I had marked my arrival in Salzburg by listening to (and singing along with) the entire Sound of Music soundtrack and then staying in a hostel where they showed the whole film every night. Wonderful! Rose flew in from London to much excitement from me! We enjoyed a bit of sightseeing in Salzburg before we set off north up the Salzach river. The sun was finally out after a week of rain and we enjoyed the river riding along the Austrian/German border. We found a perfect campsite off the beaten track but on the banks of a perfect lake for a post ride swim, beer, dinner and sunset.
Ready to set off
Our first camp spot. We had a super swim here.
Campsite sunset
Views over the river Inn
Great signposting all the way
Morning river views
Geeky glasses
Views over the Danube
Open roads just for us
Big views and open roads
River swimming in the morning
Salzburg sights
The sound of music fountain
The cows of Salzburg
Salzach river sights
Dinner time
Continuing along the river Inn, we kept crossing between Germany and Austria, enjoying the pretty multicoloured towns (including Hitler's home town, Branau am Inn) - completely different to anything I'd seen before. Eventually we reached Passau where we followed the mighty Danube down to Linz. It was super cycling along great paths right next to the river and including two ferry crossings which were good fun too!
Regular crossings between Austria and Germany
Multicoloured German towns
Rose's drying system
Dreamy camp spot by the Danube
Our set up
Linz
After Linz we had a climb up onto the hills which lie between Austria and the Czech Republic. It was worth the effort as we were rewarded with dreamy cycling along empty roads, through quiet villages and with big views across fields and forests.
The climb out of Linz
Austrian villages
The crossing into the Czech Republic was an exciting moment as we weren't quite sure what to expect in terms of language, accommodation or cycle routes! From Vyssi Brod we followed the Vltava River through Cesky Crumlov and north towards Prague. The cycle route was surprisingly well signposted and very varied- definitely did not just follow the river! We went in and out of the valley, through forests along tracks, on quiet roads through villages and along the tops of hills with big views of agricultural areas.
The border
Cesky Krumlov
Exploring the town
Brilliant cycle paths along the Vltava
A lunch spot
Variable quality of sign posting in the Czech Republic
An evening ride
In the end we decided to stop in Pisek and enjoy some time off. Both of us had enjoyed a summer packed full of activity and thought some down time might be a good thing before we got back to real life at home. We spent the morning river swimming before travelling by train to Prague where we stayed one night and left the next day.
Lying on the ground to see the cathedral in the evening
The box I persuaded a bike shop to give me...
...attached to my bike....
Finished route
I lost my pink pen along the way!
I've been really sad to stop cycling. I felt like I could have gone on forever! But I am so fortunate that being a teacher gives me lots of opportunities for more adventures. Watch this space for (less regular!) updates on future trips- I have a lot of ideas of places I'd like to go! Exploring places by bike has been one of my favourite things I have ever done in my life and I feel so lucky to have had the opportunity to do so. Hopefully there will be lots more in the future, but for now it's time to go back to school!
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