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YOU’VE GOT US HOOKED!
Bill Hamilton and friends experience the
joys of the Danube ride
For years now it has become something of a ritual – a group of Hertfordshire neighbours, three already in the throes of retirement, deserting our wives for a week-long affair with the other love in our lives – a sturdy touring cycle.
Sponsorship of a recent ride round the shores of Loch Ness raised sufficient money to buy a herd of cows for leprosy sufferers and their destitute families in an Indian village. This time, it was purely self indulgence as we signed up for Hooked on Cycling’s Blue Danube tour – the virtually traffic-free route from the German city of Passau all the way to the Austrian capital, Vienna.
If it’s the physically-demanding and stamina-draining thrill of mountain biking that arouses the passions within, then this ride is not for you. If, like us, you much prefer to take things at a leisurely pace, pedaling off with a minimum of fuss and leaving plenty of time to explore and to grasp the unexpected opportunities that invariably present themselves, then there can be few, if any, routes in Europe to beat this one.
With 7 days to cover the 210 miles, and your luggage transported from hotel to hotel each day, well this really is a holiday in every sense of the word.
There are various ways to reach the starting point Passau but none is easier or cheaper than flying to Munich by easyJet … in our case, from London Stansted. A regular bus service connects the airport with the railway at Freising just twenty minutes away.
From there, there’s a train every hour to Passau and if you travel by regional express there are huge reductions in the fare.
A seven-speed bike is more than adequate for this tour ( although 21 speed are available ) , all are well maintained. On arrival, you can examine a wide range of those available, making all the necessary saddle adjustments and picking up your twin pannier bags which are all included in the cost. If you’re dissatisfied with the bike’s performance anytime during the week, there are several cycle stations en route where you can exchange your bike for another without incurring any extra cost.
Our first overnight at Passau’s Holiday Inn was a real treat … time for a swim in the pool and a sauna before tucking into a buffet dinner of hot and cold meats and fish of every description. The £60 supplement for 7 days half board was already beginning to look like one of the bargains of all time!
The first stage of the tour from Passau to Kramesau, a few miles across the border into Austria, is extremely short which means you can spend the first morning exploring Passau itself which is situated at the junction of three rivers - the Danube, the Inn and the Ilz. Don’t miss the daily organ recital at 12 noon at St Stephen’s Cathedral which stands on the highest point of the old town. With 17,974 pipes, 233 stops and 4 carillons, the organ is the largest in the world … the acoustical sensation matched only by the Cathedral’s stunning architecture … a masterpiece of the Italian Baroque period.
For most of its distance, the Danube has cycle tracks on both sides of the river and Hooked on Cycling have planned their itinerary in a way that allows cyclists to enjoy the best of both. More importantly, the route follows the river downstream from west to east, which means you can take advantage of the prevailing winds and the river’s downward slope, however minimal that may be.
Signposting is excellent … rectangular green signs can be found at every junction and the route is clearly marked “Donauradweg”.
An excellent map, showing distances between villages in kilometres, and highlighting places of interest, is included in the holiday pack. I suggest purchasing a plastic, weatherproof map-holder from a cycle shop before you leave. It means you can pinpoint places of interest as you go along.
The first day’s route follows the left bank through deep gorges which have been cut out of the Bavarian woodland. Shortly after passing through the pretty village of Erlau, you reach Obernzell which boasts a 16th Century palace and a ceramics museum. At Jochenstein, there’s an information centre and water power and hydraulic engineering exhibition.
We experienced our only rainfall of the week when reaching the German-Austrian border at Dantlbach Creek. A German family out for an early evening stroll were only too willing to hold our selection of cameras as we posed in front of the border signs that looked as rusty and ancient as their grinning visitors sitting elegantly on the saddles!
Within a few miles, we reached the Gasthof Luger Pension. A hot shower and tasty meal was followed by an indoor game of table tennis and an outdoor one of trying to pick out through the darkness a clifftop castle whose owner, an elderly woman, had apparently run into hard times, being forced to live in one room and depending on no more than a flickering candle for her entire heat and light supply!
Fortified by a healthy breakfast of cereal, fresh fruit and ham and cheese, Day Two began with blue skies, warm sunshine and a tail wind, not to mention a scenic ride all the way to one of the major highlights of the route … the famous river bend at Schlogen where the Danube turns its course a full 180 degrees for several hundred yards, flowing back towards its source, before finding a different route towards the sea .
Ring the bell and the ferryman arrives to transport you – and at least another dozen riders – to the right hand bank and the tiny village of Schlogen. Determined to view the bend from on high, we abandoned our bikes and began a long, winding trek up the forested hillside. Fortunately, before exhaustion set in, the path eventually reached a clearing where a navigational camera and viewing platform had been constructed. Here, towering 800 feet above the river, the panoramic views of the Schlogen Loop were more than ample reward for all the energy expended.
We could have stayed there all day but there were still well over 30 miles to go to reach Linz and many riverside views to absorb as woods, meadows, farmlands and picturesque villages merge into one harmonious landscape after another.
Every few miles there’s the lure of an inexpensive inn in which to indulge in a succulent pastry or cake washed down by a glass of local beer or a cup of best Viennese coffee.
Linz, Austria’s third largest city, has much to explore. The best place to start is around the main square, Hauptplatz, in the Old Quarter. A stroll round the narrow streets is richly rewarding but if time is precious, I’d recommend a ride on the Linz “City Express”, a bright yellow mini-train, which turns every sightseeing tour into an adventure. During the 30-minute round trip, passengers can listen to a historical commentary and music from Bruckner to Mozart.
Two of our number paid a visit to the Ars Electronica Centre which is unique in Europe. This “museum of the future” encourages the personal initiative of its visitors by offering a trip into the world of virtual reality and a chance to experience the latest technology in a playful form that demands no prior expertise.
Another technical masterpiece from a bygone age offers an adventure you simply cannot afford to miss. Since 1898, the steepest adhesion railway in the world has operated up the Postlingberg which - at 537 metres - offers commanding views of the city. Over a distance of 2.9 km, it climbs a distance of 255m and the bonus – the railway even carries your bike – so you can have the thrill of a long steep descent to set you on the way for the next stage of the tour. First though, you may want to take a refreshment on the hilltop or join the dozens of children who make straight for the Grotto Railway installed in the tower of the once mighty defensive fortifications. The “Dragon Train” takes you through the magic world of dwarfs and fairy tales.
Linz is a cycle friendly city. There are dedicated cycle paths which make life so much easier particularly at the busiest times of the day. In fact, these continued right out to the southern suburbs and our overnight stop at the modern but extremely comfortable Novotel.
The next stage between Linz and Mauthausen brought an unexpected surprise … the wind had changed direction but such is the quality of the cycle path that we were still able to maintain a good pace for most of the journey. The recommended detour to the village of St Florian with its magnificent monastery proved well worthwhile. This famous Augustinian abbey is a splendid example of Baroque architecture. The original monastery was built over the grave of Saint Florian, an official in the Roman province of Noricum who converted to Christianity and was martyred by drowning in the River Enns. He is invoked all over Austria for protection against fire and flood.
In the crypt of the abbey stands the tomb of the famous composer Anton Bruckner. His body lies right underneath the organ which he played for many years.
Mauthausen is a pretty little town …. its main street right on the river front. The Ortner family made us very welcome at the Gasthof zur Traube … one of the bedrooms allocated could have accommodated a whole party of cyclists!
Sadly, the name Mauthausen is synonymous with mass murder. Negotiating a steep incline, three miles outside the town you reach the granite fortress prison which served as one of the Nazis’ most infamous concentration camps. The astonishingly beautiful and bucolic Austrian countryside belies the horrors that occurred here. Between August 8th, 1938 and May 5th, 1945, it’s estimated that 123,000 people died at the hands of their SS guards. Uncounted victims were tortured to death whilst working with the most primitive tools in the granite quarries below, shot whilst attempting to escape or died in the gas chambers. The prison itself was built with the blood, bodies, bare hands and backs of its inmates.
During an audio tour of the camp, you can listen to the stories of life here as recalled by those who survived its unimaginable brutality.
There is a tearoom on the site but somehow it seems disrespectful to seek sustenance in a place so long deprived of even the merest spark of human kindness or compassion. Better to spend a few minutes in quiet reflection and pray that such horror will never again be visited upon future generations.
Descending back to the Danube, we set off again in fine weather. The path clings tightly to the river until Hutting where it turns inland for several miles through Mitterkirchen, Baumgartenberg, Mettensdorf and Pitzing … a series of pretty villages offering some marvellous views of the countryside. At the next hamlet, Eizendorf, a group of locals – beer glasses in hand – were eagerly discussing the world’s problems and beckoned us to join them on the patio of a house that evidently had a second purpose. Inside, we discovered a fully stocked bar from where the innkeeper collected four ancient wooden chairs and hustled them outside so we could offer the others a few pearls of our collective wisdom.
Unfortunately, the minutes were ticking by and we still had a sizeable journey ahead and wanted to ensure we remained safely on the saddle … so reluctantly, we bid our farewells and headed back down towards the river , crossed to the quieter right bank and began to find an extra wind in our sails as we made for the river crossing at Persenbeug and then on to a welcome dinner and our overnight accommodation at the delightful river front Hotel Zur Schonen Wieneri in Marbach
Next day heralded a short cycle ride to Melk. Here the Benedictine Abbey marks the beginnings of the Wachau, one of the most picturesque and romantic wine-growing regions in Austria. Hooked on Cycling rightly decided we might want to take advantage of a short boat trip to Spitz. Then it was on to Durnstein passing some of the most breathtaking landscapes of the tour. The centuries old tradition of producing wines here has in the words of one excellently produced cycling guide “ turned the steep south-facing slopes into terraced stairs to the heavens”. In this case, seeing certainly is believing.
Durnstein is a delightful little town, rich in heritage and boasting just enough inns and cafes to cater for the thousands of tourists who crowd its narrow streets every year.
Feeling energetic again, despite the blazing sun, we locked our bikes and climbed the steep stone path that leads to the dramatic ruins of Durnstein Castle with its breathtaking views over the town and the river.
It was here that the English King Richard the Lionheart was held prisoner – for a king’s ransom - for two years in the latter part of the 12th century.
Grapes are not the only fruit you will see in abundance in the Wachau. The cycle lanes and country paths take you through apple and apricot orchards … our group willingly confess to having sampled the odd one … and jolly delicious they were too!
Our next overnight was at the newly refurbished Gasthof Klinglhuber in downtown Krems … a sizeable town on the left bank of the Danube. We were amazed to find a huge crowd gathering in the street right at the entrance to our hotel. Surely not, a welcoming party! No, they were all here to watch the Austria-England football international on a giant screen erected in the square. A 2-2 draw left everyone satisfied and ensured a good night’s sleep!
For fruit read vegetables on the final cycle hop from Krems to Tulln … again an easy ride past productive fields of potatoes and a whole variety of greens. Even at a gentle pace, you should reach Tulln by early afternoon, giving you time to hand your bike back at one of two designated hotels and then catch a train for the short journey to Vienna.
Ah, but here a warning! After all the fresh air, freedom and tranquillity of the Austrian countryside, you quickly have to readjust to city life as people jostle for every spare foot of space on the crowded underground. We had traveled a mere two stops when one of my companions found himself pushed out of the doors and on to the platform – such was the rush of bodies to exit the metro.
By the time he had managed to re-board the carriage, a glance down at his money belt confirmed the worst – his wallet had gone. Local police expressed sympathy but little surprise. In Vienna, the traveling gangs of thieves have become as adept at their loathsome pursuit as in most of the other major cities of Europe. Having booked one extra night in the Austrian capital, we were determined that this would not spoil our holiday. And to our surprise, our dinner vouchers (amazing value at just £60 for seven meals!) allowed us to eat on the revolving terrace of the 800 ft Donauturm communications tower restaurant with its stunning panoramic view of the city.
Vienna is a city to be enjoyed, whether it’s over a Viennese coffee and a Sachertorte, probably the best known of many tempting cakes and pastries, or by exploring its grandiose baroque masterpieces which reflect the might of the old Austro-Hungarian Empire. There’s only so much you can pack into a day. We opted for a guided tour of the magnificent Schonbrunn Palace, the summer residence of the Hapsburgs, a circular trip on the Giant Ferris Wheel which has become an unmistakable symbol of the city, a Mozart and Strauss concert and a shopping expedition in Karntnerstrasse, Graben and Kolhmarkt. Alas, neither the famous Vienna Boys’ Choir or the Lipizzaner horses at the Spanish Riding School were performing that day – well, you can’t have everything!
To round the holiday off, we indulged in one final luxury. By handing over your return railway ticket to Passau to the purser of the Kaiserin Elisabeth, you can sit back, relax and enjoy a two-day return by boat presenting an entirely different perspective on all the places you passed on the saddle as you cycled downriver almost the entire length of Austria. This time though there are a dozen locks to negotiate.
You can also sample the delights of the on-board restaurant and a programme of musical entertainment. As darkness descends, passengers disembark at Mathausen and board a waiting coach for transfer to a hotel in Linz and, after an early breakfast, are transported back to the ship again for the morning voyage to Passau arriving in time for lunch. The only extra charge incurred is for your overnight accommodation.
Yes, it’s all too easy to get hooked on this one … if only all cycling was so easy, pleasant and undemanding. Eminently suitable for children, this excursion introduces you to the stunning variety of Austrian splendour. With a warm and dry climate for most of the summer, rich in castles and abbeys, forests and verdant pastures, and with an abundance of good food, wine and bonhomie, the Blue Danube tour is one for all the family to enjoy. Equally, it can provide the perfect therapy for those who want to escape from the occasional strain of domestic life and pedal off with a minimum of fuss and effort.
To View the tour Schedule to this tour CLICK HERE
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