Ceri: This morning, as we were loading up our panniers outside our apartment , our new Czech friends came out. Aha! Neil didn’t mention them yesterday. They were the Dad, Mum and 2 young daughters locked out of their apartment next to us. Dad had just run the Wachau marathon, and had not only left their keys inside their apartment, but had also left his phone and had no way of contacting Airbnb. Cleverly he thought we might have the same owner so knocked on our door. We did. It took a while, but eventually the cleaner came and let them in. What a lovely family they are. Maybe we’ll meet again. Who knows?
Having been really lucky with the weather so far, we were due a rainy day. It wasn’t too bad and was a pretty ride along the banks of the Danube.
We cycled passed the billion-euro Zwentendorf nuclear power plant which never produced a single watt of electricity! Voters rejected it in a 1978 national referendum. It’s now a very expensive training facility and film location.
On we cycled and became a little confused approaching a huge bridge we had to use. There seemed no access to it, until we were right underneath it. It was like a great big helter skelter. We cycled around and around , up and up the huge supporting pillar until we reached a bike path built underneath the busy road bridge. So clever! And so much fun, especially whizzing down the helter skelter the other side.
Then we came across a crazy juxtaposition of an Alpine chalet built right in front of a nuclear power plant. The Bärndorferhütte was a farmhouse dating back approximately 200 years, dismantled in Carinthia’s Lavant Valley in 2002 and reassembled to create a lovely restaurant along the Danube Cycle Path, with the power plant towering high behind it. Bizarre! And having barely seen a cyclist all morning, this place was full of them. The cozy atmosphere felt like we were skiing!! Then a short wet ride to Tulln to dry off, warm up and rest.
A little footnote about lack of fashion:
When the rain started yesterday, we stopped to dig out our rain gear. Neil was mortified when I swapped my trainers for a pair of old flip flops and stashed my trainers away into a plastic bag. I have been known to go a step further and wear a hotel shower cap under my helmet to keep my hair dry. Not cool. Poor Neil. However… this morning Neil’s SPD cycling shoes are still rather damp whereas my trainers are nice and warm and dry, ready to explore Vienna later.
