What an amazing day. We decided we would visit the Abbey in Melk this morning and have another shorter cycling day. The weather was absolutely perfect, and after a great breakfast we walked up to the massive Abbey. It really was beautiful.
Keith was intrigued with this bicycle on our way up to the Abbey. Kiersten, here is a little project for you when your exam is over!
It is unbelievable how many pictures we have, just from the Abbey. Unfortunately, the Internet is slow, and I am sleepy (all that wine). So I have made an executive decision to write the journal, and load the pictures tomorrow when hopefully things will be a little faster.
After our visit we picked up panniers and bicycles. Remember that soft front tire in Linz? Well, the inevitable had happened. It was soft again. There was no point in continuing to fool ourselves, and it was as comfortable a spot as one could be to change a tire, so Keith got to work while I inquired about a service station and bakery. By the time all these things were done, and another crack at the Austrian air pump, we didn't leave Melk until 1 PM. Good thing we had a planned a short day!
It became even more important that we had a short day planned, because almost from the moment we left Melk, we couldn't go a kilometre without stopping to look at something. It was such a spectacular ride, in so many ways. We met wonderful people along the way, walked up to visit a fertility goddess, had lunch beside the Donau, admired the villages and the vineyards. It was perfect.
We thought Krems was a good place to shoot for, but when we got there it was bigger than we had been anticipating, and we decided to keep going a little further to a spot called Angern. We are staying at a wine estate, and it is great. The only other guests are Pierre and Louise, also on bikes, and from Montreal. We have had just a fabulous evening with them, and are looking forward to visiting again over breakfast.
I will add a few more photos, but it is going to be slumber time very soon. Blame that Austrian Reisling!
We are back in wine country and we love it. A roadside stand. We were travelling slowly today, because literally around every corner there was something to look at.
This is a statue modelled after a fertility figure found in 1908 while building the railway. The original dates from Paleolithic times and is only 11 cm.
