Travel report: By bike and boat from Passau to Vienna

Christiane from Hanover opted for a floating hotel. A good choice! Bicycle no. 264, the red companion of every Radweg-Reisen guest, agrees. The two of them traveled by bike and boat from Passau to Vienna in summer 2019.

In the 2019 season, the MS Normandie sailed the route. It has since been replaced by the MS Prinzessin Katharina. The MS Normandie has found its new travel region in the Netherlands.

There is plenty for Christiane and her bike to discover on the cycle routes from Passau to Vienna. On land and on water. To find out about the big city adventures and fruity landscapes that the two of them have explored together, read on!

We can pick up speed well, some of us with electric assistance. I don't need it, I can ride well without help. Now the time has come: we're going on tour again! One by one, we are joined by colleagues "from out of town". Not every guest has rented one of ours, but some have brought their own bike: 
"Come here, there's plenty of space!"

We'll be spending a lot of time together up here, but what I'm particularly looking forward to is showing our guests a particularly beautiful section of the Danube Cycle Path over the next few days: The one from Passau to Vienna!

The first guests are already cycling around us. Our brakes are checked as we pass by and our stability is scrutinized. We've seen it before: at the beginning, the guests are still reserved, the mood is still subdued, people are keeping a low profile. But that will change by tomorrow evening at the latest. Then everyone will have settled in, we'll have made our first contacts at the dinner table and each of us will have been able to get up close and personal with our guest on the first tour.

Oh, there's my driver. She's found me!

Normally my name is 264, but on this trip, I'm 111 for her and everyone else - there's a sign on my luggage rack that corresponds to her cabin number.
She's happy with me. Today she's going to get her first information about us, the trip, and all the organizational matters. My driver has arrived alone. She doesn't know anyone here, but that doesn't matter - I know that people will quickly find each other here who want to cycle together.

She is also here for the first time. She has been planning a tour like this for a long time.

She soon realizes that the route is varied and well developed. Yes, it was a good decision to opt for this trip! After a while, our ship passes us. It makes itself heard loudly. Yes, that was almost a melody!

The MS Normandie is waiting for us in Untermühl. I am parked on deck again with the best view. Now I'm off work and my driver will see Linz later. While the ship glides there, she will have time to relax, take a shower and enjoy coffee and cake in the best weather.

It must be around 8.30 p.m. now - it's getting dark. Behind me, guests are sitting in deckchairs and reflecting on the day. The first tour, the beautiful landscape, the perfect cycling weather... The air is balmy. Soon all I can hear is the gentle whirring from inside the boat, the chirping of the grasshoppers from the shore behind me.

Day 3: Mauthausen - Grein

The morning dew is on me. The ship hums a shade louder. It's 4.00 a.m. and we're casting off from Linz. Otherwise, it's still quiet around us. The sky gets brighter in front of our front wheels. Hills, forests, the embankment - everything is still dark green and looks as if it has been cast in one piece. From there, we hear the first birds defending their territories. To the east, right in front of my handlebars, the sky soon turns mango yellow. An airplane high above already reflects the expected sunshine - I like this idyll.

Today, even my driver joins me. Wrapped in a cabin blanket, she snuggles up in one of the deckchairs. She couldn't sleep any more. So we wait together for the sunrise.
The smell of bread rolls wafts across the deck from below, awakening our anticipation of breakfast. From what I keep hearing from the guests, it is said to be very plentiful. There is something for every taste. I can also get a glimpse of what's on offer when my luggage bag is emptied for the picnic during the cruise: rolls, different types of bread, eggs, cold cuts, fruit. Even bacon, sausages, scrambled eggs and baked beans have been conjured up from my luggage bag.

Not by my driver, but I have experienced this with other guests! The MS Normandie's buffet is then spread out and enjoyed in various places along the banks of the Danube.

Now the sun has already reached the height of my handlebars. Until then, it had only sent bright flashes of light through the dense groups of trees. It has risen modestly, but with all its intensity. Now it tries to make its way under and between the curtains into the cabins to wake up the guests in its own way.
Very nice: a member of staff has provided coffee for my driver and other early risers.

We have now arrived in Mauthausen and are being moored.
Lots of hard-working hands who make sure everything runs smoothly - always friendly and committed. Later, some of them will push me and almost 90 of my colleagues off the boat - and later back on again! And they do this every day!

My driver sees this and is grateful for these people who help to ensure that she has a wonderful, relaxed vacation. She appreciates that, even though "it's their work", but you can work either way.

My driver decided to take a tour today that takes her a little away from the Danube. That's also possible: there are always alternative routes. And so we took another well-signposted cycle path that led us through sections of forest, past fields of corn, wheat and beet, through small villages and over streams. This route is varied and occasionally hilly. After a while, I couldn't manage it anymore and my driver pushed me up. Nice.

Day 4: Grein - Melk

I have new strength, my driver just needs to mount up today, and off we go!
According to the plan, we have around 50 km ahead of us today. No problem at all! As she and I are in great shape, we take the 2 km back to cross the Danube over a bridge instead of taking the ferry. As I'm supposed to take it easy and manage my strength well, as I will for the rest of the tour, my rider decides very early on to push me up the steep paths. She said that this would protect my profile. She had plenty of good reasons to push me uphill!

They have chosen a nice spot again. They always find one where we bikes can see a lot - very thoughtful! Many of my colleagues cycle past us and we meet them again when they stop for a rest. Today we also cycle briefly along a railroad line and a main road. Had civilization with its noise and dust caught up with us again? No, because after a few hundred meters we turn left, straight back into the countryside.

Now I take a rest. My driver goes for a stroll in Melk. Of course, she still has the energy. She could sit on me the whole time! Me on the other hand...
Melk is well worth a visit: The abbey is pretty and imposing. There was better cake and ice cream elsewhere...

Later on, we stand or sit together on deck and sail through the Wachau. Small villages, castles and ruins pass us by. Today we are still going to Tulln.

At one point I saw people without shells! If I wasn't already red, I would have been now... You could bathe here. I don't go swimming, it's not so good for my joints. But I could see from the two drivers that it was fun - and makes hungry.

You don't suddenly drive into Vienna. You can see the silhouette from afar and the sounds of the city are slow to come. But once you're there, you have to pay close attention! There's a lot going on here - there are colleagues here who have a license to drive on the left, slalom and across footpaths!

This is confusing and it wasn't always clear to me what I was allowed to do here and what not. At the same time, our riders had a big plan in their heads of what they wanted to see today, but fortunately, it was only implemented in small steps: Meter by meter, from intersection to intersection. Precisely because of this traffic overload on my or their part.

So today we were pushed across the Prater, we saw Ferris wheels, THE Ferris wheel, roller coasters and other terrible machines that whirled people through the air. They screamed - but nobody helped them! Who really understands people like that?

Then the Hundertwasser-style power station was supposed to be the destination. After a few wrong turns, we drove our two wives to the Hundertwasser Kunst Haus by mistake. We made a slight mistake, but they were delighted. The style was just right.

We found a shady parking space there and the two women were treated to Almdudler and beer. It was good that we took this "break": It meant we could plan the direct route to the power station again. Who visits something like that? But it is worth seeing. Friedrich Stowasser, who was born in Vienna in 1928, really let off steam on this building. We were only slowly pushed around this work of art. Lots of pictures were taken!

We were close to where our boat was docked. Back there, I already suspected that the day wasn't going to be over for me. I was parked on the jetty in the direction of travel. That always means: I'm still needed.

Freshly fortified from dinner, my driver gave me another surprise. She drove me a good five minutes from the ship towards an uphill road. From there, I was pushed. My driver was sweating and panting. As this was signposted as a "mountain bike route", I was probably not allowed to ride myself. But she probably really wanted me to join her. A mountain bike was carried up by a man who was pedaling wildly in first gear and wasn't much faster than me. Halfway up, it was allowed to be pushed as well.

To the right and left, we saw vineyards - Riesling. I got heavier and heavier the higher we got. Funny, I had the urge to ride backwards, but my pusher didn't. So we went higher and higher. Once we reached the top, I couldn't stand on my own. Something was pulling me backwards, but I couldn't see what it was... I enjoyed the view, my pusher caught her breath and wiped off her sweat.

"I drove back there today, that's where I was today. That's where the Ferris wheel is!" More and more colorful lights were turned on and my driver always parked me where I could get a different view.

The way back had us almost rolling into the Danube onto the MS Normandie, so to speak. Back there, I was parked and locked up. When my tail light goes out, my driver's eyes will probably close too. It was such a beautiful day...

We reached the city center without any further incidents. Always drive defensively, not offensively! You learn that in driving school, my driver said.

We were proud: my driver and I were driving alone today. I wanted to show her everything she wanted, what she had planned and much more. I managed the latter particularly well, as she was always amazed at the places, buildings and other sights we came to stand in front of that she hadn't had on her agenda. Then we took a short break so that she could get her bearings of where we were.

We found the Viennese to be very helpful and so my driver was able to switch off her navigation device quite quickly. It was really overwhelmed by the conditions and kept babbling on about how we should turn, then turn again, then turn again... Maybe it was the heat?

We soon understood the pie principle according to which Vienna is divided. If you drive too far to the edge of the pie, i.e. a district, it can be really far to the next piece of pie. Even if you look for the next district diagonally towards the edge... I let my driver experience this too... This way, we looked for the edge of district 4 to get to cake slice 5.

The path to the Naschmarkt and the houses with Art Nouveau façades were not far from there either.

Later, I took a break in front of, and my driver in, Café Prückel (Stubenring 24). A café over 100 years old with a traditional atmosphere. Better known among the Viennese than among tourists. They served delicious raspberry and poppy seed cake!

There aren't many bike stands in Vienna. But there is one here in front of the café and I was able to lock up safely. To be on the safe side, my driver took a lock with her on the trip. I am equipped with a spoke lock, but that might not be enough in such a big city. Especially when my driver wanted to go to the seventh floor of the Steibl department store... It was almost clear to me that she didn't want to buy anything there. Despite the "50% discount on lots of items", she didn't want to strike a bargain with shoes for a mere €350 (per pair!), watches for €4,500 (one!) and bags (one!) for €980.

She was only interested in the view from up there, but it wasn't worth anything "for free" either.

But now time was pressing and my driver told me to make it from the city center to the landing stage in Nußbaum in half an hour - that's about 10 km. I stepped on the gas and made it clear to her that I wasn't going to stop for a photo now!

The route must have been extended since this morning... I was already snorting quite a bit and was glad to roll safely over the jetty of the MS Normandie after three quarters of an hour.

We both spend the evening on deck. The last rays of sunshine are reflected in the glass facades of the International Center, the Danube Tower and, on the other side, the Exhibition & Congress Centrum.

It becomes quiet around us. The occasional sound of cars and trains, crickets begin to chirp, guests toast to wonderful experiences, people laugh. The air is balmy, it's getting dark and the bright red of our frames is fading into gray.

Good night, Vienna! It was nice here. My driver will definitely come here again. At least once.

At 11 p.m. we head back up the Danube. We want to be in Rossatz tomorrow morning.

At times, apricots covered our path - they had rolled down the embankment and I didn't want them to be run over by me or others. Both riders - there were four of us again - enriched their snack with these sugar-sweet fruits that had become soft from the fall.

However, this only took place after a shower, which was very clear and soaked both women to the skin and gave us bikes a pre-wash.

But the shower was hot on our heels and came down on us with a sneer. This was downpour number two, the main wash of us all. The drops stung our faces, our arms and blasted the dirt from our frames. A headwind and an amazing pace came together here! The water running off my rider was mixed with LF50 suntan lotion - she must have been expecting something else today. This gave me an extra portion of grease, which also coated my paintwork with a water-repellent layer.
Hmm, how I smell now!

We had already cycled the route on the right-hand side from Melk on the outward journey. So we crossed the Danube over a bridge here. My driver pushed me up. She probably did this because she didn't want me to give up in these weather conditions 10 km before the finish. That's just the way she is!

Without grumbling, we cranked our pedals, braved the wind and ignored the wet. It really wasn't far now. Soaking wet but clean, we arrived in Pöchlarn together with the MS Normandie. The clouds poured their last drops on us, and then released the sun for the rest of the day.

My work, a beautiful job, is now done. I'm now bike number 264 again and I smell of LF50 suntan lotion!

And what happens next?

We are now going to Passau together, where she wants to spend another day - on foot. Let's see where I end up next.

What will I be scheduled for? And with whom? With you perhaps?

But for now, I'm going to lie down!