I wanted to share the most amazing day trip from Vienna while on my trip to Europe this summer. I took a train to Krems and walked to the recommended riverboat tour dock about 20 mins away (easy flat walk). I enjoyed the 3.5 hour tour up the Danube arriving in Melk around lunchtime. A short walk from the dock in Melk I rented a bike to ride around and see the sights. I then began the amazing 37 kms (23 miles) bike ride along the south side (flatter side with no vineyards) back to Krems. The ride took me about 3 hours and this included some minor stops to take pictures. The path is well marked with signs indicating the correct direction. Upon arriving in Krems, I locked the bike up for it to be picked up by the owners. I locked the bike by the office of the riverboat company as others had done the same thing. I then walked back to the train station (20 mins) and enjoyed my ride back to Vienna. If I remember correctly, I caught a 7:00 am train from Vienna to Krems to begin the day and was back in Vienna around 6 or 7 pm. It was a long day, but the weather was amazing, the sights were beautiful, the people were VERY friendly along the way, and it was one of the most memorable days of my trip.
Sounds nice! Was it a dedicated separate bike path, or was it like a bike lane next to the roadway?
The bike path was a designated path away from cars. There were times when it was next to the highway, but there was a guardrail of some sort separating bikers from cars. I never felt threatened by cars or in danger at any time. A small percentage was near the road. Most of the time the trail was along the river, snaking through a canopy of trees, through a small town, in the middle of a small vineyard, etc. A totally relaxing and enjoyable trip.