Fred Elder: The Danube River by Bike – 1997

 

 

The Danube is the second longest river in Europe, originating in Germany and emptying into the Black Sea.  It is well known for the picturesque bike trail running alongside it between Vienna, Austria (‘Wien’ on the map above) and Passau, Germany.  Ardith Meier and I have ridden the Danube bike trail three different times.  In 1997 we rode from Krems to Passau.  In 2012 we rode from Passau to Tulln.  And in 2015, we rode from Regensburg, Germany, to Passau (this part is not shown on the map and is less scenic.)  Although this is a very popular bike path in Europe, June offers a relatively quiet time, especially during weekdays.  (Summer holidays in much of Europe begin July 1.)

One of the joys of a bike trail along a river is that it remains mostly level.  The Danube (‘Donau’ in German) has significant river traffic, including cruise boats.  On more than one occasion, we found ourselves travelling ‘side by side’ for an entire day with such a boat, passengers on deck waving greetings.

Another major advantage of biking in Austria and Germany is the ready availability of overnight accommodations at a reasonable cost.  In 1997, one only needed to be on the look-out for a sign announcing “Zimmer Frei” (‘Room Available’) and stop to learn the price.  Whether an extra upstairs bedroom or an ensuite room, one could always count on cleanliness, hospitality and a sumptuous breakfast included in the cost of the room.  Evening meals were enjoyed in a local “Gasthaus” (an inn with a restaurant; not fancy) that provided excellent fare.

Our bike trips were always excursions from our base in Vienna, Austria, where we were visiting for a longer time.  This also made it easier to pack only the bare minimum in bike bags carried on the back of our bikes — added weight was not desirable!

Danube Trip June 27-29, 1997:  Krems to Passau, 255 miles
Here are a few highlights of our 1997 trip. We pedaled up-river from Vienna, albeit doing the “leaving Vienna” part by train in order to avoid the nondescript and sometimes congested part of the bike path in and near Vienna.

Our 1997 trip began by borrowing bikes from Vienna friends on Friday, June 27.  After walking our bikes to a nearby subway station, we traveled underground to the train station.  Bikes are commonly allowed on the subway during non-rush hour times. After an hour on the train, we disembarked with our bikes at Krems, where we checked them in at the train station to be picked up later in the day after a detour to visit an old friend of Ardith’s in a small village in the Kamp Valley.  The detour involved riding a small train to Hadersdorf, where we transferred to an even smaller train with wooden seats, consisting of one car with the diesel drive mechanism as part of the car (which Fred dubbed a “jitney”).  It was reminiscent of something from the 1950’s. (Note – virtually all European trains are electric powered via overhead lines.  The diesel drive was quite unique.)  Mid-afternoon, we bid Ardith’s friend adieu and returned to Krems (retracing our earlier trip), retrieved our bikes at the Krems train station, changed into biking gear, found the bike path, and began our ride, passing through the Wachau valley, one of the more scenic parts of the Danube Bike Trail.  The Wachau is a region famous for its vineyards (producing the traditional Austrian Weltliner wine) and for its apricot orchards.  After three hours, it was time to stop for the day; we found a room in the village of Weitenegg, ate our evening meal at a local inn, and walked along the Danube as the sun went down.

The next day, after a typical breakfast of fresh rolls, cold cuts, cheese, sausage and a soft-boiled egg, we stuck our heads out the door and were greeted with a seeming apparition of the Benedictine Monastery above the town of Melk on the other side of the river, enshrouded in dense mist (more info about the monastery in our 2012 ride).  It was sunny as we mounted our bikes and set off on what turned out to be a 70-mile ride.  We passed through Ybbs, Wallsee (where we lunched in the trees near the river), Mauthausen (where Fred was elated to find ice cubes at a McDonald’s — ice cubes were not normally found in drinks in the 90’s in Austria), Linz with its surprising display of elephants, tigers and camels traveling with a circus, and we finally arrived in the charming town of Ottensheim, where we were more than happy to separate our backsides from our bike seats.  We had dinner outside in the garden of an inn called “Zum Post,” enjoying semolina dumpling soup (‘Griesnockerlsuppe’), baked dumplings with bacon, and a salad plate. Being thus restored, we walked through the town and were somewhat taken by surprise to espy (through an open window) neatly stacked human bones in a church basement.  We meandered on, contemplating different burial customs.  We finished off our post-prandial walk with ice cream (‘Eis’) first and then cake (‘Kuchen’).  Seventy miles on the bike clearly produced a healthy appetite!

The next and last day of becoming one with our bicycle seats was a beautiful Sunday. We were bound for our end goal of Passau, which began with an 8:30 a.m. trip across the Danube on a ferry.  We then followed a ship, Anton Brückner, most of the day. Or, it followed us.  Lunch found us snacking along the river bank at Innzell.  Later, at the border between Austria and Germany, we schlepped our bikes up some steps, and walked across a dam to enter Germany.  Remember – no EU at this time; we had to show our passports.  We then rode into the center of Passau, which lies at the confluence of three rivers, the Danube, Inn, and Ilz. Passau is thus known as “Three Rivers City.”

After depositing our bikes at the train station, we wandered the town, including the narrow, cobblestone lanes of the old city, which transported us back to medieval times as we meandered down to the Danube. Looking up, a 13^th-century fortress could be seen guarding the town. We also visited the impressive baroque cathedral of St. Stephan’s, boasting the largest church organ outside the U.S with its 17,774 pipes and 233 registers.  We concluded our wandering about Passau with the purchase of a roast chicken, a couple of salads, and egg rolls, which we devoured on the platform at the train station as we awaited our train to return to Vienna. Once our train arrived and we loaded our bikes into the rail car devoted to bikes, we settled in for a comfortable 3-hour ride back to Vienna, a bit easier way to cover the 175-mile distance. We arrived at the Westbahnhof, West Train Station, in Vienna about 10 p.m. and picked up our bikes. Due to the late hour, we checked them in at the train station and returned via public transportation to our apartment.  Quite an interesting first European bike adventure for a Kansas boy!

Some have asked about language issues for such an adventure.  There are really two answers.  Many Austrians know English, but even more importantly, Ardith is a fluent German speaker, having lived in Vienna for more than fourteen years.  Fred’s high school German was not quite adequate – apologies to Herr Wallace.