To Krems
Trip Start
Jun 16, 2007
1
19
42
Trip End
Oct 10, 2007
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Krems,
Austria
Saturday, June 30, 2007
The rain started and stopped, and I decided that I'd get the best view by taking to the boat through the gorge. (The problem with gorges is that all the transport - motor, trains, cycles - get compressed when the valley narrows, and usually the cyclists' track loses out. PLUS with the sides so steep, it's impossible to see what's above you unless yoou're in the middle of the river
Beautiful courtyard of Gasthaus in Krems
. My two Dutch friends turned up in one of the respites from the rain, and debated whether to join me on the boat, but decided against it and cycled off. Ten minutes later it was pouring and I never saw them again! I wanted to go downstream to Ybbs, but had difficulty understanding the boat timetables, and had been told it went at noon, but there was no sign of other passengers as the town clock chimed twelve, and just then the boat rounded the bend in the river and steamed straight by! I was concerned until it executed a big U-turn and stopped at another landing stage 100 m downriver where all the waiting passengers were obscured by the building.It was an interesting journey down the river, past little villages and a few old castles, and before we docked at Ybbs, the boat had to go through a lock at Persenbeug where there was yet another hyro-electric dam.
I jumped back on my bike at Ybbs, and soon passed the massive Benedictine Abbey at Melk before crossing the river and coming into the Wachau wine-growing area of Austria. The cycle path led away from the river and meandered through the vineyards, which reminded me of riding up the Rhone Valley away from Lake Geneva. The area is very rich and the villages are very pretty. Durnstein, particularly, with its' hilltop castle ruins (where Richard the Lionheart was held captive returning from the Crusades in 1192.)
It wasn't Kilroy! I passed a cliff with the name of I. Kyselak, a student who for a bet went around putting his name everywhere in Austria. The Kaiser had him brought in and admonished Mr Kyselak. Later, the Kaiser discovered "IK" engraved on his desk...
Late in the evening, I arrived in Krems, a large but fairly uninspiring town, and spent ages riding around trying to find somewhere to stay. Eventually, I found a wonderful Gasthaus with a beautiful inner-courtyard/dining area.
