Bicycle Tours

The Trail of Mozart

Highlights: visits to incomparable Salzburg and Vienna, the "world capital of music", beautiful Baroque Schärding and historic Linz; visits to other charming medieval towns, castles and splendid abbeys, the incomparable Benedictine Monastery in Melk and the massive fortress in Burghausen; a "Mozart Dinner Concert" (schedule permitting), delightful, mostly flat biking with some hills around Salzburg, often on separate bike paths or on small rural roads through the forested Upper Danube Valley and the scenic vineyards of the Wachau Valley; visit to the unusual "Donauschlinge", a textbook meander in the Donau River; pleasant boat ride on the River Danube from Passau to Engelhartszell.

Tour Begins: in the afternoon in the lobby of our hotel in Salzburg. You can easily reach Salzburg by train from the Westbahnhof (West Train Station) in Vienna. The train ride takes just over 3 hours. Or if you arrive in Munich, trains to Salzburg leave from the Hauptbahnhof (Main Train Station) and take about one hour. Our hotel is located in the center of Salzburg, within walking distance of the city's main attractions.

Tour Concludes: in the morning of day 9 after breakfast. We hope that you will extend your visit to Vienna a few days before or after the tour to better enjoy this Imperial City's many treasures and the well known Schönbrun Palace just outside of Vienna. For last minute train schedules visit the website of the Austrian Railways beforehand on line at www.oebb.at or at www.eurail.com. Make sure you use the German city names (Wien for Vienna, Munchen for Munich etc.).

Day 1: Arrive on your own at our comfortable 4 star hotel in Salzburg located right in the city center and a short cab ride away from the main train station. After a brief orientation meeting and official welcome to Salzburg we'll make a pleasing warm-up ride along the River Salzach. Before our first Austrian dinner tonight there will still be some time to stroll around in Salzburg. We hope you arrive a day early to explore this wonderful walking city with its many little passageways and courtyards in the cozy medieval section. The most famous street in this part of Salzburg is, of course, the Getreidegasse, well known for its old-style hanging shop signs and Mozart's birthplace at number 9. A few steps away is the "City of the Bishops', a more grandiose Salzburg with the magnificent Cathedral and former residence of the Archbishop. The Mirabell Palace and Gardens are a delightful place of great beauty. Also especially recommended is the Hohensalzburg Fortress, Salzburg's landmark and the largest citadel in Central Europe to have completely survived. The panoramic view over the city from here is spectacular. We complete our first day together with a delightful, candle-lit dinner concert of the most popular compositions of W. A. Mozart in the stylish ambiance of the Stiftskeller St. Peter restaurant (schedule permitting).

Day 2: Salzburg - Burghausen - 36 miles - We'll leave the festival city of Salzburg and take the path along the bank of the Salzach to tranquil and quaint Oberndorf. It was here that Franz Xaver Gruber, a school teacher, wrote the famous Christmas carol "Silent Night" in 1818 and we'll visit the charming, little "Silent Night Chapel". We'll bike on along the river to Tittmoning in Germany for a satisfying lunch on the charming main square. In the afternoon we'll reach Burghausen in Germany where we find the most expansive castle buildings in Europe. A guided tour will acquaint us with the history and development of the town and castle. Our small and cozy family hotel prides itself on its excellent restaurant.

Day 3: Burghausen - Schärding - 43 miles - Today we'll cycle through the "Unterer Inn" Nature Preserve, the largest wooded region of the Inn District and we'll stop at the Inn-Salzach View, where the Salzach flows into the Inn. We then pass through lively Braunau and will stop here for some coffee and a walk around to admire the clock tower. Then we'll cycle on through beautiful open farmland to Obernberg, a thousand-year-old town with an extremely beautiful market square. From here it is another 18 km to the beautiful Baroque town of Schärding where we'll stay in the meticulously maintained Romantik Hotel Forstinger, a historic guest house on the most "beautiful baroque town square in Austria". After dinner we recommend a stroll around in this charming little town.

Day 4: Schärding - Passau - Schlögen - 20 miles - We'll pedal along the peaceful River Inn and cross again for a short time into Germany to the diocesan town of Passau, which once enjoyed great prestige. The Inn and the Ilz flow into the Danube at Passau which is why the city is also called the "Three Rivers Town". On the beautiful Market Square you'll find the cathedral with the largest church organ in the world. Here we'll attend the noon time organ concert, quite an exciting experience. After lunch we'll take a relaxing boat ride on the Danube River to Engelhartszell, where we'll visit the Trappisten Cloister before we bike on to our comfortable hotel Donauschlinge near Schlögen, located on the famous meander in the Danube River. Weather permitting we'll dine on the terrace tonight, looking out over the peaceful river. An optional "foot massage" and swim in the pool are possible here.

Day 5: Schlögen - Linz - 32 miles - Today we continue over an easy path along the river and later on small country roads through lush countryside. We'll stop for lunch in picturesque Ottensheim. In the early afternoon we'll reach Linz, the capital of Upper Austria and Austria's third largest city. It was here in 1783 that Mozart wrote one of his most beautiful symphonies, the Linz Symphony, which he dedicated to the city. Mozart resided for his visit in the house of Count Thun and ever since the Thun Mansion has been known as "Mozart Haus". We can visit it today! Also Anton Bruckner, a great Austrian composer of church music, was closely associated with Linz. For 12 years he was the resident-organist at the magnificent baroque cathedral. Each September Linz holds its most important music festival, the Bruckner Festival dedicated to its namesake. Dinner is on your own this evening and you'll have time for a delightful stroll in the handsome center of Linz before or after a tasty meal in one of its many fine restaurants. You should remember to try the delicious pastry - the Linzer Torte and check out a lively Austrian Beergarten in the evening!

Day 6: Linz - Grein - 39 miles - Today we'll bike from Linz along the Donau to Mauthausen, now a friendly village but once the site of a WWII concentration camp. An optional visit to the camp is a harrowing experience but a good reminder of our blessings and the freedom we sometimes take for granted today. Quietly we'll cycle on through the fertile Machland region to interesting Grein, where we'll find a wonderful castle from the 15th century and the oldest (1791) theater in Austria, still in use today. We'll visit this small theatre the next morning and marvel that Napoleon sat in one of the same seats long ago! Our respite this evening is another cozy, family run hotel also known for its fine food. After dinner you could climb up to the Grein Castle for a view over the town and river.

Day 7: Grein - Melk - 35 miles - Today we'll take a peaceful, romantic ride through the relaxing countryside along the Donau, passing though tiny Austrian villages. Shortly after Marbach we'll pass by the Maria Taferl, for centuries a Christian pilgrimage destination, located on a rugged hilltop on the other side of the river. We'll bike on to Pochlarn where we'll stop at a nice café for lunch. Then on to ancient Melk on the Danube River, the beginning of the Wachau Valley. Here we'll have a guided tour of the incredible Benedictine Monastery, the Stift Melk, founded in 1089 high above the river. It was rebuilt between 1702 and 1726 in splendid high baroque style. After our visit we cross the river to close by Emmersdorf, where we stay tonight in a pleasant family hotel with a view back on the famous Melk church, a perfect place to relax after an exciting, busy day.

Day 8: Emmersdorf - Vienna - 24 miles - Today we'll cycle through the impressive Wachau region, a scenic stretch of winding river and vine-covered hillsides in lower Austria. Small winding village streets with flower-covered houses make this a photographer's delight. The area is well known for its choice wines. The route takes us through Spits and Weissenkirchen and the best known town in the Wachau, Dürnstein. It has a ruined castle where Richard the Lionhearted was imprisoned in the 12th century. After reaching Krems, we'll stroll through the renovated section, now a pedestrian zone, with its 17th century pastel houses, before we board the train that will take us to Vienna and our fine four star hotel near the city center.

Day 9: The tour ends in Vienna after breakfast. We hope however that you will linger on in this imperial city, for a thousand years the capital of the far-flung Holy Roman and Habsburg Empires. For 640 years the Habsburgs ruled a huge empire from Vienna. The city is still dominated by the palaces, squares and many other vestiges of the imperial capital. Vienna was and remains one of the undisputed capitals of art, music, architecture, fashion, theatre, literature as well as a site of political and social significance in the international arena. Its history is reflected in magnificent buildings and some of the glorious music created here. Think of Mozart, Beethoven, Haydn, Schubert, Brahms, Mahler, Bruckner, Schoenberg and the Waltz King, Strauss - no other country has made such enormous musical contributions to the world! Besides fantastic music Vienna offers lush parks, fine shops, elegant restaurants and some of the most beautiful Renaissance, baroque and rococo buildings in the world, as well as many structures that embody the "Jugendstil", the Austrian version of art-nouveau architecture. Also recommended are the Spanish Riding School to see the world famous Lippizaner horses, the Schönbrun Palace, the lavish 1441 room summer palace of the Habsburg family just outside of Vienna and the house of Siegmund Freud …. the list is endless.

2006 Tour Price: $1,750.00 per person ($325.00 single supplement)

2006 Departure Dates: June 8-15 and Sept. 3-10

The tour is limited to 16 people!

Tour price includes 8 nights of double occupancy lodging in well situated, mostly 4 star hotels with private facilities each night. Also included: 7 dinners and 8 breakfasts, entrance to the Burghausen Fortress, the Theatre in Grein, the Organ Concert in Passau and the Benedictine Monastery in Melk; outstanding, personalized leadership by VGT's two owners, Huibertha van Teunenbroek and Mike Sorgi; support van, daily route directions, baggage handling and all taxes and gratuities for the hotel and restaurant portions of the tour.

Not included in the tour: air fare, one dinner, alcoholic and bar beverages, lunches, independent sightseeing, transportation other than scheduled VGT transfers and other items of a personal nature.

Bicycles: 21 or 24 speed hybrid Specialized bikes can be rented for $140.00 per bicycle for the tour. Bicycles come equipped with: grip shifters, handlebar bag, bell, cage and water bottle, optional bike computer, toe clips, rear view mirror and rear pannier. It is also possible to replace our pedals with your own "clip on" pedals. Helmets are not included; please bring your own helmet!

Weather and Climate: Austria has a land climate. Average High and Low Temperatures: July 75 / 55, August 78 /60.

Cycling: The average distance is between 30 and 42 miles per day on many level stretches with some short hills on day 2 and 3. Total bike distance is about 250 miles.

Level of Difficulty: easy to moderate.