Spitz stands at the western end of the Wachau, where the Danube bends and the valley opens out a little. It is a small town in name and in size, about thirteen hundred people, but it carries itself like a place that has always known its worth. Painted houses front the main street, a medieval gate called the Rotes Tor stands at one end, and above the town the ruin of the Hinterhaus castle looks down from a wooded crag.
Behind the town, a vineyard called the Tausendeimerberg, the thousand-bucket hill, rises in a spectacular set of terraces. It is said to be the largest single vineyard terrace in Austria, and the name refers to the harvest it could produce in a good year, a thousand Eimer, an old measure of wine. Walking among the vines in September, with the grapes heavy and the wasps lazy, is a quiet pleasure. The wines from Spitz have a reputation for crisp, mineral Rieslings, and local cooperatives and family estates are happy to pour a glass.
A small passenger ferry crosses the river here, linking Spitz with the village of Arnsdorf on the south bank, and it is a delightful way to see the Danube at water level. The river is wide, slow and brown, and the barges and cruise ships pass at a stately pace. On the south side, the road runs through orchards and small villages, so a loop crossing the river by ferry and returning over a bridge makes a good short ride.
The riding on the B3 is calm and agreeable. It is a road to be enjoyed at an unhurried pace, with slow, wide bends and views of terraced slopes above the river, and in spring the apricot blossom adds a touch of pink. Weekend traffic is heavy, with convoys of cyclists and tour coaches, so a weekday is better, and a morning start gives you cool air and good light.
For fuel, Spitz may have limited options, so Krems, about fourteen kilometres away, is the more certain stop. In the town, a small bakery or cafe will serve you a Marillenkuchen, apricot cake, made with the local fruit, which is exactly what a rider needs before the long run back down the river.