Day 2 - Thursday, July 30, 2026
I had slept rather well, I was all energized early in the morning and was ready to roll at 6:30 am. Yes, 6:30! By that time, I had already packed my tent along with all the stuff, had a bit to eat, brushed my teeth!
Even in the early hours of the day, I realized just how beautiful this bike path is (and how wrong of me for having avoided it) - I was riding from one highlight to the next. I got just a glimpse of the castle ruins of Aggstein (above me), but then came the monastery of Schönbühel, followed by Melk Abbey. I had a wonderful perspective of the abbey where I was riding from, with the rays of the morning sun behind it. I rode into the romantic alleys of historic Melk, it is alway worht the visit.
This was followed by Pöchlarn, the birthplace of the Austrian painter Kokoschka. Soon thereafter, I spotted the pilgrimage and parish church of Maria Taferl on the opposite side, up the hillside - I had visited it earlier, I recall the view of the river from there is stunning. Ybbs an der Donau was the next place, I had been there just a few weeks before this trip.
Later, I rode past ancient toll towers, like the one at Sarmingstein, the castle ruin of Werfenstein, then came the scenic Castle Greinburg, Austria's oldest residential castle. These were all on the opposite side, even if I had ridden there, I probably would have marveled at these, but being on a bike ride, I probably would have ridden on. The bike path veered away from the river, but got close to it at Wallsee, with a pretty church and a castle on a hilltop. There I met two a French couple, who were coming from the opposite direction and were really suffering from the heat. As for me, I was feeling quite OK...
...at least for a short while thereafter. I had probably missed a sign, but what followed, at least on the path I was riding on, was real torture. The hitherto shady trees disappeared and the rays of the sun were hurtling at me. What also disappeared was the wonderfully paved bike path. It was now a combination of rugged, broken asphalt, mixed with me just riding on the dirt road. Riding on the broken road was just as bad as on the dirt road - and this went on for about 10 kilometers. I started feeling not all too well - even a bit dizzy, when I finally reached some trees, I just sat down to regain my strength. Consulting with AI now, when writing this memory, it told me I should have taken a detour through some villages - alternatively, crossed to the left bank. In hindsight, I should have done either of that - but really did not notice any signs for an alternative way.
Regaining my strength, I thought of paying a visit to the concentration camp of Mauthausen - a place I have not yet been to - but thought of putting that off for another time. Instead, I reached the town of Enns, the oldest town in Austria. having received town status in 1212. The town is just as romantic as old it is - absolutely worth a visit. It was about 5 pm, but the place was almost ablaze from the heat.
Now I was around just above 20 kilometers from Linz and thought of finding a place there. On the east side of town was a lake called Pichlingersee, which had a campground. However, it was only around 6 pm and the lake seemed really crowded, as if everyone in Linz would be taking a rest there on this super warm afternoon. I talked to a couple leaving the lake, them telling me they did not even go in, as it was so crowded and polluted with algae. They had a good recommendation: that I make it to Feldkirchner See, still about 35 kilometers away. They deemed it "impossible" for me to reach it by that evening, but then, hey, there was plenty of sunlight till at least 9 pm.
Granted, the last 35 kilometers of the day did seem a bit long, especially that I had to cross the Danube at a damn, but then I arrived at the lake - actually, it is a collection of four lakes - at around 8 pm. I had already talked to the manager of a campground and he said I could arrive by 10 pm. Drying off, I entered the camping, pitched my tent and went in for yet another swim, this time in the twilight - in fact, when I came out, it was almost dark.
I ended the day having covered 155 kilometers, but then just 500 meters of elevation. As you can imagine, I had slept rather well.