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Vienna to Bratislava

First day of our bike tour from Vienna to Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. Slovakia separated from Czech republic in 1993. We cycled through the former "iron curtain" which was controlled by the Soviets in 1989.
Weather was hot and still ,but with good paths we made good time.
Stopped at a lovely castle/ hunting lodge owned by the Habsburgs for coffee.
Once in Bratislava wondered around the town centre before having dinner in a quaint restaurant and then walking up to the castle on the hot balmy night.

Vienna to Bratislava

First day of our bike tour from Vienna to Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. Slovakia separated from Czech republic in 1993. We cycled through the former "iron curtain" which was controlled by the Soviets in 1989.
Weather was hot and still ,but with good paths we made good time.
Stopped at a lovely castle/ hunting lodge owned by the Habsburgs for coffee.
Once in Bratislava wondered around the town centre before having dinner in a quaint restaurant and then walking up to the castle on the hot balmy night.

Cycle between Bournemouth to Dorchester

Enjoyed the night at the Hotel with a  bigger room with ensuite. Some noise as party goers arrived back at about 4.00am in the morning.

Much nicer ride today, by sticking to roads and avoiding rough tracks. Rode along the beachfront at Bournemouth which was miles long. Was planning to use the ferry across from sandbanks but somehow missed the turning. I decided against turning back so went along the waterfront at Poole.

Got through Wareham and then found the CTC cycle route 2 which was signposted superbly all the way to Dorchester.

When I got to Moreton, texted Sue who said she was going to her sisters farm at Puddletown so I made a detour and met her there. My legs were getting pretty tired so I was relieved to avoid the extra kilometers to Dorchester.

Cycling between Southhampton and Bournemouth 56.5 kms

Hotel last night was very basic with single bed and shared bathroom. It was a pub really with accommodation and slightly noisy til closing time. Tired so slept well.

Today was tough!! Started OK with nice boat ride out of Southampton across to Hyde. There is a little train in Hyde which carries you down the long pier. Could have ridden on bike but hadn't unfolded the Brompton so gave it a go.

Got to the start of the New Forest and then things started to go wrong. First the wind was very strong across the tops and directly head on. Then my gps completely died. Wasn't the battery and I could not restart it. Got lost completely. Ended up going in circles on the forest tracks. luckily a Saturday so lots of trampers to ask. The CTC bike map was inadequate. My phone map was just for roads so no indication of forest tracks. I ended up on very rough bridal tracks so the Brompton wheels got bogged down in the mud.

Lots of New forest ponies around, in fact I had to go through a herd of them as they were hiding under a railway bridge to get out of the sun. 

Reached Brockenhurst and civilization so decided to go via the roads rather than risk going through more forest tracks. Once out of the New Forest things got better although tricky navigation getting into Bournemouth. 

Once I found I could cycle along the beach front made it a lot easier. A rather typical Day at the beach with huge crowds on Bournemouth waterfront.



Deserved a beer and pizza after a nice shower. The hotel is a lot better than last night.
Hope tomorrow, the last day goes better. I can see a new Garmin being needed!

Cycle from Hayling Island to Southhampton 34.6 kms

Origionaly planning to cycle from Hayling Island to Southhampton, but the ferry from Hayling island to Portsmouth has just gone bust. Sue drove me to Gosport on her way to Dorchester so cheated a little.

The ride was great. Lots of coastal views and only short stretches of rough gravel paths. The National Cycle Route 2 was well signposted although I still got lost a few times.
I got to the River Hamble and was slightly concerned that there would not be a ferry. The tide was a long way out so I walked down onto the foreshore and waved my arms.

The pink coloured ferry boat came over for me. I was the only passenger. had a good chat with the retired skipper. We talked about the viability of these ferry crossings particularly after the Hayling island ferry had closed.

The ride into Southampton was reasonable and found the Hotel without much trouble.

   See the stats at  Garmin Connect
about 36 kms only.

Krems to Emmersdorf

Simple day today. We steamed all night on the boat from Vienna to Krems. I think by all the noise involved with docking that we arrived about 6.30am at the Krems docking spot. Usual breakfast then off on a 40.2kms  ride along the left hand side of the river. this time going up stream and against the wind. Actually a tougher ride thyan expected as was very windy.
We stopped and looked around Krems, Durnstein, Weissenkirchen and then a final 10km straight run into Emmersdorf. We didnt go up the steep climb to the ruined castle opf Kueringer where Richard the lion Heart was held prisoner, but Gill and Sue went into the Church with a bend in Spitz. Oddly we all got lost and seperated in this town eventually catching up to each other at the church.

More of central Vienna

After the tour guide left us we looked for a place with wifi but not much success in central Vienna. Found a nice ice cream shop though. We are out to a concert tonight tonight which I presume will involve plenty of Strauss.

Day in Vienna

Supposed to be a day of rest in Vienna but we decided to go with a Bicycle tour guide around the famous sights of Vienna.
Saw some yesterday but we got a good explanation of all the history of the buildings. Our guide was very knowledgable with her background of history at university.

The German language sometimes makes you laugh.

Arrival in Vienna

After our pleasant wander around the garden centre we setoff on the bikes for a gentle 32kms ride down the right side of the Danube to the outskirts of Vienna. Had lunch and changed and headed into the centre of vienna on the local tram system. The centre of town is impressive with great extravagant building and the imressive St Stevens Cathedral.

Tulln to Vienna

During dinner last night we sailed from Grein to Tulln. Tulln is small but lovely village just beside the river. The highlights for us was Hundertwassers boat which was being restored by the docking place(of interest to those who live in Whangarei) and the fantastic garden exhibition. The garden had lots of different areas dedicated to specific garden designs.

Grein to Melk. 48 kms

Last night we went to the oldest theatre in this part of Europe. Small, intimate and unique. Lots of history in this small town and good explanations from the Guide. Interesting to see how high the Rhine has flooded over the years

This morning we had a very good flat ride from Grein to Melk. Lovely wooded countryside all along the banks with occasional small villages. We had to cross the nrhine on a small boat to get to the southewrn embankment which was virtually car free.

Stopped at Ybbs for morning coffee. Classic village square with Bicycle museum for all the radfahrers. Met some kiwis who are cycling the whole Danube to Budapest.

Cycled on after coffee to make Melk by just after lunch so that we could get to do the tour of the Monestry by 3.00pm. Sue and Gill did the tour while I wondered the town. Scenic and beautifully looked after. Lots of cyclists and tourists.

Biking and boating down the Danube

First day on the MS Theodor Korner which is a very comfortable way to cycle the Danube. We arrived in Passau yesterday after a rather tiring journey from Gatwick via Munich.
Once on board about 5pm we sailed down river during the evening and night to  Mauthausen. Very hot restless night although cabin reasonable size for the three of us. (Jerry, Sue and Gill).
This morning after a hearty breakfast we cycled to the nearby concentration camp. Good museum there but a depressing place.
We then cycled on to Clam Castle (about 30 kms) which typically was at the top of a rather long hill. Then all down hill to our stop for the night in Grein.
Tonight we visit the city theatre at Grein which is the oldest in middle Europe.
The weather has been very hot and sticky today with the inevitable 'headwind blowing upstream on the Danube. The river is fast flowing and looking rather more brown than blue. We thought about swimming but were warned against a dip until further downstream.
It is supposed to be cooler tomorrow which will make more pleasant cycling.

Tonight we visit the city theatre at Grein which is the oldest in middle Europe.
The weather has been very hot and sticky today with the inevitable 'headwind blowing upstream on the Danube. The river is fast flowing and looking rather more brown than blue. We thought about swimming but were warned against a dip until further downstream.
It is supposed to be cooler tomorrow which will make more pleasant cycling.

Skiing Holiday 2014

End of season trip to Wanaka with some great weather at Treble Cone. Snow thin at bottom but nice up at the Saddle especially early morning. Great to have Sarah, Scott, Simon and Rosie with us.

Day 23 Leersum to Utrecht 34 kms

Short ride this morning from Leersum to Utrecht where we caught the train to Rotterdam. This means we miss the industrial parts of Holland and can get Gill to Hook by tomorrow to catch the ferry to Harwich.

The most   amazing thing happened yesterday after we went through a small town called Wageningen and stopped at a really nice  coffee shop. Now I dont normally write on toilet walls but this one had a blackboard and chalk in the toilet which was blank so I wrote my initials and that I had cycled from Andermatt. Anyway Frank the cyclist and Leslie who I first met at the first Hotel in Andermat, Switzerland happen to go into the same coffee shop and saw my note. They emailed and we met up again at our campsite.
Frank who origionally was a native of Holland before going to the States in the 50's told us all about Utrecht and where to go. Anyway we visited the canals and saw the restaurants on the sides of the canals.

The ride to Utrecht was pleasant going past very posh houses in huge grounds as well as some wooded areas. Unfortunately did rain abit and the tent was wet to fold up.
Got the train to Rotterdam and had a quick look round. Very modern city with some impressive buildings. Again the roads are busy with cyclists everywhere.

I will accompany Gill to the Hook on the train tomorrow and she will catch the night sailing to Harwich. I will return to Rotterdam before heading to Amsterdam the next day for the Rhinology conference.
My clothes are a right mess after 4 weeks camping so have been to a C& A store to get a business shirt and tie. The Europeans tend to wear suits for conferences so I will have to hide or pretend to be Australian. (Sorry James)

This is probably the end of the trip. I dont know how many Kilometers I have done but will work it out when I get home. Havent quite done as much as I hoped but the effort of carrying all the gear made it hard. A video may have to be done too.

Thanks to all those who have read the recent blog. Hope it wasnt too boring.

The good and the bad of the whole trip.
The good. Realising that it can be done and overcoming all the worries about food, finding somewhere to sleep and having no disasters. More importantly having the company of Sue and Gill. Thanks.

The bad, Probably the extremes of temperature. From 0 degrees in Andermatt to 39 degrees in Germany, and of course realising that camping is hard as you get older.

A special thaks to the makers of Brompton Bikes. They worked flawlessly.

Day 22 Oosterbeek to Leersum 36kms

Just a short day. Coldish this morning but nice ride. Who said there were no hills in Holland. We had more hills today that the whole of the Rhine in Germany. The bike trails are great but don't follow the Rhine exactly so that why we are going up hills.

Was worried today that we were in Holland and hadn't seen either tulips or a windmill. Glad to say we saw our first windmill mid morning just after a lovely stop for coffee. Nice new restaurant with friendly staff and good food. (Late breakfast). The dutch also speak great English as neither of us can speak a word.
Passed quite a few war memorials and cemetries today as I know this area was fought over alot during the last war.
Found a pleasant campsite as part of a farm with nice hot showers. Lots of fruity farm smells but should be quiet. We were warned that Holland was playing in the world cup tonight so there might be raucous youths about.
We have walked to the nearest town today as I wasnt going to accept biscuits again for dinner tonight.

The good and the bad
Electronics
The good. The solar panels have been great and a days sunshine will charge the cellphone, GPS and Bluetooth walkie talkie.
The bad. The dynamo basically has not worked well at all. Also had 2 spare batteries that have been dud and had to throw away. Bought some new ones that can be charged with solar and mains.