Wachau Danube and Jauerling

A 223 km loop

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Why this ride

A proper escape from Vienna with roads worth waking up for. 223 km round from Vienna - plan on about 4 h 03 of riding. It goes by way of Krems an der Donau, Dürnstein, Wachau and Melk Abbey. The climb of the day is Jauerling. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.

Roadbook

1. Vienna start

   Vienna rewards the rider who parks the bike and walks. The Innere Stadt, the old centre, sits inside the line of the Ringstrasse, the great boulevard laid out in the nineteenth century where the medieval walls once stood, and it is lined with the opera house, the parliament, the university and a procession of grand museums. At the heart is Stephansdom, the cathedral with a roof of coloured tiles and a tall south tower that has been a landmark for centuries. The Hofburg, once the imperial palace, takes up a sizable chunk of the neighbourhood.

   The city's culture is a culture of tables. Coffeehouses, with marble tabletops, newspapers on wooden holders and waiters in black, are recognised by UNESCO as part of the intangible heritage, and a single coffee can buy you an afternoon. Wiener schnitzel, thin and crisp and served with potato salad, is the standard meal, and Sachertorte, a dense chocolate cake with apricot jam, is the standard sweet, though locals disagree about where to eat the best one. The Naschmarkt has stalls of olives, spices and fresh produce, and the Prater, with its giant Ferris wheel from 1897, is a cheerful reminder that Vienna once led the world in amusements.

   Riding out of Vienna is easier than riding in. The Höhenstrasse climbs through the Vienna Woods to the viewpoint at Kahlenberg, a good road for an evening run with views over the Danube and the city. East of town, the land flattens and opens into the Pannonian plain, where roads run straight through vineyards and fields, and where the shallow, reed-fringed Neusiedlersee waits in the heat, a steppe lake that feels like an entirely different country. Trams, taxis and cyclists make the centre a place for patience, and parking rules are strict, so ask at your hotel.

   Fuel is easy at stations around the ring roads and on the main exits, though there are few in the centre. Summer can be hot and humid, winter is cold and grey, and the best months are May, June and September, when the evening light lingers. Be gentle with the cobbles, and mind the tram tracks in wet weather, because they are slick and can catch a wheel.

2. Krems an der Donau town
3. Dürnstein, Wachau sight
4. Jauerling high
5. Melk Abbey food

   Melk Abbey sits on a rock above the Danube like a ship that has run aground in gold. The Baroque monastery, built in the early eighteenth century to designs by Jakob Prandtauer, dominates the town and the river from its crag, with a long, ochre-yellow facade, two spires on the church and a roofline of terraces and pavilions. Benedictine monks have lived on the site since the eleventh century, and the monastery has been a school, a library and a scriptorium for most of that time. Its library holds tens of thousands of volumes, including medieval manuscripts, and the ceiling is covered in painted allegories.

   The abbey also has a place in literature. In Umberto Eco's novel The Name of the Rose, the narrator is Adso of Melk, a young Benedictine novice who recalls the events of a monastery murder in old age, and the title of the book has made Melk better known to readers who have never visited. In real life, the town is quiet and old-fashioned, with a main street of painted houses, a few cafes and a handful of guest houses, and the abbey above it, floodlit at night.

   Melk is the western gateway to the Wachau, the finest stretch of the Danube valley, where the river runs between steep hills covered with terraced vineyards and apricot orchards, past ruined castles and medieval villages. The valley is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and in spring, when the apricots blossom, it is white and pink. The wines, especially the dry, peppery Grüner Veltliner and the Riesling, are famous, and the apricot, the Marille, appears in jam, schnapps, dumplings and cakes. The road along the river is a fine ride, with gentle bends, views across the water and a surface that is mostly smooth, though in summer and on weekends it fills with cyclists, coaches and cars, and a bike can spend a lot of time in a queue.

   Melk has fuel and a good choice of restaurants, with a population of about four thousand, and the larger towns of St Pölten and Krems are within reach. Parking near the abbey is limited, so allow time and take the walk uphill. The best times are May, September and early October, when the weather is mild and the vines are green or turning gold. Early morning light on the facade is wonderful, with the river often covered in mist.

6. Vienna finish

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