Day 43 Austria 31/10/2010 Linz – Mauthausen – Grein – Ybbs. 54.07miles/87.32km, 4hr46minutes, Av 11.3mph.

Happy Halloween everyone!

We had a good night's rest; the extra hour in the morning was especially welcome! Breakfast in the hostel was the standard European buffet affair. Which definitely beats getting out of a cold tent to cook in the morning.

With full stomachs and still warm from the hostel ,we loaded up attracting a bit of attention as we did so. An Australian guy said good on us and wished us well for our trip. We rode out of the hostel in a cheerful mood.

The plan today was to ride about 60kms to Grein, where there was an open camp-site that had cabins if we wanted one. We had got away in good time this morning, and as the going was very easy we made good progress. It has to be said though that the first part of the route was pretty boring. There were however some quite dramatic skies early on and a terrific view of the mountains across the Danube.

Being Sunday pretty much everything was closed and even the first open bakery we came too had very little bread. The added problem facing us at the moment is that it is a Europe wide Catholic holiday tomorrow as well. Giving up on the bakery we continued on our way, reaching Grein at about 12:30pm. Much earlier than we had expected.

While eating lunch in a café we discussed what to do next. Stopping in Grein seemed a little pointless as we had arrived so early and had the chance to shorten two potentially long days to Vienna. Feeling fit after lunch we set off again bound for Ybbs, which was approx 20km further down the road. The route was mostly along a main road with a narrow cycle lane. The traffic was comparatively light though so even when the lane ended it wasn't too bad. The scenery improved dramatically as well, as we had entered a narrow valley. We got into Ybbs at about 3pm found a guest-house and got settled in. Dinner and a well earned beer soon, tomorrow could be interesting as we don't know what will be open!

Day 42 Austria 30/10/2010 Peuerbach–Wizenkirchen–Aschach–Linz. 38.11miles/61.59km, 3hr23minutes, Av 11.2mph

We bid a fond farewell to Franz and Brigitte this morning and got back on the road. This time I followed Franz's instructions and we found our way back to the Danube with the minimum of fuss. Some of it was even in bright sunlight although the Aschach valley was quite foggy.

Rejoining the cycle path it was a straightforward ride to Linz, mainly along the now much wider Danube. Being Saturday Linz was quite busy, so we made our way through the city centre following Franz's instructions to the hostel we would be staying at. Why they need to put all the hostels on hills is beyond us, but we had been forewarned by Franz. Fortunately even though reception was closed until 4pm we were allowed to check in.

A quick shower later and we took the bus back into the city centre to have a look around.

It was really nice to arrive early and an afternoon was probably long enough to get a feel for Linz. It is a bustling city with some lovely buildings and a good selection of shops. We had lunch sitting in the square outside the Cathedral (no scaffolding!), bought some new books to read and took in the view of the Danube from the cities bridge.

Tired we headed back to the hostel, where I got some internet and blogging done while Debbie rested. As there seemed to be some kind of function on in the hostel, we had dinner in a nearby café and then returned to our room. We even remembered to change our clocks, being up an hour early for breakfast would have been tragic!

Day 41 Austria 29/10/2010 Peuerbach. All on foot.

We decided to stay put for one more day and get the blog and some of our photos up to date. We were joined by Franz's daughter and baby granddaughter for lunch and then had a brief explore of Peuerbach in the afternoon.

We are very thankful to Franz and Brigitte for their hospitality in letting us stay. We had a lovely time and hopefully we will see them again in the not too distant future.

Franz we will remember to keep our ears stiff and hope you do the same!

Day 40 Austria & Germany 28/10/2010 Peuerbach. No Bicycles only cars and feet!

We both had a long lay in and then a nice leisurely breakfast. The morning was spent trying to plan our forthcoming route and catching up with emails etc.

After a lovely light lunch prepared by Brigitte (Franz's wife) Franz took us to some thermal baths in Bad Füssing, Germany to soak away our aches and pains. As the main sauna area was all nude, we became very acquainted with more naked Germans than we could possibly imagine! Rather strangely you then had to put on a swimming costume to go through to the swimming area. As Franz pointed out, they were all the same people who had been in the other section.

Unlike the last baths we had visited this was the real thing, with lots of hot pools one of which was 43°C and too hot to stay in for long. The saunas were lovely although we couldn't stay in the 90°C room that Franz liked. Clearly you need lots of years of conditioning for that kind of heat. While Franz went for one last visit in the hot room, we settled for the cooler Kartoffel (potato) sauna. We timed it right, or wrong depending on your thoughts on greased up naked Germans, to be given some butter exfoliant to use whilst in the sauna. We followed the lead of everyone else and rubbed it on ourselves and then wondered what we were supposed to do next. Still unsure, we went to the showers to wash it off, some of the others seemed to follow our lead while some strolled around outside all oiled up. Perhaps that was why it was called the potato sauna, as I felt like a new potato that had been rolled in butter!

Feeling much more relaxed, we left the baths and stopped in the pretty town of schärding for a well deserved beer on the way home. When we got home Brigitte had made a lovely goulash, which was just what we needed after a strenuous day of doing very little! More beer, wine and conversation rounded off a lovely day.

Day 39 Austria 27/10/2010 Passau–Niederrana–Wiezenkirchen–Peuerbach. 43.10miles/, 4hr32minutes, Av 9.5mph.

We woke up in a lovely warm room, had filled rolls and cakes for breakfast and headed out on to the road.

Leaving Passau was straightforward, although the road was very busy for the first few kilometres. We followed the northern bank of the Danube until Niederrana and then crossed over. The Danube has very few crossing points on this stretch and most of the cycle ferries have stopped running for the season.

From Niederrana we stuck to the B130 main road as we were leaving the Danube behind at Schlögen to head towards Franz's house in Peuerbach. Having opted for the in-between route to Peuerbach, we climbed steadily for 6kms and then according to Franz's instructions we had a 4km descent. At least we would have, if I had followed the instructions clearly! I got the order a bit wrong and as soon as I saw the sign for Wiezenkirchen we turned right, unaware there was another turning 4kms down the road. We then had an extremely steep climb for another few kilometres followed by a terrific descent of about 5kms. Later we were informed by Franz that we may as well have taken the short steep route as it would have been as easy as the way we came. Once again the need for a proper map and someone who pays attention was highlighted.

From Wiezenkirchen we followed the B129 over another steep hill, because we couldn't find the alternative route. The lack of a map covering this area made the direct route sound like a safer bet. We eventually made it into Peuerbach via a very fast descent into the town.

My instructions for finding Franz's house proved useless and after Debbie got fed up of us riding round and round, we rang Franz who came to meet us. Clearly highlighting the different navigational styles of men and women!

It was lovely to see Franz again, especially as he had a welcome beer at the ready. We had dinner at a local inn and then spent the evening looking at his photo books from our trip together. All whilst enjoying a nice glass of wine. Which had the added bonus of helping Debbie forgive me for taking the wrong route!

We passed the 2000km mark today, a rest is definitely in order.