It was a long, cold night in the tent, for the first time. According to the weather report we heard later, it was 5 degrees in Linz (25k east) so there was probably reason to feel the cold. We were ‘on the chill’ all night for some reason, despite having reasonable sleeping bags and being ‘cuddled up’. Anyway, it was also a long night. It is now dark by 7pm, and dawn not until after 7am.
We cooked a hearty breakfast despite the very cold conditions, of porridge with sultanas. I served Julie a cup of tea in ‘bag’ and then we made proper coffee after breakfast. The sky overnight was very clear, the stars being very bright and unimpeded by any cloud cover. This added to the extremely cold conditions in the morning.
It also meant an extremely thick, foggy start to the day. We were finally ready to ride by 9:30am. Our hands and feet were very cold, our feet especially because walking around in the wet grass to pack the tent and our bags made our shoes very wet. It was not a pleasant way to start a ride in very cold conditions.
We took the compulsory departure photo, and headed back the way we came in – we thought. Visibility was down to about 100 metres at times, the fog was so thick. It was like riding through white soup. We had no vision of fields, nor could we see distant villages. We just had the little bit of narrow road in front of us. We could hear cars (it was shared road) but had no vision until they were very close.
We got lost! We couldn’t find the village which was to give us bearing then to the Danube Bike path. The detailed map was no help because we couldn’t see any distinctive landmarks. We floundered for a while until we landed on a very busy highway which was unfamiliar to us. We could see a distant intersection, so we braved the busy road in murky conditions, and were relieved to see a small sign pointing us back to the village. We had somehow come around it, but not being able to see it, we had bi-passed it and were heading back to Passau!
We were on track now. We found the Danube, but had very little vision. The mist on the Danube basically blocked it entirely from sight. We could barely see the ducks and the beautiful swans playing around on the water’s edge.
We only had about 30k to get into Linz, where we were trusting that our daughter Sarah-Jane would be waiting for us. She was coming from London by International flight to Vienna (with a bike) and then changing at Vienna for the 30min flight to Linz. It sounds easy, if you don’t have a bike. With a bike, the complications are multiplied. We were not sure how she would get from Linz airport to the city. There was no train service.
Anyway, the Danube bike path was again smooth and all bitumen. We were closing on Linz, and were excited to finally begin to see the signs of city life a long way down the river. Both sides of the Danube are walled by high hills/mountains. We could see though the telecommunications towers a long way in the distance that obviously served the city of Linz.
The track became ‘rough’ on the final 10k into Linz. It was hard work – a series of tiny bridge crossings with tight bends followed by tough climbs out the other side. The cycle path became footpath that edged the main highway along the river into Linz which just made everything seem busy, noisy and requiring full focus on staying on the path and avoiding obstacles such as gutters when crossing the many roads and intersections.
Finally the great bridge into Linz spanning the vast Danube filled our vision. We found our way up and over the bridge, and headed straight into the historic central marketplatz of this ancient city in Austria. The Information Centre was right there, we already had a map to our hotel, and we made enquiries about getting to Cesky Krumlov in the Czech Republic which was next on our itinerary. We were due there next day. It was at least an 80k bike ride on suspect roads and uncertain bike path to the Austrian border, with hardly any turn-around time for Sarah-Jane. So we plotted doing it by bus, and return to Linz after two nights, and then cycle to Vienna and beyond.
We walked our bikes to the Hotel, about 1k further up the plaza which becomes a very long main street, with trams running both ways. We were wondering where SJ might be – did she make it – has she landed even – was she able to get the bike on the plane?
We arrived at our little hotel, and were greeted by a smiling young man to say the bill had been paid, and our guest was upstairs! We knocked on the door, and our eldest daughter was already in bed sleeping, given her 3am start to the day. She had arrived safely, the bus driver at Linz airport said she could get on the bus and hold her bike as long as she held on to her bike! Things are vastly different here in Europe. Sadly (or gladly as we later reflected) SJ’s panniers were still in Vienna having missed the connecting flight. They were delivered by courier later that evening.
We had a great time walking Linz. The ladies stopped at every jewellery shop, shoe shop and bag store. However, we managed to see the wonderful St Mary’s Cathedral in the centre of Linz, before having dinner in the ‘Chindia’ all you can eat (Chinese and Indian) restaurant, which was a great way to end the day. Linz is famous for many things, but a little known truth is that Linz was the birthplace of Adolf Hitler, and he had intention of making Linz the capital of his extended German Empire.
We have decided to take the train (very cheap fares) to Cesky Krumlov, leaving the bikes and most of our gear at the Hotel in Linz, and return in two days. It will be a bike free two days. Cesky is known as ‘little Prague’. It is situated just north of the Austrian border in the Czech Republic, and we thought it a shame if we didn’t get to experience its wonder and beauty. We initially planned to cycle there, and then come back to join the Danube just east of Linz, but the uncertain distance and road conditions influenced us to make it a relaxing weekend retreat for the three of us without the stress of mountains, messy bike paths and dangerous roads.
Just reflecting back on today, for most of the journey this morning we had very limited visibility. Once on the bike path, we felt a great sense of relief. Although we could barely see very far in front of our bikes, we knew we could trust the path ahead even though it was hidden from our sight by the thick mist.
This can be very typical of life itself. In life, the journey ahead into the future is often murky at best if not entirely unclear most of the time. But the Bible shows us that when we put our trust in the Lord, we can trust Him for the future even though we may only see the path in front of us at best. The Psalmist sums it up very nicely “Show me your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Saviour, and my hope is in you all day long”. Psalm 25:4-5
From our little hotel room at the Hotel Garni Winder Mann, in the great city of Linz, Austria, we send our love.
Kelvin, Julie and Sarah-Jane.
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