It was warm (70) and sunny to start this morning, but not for long.Within five minutes of our ride the sun went behind the clouds and the temperature dropped ten degress and stayed that way for hours.  For our first few miles, though our path was nicely paved, we had a view of industry on the other side of the Donau.

Three long detours in as many hours that took us way off course and added a few extra miles (dike construction) interrupted our serene ride, but did take us through villageswe would not normally see.

On our infrequent path by the Donau we caught a glimpse of the Austrian Alps.It’s the faded ridge in the background

and parks with sand volleyball courts.Interesting note: seen lots of tennis courts, all of which are clay.

By 11 am, both the detours and clouds were over, giving way to bright and hot sunshine.  Stopping for lunch in the shade of a tree and an incredible view across the water, we are reminded how many of these towns cater to the bike touring people.

This is a bike museum

Some of the smaller villages main commerce is bicycle tourism.We debated crossing the river to maybe avoid any more unforeseen detours and with a ferry right there, we decided to go.
It was a great decision, we had a shaded and cool bike trail, much like what we’d enjoyed the day before.  With the sun high and warm, we passed many bicyclists on park benches or actually taking a dip in the Donau.  We kept drinking water and looked forward to “getting there”.  Pulling into town and finding availability at the first hotel we found was perfect timing and picture perfect.That’s our room on the end with the balcony and flowers.

We did a small bit of touring, but the real sight is the monastery on the hill behind our hotel.  After just under 70 miles, we were not climbing it, so pictures from afar will have to do.

What we were able to get to was this great German restaurant, Koloman, (open only 6 weeks).  The building is from 16th century, we enjoyed fabulous food and Austrian wine as well as wonderful  music.  If you ever find yourself in Melk, put Koloman’s on your list and ask the owner for a tour of the old alcoves and three foot thick walls, very cool (sorry, didn’t bring our camera).