Day 16- Salzburg

Since we only had one day to look round Sazburg we decided we would be best to take a guided tour, and since we were on a biking holiday we decided to go on Fraulien Maria's Sound of Music Bike Tour.http://www.mariasbicycletours.com/index.php?view=sysBicycleTour.navDesign&lng=en  I had no idea when we started planning this trip that Sazburg had anything to do with the Sound of Music. I know differently now!

the tour was actually really good taking in not only many of the scenes from the film but also lots of the other real history of the town, it also got us out of the town centre (It doesn't really feel like a city) and into the surrounding parklands.

There were 14 of us on the tour, all on heavy American cruiser style bikes which seemed pretty shoogly  compared to our own (but they did have big fat comfy saddles), some of the other participants also seems a bit shoogly as well!  Sure enough, just after visiting the Convent one of our party shoogled into a wall and ended up getting carted off in an ambulance with a suspected broken collarbone.  We reckon she hadn't said enough Hail Marys.

Anyway the tour continued with My Favourite Things, and the rest, belting out from the tranny in the guides basket.  Luckily we didn't need our warm woollen mittens today.  I have however been informed that we will now need to watch the film again!

We then had a leisurely afternoon wandering around the town before heading back up to the campsite where we had a great meal at the campsite restaurant. the campsite has been brilliant, great facilities and in a lovely position overlooking the castle and the mountains behind.http://www.panorama-camping.at/cms/

Tomorrow we just need to find our way to the Airport, it is only about 5 miles but according to google maps it looks as though the cycle path goes right across the middle of the runway.  We might need some good timing!

Today's miles 14 + 3 back to the campsite https://www.strava.com/activities/390666641

Total miles 565

Day 15- Seefeld to Salzburg

We set off this morning round the south end of Attersee, the surrounding mountains again gave the impression that there was no easy escape from the lake. We stopped for breakfast at Unterach am Attersee at a lovely wee bakery near the shore.  However, we almost had to leave half way through breakfast as the old geezer at the next table let out one of those sneaky wee farts that only a deaf octogenarian thinks they can possibly get away with!. Sandra almost wet herself with laughter, she couldn't look at me, I couldn't look at her,it was fantastic. you had to be there!

Anyway, we survived.  As it turned out there was an easy escape route through the mountains to Mondsee and yet again we had fantastic way marked cycle paths all the way to Salzburg, some of them through tunnels dedicated only to bikes.  ( this has confused Strava as it seems to think we went over the hills rather than through them)

The last six miles or so from Eugendorf to our campsite just outside Salzburg were fantastic, all downhill and well away from any traffic.

Salzburg is a great destination to finish the trip on with the backdrop of the Alps just beyond the pristine town ( although they do tend to beckon you further onwards).  We spent the afternoon having a wander round the castle and are now sheltering from a thunderstorm in the pub.  Tomorrow we plan to take a guided tour of the sights.

Today's miles 34 + 7 into town and back https://www.strava.com/activities/389760867

Total miles 548

Day 14- Gmunden to Seefeld am Attersee

When planning this trip we put a spare day into our itinerary to cope with any problems that might crop up, but we haven't needed it.  So as we are now almost at Salzburg we decided to take it easy today. We had a leisurely start cycling back into Gmunden for breakfast (and warmer socks since it was bleedin' freezing!)

However the cycle over the hill to Attersee soon warmed us up as we passed through lots of meadows and forest.  By the time we arrived at Seefeld it had warmed up nicely and we had a fantastic lunch at the only restaurant in town.  It was superb, the best meal of our trip so far. 

So after a few glasses of wine we wandered about 100m along the road to check into our campsite and spent the rest of our afternoon lazing about the lakeside in the sun. It's a hard life'

Today's miles 19 (with a big hill) https://www.strava.com/activities/389164990

 Total miles 507

Day13- Steyr to Gmunden

Today was a day for some navigation, and hills!  When we got up this morning we really didn't have much of a clue about where we were going. We knew we wanted to get to Gmunden but we had no idea of the best way to get there, so we decided to do it by stages. 

first stage- Find somewhere for breakfast. This was pretty easy, so over breakfast we tried to work out a route. Looking at the map didn't help a great deal as there were loads of options, so we had look at google maps which gave us two options which we immediately dismissed because we didn't really fancy them. We then found an itinerary from some cycle touring company which suggested a route along cycle route 8 to Frauenstein and then cycle route 10 back towards Pettenbach so we decided to give that a go.

The morning climbed up along the river Steyr, a fairly gentle climb with some short sharp sections amongst it.  We were soon seeing the hills and mountains, some with snow on top, appearing ahead of us.  It was surprising how quickly they appeared considering they were barely visible from the Danube yesterday. We just hoped we could find a way through them.

The cycle routes have been absolutely fantastic, it is so much easier just to follow the arrows rather than look at the map all the time.

Just after Frauenstein we found a great roadside restaurant which was packed with a variety of travellers, but we managed to squeeze ourselves in and had an excellent (large) lunch.  This was just as well given the climbs which were to come.

We soon found that route 10 wasn't going our way so had to resort to maps, this resulted in us Using the main road for a wee while, it wasn't too busy but it was very hilly. After Pettenbach we found some back roads again and even along the last section of road to Gmunden we found some cycle tracks. these had some serious gradients up to 14% but even after 50 miles or so we were still feeling pretty strong.  We ended with a great blast downhill to the lakeside at Gmunden.  Extremely pretty.

Today's miles 59, 4360ft of climbing https://www.strava.com/activities/388606835

Total miles 488

Day 12- Grein to Steyr

We had a bit of a delayed start this morning as the heavy rain overnight meant that we had to wait until we got our washing dried in the tumble drier before we set off.  the weather was much better today as we set off across the Danube on a great wee ferry, purpose built for taking bikes. (As long as you are able to reverse!)

This morning we followed the Danube cycle path again, through Wallsee for coffee and cake and then leaving the Danube at Enns where we had lunch in yet another beautiful old town square.  It is quite incredible just how many ancient and pristine towns and villages there are.

 We weren't sorry to leave the Danube, it is beautiful in places but the flat cycle paths get a bit wearing after a while.  after leaving the Donauradweg, we expected to have to do a bit more navigating to find our way through the best backroads, however this turned out not to be the case.  There was another way marked cycle path all the way to tonight's destination at Steyr so we just bowled along following the arrows on the signposts through a great mixture of cycle paths, backroads, dirt tracks and forest paths.

Today's trip was much more enjoyable than the last couple of days due to better weather, more interesting countryside and less wind! Who knows what tomorrow will bring?

Today's miles 44 (plus another four into town and back for dinner)https://www.strava.com/activities/387710658

Total miles 475

Day 11- Krems to Grein

This morning's cycling was really good, it was cooler again, but the cycle path was quite varied going through lots of wee villages, vineyards and orchards.

The river was also much more interesting than yesterday in that the  valley sides were much steeper and we could see towns and villages on either side.

We stopped for lunch at Melk after about 22 miles, and had a look round the huge Benedictine monastery.  The old monks certainly didn't scrimp when they got the decorators in!

After lunch the valley flattened out again, and the headwind which had been quite strong in the morning developed into a full blown hooley! 

The remaining 32 miles to our campsite at Grein were a bit of a slog into the wind and it was also pretty cold.  Grein seems to have decided that the season is over however we found a decent wee Italian restaurant to get ourselves refuelled.

Today's miles 55 https://www.strava.com/activities/386994358 (strava is showing about 4000 ft of climbing but it was actually pretty flat again)

Total miles 427

Day 10- Vienna to Krems an der Donau

When we got back to our tent last night we found that water had been getting through our groundsheet somehow but fortunately all of our gear stayed dry. We'll need to investigate this when we get home but there shouldn't really be any problem if we're careful how we pitch it.

Today's cycling was quite different from anything else so far this trip, although we were heading upstream alongside the Danube, it was virtually flat all the way, however we were heading into a relentless gale the whole way. The temperature  was also a good bit cooler, about 15 degrees, sometimes less.

In our first hour this morning we passed ten times more bike tourists than we had in the last week, all going the opposite direction, downwind!  The river was pretty wide the whole way and the landscape either side very flat. In fact a lot of the villages were about ten metres below the river level, tucked in below the flood banks. They looked pretty dodgy to me. All along the route there were plenty of snack bars and other services.

There were also a few big barrages across the river acting as power stations, with huge locks alongside to allow the barges and cruise ships to pass through.

We got into Krems about 2:30, yet another really nice old town.  There was a big funfair in the town centre, however Sandra was too big a fearty to go on any of the rides.

Today's miles 43 https://www.strava.com/activities/386100476

Total miles 372

Day 9 - Oh Vienna !

No biking today, instead it was the bus and tram into the centre  of Vienna, a really beautiful city with lots of 19th century buildings.

Unusually for us we were in the right place at the right time, there was a huge food and drink festival going on in the park in the centre of the city with loads of great stalls and a variety of Austrian brass bands playing all day.

It was a great atmosphere, and unlike Prague, we felt as though we were joining in rather than taking over as tourists,with the locals far outnumbering anyone else.

The weather has turned a bit dreich tonight and we have retired to the cafe-restaurant Veit, just opposite our campsite where the food has been absolutely excellent.

Another great day.

Day 8- Mikulov to Klosterneuburg (Vienna)

Just after we got back to our Pension last night the heavens opened with another spectacular thunderstorm, however it was dry but cloudy when we got up to leave this morning.  After we had managed to get the bikes back down the stairs.

Great cycle paths all day today, or at least as far as Vienna.  The signposting was superb and we hardly got lost at all, or at least as far as Vienna!  The countryside was quite varied as we passed through vineyards, fields of sunflowers, wind farms and woodland.

We were soon out of the Czech Republic and into Austria which was quite noticeable when we stopped for coffee at Poysdorf and found it was 4 times the price we had been paying all week.  Onwards again over more undulating hills to Mistelbach for lunch, then a few more hills until we got to Wolkersdorf from where it was fairly flat in to Vienna.

Once in Vienna it became a bit trickier to navigate especially as maps weren't uploading on my phone. At one of our many stops to check directions we met up again with our new Russian friend Alex, who was also lost, and trying to find the official end of the Prague-Vienna Greenways route so that he could get a photo, unfortunately we were no help to him!

Anyway, we set off on our different ways, and after asking numerous people and taking quite a few wrong turns eventually found our way to our campsite as it was getting dark.  It was a long day but a great cycle as despite the distance we were both feeling pretty strong at the end.

That's the first half of our journey done, the Czech Republic was really enjoyable, let's hope Austria is as good.  time for Beer!

Today's miles 80 https://www.strava.com/activities/384841034

Total miles 329

Day 7- Vranov nad Dyji to Mikulov

It was quite cool this morning as we set off across the suspension bridge from the campsite but we soon warmed up with some 18% gradients to get the legs working.

At Cizov we came across the only remnants of the iron curtain remaining in the Czech Republic, it was quite amazing that this was still in existence in 1989 and that these barbed wire defences were electrified.

The rest of the mornings journey was through a fantastic range of roads including good roads, bad roads, excellent cycle paths, dirt tracks and full on mountain biking.

It also took us into some great scenery, especially when we ended up on a high ridge above a sharp bend of the river Dyji.

We stopped after about 20 miles for a light lunch at Satov.  After that the terrain was pretty flat so we decided to crack on another 40 miles to Mikulov. The afternoon scenery was not that inspiring, but Mikulov is another beautiful historic town and we found a really nice pension near the town centre.

A great day.

Today's miles 60 https://www.strava.com/activities/384174821

Total miles 249

Day 6 - Novo Bystrice to Vranov nad Dyji

An overnight thunderstorm has brought much lower temperatures today.  As we set off this morning we realised again that when bike touring you often end up in the right place at the wrong time.  Tonight there is a cycling criterium race round the streets of Novo Bystrice but we will be miles away by then, we also passed near an interesting looking museum near Klasters giving a history of the border defences from the Second World War, but we were there an hour before it opened but we did get a look at some of the bunkers.

We then passed by the ruined castle at Landsteiner and stopped off at about 10:30 for a snack in the beautiful medieval town of Slavonice. Fortunately the restaurant we chose had English translations including such delicacies as "Butcher's Dollops" and "chop of Mrs Katarina (fine and mild for ladies)", we both settled for Meat loaf!  We also had a wander round the shops where Sandra very nearly bought a new pair of breeks.

We then caught up with another cyclist we had seen a couple of times since leaving Prague, Alex was from St Petersburg and was riding the same route as us From Prague to Vienna on the heaviest laden bike in Eastern Europe.  We cycled with Alex as far as Vranov nad Dyji where, after a look around the castle, we split off for the campsite whilst he headed off for a further 30km to his destination for the night.

The temperature today was much more pleasant for cycling, and as you can see from the profile on Strava our route was predominantly downhill today, Although we still managed to do 3200 ft of climbing!

Miles today 49 https://www.strava.com/activities/383249705

Total miles 189

Day 5- Tabor to Novo Bystrice

Excellent accommodation last night at the Alfa Pension, Whisky Bar. After breakfast we loaded up and set off for more undulating hills, although not as many as yesterday only 3500ft today!

After about 15 miles we decided we could do with something to eat at Tucapy but couldn't find any restaurants. So we got some snacks and drinks from the coop and parked ourselves on a bench in the shade, from where we could see a snack bar just a bit further along the road.

Onwards through more farmland until we stumbled across a fantastic Chateaux at Cervna Lhota, 

then carried on to Jindrichuv Hradec (must be great playing scrabble in Checz) for an excellent lunch.

By this time it was getting really hot again, well into the 30s and neither of us were too enthusiastic about the remaining 18 miles to Novo Bystrice. We decided to go for it anyway and it turned out not as bad as expected despite a really nasty hill right at the end.  We decided not to risk going the extra 5km to the campsite in case it was shut, so instead we booked into a pension in the centre of town at the princely sum of 700CZK for the night (£19).

Novo Bystrice is not as impressive as Tabor.  It has many impressive buildings, but most look as if they have seen better days.  The bars and restaurants are very welcoming, but it's hard to see how they make a living.

There has obviously been a lot of investment in signage and publicity to try to create tourism on the Czech Greenways Cycle routes but so far we have hardly seen any other tourers. Probably because it is so bloody hilly!

Today's miles 49 https://www.strava.com/activities/382520617

Total miles 140

Day 4-Tynec to Tabor, Hot and Hilly!

We had an early dinner last night and then sat at the river by the campsite with a nightcap watching the ducks, fishermen and the sun set. It was a bit different from Prague!

Today's route had a lot of undulating hills which combined with the heat (35 degrees) and fully packed bikes made it pretty hard going. However the roads were really quiet and good scenery. 

Stopped off for lunch after 28 miles at Sedlec-Prcice, there wasn't much available but we found a small "canteen" in the butchers shop which looked like it hadn't changed in fifty years but the food was welcome at £3 for the two of us.

I was pretty knackered by this time but it was straight into another big hill after lunch, with about 12 miles to go I started to get cramp in my left thigh, at 6 miles to go I got it in both thighs and ended up walking up a few of the hills. Fortunately by this time it was mostly downhill to Tabor and Sandra was good enough to wait for me (I'm sure she won't mention it!)

Anyway, we eventually made it to tonight's accommodation The Alfa Pension, and Whisky Bar however, as I have never been so knackered on a bike run I don't think I will be having too many. Tabor has a really beautiful old town centre and in contrast to lunch time we had dinner in the best restaurant in town still only cost £30.http://www.goldie.cz/en/

Today's miles 47 and 4062ft climbing.https://www.strava.com/activities/381737803

Total miles 91

Day 3 - Prague to Tynec nad Sazavou (Scorchio!)

It was great cycling through the old town early this morning before it got jam packed with tourists.

Luckily I had downloaded a gps route to get us out of Prague as our map wasn't really detailed enough and the signs were a bit intermittent. It took quite a while to get out of Prague Following a wide range of roads cycle paths and dirt tracks, and we still managed to get slightly off track quite a few times.

Once out of the city we got on to a variety of minor roads which were pretty hilly and stopped for lunch at a Restaraunt at the top of the hill in Kamenice ( a hill we probably didn't need to be on!) We then had our first challenge of a totally Czech menu, fortunately I discovered that the google translate camera app is absolutely brilliant, point your phone at the menu and it instantly changes to English, great!

After lunch it was all downhill for about 9 miles to our campsite at Tynec, which was just as well as we were starting to feel the 33 degree heat.  After pitching the tent it was straight into the river for a swim, even before we headed for beers.

Today's miles 33

Total miles 44

https://www.strava.com/activities/380958698

Day 2 - A Wander Round Prague

No biking today, instead we decided to try to make the most of our limited time in Prague by taking a guided walking tour round the city which was well worthwhile and gave us a great overview of the main sights.

Prague is certainly a beautiful city with loads of fabulous looking buildings, but it seems to have been robbed of a big chunk of its personality by the hordes of tourists (like us) swarming through the streets.  I suspect that if we had more time to look deeper into the place we would get a better feel for what it is really like, or maybe more accurately what it used to be like, however we are both looking forward to getting on the bikes tomorrow and setting off into the countryside.