Hotel details: Park Inn by Radisson Linz, Hessenplatz 16-18, 4020 Linz, Österrerich
Distance cycled: 41·5 miles (cumulative total: 72·5 miles)
First, here's today's cyclemeter map. I needed to look back at it to remind myself what we'd done today:
- Stopping in St Agatha to photograph the Gemeindezentrum.
- An exhilarating downhill ride from St Agatha to Schlögen. Somehow it seemed longer and steeper going down.
- Then pushing on from Schlögen to Aschach. Of course I just had to play this (lyrics here) while having drinks at Kafe Roma Eis.
- I'd have liked to see around a museum about traditional Danube barges but it wasn't open. Here's its website.
- Here's an email I sent from Aschach:
We're at the green dot, after an exhilarating downhill ride from St Agatha to Schlögen (red dot). Our route has been along the south bank: about 21 miles so far, with another 20 to go. It's all downhill so no worries. Elly has asked me to ask you to say to mum how beautiful Austria is. I agree: the details on even little houses is fantastic. How's stuff in Worcester? Bruce mit leicht erodiert Arsch
- Crossing the bridge to the north bank was, ahem, interesting: we ended up on the opposite side from the pedestrian/cycle path, sheltering from traffic thundering past. Anyway, once we got across the bridge, the route took us away from the river and through quiet rurality. All of the farming I've seen so far has been arable, so where do the huge amounts of meat Austrians eat come from?
- The route also took us through Feldkirchen an der Donau, the capital of the local area. I'm only noticing this because of my current research.
- Back at the Donau, the path ran along the top of heightened banks. I guess the river levels might be raised due to the number of hydro power-stations along the river. There were lots of canoeists gently paddling downstream: most seem to be carrying wheels for when they would need to move their canoes on land.
- It's a bit confusing at the approach to Ottensheim: the path splits, the correct branch goes inland around a backwater that was set up for skulling and canoe races.
- We stopped in Ottensheim so that Elly could buy a sandwich. (I scoffed more of yesterday's rye bread.) We saw other cyclists taking the ferry across the Donau to Ufa. We wanted to stay on the north bank because we had read that the south bank route was along a busy road.
- Our route was along was on a dual-use path at the side of a busy road and railway: an introduction to Linz's business (a great change from the rurality we'd been through so far). This final bit seemed quite hard, against wind and certain aches.
- Once we got to Linz, it was fairly easy to find our hotel and collapse for a while. We then went for a wonder through Linz's Altstadt. Elly's eye was suffering so we called into an Apotheke for some drops. These were forthcoming but we were firmly told that Elly should see a doctor if the condition carried on for more than a day.
- We went back to the hotel for some drinks. Here's a relevant email:
I've just drunk wine! Some people at the table next to us we're drinking something the colour of Irn Bru. So I had to try one. It turned out to be an Aperol Spritzer: white wine, soda and bitters with ice. It's the only form of wine I've ever had which wasn't a waste of grapes! PS accents here (Linz) are very far from Hochdeutsch: fast but slurred and elided. 'Nar' instead of 'nein', zb
and for Elly to rest her eye, then bimbled into Linz's 'Oberösterreich Cultural Quarter' to find a veganoid restaurant called Gelbes Krokodil. Tofu curry for me and ricotta/spinach-filled tortellini in gorgonzola sauce for Elly. I had a chink left so tried to order some bread and hummus but ended up with a full plate of dolmades. So much for losing weight! - Now we're back at the hotel, gently steaming and listening to traffic going by...
I know my prose is turgid. Here's looking forward to adding photos!