It was a relief to wake up to a cool overcast morning. There was actually a very light misty rain as we left – but not enough to drench us. For a while we just cycled ahead of a dark rain cloud. The weather gave the river a moody magical look to it – you could imagine mythical Danube creatures lurking just under the water.

The first 25km or so of our journey was along the southern bank. There were stunning views of the towns on the other bank.

   

We crossed the river at another power generating station (at Ybbs – Persenbeug) – according to the info sign, this is the oldest surviving hydro generator in Austria.

The weather cleared mid-morning but unfortunately a little head wind also came up, meaning that some stretches required a bit more effort.

The river began to narrow as we approached the towns of St Nikola and Grein, with steep slopes on either side.

    

 

After Grein the path took us away from the river again and through some fields. There were information signs about the work that had been done to contain the town from flooding as it was flooded in 2002. The vulnerable part of the village is shielded by a 7km wall and the main roads going through the wall have a metal frame that be closed when the water rises. The town wall protects the villagers from floods and not from barbarian hordes. We had to cycle up over some of the walls.

Parts of the cycle path were right up against the river, just about at the same level as the water. We noticed that houses we passed by were mostly built on stilts, so obviously the area is prone to flooding.

The route took us up and through town areas after Mauthausen, with a few little hills (had almost forgotten what hills are). Eventually we were alongside the river for the last stretch to Linz. There is quite a bit of quarying and other industry on the opposite river bank as you approach Linz (at around Steyregg) – not very pretty after all the beauty of the rest of the ride. The last stretch to Linz was a push, with head wind and at the end of a long ride (105km in all). When we got to the tourist information we were told that accommodation is in short supply due to a convention and the tourist season. However we were able to secure one night in the youth hostel (we wanted two). When we arrived here they told us that two nights were now available – so we can have our planned rest day.