Grein to Melk

We woke to bright sunny skies at Grein. After a hardy breakfast, we meet with Jan, our cruise director, to pick up our e-bikes for this leg of the ride. E-bikes are standard pedal bikes equipped with a motor and battery for added horsepower. As we were starting the longest leg of our trip, we opted for the added assist. The bikes were heavier but the power kicks in from the first pedal turn. We both liked the added power very much.

We took one of the small Danube ferries to the south bank and began our 50 km day. We started on the bike path along the river bank, but soon the path became a road along the river, with green hard woods and steep rock face on the other side. After about 20 km, we came to Ybbs, a small city with a historic St Lorenz parish church, built around 1500.

The path continued through an industrial area along the river before returning to the river bike path. With our new e-bikes, we were able to make great time to Pochlarn, about another 20 km. Here we detoured to the quiet cobblestone streets an paused at a cafe for a beer (Murauren) and shared a slice of sachertorte, a cake brought to fame in Vienna. The cake is chocolate with an apricote jam filling, covered in chocolate ganache. With our e-bikes, we were able to make more stops during our ride with confidence that we would still make the boat in time.

The last 14 km of the day was along a raised bike path right along the Danube. We powered through the kilometers and beat the boat to Melk, our destination for the afternoon. When the boat arrived, we changed our clothes and took a bus up the hill to the Abbey of Melk. The Abbey dominates the town from the hilltop. Built 1702-1738, the Benedictine Abbey was built on the site of previous abbeys. This Abbey was built to impress. There are over 1000 windows in the Abbey, but only 29 monks in residence today. I think they need help with the upkeep.

After returning to the ship, we had a fine supper with new friends. The ship departed Melk and pulled in to Tulln for the night. The photos from Grein to Melk are on Flickr https://flickr.com/photos/22583315@N08/sets/72157682493617411