We had a delightful night at the ‘Pension Martha’, where we had the luxury of a two bedroom suite including probably the nicest presented breakfast of our entire journey. We needed the good sleep and the lovely surrounds, although we misunderstood the price due to the language barrier, underestimating the price by some 20 Euros. However, it was a very safe place to be because the weather closed in by late afternoon the previous day. By evening it was raining, and it rained all night. Not only that, the temperatures dropped considerably to near freezing conditions.
As the day dawned, it was obvious that we were in for a very challenging day. It was extremely wet, having rained all night. It was still raining. The cobblestones outside were shining with water. The mist was low over the town and the Danube, and there was very little hope of things improving during the day.
I was up early, showered and dressed and at the local computer store to use their public internet computer by 8am. However, the computer was so slow, I only barely had time to get to the 'log in' stage for the blog when the time I had allowed myself of 30 minutes had expired. I gave up in disappointment because I was due back at the Hotel by 8:45am for breakfast with the girls in the hope that we could be rolling by 9:30am.
Breakfast was a sheer delight! During breakfast, the owner’s wife came to our table. She must have been feeling sorry for us. She told us in broken English/German about the ‘bike-bus’ that runs daily from Grein to Krems. We thanked her for her kindness, but we were hard core Aussie cyclists and a little freezing rain cannot turn us off a good ride! The Hotel was really geared for cyclists. There were two other tables of people at breakfast, all of whom turned out to be cyclists.
We got ready, packed our bikes and were ready to roll by 10am, way behind schedule. Then all the others from breakfast came out and got on their bikes. I must say I thought we were the only mad ones, but off they trotted before us. We made our way through the rain and wet streets to the waterfront for the departure photo, where who should we see all crammed in to the ‘Bike bus shelter’ waiting for the bike-bus but ALL of the cyclists from our Hotel, so many they hardly fitted under the bus shelter from the freezing rain.
As we rolled away past the overcrowded bus shelter, we didn’t say anything, but we pumped out our chests, bursting with Aussie pride. We were hard core Aussie touring cyclists. We don’t let almost freezing wet conditions turn us off a day’s cycle touring along the Danube.
We took the photo with the Danube in the background, and another with the magnificent Greinburg Castle standing out, before putting our heads down and heading into the seriously cold and wet conditions. We crossed the beautiful bridge over which we entered Grein the previous day, then turned east along the Danube with the intention of making Krems by late afternoon, some 80k along the Danube. We would then be one decent day’s ride from Vienna, which would put us in to Vienna one day ahead of schedule, but which would give us an extra day to enjoy this magnificent capital of Austria.
The conditions were deplorable. It wasn’t long before we were wet, and our hands and feet in particular were cold to ‘frozen’. It was particularly unpleasant. The only thing keeping away the intense cold was our forward motion. The mist was low and heavy which put a slight damper on the quality of photos. However, because we rugged up with coats and gloves, and with cameras well protected by plastic bags, it was very difficult to stop frequently for photos in any case. This was a disappointing aspect of the day, but we could not control the conditions.
Historically, this section of the river today has had a reputation for dangerous currents and whirlpools. We could see this very noticeably from the bike path. In addition, it was known for its pirates! We therefore cycled very cautiously, but fortunately we were not troubled by any pirate activity today. Perhaps they are not as hard core as us Aussie cyclists. We did however, see one of their pirate ships, but there did not appear to be anyone home when we went past.
We managed to arrive at the historic river town of Ypps at the 25k mark. We were just plain cold if not frozen, but we were soldiering on to Melk at least, another 25k. The beautiful Schloss Persenbeug is also the dominant feature as you enter Ypps from the west. The beautiful historic castle is stunning and magnetic to the eye from any direction.
Ypps is famous for a few things – one of those things is the unique cycle museum which is dominantly advertised as you enter the environs of the town. It was too cold and bleak to stop, but we did manage this photo of some of the bikes that did not make the museum!
Today the bike path was always superb. Being really wet though, we had to be ‘on our toes’ because the path was potentially very slippery. We often passed through vast agricultural areas, where sometimes there was mud slopped over the path by farm tractors. In other places, the forest lined both sides of the path and the carpet of leaves from the forest were often thick, very wet and therefore very slippery. The sites of the yellowing, browning and even reddening leaves always made a very stunning sight along the path.
We were never short of beautiful sites of historic buildings on both sides of the river. So much beauty and history went by today without the possibility of photos due to the conditions. We were gradually freezing as the encroaching discomfort of hypothermic conditions were setting in. Our hands and feet in particular were painfully cold if not numbed. We were banking on getting to Melk, which was still 40k short of Krems which was our original optimistic objective for today.
We were advised by our trusty Danube travel booklet that the magnificent Melk Abbey would fill our vision many kilometers before actually reaching Melk. It was 18k to go to Melk when the most fabulous Abbey appeared on the distant mountaintop. It was a sight to behold. Julie took this photo, but as we got closer we realized it could not possibly be Melk Abbey. It turned out to be Wallfahrskircke (a massive church) perched high on a mountain behind the village of Marbach an der Donau. How they managed to transport all that stone material up those massive mountains defies all logic.
We were frozen. We were just a few kilometers short of Melk when we started to think about our plans for the day. The bike computer indicated it was barely 7 degrees. It had rained all morning and we were seriously very cold. It was lovely to finally roll into Melk in the rain, the beautiful and magnificent Melk Abbey filling our vision, perched up high on a peak but literally right above the town. Sadly, given the conditions, it was not possible to take time to stroll and explore. Melk Abbey has been the focus for Benedictine Monks since 1089. According to rules set down by St Benedict, the Monks are to live by "ORA et LABORA et LEGE (pray, work and read). This is still reflected in the pastoral work of the Monastery (23 parishes) and education (the Abbey is a high school of some 900 pupils).
We headed for a warm café, where we were talked into hot soup (we ordered pumpkin, but it came served with a prawn floating on top, which was actually quite nice). We made the call to get the train from Melk to Krems for the final 40k leg rather than chance the frailty of the human body in the freezing wet conditions.
As we got to the train, the very friendly train conductor, who helped us on with the bikes, advised us that his car temperature gauge indicated it was 5 degrees in Melk that day! It was still raining. We loved the train journey. It was warm. We loved the Danubian countryside as it flashed by. The colourful patchwork of farms and ancient villages was simply stunning. The train was not only a relief to our near frozen condition, but an entirely enjoyable experience which has added to our cycle journey.
We arrived at Krems and headed for the ‘Youth Hostel”, but which is actually geared for cyclists like ourselves. For a mere 17 Euro each, we got a surprisingly lovely room with bathroom, and also a basic breakfast thrown into the deal. We purchased groceries for dinner, and used the excellent kitchen to prepare a beautiful German sausage chilli hotpot prepared by our daughter Sarah-Jane who is a proven cordon bleu chef!
By all accounts the weather will improve tomorrow, and in fact be quite warm again. Tomorrow we aim to ride the final 85k to Vienna, arriving a day ahead of schedule, but then giving us two days to walk the streets and explore.
In reflecting upon today, we never allowed the conditions to dampen our spirits. It was a very cold and wet day. For some it may have been a miserable day, but not these hard core Aussie cyclists. The bodies were suffering from the unpleasant conditions, but it was never sufficient to rob us of our joy. We can look back on this day with delight and gladness because we suffered a little, but we came through with a good and a happy heart.
St Paul in the scripture reminds us from his own experiences that despite his many trials and personal tribulations, he always relied on God’s grace which was always more sufficient than his circumstances. In fact he said, he delighted in his struggles and challenges because it was through his own weaknesses and infirmities that’s God’s strength in him was made stronger. Jesus said “my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness”. (2 Corinthians 12:9)
On a day when we could have simply caught the bus, we tested our human frailties against the worst of the weather, and came through it with good hearts, by the very same grace of God.
From the edge of the might Danube, 85k from the great city of Vienna, we send our love
Kelvin and Julie, and Sarah-Jane
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