We did a walk with our guide this morning through the exquisite town of Durnstein along small cobbled streets with little boutique shops. It was difficult to make the decision - shop or climb up to the top of the ruins. We decided to climb up to the ruins, the castle where Richard the Lionheart was kept a prisoner. It was a steady climb, a little bit huffy puffy, but we made it to the top and back down safely. The views were spectacular.
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| Durnstein ("Richard the Lionheart") Castle |
We got back on board and had only 15 minutes before we had to depart on the bike ride. No lunch - no shower.
John had done the decent thing and organised some bread rolls and salad from our waiter, and I'd managed to push in to the front of the cheese and bikky line, explaining that we were doing the 38 km ride and we hadn't had time for lunch, so they were very accommodating. I got some cheeses and bikkies and the waiter brought me some Alfoil to wrap it all in.
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| Preparing to depart on the bike ride |
We only rode a short while before we had to board a very small ferry to cross the river. It had already departed, but generously the ferryman came back for us.
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| Ferryman organising our bikes |
The bike ride took us through the orchards of Durnstein - apple, pears and grapes and John graciously accepted apples from the trees to share with the riders as we rode along the Danube River.
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| Back on the road again |
The ride was explained to all aboard as a "5 out of 5 in terms of difficulty; strong head winds and several steep hills to climb". Many people were put off by this and hence there were only eight of us riding and that includes the guide and her father who was the 'sweeper'. The ride was strenuous in places, a 1/2 km 25 degree incline was too steep for me, I had to walk the bike up the hill - I'd just removed a bug from my eye and a bug was still caught at the back of my throat - that's my excuse - oops - reason for it anyway.
We freewheeled part of the way and arrived in Melk before the ship, which we felt was a true achievement and we all felt a great sense of accomplishment.
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| Lorraine and Helen celebrating a great ride - and having beaten the ship to Melk! |
When we boarded the ship, we got a huge welcome with people were cheering and shouting out for us which was nice.
We had another rush to get on the bus for the journey to the Melk Abbey. We laughed and said nobody would have to worry about flies - again there was no time for a shower and change of clothes.
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| Melk Abbey |
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