Vienna to Innsbruck 2024

Today’s 20+ miles (32.3 km) are this trip‘s high. Am still intertwining with the Austrian Camino and am three days ahead in making reservations only because some smaller towns have few choices and I’m avoiding getting caught out of luck.

It was interesting leaving Linz and finding all the big shopping centers/stores on the outskirts of the city. Being Sunday, everything is closed. However, after two hours, I was ready for a break and ran into a Turkish Restaurant (Istanbul Restaurant) filled with Turkish families. Had to order a Turkish coffee, which, after I told the owner I had been to Istanbul twice and loved it, especially Hagia Sophia, was free!

What saved me later with cold drinks were the store vending machines along the way—it’s incredible what you can buy. Other interesting encounters: leaving via Linz’s main square, a Tesla dealership, a rehydration station for a big World Run Event (synchronized the world over) that offered me Gatorade and runners appearing in yellow shirts, political signs, especially the one: “Stop the EU Craziness that shows Von der Leyden kissing Selinski,”  noting that I’ve been on the Camino all along (little sign on the pole).

Today’s walk of 16.3 mi (26.6 km) was my last along the Danube (I’ll veer southwest to Salzburg tomorrow) and I took fully advantage of the Donaufahrradweg as opposed to the Austrian Camino that ran parallel with it. The Camino wasn’t paved so you had to go slower to watch for the rocks, and you had no view of the Danube—that was an easy choice. Early on, I was forced to walk on a busy highway for a mile with essentially no shoulder to save a few miles—on the Bundesstraßen I think it’s not allowed, although three police cars went by me and didn’t stop me!

My highlight was the Urfahr (name of a Linz District) Festival Market that welcomed me in Linz and after having a rehydrating beer I had a Schaumrolle, a 4 in puff pastry filled with whipped cream—a sheer delight. And after getting settled in my hotel, I went down there for supper: Bratwurst with sauerkraut and a Semmel and beer. At night, it’s even more spectacular. Just unbelievable how many people were wandering around.

And where we stopped in 2000 in Linz on our Danube cruise, they had three river cruise boats—Linz is still popular.

I dedicated 6 hours today to the Mauthausen Memorial Site with rain falling during half my visit and return trip to the hotel, and it was the Austrian Camino that led the ascending way from my hotel to the Site. The clouds and the drizzle added to the somberness. Kudos to the Mathausen Memorial Site IT support team—theirs is a wonderful app that you can download and through it take your tour at each of the audio markers or play it at home using the index.

How do I even summarize my experience today—my feelings—maybe little different from seeing Dachau 60 years ago and Auschwitz (on my long Camino) just 8 years ago. But, yes, there is a difference as I see the ever-optimistic me aging and resigning to the reality that Hitlerites will continue to come along and followers will continue to rally with them and appease them. And the good thing is that both will lose in the end (history bears that out) but at what cost! It seems unavoidable—oh, maybe the Hegelian conflict theory they taught me 60 some years ago was right.

The few pictures I posted capture the mood: the gas chamber, the crematorium, stair of death that the inmates had to carry heavy pieces of granite from the quarry to the top (level of their camp). Individual countries have erected some very deeply moving memorials.

Today’s walk of 13.1 mi (21 km) was mostly on the Austrian Camino Pilgerweg that reminded me of the real Camino—I’ve been spoiled by the Danube bicycle route that’s mainly flat and easy to walk on. Some of the trail is hardly recognizable as a trail. I was especially grateful for a rest stop with a refrigerator selling juices on the honor system—I had an Austrian product: Happy Day‘s carbonated black currant juice that was exceptionally refreshing!

Since Mauthausen is in the state of Upper-Austria, I had to cross the Danube for the first time!

Taking a rest day tomorrow to pay my respects to those who suffered so tragically at the Mauthausen Concentration Camp, dating back to 1938 when Germany annexed Austria. It’s only 2 km from my hotel that overlooks the Danube. And besides, it’s going to rain which will befittingly make it a somber day.

Today’s 12 mi (19.2 km) were full of surprises. First, I was met with the May Day Parade Band as I walked out of the hotel—not yet playing, just meeting up and drinking beer at 8:00 AM. This is traditionally a big holiday, and when I arrived at Wallsee, it didn’t disappoint.

They held their annual 8+ km (5 mi) run with nearly 500 starters and all the fanfare and excitement that goes with that: so much energy and so many people warming up. I had just gotten my Radler (half beer and half lemonade) when the race started. I stayed a bit further down the trail to see the last ones finish.

But then came my last surprise: I found myself walking on the Camino for the last 3 miles, with the usual shell signage, and the hard pack and coarse gravel up-and-down trails—just like old times. I found myself climbing about few hundred feet for the first time. And tomorrow will be all Camino (Pilgerweg) again!

Today’s 17.5 mi (28 km) was again near the river so that I hardly felt the 79 deg (26 C). The scenery was spotted with barges, a few cruise ships, and imposing landmarks like the Greinburg Castle that dates back to 1423.

At about 1:00PM, I encountered an interesting proprietor of a restaurant that happened to close two years ago as a result of COVID. As I entered his restaurant, I learned about the closure, but still he invited me in and treated me for drinks and a bite to eat.

Today’s 16.4 mi (26.2 km) was again nearly all next to the Danube and with the temperature reaching nearly 80, next to the water felt refreshingly cool. As I left Melk, I passed through its quaint square and once at the bottom saw the magnificent Benedictine Abbey that was founded in 1089. I had visited it on several prior occasions, hence no effort to visit it again. Today’s beautiful Baroque Abbey dates to the early 1700s and is well worth a visit.

I also saw my first of the 18 Danube power stations (9 in Austria)/locks. The Danube just upstream of the lock seemed so glassy calm. The town of Pöchlarn was a surprise in that it’s home to one of my favorite expressionist painters, Oskar Kokoschka. Wish I could have visited his house, but felt I had a schedule to keep (not time, but energy),

And last of the surprises was my first view of Lower Austria‘s majestic (and highest) 6811 ft Schneeberg of the northeastern Border Alps. With the 75-mi long pipeline, it provides Vienna with the world’s best drinking water—yes, I was spoiled growing up.

Today’s 12.6 mi (20.2 km) was totally next to the Danube and was it ever busy with cruise ships whose decks were filled with tourists. Also lots of bicycles on the bike path, so many that some decided to take to the road instead of the bike path—a thrilling walk today!

The second picture won the trifecta for me: (1) one of many medieval castles along the Danube, (2) a cruiseship and (3) a fairy one periodically sees to get to the other side.

The vineyards were more scarce and instead one sees lots of fruit orchards. Technically, the Wachau Valley ends at Melk and so do the vineyards.

Today‘s 13.5 miles (21.6 km) was mostly on the Danube Bicycle Path (with lots of bicycles today) along the river and alongside the vineyards (mostly Grüner Veltliner varietal). BTW, the small towns I mention as from/to are so small you won’t find them on the map, and that’s why I include each day’s rough coverage. I passed the town of Dürnstein today on the other side, perhaps one of the most iconic places on the Danube, always a stop for the tour boats. Here is where the English King Richard the Lionhearted was imprisoned in 1192, high up on the hill where you can still climb up to the ruins.

I also walked along apple and apricot orchards, planted like grapevines so they can be grown and harvested more efficiently. But one of my personal highlights was my race with a loaded barge going upstream with me; it was close and s/he stayed with me for a good 20 minutes and then clearly pulled ahead. It was close for a while and really had my adrenaline going—crazy!

Today’s 14.5 miles (23.2 km) gave me the workout I expected and I managed it a mile at a time not thinking about it too much. Then a glass of champagne (can’t call it that—here it’s Sekt) at checkin made everything feel worth it. Staying at a hotel/winery has its advantages. But more, in the lobby they had a game set up, called: “Mensch Ärgere Dich Nicht,” (Sorry, in English). It was the only game we had room for to bring to the States when we emigrated from Austria in 1951–you can imagine the emotion that evoked!

I took a shorter route with towns rather than the longer one nearer the Danube—reasoning was that, if I needed water or energy, I‘d have it because the other route had no infrastructure on it. The drawback was having to face oncoming traffic with little to no shoulder for maybe half the time, the other half I had my own hard-packed gravel road.

Dinner at Hotel Aufreiter where I’m staying was fabulous, including their wine, a Grüner Veltliner from their estate. Everything had a delightfully unusual twist to it that was a new experience from the spinach Knödel to the apricot crepes.

The area here had significant fighting during the last weeks of WWII between the Germans and the Soviets, as attested to by the touching war memorial in the town of Traismauer. Earlier yet, one needs to remember that the Danube was at the edge of the Roman Empire, and Traismauer was founded as a Roman outpost. 

I couldn’t resist taking a picture of the toilet that must have plagued people with its hard-to-find flush button. Can you spot it—even with, not one, but two signs?

Started with an outsized breakfast (no worries about calories when walking) and took train-subway-train to Tulln on the Danube—it’s always stressful making connections within minutes while insuring you’re on the right platform.

Then I began walking around 10:00—beautiful day but cold and windy (glove-cold). On the way I had my lunch at a picnic table directly on the bank of the Danube (made from breakfast lunch meats)—soooo indescribably beautiful—I could have stayed there for hours. An earlier photo completely described my theme: essen (eat), trinken (drink), erleben (experience) along the Danube. (And tomorrow night I will raise the bar: I’m staying at a winery next to the Danube!)

Day-00 Stopped over in London to change planes for Vienna, and knowing that our close hiking friend Duddana was in London, I did a Find-my-Friend on her. Unbelievably she turned out to be in the same Heathrow terminal, just one gate away from mine. What a coincidence—she was ending her visit and I was starting mine! See our picture.

Arrived safely at the Vienna Airport (in Schwechat) and walked over to the MOXY Hotel (a flavor of Marriott), and plan to crash early tonight, but not before posting my first Blog.