First Day of Riding

Hello:

I shall now tell you a bit about the first day of actually riding.  We left the hotel at about 8:30 am to pick up our bikes.  The company had included bus passes, so we walked to the bus station, and caught a bus to their warehouse.  It took longer than we thought, but it was down hill to get back to where our hotel was near the Danube.  We finally got on the road at about 11:00 am.  Our bikes had saddle bags, pretty comfortable seats, 21 gears, bike locks, and mine had the container in the front where we kept the map.  The guy who checked out our bikes showed us on the map where our first hotel was, and we got on and took off.

The day was a bit overcast and cool, but it didn't rain, and we were comfortable riding with sweatshirts. 

In the beginning, the trail was a protected lane that ran between the river and the road. When we got to the small towns along the way, the "trail" would become just a regular street.

Then we would pass through the town and  be back in the woods.

Always there was the river nearby.

At one point we crossed the Danube on a ferry.  I think it cost 2 Euro each.

It was fun to see the other bike travelers.  The hills were so green, and the rise very steeply from the rivers edge.

As we rode along the trail, we came upon a family of swans.

The parents immediately separated to surround their signets for better protection.  It was so cool to see swans in the wild.

Across the Danube we saw a Schloss (castle).

The towns tended to be clustered along the river's edge with wooded hills rising behind them.

It reminded me so much of the East side of Lake Washington where I live.  Well, except for these ... memorials?  we would occasionally find on the trail near the river.

We wondered if they were for someone who had drowned on the river.

We arrived at the first hotel at about 7 pm, tired, sore butts, but very very happy.

Peace,

f1bercat

shaping the planet from home.