Dürnstein is the best-known village on the Wachau stretch of the Danube, and it is easy to see why. The river bends below a ridge, the vineyard terraces climb the slope in neat rows, and the blue-and-white tower of the abbey church rises above the roofs like a piece of confectionery. A ruined castle crowns the cliff above, and the whole scene appears on postcards, in films and in the memory of anyone who has taken a boat down the river.
The castle is the key to the story. In 1192, on his way home from the Third Crusade, Richard the Lionheart of England was captured near Vienna by Duke Leopold V of Austria, who held a grudge from a quarrel at Acre, and the king was imprisoned at Dürnstein for some months before being transferred to German custody and ransomed. The ruin you can climb to today is that same castle, destroyed by Swedish troops in the Thirty Years' War, and the walk up the hill takes about twenty minutes and rewards you with a wide view over the river and vineyards.
Dürnstein is also famous for apricots. The Wachau's apricot, the Marille, is protected by name and appears in jam, schnapps, liqueur, dumplings and cakes, and in late July the orchards are heavy with fruit. A glass of the local apricot brandy at the end of a ride is a wonderful way to be slightly more relaxed than the speed limits recommend. Grapes are the other business: the terraces behind the village produce Riesling and Grüner Veltliner of real quality, and the Wachau has its own wine classification, Steinfeder, Federspiel and Smaragd.
The riding is a pleasure of a different kind than in the Alps. The B3 follows the Danube, with small bends, a flat gradient and a surface that is mostly good, but traffic can be heavy in summer, cyclists are everywhere on the river path and coach parties often block the village lanes. Choose a weekday in April, May or October, when the light is soft and the vines are colourful.
Krems, about ten kilometres east, is the nearest larger town, with several stations and supermarkets. The riverside cafes and wine taverns, or Heurige, are better than the fuel, so plan to eat, and perhaps not rush.