Biking the Danube: Durnstein to Pochlarn, Austria

In September, Matt and I, and five of our friends went on a river cruise/bicycle ride on the Danube River.  We departed from Passau, Germany, went all the way to Vienna, Austria, and came back – with lots of stops along the way.  Over the course of a week, we cycled around 250 km, and the boat took us the rest of the way.

Every evening, our guide would map out our cycling route for the following day, he gave us recommendations for places of interest and suggestions on where to eat and drink.   He also gave us the time that we had to be back on board – and after that, we were on our own.  It was a wonderful way to see the Austrian countryside.

• Part 1 – Passau to Linz
• Part 2 – Mauthausen to Grein
• Part 3 – Grein to Melk
• Part 4 – Tulln to Vienna

Our last day of biking was my favorite and I’m not just saying that because we rode through gorgeous wine country and sampled wine from the region.  Okay, I am.

Remember earlier when we cruised through an achingly beautiful portion of the Danube called the Wachau (craggy cliffs, vineyards, castles everywhere)?  After our day and a half of exploring Vienna, we woke up the next morning in Durnstein.  And then we biked through the achingly beautiful Wachau!

We rode past the cutest villages, and vineyards, castles, monasteries, and orchards.  We took our time, not wanting the last day of biking to end.  After 39 km, we arrived at our boat hesitant to give our bikes up, taking even more pictures.  But eventually we got on board to enjoy our last night as we cruised back to Passau.

That’s it for the bike tour. What an amazing experience.  I’m pretty sure I had a smile on my face the entire time – even the day we rode through the pouring rain.  And while we were a little apprehensive about the cruise portion, it turned out to be the perfect mix of structure and freedom.  I’d recommend this trip to anyone!

Oh, and the tour company we went though is SE-Tours.  They also have bike and boat tours in Belgium, the Netherlands, Czech Republic, and more.

I’ve got more photos coming from the rest of this trip, Salzburg (LOVE!) and Munich (Oktoberfest!!!).  And, as always, I’m happy to answer any questions you might have about our experience with the bike and boat tour.