Linz sits on the Danube about halfway between Vienna and Passau, and its history goes back to the Romans, who built a fort here called Lentia. The site of the Roman settlement lies under the old town, near the castle and the main square, and the remains of the civilian settlement spread to the surrounding districts. Martinsfeld, where this stop is placed, lies close to the centre, and the old church of St Martin nearby is one of the oldest surviving churches in Austria, with parts of its walls dating back more than a thousand years.
The city has had many lives. It was the home of the composer Anton Bruckner, who worked as organist at the cathedral, and of the astronomer Johannes Kepler, who lived here for over a decade and wrote key works on planetary motion. Industry arrived in the twentieth century, with steelworks and chemical plants, and it gave Linz a rough reputation that the city has worked to shed. Today it is known for culture, with the Ars Electronica centre on the river, and for the Linzer Torte, a lattice-topped almond and jam tart said to be one of the oldest cakes in the world.
Riding in and around Linz is not difficult. The Danube valley is wide, the roads are well signed, and the city has everything a traveller needs. With over two hundred thousand people, it has plenty of fuel stations, workshops and hotels. The best views are from the Postlingberg, a hill north of the river that is reached by a steep tramway and gives a fine view over the city and the plain. North of the river the countryside rises into the Muhlviertel, with granite hills, forests and quiet lanes that are a pleasure on a motorcycle.
Traffic can be heavy at rush hour, and the bridges become bottlenecks. Weather is continental, with cold winters and warm summers, and fog is common in the river valleys in autumn. Take time to walk across the Danube on the old bridge, and look at the arcades of the main square. It is one of the biggest in Austria, with colourful baroque houses on every side.