http://www.goneforawhile.ch

When exactly one enters Austria along the Donau is difficult to say. The language gets very amusing long before you cross the official border, people are friendly and laid-back on both sides of the border, Bier, Brezel and Wuerstel is served everywhere anyhow. Luckily, there is a small sign informing about the new speedlimits and if one checks closely, the star-circeled 'Oesterreich' is there too.

Shortly after the border we cross a Staudamm. In order to do that we have to carry our bycicles and all our luggage 90 steps up and down... no fun. After that we take a well-deserved swim in the Donau.

The first remarkable place on the Austrian Donau is maybe the Schloegener Schlinge. Two very sharp turns of the river between castle-topped hills, a walk up to one or another is worth the time. After that, Linz is close. There we decide to stay for another day of rest, without knowing that the city is plastered with sponsoring advertisments due to the Kronen-Festival. We only find a place to stay outside on the beach of the Pleschinger See which invites for a nice bath. In the evening, a heavy thunderstorm turns up, a result of the approaching low pressure area coming in from the (weatherwise) nasty ritish islands. Our resting day is mostly rainy and grey, a walk up to the Poestlinger Berg is however possible. Disappointing is a visit in the Ars Electronica, the 'museum of the future' which exhibits technology from a good few years back. Fuel for more austrian jokes, maybe? A good piece of Linzerschnitte is good comfort...

Austria offers us - besides all the cakes - some culinarical highlights, of course with funny names: Heurigen, Steckerlfisch, Kaiserschmarrn, and all kinds of Strudel. Fantastic for hungry cyclists! Grein wins on the Kaiserschmarrn competition, Emmershofen on the Steckerlfisch. For the eye, the Wachau is a highlight, both the landscape and the architecture. Village after vineyard, vineyard after village are neatly put in place along the hills. Colorful, very well kept and very inviting. We are convinced, that many inhabitants of this area only live to make their house more nicely decorated than the one of their neighbours. They breed and take care of all kinds of flowers that they hang into every window and put on all balconies. Absolutely scenic!

We decied to leave Vienna aside for now. We have been there not so long ago, and the density of cities worthwhile to visit increases for the next couple of hundred kilometers dramatically: ahead of us lie Bratislava, Budapest, Belgrad and Sofia. And a bit later Istanbul. But there we have to get there first...