Riding East
Posted by Dan
On the river Traun, heading for the Danube, Austria
Last night we slept in the long grass again. Nature’s music was the ratcheting sound of crickets clicking their legs as they jumped around outside the tent. Gone is the gamelan music of the clanging alpine cowbells, now we enjoy the rapid buzz of dragonflies’ wings and the widening rivers as we descend from the mountains and ride towards Vienna.
The Alps have been an inspiring presence – majestic yet friendly – and a vision of the sights we may encounter in our future landscapes. We’ve enjoyed many detours to its lakes and peaks, however, in Salzburg we made a reluctant decision to leave the Alps behind and rejoin our original route through Eastern Europe.
Here on the river the early signs of Autumn have arrived and the first leaves are beginning to fall. Although we’ve already clocked 2000 kilometres, it’s time to cover more distance and reach Turkey before winter descends.
