2nd October - 3rd October......... Grein....... Another pleasant half day of cycling brought me to the very picturesque town of Grein, set right on the river with a castle/palace overlooking the town. The central main square is unchanged with buildings from the 16C. The old Town Hall built in 1563 was constructed into a theatre in 1791. It has operated as such since then! It would be an experience to be at the right time to be in this very intimate theatre to see a performance. It is completely unchanged, including the old wooden seating. Patrons could buy a 'season ticket' [View Full Entry]

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30thSeptember - 1st October......Mauthausen via St Florian....... I went off the main R1 Danube Trail to visit the Augustinian Abbey at St Florian. St Florian was a Roman who converted to Christianity and was drowned in the Enns River. I know, I know....God works in mysterious ways. The church itself is full-on baroque from the 17C on a grand scale. Think Big. I found Mauthausen an interesting town and enjoyable to relax in. The old part is not large and looks pretty from the other side of the river where I was tucked in a deciduous forest. The trail swaps a [View Full Entry]

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29th September......Linz with a population of 208,000 grew on me. While it has a lovely market square (with a flea market on the Sat morning I was there), it is an industrial city that belches out steam and pollution in the suburbs and across the Danube. You can taste it as you cycle out of the city. It is an alive city though and I enjoyed the large community art pieces on the riverbank. The Postlingberg, a twin spired baroque 18C church, sits atop a hill overlooking the town and river. At 537m it was a bit like cycling up to [View Full Entry]

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28th Septmeber.....Passau to Linz...... The next day saw clouds and an occasional sprinkle of rain as I crossed the 'border' into Austria. No demands of passport anymore, instead you are welcomed by a sign that is in 4 different languages. The old custom house is now an art gallery and you don't have to change your money. I had a musical experience of a different kind yesterday. It was one of those magical moments that I tend to have when I am away by myself. I was riding along with my MP3 player on random which means I could have anything! [View Full Entry]

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Bogan - Passau...... It was an overcast day today but the rain stayed away. I met up with some other cyclists who were a bit older than me. They had very impressive folding cycles but had special narrow rims on the smaller wheel which was causing a real problem for them. The tube had gone and a replacemnt was looking very difficult to get. Let it be another lesson to me! Mine are easy to get in that they are a child's- like tyre. I am reading 'Zen & the Art of Motor Cycle Maintenance' which appears to be very apt [View Full Entry]

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I decided to ride up the river for 30-40 kms to visit Weltenburg, which has the world's oldest monastic brewery founded in 1058 and an over the top Baroque decorated church dated 1716. It is set on a remote, somewhat inaccessable part of the river with high limestone cliffs and forest on either side. I cycled along the river on extremely well maintained paths along with other cyclists and the odd rollerblader- some of whom are in their middle to late age. It is still strange for me to see older people cycling everywhere. I headed to Kelheim which is the [View Full Entry]

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I amin the process of putting up my previous trip to Peru in 1999 for those that might be interested. Click on the South America filter above.....and scroll down until you get to the first entry which starts at "I can’t sleep. Confused and Jet-lagged" and is dated 17th August, 1999 Buenos Aires............. If you are just searching and have come across this and want some info let me know as it make take me a while to finish off this part of my blog. ............................... 1999……….6wks SOUTH AMERICA-ARGENTINA, PERU Tango in the street, painted house [View Full Entry]

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2006………6wks-4th CYCLING TRIP-Gujarat & Southern Rajasthan, INDIA........... I've been back 4 weeks now and waiting to see if my travel insurance will pay for the $350 repairs to my bicycle. I have been mucking around with some of my photos from the trip now that I'm home. You really need to click on the photo to enlarge it to fully appreciate the various treatments to the photos. I have been using PhotoImpact and ACDSee programs. Some are cropped, changed to sepia, others using the cartoon, oil paint and watercolour manipulations. I thought I would put them up here a [View Full Entry]

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2006………6wks-4th CYCLING TRIP-Gujarat & Southern Rajasthan, INDIA........... Well I have been home a week now and have generally been enjoying it. My bed is really comfortable and it’s the same bed every night! I can have cereal for breakfast ('Cunflacks- yes!) and the coffee machine is appreciated. The train to work is unbelievably comfortable and empty. The garden is lush and full of flowers and produce ready to ripen. It’s nice to have a shower instead of a bucket and with hot water. The toilet doesn’t stink. The streets are organised, clean and quiet. [View Full Entry]

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2006………6wks-4th CYCLING TRIP-Gujarat & Southern Rajasthan, INDIA........... On the bus back to Bhuj there were 3 Policemen, one with a full-size, "I'll shoot you if you move"-type rifle, escorting 'two male persons' that were handcuffed together. Can you image Police hopping onto public transport in Adelaide with a prisoner? Beggars have not been the presence they were in the 70s. It would be interesting to see what it's like in Delhi or Agra for a comparison. You don't see the same level of poverty to the point of starvation or ill-health either. I've seen quite a few pe [View Full Entry]

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