DISTANCE COVERED:  130.8 KM

CYCLE TIME:  6:40

AVERAGE SPEED:  19.6 

After breakfast, while we were setting up our bikes for departure, a bus tour group was preparing to leave on a guided tour.  A sticker on the back of the bus indicated it was from Trieste, Italy.  Paul said he recognized an Italian dialect (Istriano) being used by these tourists as coming from his birthplace in north-east Italy .  Tom and I encouraged him to go and talk to them, as he would always regret it if he didn’t.  After several minutes of prodding, Paul finally approached them.  Tom and I chuckled as the group warmly welcomed him.  Would Paul be continuing his journey by bus?  He left them after a short ten minutes, shaking everyone’s hands, bestowing them with best wishes and salutations. Paul later expressed that it really was a pleasure to have talked to these tourists for a few minutes, as it took him close to his roots.

PAUL USING HIS NATURAL CHARM WITH THE LADIES - A TOUR GROUP FROM "HOME" OUTSIDE OUR HOTEL IN MELK (photo by Kevin Rodger)

Today’s cycling was mostly along the Danube .  We started out once again along the south, or right bank of the Danube. The scenery today was varied, starting with high river banks, then changing gradually to vineyards which covered the steep banks, followed by orchards, and finally changing to boring flat areas.  

CASTLE RUINS, WITH VINEYARDS ON THE TERRACED SLOPES (photo by Paul Delconte)

PAUL "TESTING THE WATERS" OUTSIDE TULLN (photo by Tom Jolliffe via Paul Delconte)

TOM CYCLING THE BIKE PATH WHERE IT REJOINED THE RIVER ROUTE (photo by Kevin Rodger)

The original plan was to stop short of Vienna in the town of Tulln, leaving us a short two hour ride into Vienna on Tuesday.  Paul and Tom , however decided they wanted to go for the gold, and hit Vienna at the end of today. This would allow more time for sightseeing.  I must admit, I was unhappy about the situation at first (I’m not that fond of big cities), but I would go along with their decision. Ten kilometers past the town of Tulln , with about 35 km left to go, Tom announced he was fading fast, and didn’t think he could make it into Vienna.  We found a roadside stop, and refilled our empty bellies on pop and snacks, then continued on our way.  From about 15 km out, we started to see the Vienna skyline. Using a map we had picked up in a tourist information desk in the town of Krems, we followed the canal system along a bikepath to the downtown area near the Westbanhof Train Station. 

Vienna turned out to be a very busy city, with a complicated maze of bike paths.  We eventually found our way to the train station, and booked ourselves into a reasonably inexpensive pension very close to the train station.  The price did not include breakfast, but Tom boldly rectified that the next day by just showing up and eating breakfast anyway.  On Tuesday, we played the role of tourist by walking to Schonbrunn Palace.  The Palace and its grounds have a long storied past going back to the Middle Ages.  In 1569 possession was turned over to the Habsburgs.  The walk to the palace from our pension was along chestnut lined streets.  As we walked, we wondered why we didn't see any enterprising individuals picking these nuts up and roasting them alongside the streets.  Probably one of those EC things.  After the Palace, we took a subway to the downtown area, visiting the Rathaus, parliament, and several old churches.

Our trip was over …  All that was left was another train trip from Vienna to Munich from where we would fly back to Canada on Thursday.

KEVIN IN FRONT OF THE SCHONBRUNN PALACE IN VIENNA - SUMMER "COTTAGE": OF THE HABSBURGS (photo by Tom Jolliffe via Kevin Rodger)

TRIP SUMMARY

TOTAL DISTANCE:  608.4 KM

TOTAL TIME ON THE BIKE:  32 HOURS 54 MINUTES

AVERAGE SPEED:  18.5 KPH

HOME