Monday, June 16, 2014

Day 38: to Zwentendorf (80; 2468)

Today was a day of two halves, as they say. I slept beautifully alone in my wooden palace, but despite this, felt totally exhausted all morning. The ride was through the Wacau, a wine and fruit-growing area that has UNESCO world heritage status for its 'medieval cultural landscape' (says a tourist info board). It's certainly attractive countryside and the lovely old villages are geared to tourists, cyclo- and regular. As such it did at times feel like a Disney version of Europe. And that on a sleepy Monday morning. Glad I did not pass through yesterday afternoon.

Lunch in a supermarket carpark at Krems seemed strangely reviving however, and I then really enjoyed the afternoon's ride, which was a total contrast. 

Immediately after leaving town via a huge Danube bridge the bike path started travelling through a remote jungley area right next to the river. Apart from the 'radler stations' (info and refreshment stops for cyclists, a v useful Austrian speciality) there was basically no civilisation all afternoon. 

Zwentendorf is a fairly one-horse town but has a small and quiet municipal campsite. Timewise and legwise I could have gone 15k more to the next place, but that is a big commercial affair and right now Zwentendorf feels more my style. 

Tomorrow: Vienna!

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