A day on the river  23/9/2009

The Gabarre.

Thursday started with a river cruise on a reconstruction of a Gabarre - a nineteenth century flat bottom sailing barge used for sending goods down river, especially oak barrels to Bordeaux. These boats were actally the ones used by Johnny Deep in Chocolat. After that we rented a canoe and paddled 15km from Vitrac Port to Beynac. On way we stopped off for lunch at La Roque-Gageac, a one street town stretching along the river and looking like it has been sculptured out of the rock cliff behind it.

La Roque-Gageac from the canoe.

Beynac reflecting onto the Dordogne.

The trip was very peaceful especially because for a lot of the time we were the only people on the river. As we paddled into Beynac late afternoon the river was very still and the reflections were amazing.


That evening we went back to Sarlat for dinner in the main square. It was so beautiful, as the whole town is lit with gas light and there was also entertainment - a singer with a barrel organ, a fire dancer and a guitarist. The perfect end to a perfect day.

Sarlat at night.

Sarlat  21/9/2009

The market place.

Sarlat and it’s market was our next destination. Sarlat is the prefect medieval town with everything built in a lovely glowing golden stone.  








With the market winding around the traffic free streets and alleyways, it felt just right.  Note the golden ducks in the foreground in the courtyard photo.  This is an important area for producers of geese and ducks in the region, who make foie gras and other products like confits, pate, etc.

View across the Dordogne River from Castelnaud to Beynac.

In the afternoon we visited Domme, a little fortified 13 century town with stunning views high above the Dordogne River. Then it was on to Castelnaud and a tour of the Chateau which is also an armament museum. It was occupied by the British during the 100 years war and faces across the river to the castle at Beynac, which was occupied by the French. Once again, stunning views.

Another view over the Dordogne.

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Beynac on the Dordogne River, France        20/9/2009

View of Beynac from the river.

Early morning view from our windows.

On the terrace, overlooking the Dordogne River.

Beynac is a picture postcard medieval village that is built up a very steep hill, rising from the Dordogne River. It has an imposing castle up the top. One of the streets was used in the film Chocolat. Our little house for a week is about halfway up and is absolutely perfect. It is so peaceful and we have beautiful views of the Dordogne from the lounge, bedroom and terrace. We are looking forward to doing some of our own cooking and taking advantage of the fresh vegetables and fruit and lovely cheeses.


Sunday was a lazy day - we just pottered around, bought groceries, caught up on the washing etc. By Monday we were roaring and ready to go. We headed off through many picture perfect villages, stopping at Montignac for lunch and on to the fascinating caves Lauscaux 11. There are many limestone caves in the area with paintings and other evidence of pre-historic times. The Lauscaux 1 cave contains the worlds most famous cave paintings. It was accidentally discovered in1940 by some boys when their dog fell down a hole. Unfortunately, after 15 years of visitors, the real cave deteriorated so much that they have recreated a fake cave using the same materials and techniques as the original and that’s the one you visit today. Unfortunately you are not able to take photos in the caves.

Les Eyzies.

Next day, after visiting the markets at Le Bugue and picnicking in the forest, we went to see the real thing at Grotte de Rouffignac. Fantastic drawings of mammoths, horses, deer, bison etc. You go down the caves in an electric train. On the way home we stopped at a pretty village called Les Eyzies. It has caves with evidence of prehistoric activities above it.


That evening we had a wonderful meal at a restaurant in Beynac, sampling the local specialities, confit du canard, foie de gras and other duck specialities.

Travelling to the Dordogne, France         19/9/2009


We were glad when we finally arrived in France from Vienna.   As we feared, our airline went completely broke a week before and stopped flying altogether, so we booked a considerably more expensive set of flights via Dusseldorf with Berlin Air. When we arrived in Dusseldorf we found there would be a long delay and our flight wouldn’t be leaving until 7.30, so we took the opportunity to go into Dusseldorf. It is a work-a-day sort of town but it is on the Rhine and there is a small historic centre. The place is wall to wall bars and cafes and whole city seemed to be out having a long boozy Friday afternoon. There was also some sort of military display, a student demo, musical entertainment and even people making a movie on the rivers edge. All in all, it was moderately entertaining, but we wouldn’t add to your places to visit list.


We finally made it to Paris close to 10pm and picked up our hire car to head south.   We had a GPS so didn’t have much trouble getting out of Paris (taking the slow route), but let’s just say that we now know a lot more about how to use a GPS.  We finally stopped at a hotel about 11.30.


The next day we continued our drive south to Beynac, in the Dordogne, stopping off at Oradour-sur-Glane, or ‘Village des Martyrs'. This village has been left as is as a memorial, after the Nazis killed all the villagers (642) and destroyed the whole village during WW2, probably to revenge the death of one SS officer. It is a very moving sight.

    Vienna             18/9/2009

Thursday was our last cycling day. Fortunately is was only a short 2 hour ride to Krems to get the train into Vienna as it was raining quite heavily and we were all dripping by the time we got there. We were grateful that this was the only day the weather was against us.
By the time we reached our station in Vienna, the weather was clear and we were able to enjoy our final triumphant 4km ride along the Danube to our hotel. 

Statue of Mozart, who settled in Vienna in1781.

The photo is our last meal together before heading our separate ways the next day - Alexander to Paris, Debbie to the USA and us to Dordogne in France. 
It was sad to leave behind our bikes and each other but we were all heading off on new adventures. We all agreed that the 12 day ride was a terrific experience - how could it not be with all that freedom, fresh air, getting fit and great company. We are already thinking about our next cycle tour.

Spitz  16/9/2009

View of Spitz from the hill.

The town is surrounded by grape vines, as well as all sorts of  fruit trees.

At Spitz the next day we split up to do various hikes. Alexander did an enormous hike through the steep hills. Debbie did quite long hike as well. We visited the church which was for once Gothic and much more understated than the churches we had seen previously. We loved this row of sculptures of the saints. Then we went on a short hike up a hill to the top of the town and after lunch walked to a really good museum dealing with the history of shipping on the Danube.














It was a lovely day but we were all glad to be back together in the evening for our glass (or two) of sturm on the hotel terrace then inside for dinner.

Melk and Spitz      15/9/2009

The library of Melk Monastery.

Alexander outside the monastery library.

Tuesday we headed off in sunshine to Spitz where we were to spend two nights. On the way we did a tour of the Baroque Monastery at Melk - probably the most beautiful in Austria and we were lucky to be able to attend midday singing and prayers. It also has a beautiful library.


After that, a lot of the cycling was inland through fruit growing areas and vineyards - very beautiful and peaceful scenery. This is the Wachau Valley, the famous wine growing region.


We stopped along the way to visit the site of the discovery of the Wilhousen Venus - a prehistoric stone figure unearthed when the railway was being built. We also stopped occasionally to help ourselves to apples, pears, grapes, plums and walnuts, all along the side of the path.

























Finally we arrived at our accommodation at Spitz, and like most of our hotels, it was along the banks of the Danube.

Our Days


16/9/2009














We have fallen into a regular pattern of riding/sightseeing for a couple of hours before morning coffee then riding off again, usually having a lateish picnic lunch by the river before arriving at our hotel around 4. We average around 45 km per day and we cope well with that. We use ferries and bridges to swap from bank to bank a fair bit, in search of sights or our hotel or because one side of the river is more scenic or has a better bike path. 
The maps and instructions we were provided with are excellent and the ride is well signposted anyway.


The scenery has been very varied from forests, meadows, farmland, etc and the sights have been too. Even the churches vary a bit - from baroque to even more baroque to totally over the top theatrical rococo, as in the Cistercian Monastery at Wilhering in the photo. The houses look like they are straight from a book of fairytales. 


 There is a nice camaraderie between cyclists too, most of whom are from Germany or Austria and mostly grey nomad types at this time of the year. It’s embarrassing if you get passed by a group of octogenarians as we did earlier on. Debbie lived and studied in Vienna when she was young so her German is very helpful and she’s improving every day as it comes back to her.



The food doesn’t vary much - potatoes, knodel, wiener schnitzel, pork dishes and very ordinary salads. We crave for more vegies. We are enjoying the sturm (the still fermenting wine available at this time of the year) the beer and the local wine, Gruner Vetltlinger. The coffee has been declared terrible.

Riding on 12/9/2009
The next 3 days were sometimes overcast and sometimes sunny, with occasional showers, but not enough to dampen our spirits.


From Linz, we rode along the Danube for a while then detoured into the inland to visit a beautiful Augustinain Abbey called St Florian - a revered Austrian saint, originally a roman soldier who turned to Christianity and was thrown into the river with a millstone around his neck for his efforts. He is also the patron saint of fire fighters so is depicted with a mill stone putting out a fire with water in many Austrian churches.   Aton Bruckner, the famous Austrian composer, often played the organ at St Florians and is buried under the cathederal. It was very beautiful in the over- the-top baroque Austrain style and just as we walked in someone started singing Ave Maria. We were stunned!   After that we visited Enns - Austria’s oldest town and then on to our accommodation at Malthausen, right on the river bank.

It was a sober start for the next day as we rode (and pushed) our bikes up a very steep hill to view the most notorious Nazis concentration camp in Austria just above Maulthausen. Here the prisoners were forced into slave labour at a granite quarry. 100,000 died or were executed. It was very moving and we rode away feeling stunned and shocked that so many people could be complicit in such atrocities.

That night we stayed in Grien where we toured the oldest rococo city theatre in Austria and were treated to a impromptu “concert” by two gorgeous Danish tourists.






The next overnight stop was at Marbach. Here we walked up the steep hill behind the town to visit the small village of Maria Taferl with it’s spectacular views and it’s church.

Linz         11/9/2009

Thursday morning we left the beautiful Danube Bend and rode along a heavily forested valley for quite a while until the land flattened out and we rode through meadows. We eventually reached Linz - the third biggest city in Austria - where we spent two nights so we could explore the city. Our hotel was a large glass box right in the middle of the city, so quite a contrast to the resort type hotel on the bend and the quiet, very typical Austrian places we have stayed in so far. The first night we ate in an Austrian beer garden and sampled our first sturm. Sturm is very young wine - just slightly fermented grape juice with the live yeast still in it.     It is only available for a short period after the grape harvest.

Our day in Linz was a lot of fun and although we were doing well with the cycling, our backsides appreciated the day off.   Linz was abuzz as it is the Euro Cultural Capital for 2009.  While we were there they were having a regional food and wine festival with lots music and stalls up and down the streets.    Included in our tour was a little yellow train tour around the city. After that we went to a amazing high tech futurist museum called Arts Electronica where Joy and Debbie had a long conversation with a very life like robot.

Down the Danube   9/9/2009

Tuesday was the first day of our real ride along the Danube. We rode back to Passau where we joined the Danube Path, passing along a river valley with steep forested sides and visiting an interesting a Pottery Museum along the way. 

Collection of Dutch Ovens, used for heating, at the Pottery Museum. 

Finally we crossed the river by a cute little ferry to Engelhartszen, Here we visited a beautiful baroque monastery church and bought some delicious liquors produced the trappist monks. The church was complete with skeletons in glass sided coffins.


From here we were picked up in a van and were taken up a very steep hill to the sweet village of St Aegidi where we stayed overnight. Our hotel room overlooked the church with a beautifully tended graveyard full of flowers in each grave and at night many candles sparkled amongst the graves too.
The next morning dawned bright and sunny again and we negotiated the steep and exhilarating 5k downhill ride back to the Danube, crossing once again by ferry to the northern bank to continue our ride to our destination, Schologen, situated on a hairpin bend in the river and requiring another ferry ride to the southern bank. Here we were delighted to meet up with Alexander who cycled two days in one to catch up with us. Before dinner we walked up a very steep hill to get panoramic views of the Danube almost doubling back on itself.

Debbie, Joy. Bill and Alexander.

Scharding, Austria       7/9/2009
  

Scharding

On Sunday we took the train to the lovely Austrian town of Scharding where we were very happy to met Debbie for the start of our bicycle tour along the Danube River. We have good quality bikes that are easy ride. After we picked them up we wandered around looking at the beautiful coloured houses and enjoyed a meal in the town square. We stayed in a very sweet traditional Austrian hotel run by a very bad tempered Frau.

Along the cycle path at Passau.


Monday was a practice day as we road along the side of the Inn River to Passau in Germany, on the confluence of the Danube, Inn and Ilz Rivers. Here we took the 3 rivers cruise. The sun was shining, the town was fantastic and the 35k round trip was a great success. The perfect day for Joy’s birthday.

The Inn River at Passau