Start: Vienna, Austria
End: Laa an der Thaya, Autria
Distance: 75.5km
Elevation Gain: 2478ft
Elevation Loss: 2416ft
Time: 6h08m
Reading Material: The Czechs and the Lands of the Bohemian Crown – Hugh Agnew (figured I should bone up on my Czech history as I’m basically crossing the country twice);
Audio Material: The World in Words Podcast; Re:Sound; Nerdist podcast
Description
After several days exploring Vienna, it’s time to start heading to Krakow. I’ve chosen another EuroVelo-inspired route. Sometimes called the Krakow-Moravia-Wien Greenways trail or the Amber Route (either an ancient trade route or a nice piece of marketing). The planned route is about 700km in length and might take 8-9 days of cycling with a few stops along the way (Brno, caves, Ostrava, Auschwitz).
Today was a bit of backtracking from Vienna north to the Czech border. To keep things interesting, I plotted an alternate route that conveniently landed me in Laa an der Thaya, a thermal spring town just a few km from the border.
Unbeknownst to me, today was Ascension Day — a public holiday in Austria. This meant the streets were empty as I bicycled away under blue skies at 830am. Unfortunately, it also meant I wasn’t able to get a farewell breakfast bagel from my local cafe. I had a beautiful farewell cycle through Vienna and up the entire length of Danube Island, much friendlier than the route I took on the way in. Twenty km north of the city, I was able to stop and get a proper breakfast — espresso + marmalade rolls.
The remainder of the ride was on quiet backcountry roads and some stinky fields freshly fertilized. Achtung Wildwechsel! (Beware Wild Children?)
Don’t tell anyone, but I decided to stay an extra day and enjoy the thermal springs in Laa. I’m a sucker for hot tub soaking — hopefully this doesn’t ruin my cred.
in order to spend time soaking in hot tubs, while actually improving your bike cred, you should spend a few hours in the tubs early in the morning…until you are on the verge of passing out. crawl to your bike and then do your full day’s ride. extra points if you drink beer while in the water.
That’s not a bad idea. Though, I was thinking that to be real Austria hardcore, I should ride my bike in the buff — the same way you’re meant to enjoy the tubs.