Today’s walk of 16.3 mi (26.6 km) was my last along the Danube (I’ll veer southwest to Salzburg tomorrow) and I took fully advantage of the Donaufahrradweg as opposed to the Austrian Camino that ran parallel with it. The Camino wasn’t paved so you had to go slower to watch for the rocks, and you had no view of the Danube—that was an easy choice. Early on, I was forced to walk on a busy highway for a mile with essentially no shoulder to save a few miles—on the Bundesstraßen I think it’s not allowed, although three police cars went by me and didn’t stop me!
My highlight was the Urfahr (name of a Linz District) Festival Market that welcomed me in Linz and after having a rehydrating beer I had a Schaumrolle, a 4 in puff pastry filled with whipped cream—a sheer delight. And after getting settled in my hotel, I went down there for supper: Bratwurst with sauerkraut and a Semmel and beer. At night, it’s even more spectacular. Just unbelievable how many people were wandering around.
And where we stopped in 2000 in Linz on our Danube cruise, they had three river cruise boats—Linz is still popular.
