Weissenkirchen is the Wachau as the wine-growers see it: a village of old houses and cellars squeezed between the Danube and a hillside of terraced vineyards. It is slightly less famous than Dürnstein, and a good deal less crowded, which gives it a more natural feel. The streets are narrow, the gateways lead into courtyards with walnut trees, and the smell of fermenting must hangs in the air in early autumn.
The village takes its name from a white church, and the fortified church on the hill above the houses still dominates the place, protected by walls and a tower built when the Turks threatened Lower Austria in the sixteenth century. A covered stairway climbs to it from the village, and the effort is worth it for the view down onto the red roofs and the river. In the old Teisenhoferhof, a wine-growers' house with an arcaded courtyard, the district keeps a museum about the Wachau's history and its trade, a gentle half hour if the weather turns.
This is a village to taste in. The wine here is graded by the growers' association by weight, from light Steinfeder through Federspiel to rich Smaragd, named after the green lizards that bask on the terrace walls. Many families run Buschenschenken or Heurige, simple wine taverns with a pine branch hung outside to show that they are open. They serve cold cuts, cheeses, pickles and bread with their own wine, and you can sit under a tree and watch the barges on the river. For a rider this calls for restraint, so the glass of Grüner Veltliner should be a small one, or the next stop should be a hotel.
The road is the B3, hugging the north bank of the Danube, and it is a simple, charming, relaxed ride. The bends are gentle, the traffic is mixed with cyclists and tourists, and the surface is generally in good shape. Early on a May morning, with blossom on the apricot trees and the river still, it is lovely. Autumn brings gold in the vineyards and a hint of woodsmoke.
The village has fewer than a thousand people, so there is only limited fuel. Krems is the usual choice, about ten kilometres away, and has everything. A coffee on the terrace beside the river will cost less than you expect and last as long as you wish.