Mikulov, Czechia to Wolkersdorf, Austria

 Ride day 9: 53.4 miles, 2480’ elevation

Lodging:  Hotel Klaus im Weinviertel

It poured rain all night, washing some of the mud off our bikes which were locked together in the courtyard. The power was off in our hotel room in the morning, but the dining area had power. After a so-so breakfast, we headed through the streets of Mikulov, past the festival grounds from last night, around the chateau, and back to our route. Like yesterday, we passed through a lot of grape vines interspersed with corn fields, dried sunflowers, some squash. We heard the constant recordings of gunshot and screeching hawks which are meant to keep wildlife away from the crops. We saw a couple of grouse-like birds ducking into the fields, so we have doubts on whether these recordings work. It is unpleasant to hear the sound of shooting all around you.

Our route was on tiny roads and bike paths. At one point we turned a corner and saw a Welcome to Austria sign. There was no demarcation or fences in the adjacent fields. Seemed like farms spanned the border. The character of the landscape has changed — flatter and more open as we slowly descend towards the Danube. 

The currency changed to euros, and we had none. In small towns we saw some people in folk dress, possibly heading to church in their exquisite traditional dress. We found a wonderful appearing restaurant, but they only accepted euros and no credit, so we couldn’t have lunch. Although the border is close, people on the Czech side seem to speak no German, and on the Austrian side no Czech is spoken. In the USA, every tiny business accepts cards for payment, but not here. It was far to an atm ( though we suspect that Google maps is ignorant of many atm locations), so we rode on, only to repeat the experience in a charming restaurant 7 miles further on. We were pretty hungry by then. We saw an atm location off route, and pedaled up to a 24 hour gas station only to find that the atm was not working. In the gas station we were able to buy fresh rolls (excellent bread), salami, cheese, and cokes with a credit card. We had a delicious roadside lunch in the end. It rained a little off and on.

Our route followed bike paths across railroad tracks from a good road. Unfortunately mud had flowed across our track — the kind that is deep and sticks to your shoes and tires, and it splatters your back where it’s shallow enough to ride. Also there were headwinds.  We made our way through and came to our nice hotel in Wolkersdorf im Weinviertel. Two large tour busses were arriving at the same time. We were able to spray off our bikes with a garden hose and lock them under a shelter. Our room was large and nice.

After cleaning up, we walked to the schloss (castle) tavern where friendly employees directed us to the nearest atm. It was not known to Google maps, and we weren’t sure how to enter. We tailgated some youths into the atm area, withdrew cash, and headed back to the tavern for a good dinner from the friendly staff. It felt like we had discovered a good, local dining spot. Back at our hotel, the tour groups were enjoying some kind of presentation with cheers as we retired.