The Hills Are Alive

We’re just wrapping up the biking portion of our trip and I can’t recommend it enough. Our six days of riding kicked off in the Czech Republic, meandered through Germany along the Danube and wrapped up in the Austrian countryside. Since the terrain for the most part is fairly flat, rides have been pleasant. Most have been within constant view of a river and castle of some kind.  People who are attracted to a trip like this are easygoing, active and low maintenance- all good things in travel partners.

A few things have been constant throughout our adventure:

·     Bavaria is clean. We saw a total of two pieces of trash along our 100 miles of riding.  I’m not sure if they just choose to be green and not litter or are meticulous in cleaning. I’d bet on the former based on the solar panels we saw on most homes and farms.

·         They sure do know how to grow some flowers.  Window boxes in the quaint villages we visited were overflowing with colorful vines and flowers. We’ve stayed in a series of family-run inns- each one more charming than the next!

·         They sure like castles and cathedrals. No matter how small the town, they’ll surely have a town square or two dominating the village. The small village of Passau, Germany has the second largest organ in the world.  In the Czech village of Cesky Krumlov, the grand Rosemberg chateau was a huge presence guarding over the city. The Benedictine Abbey in lovely Melk, Austria held more gold than Fort Knox! 

·         They can brew some beer! From Czech to Austria, most meals included a local brew or two- often in a tiny Bavarian tavern.They also make a mean wine here in Austria with vineyards lining our bike paths.  

 After tonight’s goodbye dinner, we’ll bid adieu to our fellow cyclers and head off for Vienna (in search of the boys choir & sausages. Get it?) I’m hoping this will be the first of many bike trips in our future.