europe when we rode from London to Istanbul. It is nice to be back.

This section of the Danube is very pretty - castles and ruins as well as the Wachau Valley which is home to many wineries.

We saw this couple in the bakery in Ybbs a few days ago, and here they are again. He is roller blading and she is in a handle powered wheelchair, assisted by him when needed.

Grapes and apples, wine and cider are available along the route. The smell of the grapes on the vines is amazing. It is truly a treat to ride through here during harvest season.

It looks like Buster is having a bad day - he has gotten himself tangled up a bit in the cables.

Seeing ruins like this along the Danube add to the magic of the rid

This almost seems like something out of a museum. We rarely see phone booths - but in Austria, they are alive and well.

The sign, "ausg'steckt is" means that wine is ready for tasting.

A typical lunch break for us - instant coffee and a fresh bun with meat and cheese plus a great view.

What a great picture - the timing wasn't right for us to visit this Exhibition, but it would have been fun.

Dogs have it good here as we often see them being taken for bike rides. This woman had 2 dogs, and we watched them hop in and out. Looked like fun.

ulln, has a well developed waterfront along the river, with gardens, parks and interesting sculptures. This bronze rodent is a figure in the large statue/fountain in the next photo.

Very impressive statue with a fountain feature in Tulln.

Today's ride: 85 km (53 miles)
Total: 1,353 km (840 miles)

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