Austria

After sharing one of my patented coffee brews, Steven and I parted ways. He, to cycle back to Munchen in the rain, and me to try to outrun the rain heading further east into Austria.

The Danube river valley was beautiful, although this eastern part of Austria couldn't match the spectacular view of the Alpine western half that I saw in 2008 on my way to Italy. It rained on and off, and there were many others enjoying the well-appointed cycle route along the Danube, including many large groups and families.

I found good camping spots each day, and after the first day the weather improved dramatically. With a friendly tail wind and the gentle descent of the river course, it was a really easy leg of the trip.

Once, when I'd parked my bike outside a SPAR supermarket, somebody opened one of my pannier bags and also my handlebar bag, which I'd blithely left attached when I went in. For some reason, they didn't take my N900, for which I am very grateful indeed. I guess they didn't see it and had a fixed idea of what they wanted, probably cash and plastic cards.

The rest of the journey was pleasant, and I arrived at Vienna on the 3rd day. I didn't spend much time as it was sunset time and I needed to find a camping spot. The next day, I left my camping spot which was 15 km past Vienna and decided I couldn't be bothered to ride back.

The route from Vienna to Slovakia was mostly along the polders, and again quite congested with other long distance bike tourers. And before I knew it, I was at the Slovakian border.