Today we cycled off the hilltop of Maria Taferl. The climb yesterday up Maria Taferl wasn't quite as steep as I estimated the day before. To get ready for our trip, I reconfigured my Gamin bike GPS display data fields to be better suited to our trip so I removed the barometric altimeter field in exchange for one that more closely matched our expected flat lander riding that we would be doing. Heading up the climb, yesterday, with 85 km's in our legs, a very light lunch, and a climb start time of 7:30 PM caused my butt inclinenometer to lose its calibration. To get a more accurate incline assessment, I set the GPS back to display percent grade this morning and then headed back down the way we had come up the night before. The grade average was more like 6 - 9% with a few excursions into the low double digit percent grade. The view from our room up there was terrific when we woke up and were greeted to a severe clear blue sky morning. This was definitely a great place to stay.
After traversing the switchbacks while descending back down to the Danube river valley, we remained on the North side of the Danube all the way to the Melk Dam where we crossed over to the South side of the river and then into Melk. The dams are open to bicycles and provide a safe, free, and scenic river crossing.
When we rode off the bicycle path in Melk, there was a lot of construction. As part of the construction, they were paving a street with new cobble stones. But even with all the construction, there were provisions made to get pedestrians and cyclists to the main square safely and efficiently.
The town square is very baroque and beautiful, with Melk Abbey, the jewel of the town, accessible by pedestrian steps and by bicycle off the road through a steiner gate. The abbey had a dedicated bike parking area with wooden decking for the bike spaces along with lockable lockers above to store valuables.
Inside we had never seen anything like the Abbey chuch. Yellow and pink gold ornate decorations and statues everywhere, along with the most gorgeous ceiling frescos we had ever seen. We waited for the English guided tour, which was excellent and gave us a chance to look around, take photos before the tour started, and have our picnic lunch right off the grounds. It was a Pepsi town though, so John was denied.
After crossing the river from Melk, we rode through the Wauchau wine region, which coincidentally was where our Reisling from last night was produced. So of course we stopped and bought another bottle, which we are enjoying as we write this blog. The vines covered every square inch of the hillsides, some hanging over our heads on the path below.
Here is the path we took today:
59 km for the day. Tomorrow it's on to Tulln after we see some of the sights in Krems.
Maria Teferl overlooking Danube River valley
New cobbles in Melk
Melk city center
Bike parking at the Melk Abbey
Melk Abbey Courtyard
Melk Abbey Royalty Reception Room.
Melk Abbey Church
Melk Abbey ceiling fresco
Melk Abbey
Wachau Region vineyards
The end of a great day of riding
Looks FANTASTIC guys :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks Lance. It simply could have not been any better.
ReplyDeleteLooks amazing. Love this pic.
ReplyDeleteHi Sherry, our shadow was dancing across vineyard after vineyard as we biked during the late setting sun.
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