30 July 2014
Vienna to Durnstein, Austria (55 miles; Total = 379 miles)

I see them coming in my mirror but really, I heard them coming first – their American voices loud enough to raise the dead and I think to myself Oh Brother. And then they are passing us on the trail at a speed that should be reserved for Olympic time trials, not for a tour along the Danube, and each of them is repeating On Your Left, On Your Left, On Your Left.

Now seriously, you silly Trek Travel folks with your matchie-matchie Trek Travel jerseys and your matchie-matchie Trek road bikes, do you really think that German great-grandmother toodling along in front of you on her 58 pound step-through bike is going to understand On Your Left? And have you no real understanding of the bike ride you’re currently whipping through, where your average touring Joe is from somewhere in Europe and riding a rental bike he can barely steer, while the locals can (and will) at any random moment stop short in front of you to harvest that wild apricot or gather those fallen nuts? This is not the Tour de France, you idiots, so slow it down, get off your new buddy’s wheel, and for heavens sake, show a little respect for the vibe around you and the elders in front of you.

I suppose my rant here about the Trek Travel people isn’t going to win me a free trip or a sponsorship for my next career break, but it had to be said.

We are backtracking our way up the Danube as part of our master plan to next head toward the lake district east of Salzburg. We’ve opted to retrace at least part of our steps rather than attempt a train out of Vienna itself, particularly given that this decision will take us back through one of the prettier parts of our route thus far. For me, this has the added bonus of requiring Gina to stop repeating “We should have stayed in Durnstein instead of Stein” because we will actually stay in Durnstein tonight. This winner of an idea to return to and sleep in this Super Cute village is completely re-vetted over 3 glasses of wine at a Durnstein vineyard, all to the tune of $6. Total. For 3 glasses. We might need to go back and order more.