Are you the "rest and relaxation in the sun" type or are you the "adventurer" type?
I like to think of myself, as a moderate combination of both.
If... you love traveling, you enjoy bike-riding and seek new experiences... here's a "must try":
plan a bike-tour-week with your friends or family! Or, just let one of the many "bike-tours" agencies take care on the planning part for you.
This summer, we biked from Passau (Germany) to Vienna (Austria), about 300km in 6 full days.
And may I state: It was AWESOME!
We chose to let the agency take care on the planning... and on our luggage! :-)
Yes, the greatest benefit (besides getting the planned route, maps and hints) was that our luggage was moved from one location to the next by the agency staff, so this make our bike-journey easier, a lot more relaxed and pleasant.
So, it all began once we reached Passau, the evening prior to our Bike-tour. We met the other groups of bike-riders and our agency responsible (organizer). We got the bike route maps and relevant information.
The other groups seemed nice, a french mature couple, another family with adolescent kids, some group of friends. I was expecting to see much more of those people in the next days. Surprisingly, we did not meet them so often along the way so we did not get to interact much with the other groups. Same cycle path, different people, different tempo :-)
That evening, we were looking forward and pretty enthusiastic, at the 6 days of biking ahead of us. The route for each day was already planned and we received the "check-in" tickets for all over-night stops along the Danube river, until the final "check-point", Vienna.
Our "task" for Day 1 was to reach Donauschlinge, a resort located on the Danube (close to Schloegen), about 50km from Passau.
For all you "non-german-speakers" out there, Donauschlinge can be translated as "Danube's loop" .. and in the end of this part you will see exactly what I mean :-)
Time for "cycling-accommodation"! Since none of us girls was an experienced bike-rider ;;) , we needed some time for accommodation...:
"Oh, my but hurts! Let's mount the silicone bike seat cover!" ;
" ... should have bought those gel-padded bike shorts, that everybody's wearing!"
This "accommodation" took about 2 days!
Ok, let's get back to what's important here: the fresh air, the Danube breeze that I can smell, the wind in my hair, the scenery along the Danube river... relaxing, refreshing, delightful to a <<programmer's eye>>. 'cause yes, in our "not-so-free-time", we are mostly sitting in a crowded room, in front a PC.
We stopped for a "photo session" when we reached one of the great Danube Locks, Jochenstein. This also plays the role of "German-Austrian border".
Also, we waited for a Yacht to see it passing through the lock.. just to better understand the process :) So... here goes!
- on the low water level side of the lock, the ship approaches and enters the gate;
- then, the gate closes and water is released and in a few minutes the water level will increase to the level on the other side of the lock
- the ship must stay close to one edge of the lock, and avoid hitting it...
- once the needed water level is reached, the ship is 'released' to the other side of the lock
Or.. the other way around!
While continuing our journey, we had to follow the instructions very carefully, as there are not many bridges to cross the river and in some areas, traveling on one bank is better than the other.
We crossed the Danube at Jochenstein and found a small restaurant&garden where we had lunch.
The evening ended with some relax-time at the spa, plus a well-deserved dinner, again, on the Danube shore.
As I promised somewhere above... a beautiful scenery, the Danube's Loop...
