Another sunny and warm day. Apart from three rainy days at the beginning of our trip, we have had great weather. At breakfast this morning we learned that on June 8th, the city of Grein was within four centimetres from being completely flooded. The city had built new levees to accommodate a hundred year flood, , never thinking it would get that close. We were happy to hear that the army had been working very hard to clean-up the cycleways, and they were open again. Yeh!! This was our first day of not cycling through water,mud, no detours, no getting lost, and we were actually on the genuine Danube cycleway the entire day! Where's the adventure in that??!! The entire day today was the most breathtaking scenery, thus far. We started out with beautiful forested mountains on both sides of us, with the river along side. However, we soon came across a very large boat in the water, with a large crew of the army beside it. It turned out it was a boat turned into a restaurant. We spoke to the couple who owned it, and they said that it was sitting in four meters of water, but just a few days earlier, it was in ten meters. They were very happy with all the help, but understandably, devastated as well.The city of Melk was on our itinerary today, with it's beautiful Benedictine Abby on the hill. Unfortunately, this is where we saw the most devastation from flooding, so far. The water had come up at least one and a half kilometres and there was mud everywhere. One of the main streets was completely gone. The army had huge tents set up there, with all their clean-up equipment.There were fields of corn and parsnips along this way that looked more like beaches, as they were covered in sand. After Melk we crossed the bridge to continue on the north side. From Melk to Krems is the Wachau region of Austria, which is the best known wine growing region. It is also where most of the apricots are grown. This is one of the most beautiful landscapes, with all the vineyards and orchards. The grapes are growing right beside the trails, and in the steep mountainside, as far as you could see. There was one quaint village after another, all with their own wineries and tasting rooms. It was so tempting, but we were thought we had better wait until we parked our bikes for the night! We climbed a short, but steep hill into Dunstein, and right in front of us was the beautiful Relais & Chateux Hotel Schlop Dunstein. We had planned to go further on, but Ron decided to check it out, and their we stayed. What a stunning hotel and what a treat! My darling husband has done an amazing job of finding us great (sometimes interesting) hotels every day, but he really outdid himself on this one. We swam outdoors, indoors, and went in every type of sauna. I knew I packed our swim suits for some reason! That evening we had one of the best dinners that we have ever had, outdoors on the beautiful terrace overlooking the river and nearby villages. We had seven courses, all with wine parings......probably not the best idea when you have to get back in the saddle the next day, but soooo worth it. The wine in this area is some of the best!. As I said, THE BEST DAY!!! Durstein has one of the most famous castles in the Wachau valley. It is the ruins of a castle, which has stood abandoned since the 30-year war, and is where King Richard the Lionhearted was held for ransom. We had a view of this, as well as the Danube from our room. Did I mention that I liked this hotel???
Next segment.....why not to bike with a hangover, by Ron.
Levee in Grein within four centimeters of going over!
