The day was already warming up as we departed, and after waiting a long time at the bakery for morning tea and lunch provisions, we retraced our route back to the river and soon found ourselves crossing the Ilz River – the third of the three rivers. This gave us a close up view of Veste Niederhaus and back across to Passau. continued...

It rained overnight but had eased when we made our way to breakfast.  We were chatting to an Englishman who was cycling to Istanbul, doing round 100kms a day, when I received a message from Melinda, our Airbnb host in Budapest, who had agreed to accept delivery of a box containing our bike bags and excess clothes.  Graham had posted the box over a week ago, and Melinda’s son had refused to accept delivery as there was an unexpected customs fee of around $40 AUD. continued...

We left Linz via Nuer Eisenbahnbruke with views up to Our Lady of Seven Sorrows that we had visited the evening before. The cycle path was very busy, with most cyclists heading towards Vienna.  We sped past a few groups, but as I stopped for photos, many of them passed us.  continued...

Kimberly appeared to bid us farewell as we were packing the bikes.  She explained that she has been running her Airbnb for three years, largely without competition until another BnB opened last year.  She is also expanding her accommodation options, as Grein is the perfect stopping point for the increasing number of cyclists on the EV6. Though she thought we might be the first guests this year to use the kitchen. continued...

It was fortunate that we were so close to the Abbey as I had misread the time of the English speaking tour, so we had to hustle to get ourselves ready as we had been enjoying a relaxing start to our rest day.  It was only a five minute walk up the road, though it took a few minutes to find the ticket office.  Booked into the 10:55am tour, we had time to admire the entrance to the Abbey before the guide arrived.  continued...

After some discussion about the best alternative, we decided to follow the south bank of the Danube towards Krems.  This meant we would have morning shade and views across the river to some of the beautiful towns along the route.  continued...

The inclusive breakfast was more than adequate and we lingered a little before checking out, noting we had a day of climbing ahead of us. We headed into the town centre to find a bakery.  Leaving the town, Gars castle, once used as a royal residence, and one of the oldest Babenberg fortifications, was clearly visible above the river. continued...

It was hard to leave our tranquil river view and it was a shame we didn’t have time to take a boat down the river.

After a short sharp climb out of town, we crossed the Vranov Dam which controlled the water flows of the Dyje river. It had three turbines to provide electricity to the area and has proved invaluable for flood control.  continued...

As Laa an der Thaya was only a small town, we had a lovely, leisurely start as there was no rush to head out to see the sights.  We decided against paying 85 euros to visit the thermal baths, given that the reviews were so poor, and we were happy to have some time to relax in our accommodation.  continued...

The bread rolls that we had for lunch yesterday were so good, that we returned to the bakery for more on our way out of town.  We followed route 5 and were soon cycling through farmland, past fields of baby watermelons with yellow flowers.  continued...