KREMS to KLEIN POCHLARN : 43kms

Tuesday, 2nd May, 2018?

We did stroll down the hill again yesterday evening, the cafe we had chosen earlier was full, not a lot else was open but on seeing a Mexican cafe which was open,  we decided to stop there and shared a yummy plate of nachos with chicken, which gave us the energy to stagger up the hill again.

It was much easier going down the hill by bike this morning, after breakfast and goodbyes to our lovely Mexican hostess who came to Austria as a teenager and has been here for 24 years.  Such a delightful lady.

Our first stop was in Durnstein, only about a 5km ride from Krems.

A lovely town which was crowded with tourists this morning, mostly American and Australian passengers from one of the many cruise boats going up and down the river.  Though lovely, it felt a bit touristy and prices on souvenirs etc. reflected that.  We couldn't resist the temptation of coffee and a delicious apricot cake from the bakery but we did share the cake as we'd not long ago eaten breakfast.

I'm not 100% sure of the history, but it seems that Richard the Lionheart sought refuge in Durnstein Castle several centuries ago....we didn't visit the castle as it is perched on a very, very high hill, way too steep for us to try to climb.

It was an easy day today, the weather was kind, the cycle path was mostly excellent, we stopped at a couple of villages we had previously visited,

 noticed a sharp increase in the number of motorhomes on the road and felt a wave of nostalgia wash over us when a Boris 'lookalike' passed by.

We reached our destination Klein Pochlarn (Small Pochlarn....Pochlarn is on the opposite side of the river) before 3pm, settled into our room with the bikes securely ensconced in a lock up garage, went for a stroll through the town, had drinks and a light meal in a nearby bar/cafe, went for another stroll and are now relaxing, watching snooker on the telly before retiring for the night.