DAY 8 (MAY 9-WED) LINZ TO GREIN, AUSTRIA

Best breakfast yet-scrambled eggs, sausage, fruit, rolls-make 2 sandwiches to share w/friends (swans & ducks).  Go back up to room to send emails to friends about blog & write post cards-leave after 9:00 to find PO.  Not easy-electric trains, cars, bikes, pedestrians & construction workers all come together w/no obvious lanes or rules.  Armand & Jean both say–BIKES RULE– (until you get run over)  Have not seen 1 accident yet.  Do not stop to visit anything in Linz–get on RI bike rt.  This turns into most unusual day-no sight seeing-get lost several times.  At 10 m stop to feed swans–about 20 come right up.  See Jean come out from side trail-she’s off to see oldest town in Austria.  We go on other trail-want to see concentration camp & memorial (est 123,000 people killed here)  Go into town following 4 German bikers–they stop to eat-we keep going & going.  Suddenly on busy rd w/traffic & NO bike lanes.  A keeps going-I’m yelling-THIS DOESN’T LOOK RIGHT TO ME!!  They wouldn’t put 70 yr old women doing the Danube tour on this rd.  Turn around & go back into town–German bikers are just getting on bikes–follow them-get on bike trail–LOOKS GOOD TO ME!  Suddenly turn on same busy rd we were on–go for several miles & see name of town.  Ask if it’s on our map-NO–ask man in yd–says we need to go back into town & turn rt.  2nd time lost we were on a gravel rd w/NO bikers around–doesn’t look rt.  Turns out as of May 1st Danube trail was repaired.  Today’s ride was not as beautiful–weather in low 70s.  Get to Grein-saw 2 swans ( 1 black & 1 white) w/family of ducks–shared my sandwich-at 5:00 bus will take you to hotel because it’s steep ride.  A thinks we can bike–I’m riding bus.  Turns out it was dangerous-lots of 2 way traffic-no bike lane.  Take shower go down to rd to wait for Jean–here she comes biking in.  She had bought a map & done extra things-biked in from another direction (up steep hills)  Ate dinner & compared stories.  Nice motel–have our own balcony.