Melk, Austria
The Danube Bike Trail from Passau, Germany to Vienna is emerged as one o the top European Bicycle Routes for long distance cycling. It is a great route for beginners to bicycle touring as the 326 kilometer route is easy to complete in one week and the terrain is fairly flat.
Best of all this Austrian bike route is paved the entire distance, and is mostly on both sides of the blue Danube River. The Austrians have placed maps about every 10 km and there are frequent bicycle route signs so it is really hard to lose your way.
Take a train to Passau, Germany to start you bicycle adventure but if traveling on a Friday or Saturday reserve both train and hotel due to the large number of local cyclists also on the train. Austrian and Germany trains have storage areas for your bicycles on the train but you will need to purchase a ticket for your bike.
Due spend some time to explore Passau with its old quarter and cathedral with the largest pipe organ in the world. I recommend departing on the north short route. There are many cafes along the route for lunch stops many catering only to cyclists. Or purchase your lunch from a bakery prior to departing Passau.
At Scholgen you will need to cross to the south shore by bicycle ferry for a few Euros. I recommend taking ferry number two, just ring the bell and the operator will appear. The next town where we stayed in was Aschach, a pretty town lined with many cafes along the waterfront. On weekends the waterfront is crowded with local tourists.
Continue along the Danube stopping in Linz for lunch at the park on the north shore before continuing. We stayed in Enns which claims to be the oldest town in Austria and lies just 7 km south of the Danube bike trail.
Crossing the longest wooden bridge in Europe we continued along the south shore. Some cyclists choose to stay in picturesque Grein but we continued on and switched to the north shore at Persenburg where it seemed every guest in the Gasthof Bohm was a cyclist. Great patio to relax and enjoy a local beer.
Crossing to the south shore of the Danube we cycled to Melk, home of the famous Benedictine church. Just past Melk cross to the north shore to go through the scenic Wachau Region. This is the best section of the entire Danube and center of the Austrian wine region, very colorful, particularly Durnstein. Richard the Lion Heart was imprisoned here way back in medieval times but today it offers charming shops on narrow cobblestone streets, very rough to cycle over.
We continued to the university town to Krems to stay. The Hotel Alte Post just inside the old city walls was built in 1584 and offers great accommodation for cyclists. Continue along the Danube bicycle trail to Tulin for an overnight before finishing your journey in Vienna. Note that the bicycle trail splits just before Vienna with one route heading to the city center and the other to the West Train Station.
As I mentioned earlier the Danube Bike Trail is one of the great European Bicycle Routes to introduce you to Europe and Austria.
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