Austria into Slovakia

An obstacle course to test your bike skills.
My last day in Austria was a quiet one. I loaded up early and was out of camp by 6am. I hoped I was bound for more entertaining waters. The first half of the day had me winding through the beautiful wetlands of the Donau-Auen National Park. Beautiful. Super scenic. Very fertile. Lots of trees. Tons of birds chirping in the morning light.


Donau-Auen National Park
Heading to Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, would be a short 85km day so I took one big side trip to Austria's most important Roman ruin sight. I have never thought of Austria as having important Roman ruins, but I figured why not. It did not disappoint, but the ruins might have been the least interesting part. It was also an open air museum where they reconstructed some ruins using the old building techniques. It was great to see, and not need to imagine, what things were like. They even had real garlic, onions, and other food in the kitchen. They were not the fakes ones I am used to seeing in US exhibits. It is probably cheaper that way and maybe the staff gets to use them when they are a little bit aged? I don't know. Also on site, was a small hive of archaeologists uncovering more ruins. I am not used to that in the US. We have a lot more separation. If anything is being dug up, it is probably off limits to the public.


An old Roman amphitheater.


Archaeologists uncover ruins.


Reconstructed Roman buildings beside ancient ruins.


Rebuilt Roman ruins.


An old arch, thought to be for a victorious army to march through.
After a few hours in the morning sun at the ruins and an amazing ciabatta sandwich with mozzarella, basil, and tomato, I was ready to move on. My only other stop was in Hainburg, a small town that was valuable for controlling the Danube. The entire city was walled, had three gates, and fifteen towers overlooking the river. The wall and its gates still regulate access to the city by creating a single lane bottleneck. I can't imagine a better way to keep a city pedestrian friendly than by restricting access like this. I loved it, though I am sure I would hate it as a driver, lucky I am a biker.


Vienna Gate in Hainburg restricts traffic.
Next up was crossing the border into Slovakia. It was neat to cross the border, see the old guard booths, and just keep on going without even a single wave. I cannot imagine how much longer it used to take. I wonder if it was as bad as the US-Canada border crossings are these days. Ugh.


A typical scene on the trail (castle in the hills).
Actually, along those lines, does anyone know if we make foreign nationals show their passport to get a hotel in the USA? At every hotel I go to, they have to see a copy of my passport to collect my information for the local authorities. Do US hotels do this same thing, but with our driver's licenses? I don't even pay attention to the US process anymore. I pay cash here and credit there. Maybe they use my credit card to get the information.


For some reason, all the firewood in Austria is cut to this length, maybe a meter. I am guessing they just have bigger fire places.

The Danube River Trail: Vienna, Austria, Day 6-7

Vienna did not jive with me. I may have just got there on the wrong foot, but something wasn't right and that was a bummer because I scheduled a rest day there. That rest day was put to good use for my legs and for getting stuff done back home, but I would have rather been playing in a city I enjoyed.


Franz von Assisi Church.

The reason I think I got off to the wrong foot was that I had a lot of difficulty finding lodging. I had looked up a campsite the night before and tried to go there after grabbing a falafel for lunch. Oh man, I missed falafel. For some reason, the rest of Austria doesn't sell falafel at their kebab shops because it doesn't sell with the locals. Anyway, I biked for an hour down the 21km wide and 250m wide Danube Island in the middle of the rerouted Danube river. The campsite was not at the end as I had believed. I came back to the city center, got on the internet, located it, and tried again. I had to cross the entire river, not just to the island, but I still didn't make it. At this point, my short 40km day had turned into 70km. I was moving slower and slower and giving new definition to the Blue Danube 3/4 time (does anyone under 40 know this reference?).


I love the contrast between the swimming pool and the Danube canal, old danube river.
I headed back towards city center and decided I would just pay for a hotel. I was tired. I was frustrated. I wanted to sleep. Unfortunately, the International Aids Conference was in town, which means that the ten hotels I checked and probably any other hotel anywhere near city center were full. A couple hotels called around for me, but found nothing. I headed back to the internet shop to call hotels instead of just biking around. I found one for 250 euros. It was an entire suite. Iwrote down their address, but called the camping place to see if they actually existed. To my surprise, they did. I took their directions and got lost again, but with the help of a ton of locals, I did make it. My favorite was a 70 year old man who gave me complete directions in German without any hand signals or map. Oddly enough, he was the one who actually got me there.


St. Stephen's Cathedral gothic style reminds me of the University of Pittsburgh's Cathedral of Learning.


St. Stephen's Cathedral, built in 1147, redone in 1433, (done again in 1950? look at the roof).
Yesterday, someone asked how I get around without knowing the language because, contrary to popular belief, not everyone speaks some English (that is mostly in the tourism business or young people). This fallacy falls especially short in the country. The trick is to learn the basics of please, thank you, excuse me, and where. After that, you draw pictures, pantomime, and look at maps. One of my favorite times doing that this trip was when I wanted a tape measure to see how many meters my wheel moved in one revolution to get my trip computer set up. It took a while, but we got it, and it is such a rush of success when you can figure out even the most basic word.


Belvedere palace gardens.


Belvedere Palace.

After a good night's rest, I set out to explore Vienna properly. I did it on bike to cover more ground, but the next time I have a rest day I think I will stay off the bike entirely. The city was good. It is beautiful. It has grand buildings, but it just wasn't as friendly as other places I had been. However, being so big, they did have a British bookshop that I could buy a Mediterranean Europe travel guide and a recreational book about biking from the lowest point on Earth, the Dead Sea, to Everest Base camp and then, I believe, climbing to the highest point on Earth, Everest.


Oh old friends' Starbucks, Burger King, McDonalds, and even United Colors of Benetton.
I think my favorite stop was at Hundertwasserhaus. It is a funky apartment complex. It had been recommended to me and my friends, Stu and Acadia, had also visited it on their bike tour. It was neat to be somewhere that they were just a short while back since I am using their bike maps. According to wiki, "the house was finished in 1986, features undulating floors, a roof covered with earth and grass, and large trees growing from inside the rooms, with limbs extending from windows."


Hundertwasserhaus.
I think my second favorite part of Vienna was very telling for and about me. It was an art exhibit by The Human Rights Project. It had the faces of people and current events. I love how picturesque the major cities of Europe are, but they don't capture my imagination as much as living people and current affairs do. I think the problem is that European history between the Roman Empire and World War II is an endless stream of conflicts, royalty, and religion that I get lost in. I cannot say that I know that much more about the battle for human rights in say Burma, but it still captures me more. I think it has to do with the knowledge that those people are struggling now. It isn't over and done with. It isn't history yet.


An art exhibit by the thehumanrightsproject.org.


More of the exhibit.
Someone asked me why I am visiting all these big cities in Europe if they are not what I love. Good question. Part of it is to see what everyone else talks about. When most people talk about Europe, they mention the capitals. Also, I am hoping for an unexpected surprise. I also get to see a ton in between the cities by bike and the cities are a great place to hop on the internet, rest up, and get massages, though I have not gotten one yet. If I had to explain how I chose this trip, I would say I wanted to see the natural beauty of Austria and Croatia. I wanted to see the ruins in Athens. I wanted to see the culture and ruins of everything from Istanbul to Cairo. The stuff in between was filler with hopes for moments of serendipity.


Ferrari store with only one car.


A jaguar at the camp site.
These last two picture might be my favorite. There is only a single car in the Ferrari store. I believe the company has more than one model. I am sure they can order more or if they sell it they make all their money for the year, but it was still funny to see just a single car. Every single picture in the store was of a red Ferrari too. Apparently, one car, one color. The other one is a jaguar at my camp site. I don't feel like those two normally mix in the states.

My Father, Sheldon Brotman

My father, Dr. Sheldon Brotman.
While I was having my best day of biking, my dad, Dr. Sheldon Brotman, passed away after a short illness. He had been having tests for a couple weeks while I was at Worlds. My dad, never the best communicator, was not very forthcoming with information. The best my siblings and I could put together was that they could not figure out what was wrong, but we didn't get the impression that anything was life threatening. We believed the worst case was that he needed a liver transplant.

That wasn't the case though, and, we think, even my father was taken by surprise. Two Mondays ago, after going to work to give a lecture, my dad checked himself into the hospital. (This is the epitome of my dad to ignore his own issues to do his work.) Tuesday, he was in the ICU and unconscious/sedated. He never woke up.


My dad's vehicle to his favorite past time, the Whisper.
My father loved the sea and was a great sailor. Annually, for over twenty years, my father has raced from New England to Bermuda and in those first years my siblings and I were his default crew. Later, probably with more experienced crew, he won the race. When not racing, we sailed all the nooks and crannies of the Gulf of Maine from Maine down to Massachusetts when his vacation time permitted it. I can only imagine that he would enjoy having his sailing site come up first above his medical stuff when you google his name.


The Whisper
As a doctor, I can only imagine the void that will be left. My dad helped more people in his life as a trauma doctor than I can conceive of. He was very good at what he did. He always felt he had work to do. There is a shortage of trauma doctors and he seemed compelled to work ridiculous hours to make up for it. My sister swears that when he was preparing for the Bermuda race, studying for a medical examination, and working, he was not sleeping more than four hours a night. I would not be surprised. In his last few jobs, he was called into to start or save failing trauma centers. He might not have done it the nicest way, but you know he got it right. The same was true when when you were learning to sail with him.


My father.
Growing up, my father was a great provider. However, my relationship with my father beyond that was tumultuous. We were never close. As adults, I had hoped to fix that. It is a task that will remain undone. While there was progress over the years, I am not sure we would have ever got to what I was looking for. One of the last good conversations I had with my dad was in Michigan on my road trip. We talked about traveling to the Middle East, as I am about to do. He said that one day he hoped to have those same adventures, which (to answer the default question) is one reason why I hope to continue on my adventure after a trip home for the memorial.

My father was certainly challenging at times, but he had a good heart. He will be missed. Sheldon Brotman. 02/19/41-07/18/2010.

The Danube River Trail: Melk, Austria to Tulln, Austria, Days 4-5

Schönbühel Castle


The Danube River and Burgruine Aggstein.
After a good midday rest in Melk, I was torn between taking the faster left bank or taking the right so I could go on another side trip. The first side trip had gone so well, I signed up for another to Burgruine Aggstein. The ruins are located up on a hill, perhaps the steepest hill that I have ever ascended on a bicycle. Though it is only 300m above the river, the guide book said most people push their bikes. I opted to pedal, but had to take 5 breaks on the 2km, 20% grade hill. It almost killed me, but what a reward. A couple people took a picture of me at the top because they had driven past me. I would have happily taken a tow. The ruins might have been my best visit of the day so it was worth. I loved these because sometimes the castle just continued on top of a natural rock wall. You went from giant stone to these little pieces that made the rest of the wall. Odd to think that the only major difference between these ruins and the castles I saw earlier in the day was money, care and time when they started to fall apart.


The ferry over to Spitz.
After the ruins, my day was supposed to come to a quick close. Climbing up those hills was taxing. I could have pulled up in Melk and just rested. Instead, I pressed onward to those great ruins. Afterward, I just wanted to take the cable powered ferry to Spitz so I would not have to wait in the morning. (The ferry was drug across the river by a cable, no engine!) Unfortunately, there was no camping and before I even looked too much for a hotel, I realized the town was overrun with wine seeking tourists. It was too much for me so I booked it out there after only checking on one or two hotels for availability. I was tired, but the next town was close.


Spitz is the start of the Wachau wine region.


I love how shop owners cater to cyclists.
Spitz is the start of the Wachau wine region, which is great if you appreciate wine. I don't. While the subsequent towns were quieter, they were also full or charging too much for my wallet because it was the popular wine region. The first one I found was $100, I could not do it. I had paid $12 the night before and would be in the room less than twelve hours. The next one was $75, but I was just 10k from camping. I pressed onward to Krems and camped for $10. The only problem with this was that my 60km day was now a 97km day with hills. I was hurting. Even if I didn't want to pay monetarily, my body was paying physically. Another lesson.


Another old street in another quaint town.


Part of the story of Jesus in Durnstein.


The dinosaur park that wasn't open. Sad days.
I barely remember exploring Krems or going back into the wine country area in the morning. They were all quaint towns and part of it is they run together, but I am realizing as I try to write this just how tired I must have been. It is odd, if someone is with me, I would have happily just grabbed a hotel room. On my own, I'll suffer longer to save that extra bit of cash for more ice cream, or a massage, or . . . .


I have no idea why Tulln, Austria has a statue of Marcus Aurelius. Also, is Caesar the same as Kaiser?


I have seen this a couple times in Austria. It might be the best way to clean up a men's bathroom.
The next day, I had an uneventful 63.5km day to Tulln. I didn't do much. I rested. It has a beautiful water front park where I spent most of my morning the next day before biking to Vienna. They have some beautiful, but small botanical gardens too. They were no Phipps in Pittsburgh or the Christchurch Botanicals. I think those two will always be tops.


A statue near the river in Tulln.


They really do use those gnomes more in Austria.


This snail probably spent the entire night climbing my tent. It took me only three short seconds to undo all its hard work.

The Danube River Trail: Passau, Germany to Melk, Austria, Days 2-4

The Danube bike path and a little Austin Powers humor.


The bike ferry (my Trucker is on the right).
The rest of my second day did not goes as smoothly as the morning. It too me to the Danube Loop where the river could not cut through a granite mountain so it took a different route. The bike path stops there and you have to take a ferry down river or across the river. First up, I can't believe this bike trail is so popular that people make a business shuttling people back and forth across the river. I think there were 10 people on the ferry. They all crossed. I chose to continue down river on the same side because I wanted to ride on the trail instead of country roads. Unfortunately, while it was really peaceful riding, I did not get to next ferry point in time to get over to my campsite for the night. I could bike back 10km to a different campsite or stay in the one guest house they had. The guest house was only 40 euros and the room felt air conditioned. As soon as I felt the cool, I was game.


A huge rowing facility: lanes, building, floating transport, and who knows what else.
After getting the room, I explored all twenty feet of the one inn town. There wasn't really much of anything, but it was peaceful, which I liked. They did not have a grocery store so I had to use their pub for dinner. I got a pizza because it was easy, but I think this meal broke me. The entire time with my brother in Austria, we had been fighting flies at meals. Not just one or two, but five or six. At this meal, I counted eight. Very, very frustrating. I don't mind them being 'unsanitary' I just hate that they won't sit still. That is my job. I think someone could make a killing with flypaper in Austria. Anyway, after a meal so quick the waitress commented on it (though in Europe going out to eat seems like a longer affair than in the US), I headed back to my room. It had been hot. I had AC. I wanted to soak up as much of it as I could. Unfortunately, the room seemed a little warmer when I got up there. It turned out that I didn't have AC. The room was just that much cooler without the afternoon sun shining in. Oh well.


Check out the 'walk' signs just outside of Linz.


I love that so many people bike that they have these giant lots for bikes and they are still over full.
My third day, I found out I am an idiot. The ferry might have been running, but you have to page it with some weird intercom system. Once I figured it out, I got the ferry and put my foot to the pedal as fast as I could. I had great ideas for passing through Linz and sleeping next to the castle in Grein. I had been riding past a number of castles, but none were easily visitable or super visible from the river. I wanted to fix that. I get excited about castles. They inspire some romantic ideas of the King Arthur legend. I wonder if people in Austria are nearly as excited by them. I do not think you can go 30km anywhere in Austria without getting to a castle. There are so many, it can be as low at 5 euros to get in. It was a long haul to see it, but worth it.


99 castles in Austria, 99 castles in Austria, go visit one . . .


A great statue in Linz.


Linz.
My night in Grein was entertaining. I chatted a few people up, but the best part was that I was camping next to other bike tour folks. We had an automatic bond. One couple wanted me to help them check in since I knew Spanish and English. They only knew Spanish and three other languages that were not English or German. The most notable part of the night was the soccer club next to the camp site. I do not know what they were celebrating, but I distinctly remember the men going from singing Ole, Ole, Ole, to Gloria Gaynor's I Will Survive. Perfect.


Grein castle.


I really wanted to let this squirrel out. He was just hopping back and forth non stop.
After the long haul and a short night of sleep, I was tired. I was passing through a lot of great land, but I did not feel I was experiencing it enough. I was enjoying the towns I was sleeping in or taking my afternoon break in, but there were small sights on the way that I had been skipping. To fix that on my fourth day, I planned another big day with a ton of side trips to slow me down. Those side trips turned out to be my best decision of the trip so far. I hope to use them as a model from here on out.


Beautiful river scenery.


I do not think I have ever seen a lock being used. The Danube has a ton. Very cool.


The smell these guys give off will stick with me when I think of Austria.
After cruising the river for a few kilometers, I detoured to a climb up to Maria Taferi, a pilgrimage church. From there, I was off to Artstetten Castle and it did not disappoint. Big, inspiring, and just what I was looking for. Also, there was a fireman's carnival going on just below the castle that was great. From there, I cut across the farmland to Leiben Castle before dropping down to Melk. Leiben seemed more like a big mansion than a castle. It was still neat to get up close in the courtyard though. After that, I took my afternoon break in Melk. Melk was not the big city I was hoping for. I had left Linz without doing my trip shopping, assuming I could get it in Melk. I was wrong.


The Danube from Maria Taferi.


Artstetten Castle.


The farmland between Artstetten and Leiben Castles.


Leiben Castle.
My lack of planning is going to bite my in the butt eventually, but not yet. Who needs guide books, chargers, or whatever else I was looking for? Just details. I planned a lot of this trip, but also left a lot open. Some of those openings are falling into place. Others, not so much, but that is the point isn't it. We (or at least I) don't travel to stay in our comfort zones.


A bike race passing through Melk. I was tired, but I can't believe this guys arms were still pumping.