Ybbs to Krems

We woke up this morning to the sound of rain but luckily the clouds parted after breakfast and the sun come out again in time for us to get on our bikes and head to Melk. Melk was not originally on our itinerary but on the recommendation of Gillian's parents we decided to cross the river and visit the Abbey. We had originally aimed to be at Melk Stift in time for the 10.55 am tour in English but didn't count on the VERY big hill up to the Abbey! After some logistical issues with stowing our bikes and panniers we made our way with the hundreds of other visitors into the museum, through the library and finally the church. We don't have any pictures of the inside of the buildings as this is strictly verboten. But needless to say they were spectacular.

After our tour we decided that we needed to eat before heading off again and we hit the restaurant at Melk Stift which was really very good. Clare, we have included some pictures of our lunch just for you. We couldn't decide if we were eating nouveau Austrian cuisine or old style Austrian cuisine, nonetheless it was delicious - red cabbage strudel with an elderberry sauce and salad with fried potato shavings (chips!). Gillian went to pay the bill with her credit card and was promptly instructed by our server to add a tip to the final amount. Not sure the 2 Euro tip was exactly what she was looking for!

Following lunch we set off on our final leg of the day and discovered that our very tired legs meant that we went very slowly. This didn't matter too much as the scenery along the rest of the route was just fantastic. We rode through a number of picturesque villages followed by wineries and more picturesque villages. In the end, though, we were all relieved to reach our final destination of Krems an der Donau. Our ride into town was rather bumpy, along narrow cobbled stone streets but the atmosphere of the town made the effort all worth it.

Our accommodation is lovely, full of character, and our host is very welcoming. There is a small courtyard, planted with fig trees, grapes and citrus trees, which we made use of this afternoon to relax before heading out in search of more food! We walked past a number of heurigers, serving young wine varietals, which were calling our names but we decided to err on the side of caution and resist the temptation as we have 82 kms to ride in order to reach Vienna tomorrow. We instead opted to eat at the local Italian/Greek restaurant called Corleone and, yes, it did have a large silhouette of the Godfather on the side of the building.

Anyway, we are all pretty tired and ready for bed. We are enjoying ourselves immensely but are all looking forward to our non-riding days in Vienna.

Relive 'Danube day 10'