Travel report: Cycling tour on the Danube
From our guests Bernhard and Beate
Review
A cycle tour along the Danube with luggage transport was something we, as passionate flatland cyclists (Lower Rhine), had wanted to do for some time. While researching on the Internet, we found Radweg-Reisen.com, whose offer immediately appealed to us. We chose the individual journey by train to Passau, and for the accommodation category B, the "overnight stay in family-run inns and hotels at national 2*/3* level, all rooms with shower/bath and WC" - which provided some surprising moments... see text below.
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Day 1: Arrival in Passau
From Düsseldorf, we travel directly to Passau by ICE train and reach our hotel "Spitzberg" on foot in 10 minutes; it is located near the train station, just outside the city center. We receive a very friendly welcome: "Welcome, we have an upgrade for you!" The room is clean and nicely furnished, but very small and overlooks the parking lot! (aha, the normal category is then how?) The sumptuous and regional breakfast buffet and the friendliness of the staff make up for it, however, and we are happy to stay 2 nights, because on...
Day 2: Stay in Passau
... we visit Passau. University, renovated old town, art galleries, three rivers, Veste Oberhaus, Italian ambiance and food, we are completely thrilled. The only downpour of the trip catches us on the way back to the hotel, which we reach soaked to the socks. However, the weather app promises a cloudless week ahead with temperatures above 30 degrees: the summer of 2018! (
In the evening, a friendly and competent student hands over the rental bikes at the hotel. Everything fits: The ordered sizes are there, Beate gets her desired 21-speed freewheel, I get my 7-speed with coaster brake. The bikes are stable and new. However, the front light on Beate's bike is defective. (Remedy: see day 3...)
Luggage transportation: always safe and reliable!
Jochenstein power plant
Day 3: Passau - Schlögen
We set off at around 10 a.m. in variable cloud cover. Shortly before 9 am, we leave our luggage at reception and go for breakfast. Will the transportation work? Yes, it will, and it is always punctual and reliable. We set off down the Danube with the carefully prepared cycle map on our handlebar bag and are the first to cross the Marienbrücke bridge in Passau, shortly after which we cross the border into Austria. A last little shower accompanies us for the first half hour, then we enjoy the fresh air and the cycle paths, which are always well signposted. Here, in the first (romantic) section of the tour, the mountains on the right and left are densely forested right up to the water, with only cycle paths and country roads sharing the narrow riverside paths, few cars, pure nature. Wonderful.
In Engelhartszell, we stop briefly at the office of "RadReiseFreunde" Austria, who kindly and immediately change the front light on Beate's bike. Super! Then a break with a visit to the Engelhartszell Trappist monastery, where we enjoy a snack (sausage with horseradish + elderflower spritzer) and get to know the relaxed and friendly nature of the Austrians. We then take the Danube ferry to the other bank - a beautiful little wooden boat (Zille) for bikes and pedestrians only and are delighted with the ticket we find in our travel documents.
By the way: we will often change from one bank to the other, the most beautiful routes are alternately on the south and north banks. You should follow the recommendations in the travel guide! We didn't - unfortunately, see day 5.
After about 40 km we reach Schlögen and cross the Danube again to the Hotel Donauschlinge. Good: the luggage is there, even better: we have a large, very modern room with a bathtub at the foot of the bed. The hotel highlight of the tour! Dinner on the large terrace with numerous other cyclists (whom we rarely saw on the way, there are no traffic jams, everything "gets lost")
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Schlögen
At Engelszell Abbey
Day 4: Schlögen - Linz
We drop off our luggage again shortly before 9 am, then head to the great breakfast buffet, get our bikes out of the bike cellar at around 1 0am and set off: 55 km to Linz today. It's hot and sunny, the riverside paths are gradually widening. Peace and quiet, nature. Impressive: the Ottersheim power station. The last 10 km to Linz we have to cycle along the now busier road, but then we find our hotel (Arcotel Nike Linz) straight away: it is beautifully situated directly on the banks of the Danube. We are a little disappointed with the room: small and soberly furnished (conference hotel), but we are quickly in the city center in the evening and treat ourselves to an ice cream and an art exhibition. The breakfast buffet was great again!
Show more Show lessDay 5: Linz - Grein, approx. 62 km (it will be 80!)
In the morning, we discuss the route and (unfortunately) choose the option via Enns (southern bank). We reach the historic town of Enns around midday, it's nice there, an ice cream parlor invites us to take a break. But then: at a sweltering 35 degrees (no shade anywhere) we get lost, can't find our way back to the route at first, then it's a few kilometers through an industrial area (it would have been helpful to mention the industrial area and the significantly higher km indication for the alternative route). At Wallsee, 20 km before the finish, a small outdoor pool saves us from heat death, and after 82 km we reach Grein around 7 pm, completely exhausted. We call the Hotel Aumühle for a transfer: 30 minutes later, we drive up the steep hill to the wellness hotel in a VW bus (including bikes) and pick up a few exhausted Dutch cyclists on the way who hadn't read the bus transport offer.
A very nice room, great food!
At the Wallsee outdoor pool
Day 6: Grein - Melk
The day's tour starts again with a VW bus transport (downhill). We avoid a cycle traffic jam in front of the ferry (9:45 am) by bypassing the Danube bridge for 2 km, then another (almost) car-free section close to the riverbank. Legs and bottom are pain-free, thank God. We cycle mostly at an average speed of 15 km/h, but don't stay anywhere longer, because we want to be in Melk before 5 p.m. to visit the monastery and gardens. We reach Melk at 15:30, find a nice room in the Hotel zur Post directly below the abbey, our luggage arrives at 16:30. Melk is rightly described as a sightseeing attraction, it is an impressive baroque complex with an enchanting garden, but fortunately not yet overcrowded. Will the increasing number of river cruise ships soon change that?
Melk Abbey above the Hotel Stadt Melk
Day 7: Melk - Krems - Vienna, approx. 39 km
By now everything is routine, packing, dropping off luggage, breakfast, off we go. The weather is sunny, the bikes are in tip-top condition. Today is our last day, which takes us through the beautiful Wachau region, past the site where the world-famous Venus of Willendorf was found and on to the student town of Krems, where we see two interesting art exhibitions: A sound installation and modern art in the art church. Suddenly we are back in urban structures, then we continue by train to Vienna! What a contrast!
We find the train tickets in our travel documents, everything is perfect, including the last night at the Arcotel Kaiserwasser in Vienna. The 30-minute ride through Vienna city center to the hotel is of course loud and crowded, the idyll of the Danube cycle path is finally over. But now we're also looking forward to Klimt, Sachertorte and the Schrammel music at the Heurigen...
Danube cycle path, old town route
Break
Bernhard and Beate's conclusion:
The cycle tour on the Danube met, if not exceeded, all our expectations! The route was beautiful, the people everywhere were friendly, the food was delicious and the organization (luggage transport etc.) worked smoothly.
We love the active relaxation while cycling in combination with the direct and intensive contacts while being on the road. The next cycling trip is already being planned.
