Friday Night Dance Fusion

Already a "tradition" in our local social-dancing community, organized once in a while and usually on Friday evenings, the so called Friday Night Dances, a party where attendees can enjoy the well known rhythms of ballrooms dances, such as Waltz, Quick Step, Tango, harmoniously mixed with the latin rhythms such as Cha-Cha, Jive, Samba, Rumba.

Due to the international dance festival organized this year, the organizers reinvented the idea of Friday Night Party and mixed together all the dances promoted by this year's festival: thus creating the very-original Friday Night Dance Fusion, a fusion of: Sport/social dance, Argentine Tango, Contemporary dance, Caribbean dances and street dance; with show-dances and special performances.

When we decided to attend this party, I didn't know I was going to love it so much!!!
As a connoisseur, I have raised my standards of a quality-social-dance party; :-) having a history of social-dance parties that I've attended in the past years (from New-Year's Social-Dance Parties, Halloween and so on) to the usual or classical Friday Night Dances (that we even helped organized, from time to time).

This party, the Friday Night Dance Fusion, had all the spice & pepper it needed: high quality location with great food and beverages plus the party specials: themed cocktails; a wooden dance-floor, the groups of music lovers gave the party a unique atmosphere; the musical variety, all topped with the surprising shows... all combined, turned this party into the best event of it's kind (that I've ever attended). Each of us came with a style or from a group but we ended up watching and even dancing, learning or practicing other dance styles.

As I didn't have my camera, I will use the existing photos, thus photo credits will be mentioned in the end of this post.

Perhaps Contemporary Dancing is not so easy to understand, if you're not familiar with it (as I was not), my impression, is that the style is more in the sphere of theatrical, calculated, but warm :-)
Anyways, what I can say for sure is that, the dance was delightful for the eyes, the ears, the heart!!!

One of my favorite parts, the ballroom dancing show! This sport-dance moment was the one that I enjoyed the most! This young couple of Professional Dancers offered us a close-to-perfection interpretation of three dances that I very much like: slow waltz, tango and slow fox. A delight for the eyes and for the soul; awesome dancers, great costumes, wonderful poses and  posture, attitude, technique and musicality... 

As I mentioned previously, there was a Fusion of five styles: Contemporary Dances, Street Dance, Ballroom, Argentine Tango and Caribbean Dances. The well known salsa and bachata are part of this last mentioned group. We saw the dancers from the "Salsa school" perform on the rhythms all night long. They prepared a special, very passionate bachata show... heating up both the floor and the atmosphere! Watch them :-)

As another sign of a successful party, the dance floor was always full between the dance performances. People were enjoying themselves and dancing to their favorite rhythms, music, they were all "dance-stars" :-) 

Even though we didn't get the chance to learn so much Argentine Tango, I must say it's one of my soft sports, because it's very very unexpected. The tango orchestra turns rapidly from soft, to passionate and even to brutal noises. Music is the star of the dance floor, the dancers (leader and follower) seem like puppets, in the hands of music; they will surprise you with great poses and a lot of passion that's going on, on the dance floor.

I'm now looking forward for future Dance Parties, that will top this one!!! ;;)

[photo credits: Sebastian Gruia / Reflekt Image; follow the link for more pics]

Why do we dance?

Some years ago, I started to take dance classes, as a hobby, a way of combining sports with fun. I've never been an active person, thus there are few sports that I really enjoy. Mainly cycling and dancing :) ... plus some others that I practice rarely...

I enjoy bike riding, during the warm seasons, but it's more like a context-based activity (weather, trip ideas, group of friends and so), I don't do this on a regular basis. When I don't get the chance to bike ride for several months, I don't feel any regret, frustration or need, as I would if I'd skip dancing for some months.
I never enjoyed Aerobics and similar activities, as I find them both tiring and mostly boring. Even when I'm exhausted at the end of a dance-class, I still feed good about myself for having achieved more experience.

Social dancing has grown so much in my life, to the point where it became a way of living. For me, a way of self definition. :)
The sporadic Dance-Sport competitions (for adults), occasional shows, the Social Dance parties, the classes, the seminars; I enjoy and feel proud of being part of the local dance community.

So, knowing a lot of people who love dancing (like sport or social dance, tango argentino, ballet, contemporary dance and so many more... ) makes me wonder I've been thinking...
Why do we dance? Why does it make us happy? Why does dancing define who we are?
Why do we enjoy dancing, while other people in the community totally refuse to even try this?

Some may dance for personal achievement, attending the sport-dance competitions, putting all their effort, mind and body strength, artistic talent into the goal of climbing the sport-dance ladder and reaching the top.
The great artist enchant us with ballet and other rhythms, dancing on the great Theater or Opera stages, combining dancing with other beautiful arts..
Others may dance as a way of fun socializing... No matter the personal reasons, dancing provides you the way to let your mind and body out of the box, expressing you true nature, passion, feelings and energy on the dance floor.

I can't think of a more powerful tool or manner of expression, than dancing. It's the expression of the soul, the artist's state of mind, expressed by very complex body language.

Could dancing be the most powerful language of expression? More powerful than words, pictures, gesture.. because it is so complex, on so many levels, it can transcend word, images, sounds: this unique and subjective combination of movement, facial expressions, reactions, accents, rhythm; interpretation of rythm... musicality; feeling. Ten dance-couples executing the same figures will show you 10 different dances... as each dance is filtered by own personality, own feeling, own emotion... Dancers are able to express Passion, without saying the words, in so many different ways, that there wouldn't be enough words in the dictionary to describe these feelings.

The passionate people dwell in the latin hot rhythms. The more romantic, prefer the tenderness of a hug, during a slow dance... words are not even necessary...
I guess from time to time, we all enjoy an energy boost and "jump up, jump up!" :-D keep the energy pouring on the dance-floor!!!

Whether your dance-floor is a stage, a competition wooden floor, a saloon party, of just the living-room of your house, keep dancing, if dancing makes you happy!!! :-)

Treasure Hunt: are you in for the "treasure", or for the "hunt"?

For some time now, I've been "hunting" for Treasure Hunt Games... :))) Somehow that's funny 'cause it seems I'm not doing a good job as a treasure hunt game-hunter :D (yup, wrote it on purpose :P) Only recently, I got the chance to take part into one!

As I noticed, they are quite popular... Also part of the team-building activities provided to companies. But, as usually, my colleagues wouldn't vote for "such activities".

One day I learnt about a treasure hunt by bike :) that was music to my ears, as I very much enjoy bike-riding... As I was reading the event details in parallel to getting my hopes up :P I noticed it was organised for children. Someone "Treasure hunt" - game provider should really consider this idea!

Treasure hunt for tickets to concerts. This was last month, but I was at work :-) oh well... I didn't feel so much regret when paying the concert ticket, as I felt for missing out on the Ticket-hunt fun and excitement!

Sooner or later I was going to find one suitable for me, my schedule, my adult age, my friends :-) and I did!
Initially, I evaluated the treasure hunt as a fun activity! After trying it, I'd like to assign also exciting, adrenalin rush and must try :D as #tags to this activity!
It all depends pretty much on the quality of organization, but I enjoyed it, in spite of the flosses,
I feel we lost precious time due to some organisation topics, but let's assume we all did (equal disadvantage for all teams :))) seems fair)

Most of the teams were parents & children. Were the adults in, only for the children? or also a little bit for them? :-) cause in the essence... we are all children somewhere deep down in our souls... Some of us keep a strong connection with the inner-child, others may get way too carried away by daily tasks and loose this connection; stop "feeding" the child; stop playing... And once we've stopped playing, we start aging; we grow old; the soul looses it's vitality!

And that's why... I was in, for the hunt! Not for the treasure, not for the prizes, not for the winner-cups. I was in for the mission, I was in for the new experience, for the adventure: collecting clues from different places of the old city center.
I was in, for the adrenaline rush; in my mind I was running from one location to the other :-)

We didn't win any prize, but we completed the quest successfully... Yay!!! :D
I was amazed to find out that, a lot of teams gave up the quest, as soon as all the prizes were taken, by the first 3 teams (when all treasures had been hunted :D)... Those people were in for the "treasure", the prize, the material gain (not so much worth, by the way!); they were not in for the "hunt"; and I'm not even sure they were in for the fun... Because highly competitive people never get to really enjoy the game... or do they? I believe  that the stress of not failing and the fear of loosing will darken the "fun" part and throw it into question.

I didn't feel like we (my team) lost, just because we didn't complete the mission on the first three positions (on the clock). But, I would have felt we lost if we hadn't completed the quest at all. But we did! We gathered all clues from around the city and found the final Password... we were just not as fast :D as the winner teams... should have brought running shoes :-) then, the adrenaline rush wouldn't have been only in my head :-)))

All in all, my prize was completing the mission, a prize for the soul, that brightened my day... as each day, in which I try some cool activity-thing, becomes brighter and full of positive energy! :-D

How to plan your city-break more efficiently

During the past years, I've had the great opportunity to visit many of the European cities (more or less known). When you think about Paris, Venice, Barcelona, these are usually very crowded, packed with tourists that have traveled from around the world to see, with their own eyes, the very famous sights that are spread - in pictures and information - all around the Internet.

Say Paris and we relate to the "Eiffel Tower"; say Barcelona and we relate to "Sagrada Familia".
But, besides these world-wide known attractions, there's always a lot more to one city... to feeling the pulse, the heart beat. To visit attractions that you like and would enjoy. E.g. while some would choose an Art Museum over a Technical Museum, others would choose an Amusement Park instead of both.

Independent of the attraction we want to see when we plan our trip, the common goal of travelers around the globe would be to see as much as possible, in the few days of stay... And that, can be a very complicated task ..since most of us can't really say that we know, not even all the corners of the city we live in! :-)

So I can't really advise people "what" to see, but I can give hints on how to plan visiting, what they want to see.

Sometimes when we exchange information about a city-visit with our friends, we get the feeling that we saw more, is this a sign that we were more organized in our sight-seeing? Some time ago I attended some city-visits in large groups (7-10 people) and a lot of time was lost with discussions and agreements on where to go next and where to meet... waiting for people who arrived late and so on.

Of course that time is precious because there are so many beautiful places where to go... so bottom line, we must be efficient!!! :-)

Here are some tips & tricks from my own experience!

1. Plan your voyage and accommodation ahead
Some people rely on "We find a hotel when we get there." or finding a Last Minute offer.
To avoid unpleasant surprises, like loosing half a day wondering around with your luggage and looking for a hotel and not finding what you are looking for, try to have the following things sorted out before the vacation:
- How do you get there?
- Where are you staying?
An agency can do the booking for you, but even more efficient is to do it yourself, online. You will know exactly how much you pay and for what facilities. Best thing is that you can do this from the very comfort of your home :-) I prefer to use booking, because it provides a lot of reviews and this way I reduce the risk of not liking the location.
Also, you can choose the accommodation location based on what you want to visit and the means of transport you may want to use during your stay.
I usually prefer to book a hotel close to city-center, to be close to most of the objectives, because I like city visits done by foot.

2. Do your research on the sights worth seeing
Besides the very well known sights, that everybody wants to see, each of us has a different perspective on what's worth visiting.
So what's really important here that you do your research, as you may find something that interests you, that your friends don't necessarily recommend or find attractive. Tripadvisor may be a good starting point.

After you have made a list with the objectives you want to see, proceed to the next step.

3. Plan your financial investment
Do some research on the fair prices, entrance tickets (museums / cultural / amusement places) and this way you will be able to have an overview on how much you want to spend. Perhaps you want to reduce the number of museums to visit; or choose your favorites; perhaps get some ideas on cool restaurants and correct prices.
If you are going on a strict budget, a financial planning will assure that you maximize the benefit according to your needs.

4. Plan each day of your trip
To be really efficient, you would have to group the objectives you want to see, per days, taking into consideration the following:
- opening days and opening hours
- location
- time it takes to get from one to another

I prefer to group the objectives based on location and have various activities each day (e.g. Museums, during the first part of the day, as they are opened, city architecture, landmarks and other objectives during the rest of the day; all paved with long nice walks between the objectives, but this is just me). Others may choose to travel by metro or other transportation. Then, you also need to have in mind the location of the objectives, to avoid ping-pong-ing with the metro between locations.

Each day, one or 2 objectives should be of great importance and the other should be optional. Avoid a very crowded schedule. The point is also to enjoy! Walk on the streets, feel the pulse.. not run from one museum to another :-)

If I travel to a certain quarter, I'd like to see the visit-objectives that are there. Then, the next day I'll be going in a different part of the city and I make a small plan of what I want to see there.
Don't forget to make compromises... E.g. don't spend an entire day in the first Museum if your plan is to visit another one in the same day.
It is very important to have a plan of your city-visit. And it is also important to stick to it.

5. Avoid city-visits in large groups of friends 
(unless it is a paid city tour or something similar) 
When travelling with a group of friends, each will have their own interests, ideas, a plan and very few will be common with yours. So, even when travelling with a group, it is better to separate intro smaller groups for the city visit - based on sight-seeing interest.
So take the people that agree to your initial visit plan and then stick to it. Unless of course, another one's plan looks more eye catching ;;) Perhaps one of your friends did his / her homework better ;;)

I believe more that 5 people are already too much. You will loose time in voting where to go first, whom to wait for and so on.
Also, don't try the regrouping technique (especially when the groups go in different parts of the city), because the time you may plan to spend in one location doesn't always match reality. One group or the other will end up waiting, thus loosing time.
I believe in such situations it is best to regroup with your friends for dinner or so. Also, you get to exchange valuable information.

Of course, good planning will give great results. Even tired, at the end of the day when I draw the line, I feel that I've maximized the potential of the city visit.

One more thing... Don't feel regret if you forget or miss the chance to see some attractions. 
Usually, by the time that our city visit ends, we have some regrets.
"I wish I has spent more time in that museum"; or "That location is closed for renovation."
Or we find out about a special location or activity that we didn't try!
Think about it as leaving something unspoiled, for your next visit!

all this being said...
Have fun! & Enjoy your city break!

My first lateral thinking puzzle: 'The party'

I've been thinking about a puzzle for some time now and I finally have an idea :-)

You can write your questions and/or assumptions in the comments and I will answer.
PS: they must be yes/no questions [more info on puzzle rulez here on my blog].

This is the puzzle (first lateral thinking puzzle created by me) ;) Enjoy!!!

Three young men are invited to the same party. They all want to attend the party with the same woman; and they do so. How is this possible, since all three enter the party with their girlfriends?


Update: Find the response and other lateral thinking puzzles created by me.

Thinking out of the box, with "lateral thinking puzzles"

Ever since I first learnt about the existence of Lateral thinking puzzles, I've been intrigued by them.
I was impressed both by the ability and patience that is required to solve them and by the ability to write such a puzzle (to create it) :-)

While playing, they are like fuel for the brain, increasing your creativity, your capacity to see beyond the obvious and your deductive skills... but all this in a fun and socializing way, because they're to be played in groups of friends; and you can also play online (dedicated sites / blogs).

So... what are they? Few initial facts and much added logic... but not the "brain push-ups" kind of logic that you use for logical puzzles or for math exams... and not the kind of creativity you use when writing literature... It's somewhere at the border, where logic meets creativity... By using logic you analyze all possible / impossible / probable / improbable scenarios imposed by the little information you have.

The story teller (a.k.a. the person in the group who knows the puzzle) presents a scenario or situation with very few details. The story will seem quite confusing and illogical at the beginning :-) like "What?!" ... that is usually followed by a quick interior brain-storm (search for a possible logical explanation) and then you realize this is not logical and the facts apparently have no connection to each other... Nope, you conclude that it's not logical at all... well, that just means it's lateral :-) You must think out of the box to solve this one! 

I cannot continue explaining without an example... so... with the risk of ruining one puzzle for you :P I will use one of my favorites... So, imagine you're spending time with a group of friends. Wondering what to do next, one of your friends tells the group, the following Puzzle:
"A man pushed his car. He stopped when he reached a hotel, at which point he knew he was bankrupt. Why?" (source and also other puzzles here).

As you read the facts, there's no straightforward connection between them.
This kind of puzzle is intriguing and apparently hard... but in practice it's really fun and quite relaxing for the brain! Especially if there are several players, that work together and elaborate explanations.

So the goal would be to find out those missing links , between the parts of the puzzle, that would link all information in a logical way, so that each detail makes sense.
Some questions arise, like:
Why was he pushing the car?
If he ran out of gas (logic assumption) why push the car to a hotel and not to a gas station? :-)
How can he know he was bankrupt? And why in front of the hotel?

By means of questioning the story teller, you get closer and closer to the facts that are relevant for the story to make sense. This is the most important focus of the game: ask the right questions and the answer will reveal itself little by little.

Unfortunately for the curious players but fortunately for the fun of deduction, the story teller will only answer yes / no questions, not why / how and other questions! The good thing is that, the players may ask as many questions as they want... 

There's no question-limit and no time-limit imposed! 

These only depend on the patience of your story teller :-)))

The players cooperate, each can ask questions, it's not a competition and even if only one will think about the correct solution, they would have all contributed to solving the puzzle, via their questions.

So, what is the difficulty based on? The players usually stumble on direct assumptions, done implicitly by logic; these usually throw the players on a wrong path from the beginning. In this case, from the first sentence we assume that the car is either broken or without gas (that is actually wrong).
Making such assumptions in case of lateral thinking puzzles can throw the players off the right-track and only after they exhaust all alternatives they come back to the starting point...
So people will probably focus initially on linking the hotel to the bankruptcy, linking the man to the hotel making hypotheses on whom he met and so on... while the real solution is based on other 'unsaid' details... as you will see.

The story can go something like:
"Did he walk into the hotel to find out he was bankrupt?" >>> "No"
"Did he meet anyone in front of the hotel?" >>> "No"
"The hotel was his and when he got there he realized something happened (e.g. the hotel was on fire or something)." >>> "No, he does not own the hotel; nothing happened to the hotel."
... and the list can continue ...
At some point, people will focus also on the car:
Was his car broken? >>> No
Did he push his car for a long distance? >>> No, actually very short (even if the "very short" is a literally relevant hint :P , players will not notice this at first.)
There are some key questions that are highly relevant for the puzzle.
For example:
Did the car have suffice gas? 
The car is an important detail of the puzzle and in this case, both Yes / No answers would be wrong. So, the story teller must find a suitable answer, not to give away too much but also not to hide facts.
By replying "yes, the car had no gas" (which is also true, as you will see), the players assume that's the reason why the car was pushed... and this way he/she can throw players off the correct track. I would say something like: "It had no gas, but that is not the reason why he was pushing it". This way I keep the players still focused on why did he push the car?

As you can see, it is quite challenging also for the story teller, to keep the players correctly informed! He/she will decide how much information to reveal. If the puzzles seems too hard for the players and there's a risk they become frustrated and loose the interest, the story teller can give additional hints.

By focusing on the car, the players will eventually discover that it's not a real car, but a small (toy) car. And by another set of questions related to the hotel / the distance / the bankruptcy topic, in 30 min to 1 hour :P (kidding... may take less :P may take longer ) of questioning the story teller, they will reach the correct solution:
The guy in the story is playing Monopoly. After throwing the dice, he moves his car - on the board of the game - reaching an opponent's "hotel". He then briefly computes that after paying the fee, he will become bankrupt, in Monopoly money, of course :)

As you may realize, the solutions to the puzzles don't just come popping in your brain, just like solving a math problem, or a logical puzzle.
Logical puzzles are also quite intriguing and some very hard to solve, but in lateral thinking, that logic is used is totally different. To make connections, to find an explanation for something that seems impossible.

So... puzzle your brain from time to time, or else it will get rusty!!! ;;)

To make up for the puzzle I "ruined" (by using it as example), here's another one!

A man walks into a bar and asks the barman for a glass of water. The barman pulls out a gun and points it at the man. The man said "thank-you" and walked away. What happened?
(puzzle source same as the previous, but please don't read the solution right away! :P)

Introduction to Real Room Escape Games

The so called Room Escape or Exit Games, were - for me - the biggest "woow" of the year! Until this spring, I didn't even know these things existed :P ...though they were around (at least in Europe) for some years now.

I wish someone had told me about Room Escape games sooner! 

Now, I'm telling you ;)

So... we were on a small trip in Europe. We reached Prague - with absolutely no idea or plan on what to visit there, besides the classic city tour. Prague is great, by the way! :-)

I asked for something interesting to do, Tripadvisor came up with this suggestion: "MindMaze exit game!"

When I heard "mind maze", I was already intrigued...
Before booking a game, we read the basics about "Exit Games":
The team (2 to 4/5 players) are locked up inside a room and they have 60minutes to get out, meaning they must find the "key", from the inside!
In order to unlock the door (or to solve the mission), the team must work together to find clues, keys to the locks and solve all sorts riddles, puzzles to break the codes of the code-locks, to find more clues..and so on, 'till the mission is solved (or 'till time's up). 

I'm not sure about you, but for me, that was enough information, to look forward to this challenge! I've always loved logical puzzles and anything that involved connecting the dots :-)

Besides, this was actually a real game! not a PC* game, not a board game! 

We, the members of the team, were actually the meeples and the room was our playing board :)

*)actually there are also online exit games, good for practice, before going on a real mission ;;)

I loved that game more than I would have expected... There's logic, collaboration, communication, team-work... all in real-time! 
I was really impressed by the set-up, puzzles ideas and by the outcome! I cannot giveaway any setup or game details - even though I'd love to, cause they are smartly made and interesting - but it would spoil the game for future players.

You can only play one game once! After you have revealed the secret codes, found the keys and unlocked the door (or at least completed part of the mission), there's no fun and challenge in doing that again.
But, the good part is that each game location is different and the game-providers rethink the games from time to time. Usually one game provider offers several game-rooms (with different themes).

Since Prague, we've Escaped (or Not! :P) from several Games around Europe... and everywhere I go, I search for such games... usually you can book them online, which makes it easy!

From all these experiences, here's an overview, without revealing too much ;;)

Each game is different in the story line, layout, location, goal, but the main ideas are the same:
- the game's location consists of a room or several rooms
- it can be played in teams of 2 up to 4 or even 6 people (depending on the size of the location)
- the group is locked* inside and has 60 minutes - on the clock - to escape**
 *of course not literally locked, you can quit and exit at any time if you don't like the game
 **depending on the "game provider" the goal of the game may be to actually unlock the door, or it can vary (e.g. open a vault and find a treasure, or other story-lines)
- when the team manages to complete the mission in time (less then 60 minutes), they win (or successfully completed the mission); otherwise, they fail the mission and the game ends.

- the Game Moderator may help you during the game (either by walkie talkie, or other communication means)

During the game, the goal is to find clues inside the room(s), that will help you unlock e.g. drawers / boxes / parts of furniture or doors to other rooms in the game!
You and your friends must pay attention to each detail in the game and team members must constantly exchange information, for a successful mission!

Don't miss a chance to try the real experience!
Just google "room escape" or "exit game", whenever you're looking for something fun to do in your town or in vacation!

Below are some of my favorites, that I found the most challenging! Enjoy! ;;)

Room Escape Vienna
Exit Games Timisoara

Biking along the Danube, from Passau to Vienna (Day 6)

As we were approaching Vienna, we were also approaching the end of our bike tour.

During the last day of the trip, I had mixed feelings:
nostalgia and a bit of regret, 'cause in a few days we'll be back to out "much too static" life
satisfaction and accomplishment, 'cause we were able to keep up with the road
happiness, 'cause I was able to add another fun activity to my list, together my loved one and one of our best friends.

However, we shouldn't draw the line too fast here... we were close to Vienna, but not that close!!!
I'm not really sure why, but this last day was the hardest (effort-vise, I mean).
The bike route from Traismauer to Vienna was nearly 70km long, that meant about 10km longer than what we had gotten used to, the days before.
Also, the sun was playing hard to get :) and soon, the rain became part of the main course.

Before lunch-time, the sun was still up there with us, doing it's job, brightening the day!
Time for a photo shooting session, in the sun-flower fields!!! Everybody pull out the equipment! :D

We decided to cycle on the southern bank, as we wanted to have our lunch brake in Tulln old town center. What I admired along the Eurovelo, that the restaurants, accommodation places (villas, hotels) all bike-friendly. In every location, it was very easy to find a place to park your bike and have a quick visit of the surroundings.

It was only after leaving Tulln, that the sun decided to abandon us and rest behind the clouds... and it was after we entered Vienna, that it started to rain.

When you enter Vienna by bike, don't feel like you've accomplished the mission, too fast.. :) as it turned out, we were not that close to the finish line!

We cycled for more than 10km from the Wien sign, to Prater Park, and then to the Hotel. It was already raining heavily and at some point we engaged in "bike sprints" between bridges :-) It was both fun & wet!
Even tough we reached Vienna before sunset, by the time we reached Prater it was already dark!

When we got to the hotel, we were very tired, it was late and since the weather was not really inviting, we decided to replace the planned evening-city-visit with a nice & relaxing evening in the Hotel lobby (restaurant): chatting, eating and drinking for the success of our great journey!

Cheers! & Looking forward to the next bike trip on EuroVelo routes!

Biking along the Danube, from Passau to Vienna (Day 5)

"Another day, another bike-ride!"
... just like Bugs Bunny used to say, when I was a child... "Another day, another carrot!" ... Do you remember? ;;)

Well, when we left Melk and I thought "Another day, another 60km of cycling!", I did not realize that this day was going to be the most special, the most beautiful of the entire trip!

You must be thinking ... "If you love cycling along Danube, with such spectacular views, how can that get any better"?

So, we have a mostly flat root along Danube, with beautiful sights, beautiful town, villages, Forts, sunny and sometimes rainy weather (this is what we experienced during the previous days).
... and now we add the salt & pepper ;;)
Let's add a visit to the beautiful Abbey (before we left Melk)
Add some "ups and downs" (hills) on the path.
Then, substract the rain.
Add some nice villages along the paved cycle-path.
And the most important factor - add the Wachau beautiful and spectacular wine fields, into the picture...

... and this is how we obtain - what I remember as - the most beautiful part of the Passau - Vienna Eurovelo6 bike-path.

But, first is first, let's come back to the part before we left Melk... because this was the first factor that made this day, the best :-)
Whenever you pass threw this Austrian region, take some time to visit Melk Abbey. The entrance ticked has a fair price and the visit of the Abbey, the views from the terrace and the beautiful Gardens will make every minute of your time worth to be spent there!

The Melk Abbey Gardens are a place for relaxation. I found this small corner with speakers hanged from the trees, to create the sound-environment of an Amazonian forest.

We were on a tight schedule, so I couldn't enjoy the amazonian relaxing sounds for as long as I had wished... We left the Abbey and soon we left the town of Melk and got back to the Danube Bike road... but, as I mentioned, that was a great part of the journey, too! 

This is how we began our bike-ride from Melk to Traismauer! It was already close to mid of the day and this was going to reflect on the arrival hour at Traismauer (yup... it was already dark when we got there, but we made it! :P)

We had our first stop in Spitz, for a tasty lunch. While looking for a good place to eat, we also visited the small town center. As we got back on Eurovelo, we saw there are also Ferry Boats going between towns, on a fixed schedule. As it was close to 4PM, we established that, a Ferry will be our back-up plan, in case we don't have enough time to reach our destination.
But, fortunately, it was not the case! It's good we decided to follow the Eurovelo route and enjoy the beauties it offered!

We had another "break" in Weissenkirchen for some wine-tasting in Wachau region ...and - why not? - some desert! :D We didn't leave before adding a couple of wine bottles to the luggage, also ;;)

Even though we reached Traismauer after sunset ..and very tired..., we had a full day! And a lovely one! I don't know about my friends, but I would rate it as No1!
Also, the accommodation in the small town, has a very special interior our-door yard...
It had that "je ne sais quoi" .

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Biking along the Danube, from Passau to Vienna (Day 4)

Have you ever felt the "mid of vacation crisis"?

For me it's always the same, whether I'm away for 3, 7, 10 or even more days... sooner or later I get that strong feeling of nostalgia "Seriously!?! It's day 'x' already? Half of my vacation has already passed!!!".
Then I start down-counting the vacation days left and start prioritization :-) thinking "The best is yet to come!"

In the case of bike-riding, every day was different and unique in its way and in the possibilities it offered. Indeed, "the best was yet to come", as I enjoyed the last days the most! By mid of our vacation we had already become immune to the "discomfort" of the bike-seat and our muscles got used to pedaling 50 to 60 km per day.

Since the second day, we started planning each stop and each sight we would see in the next day. We also kept in mind we had some "wine tasting" vouchers, for the Wachau region ahead of us. But that was part of Day 5.

The plan for this fourth day of our bike journey, was to cycle till we would reach Melk. The old town of Melk is well known for the famous Melk Abbey, that we got the chance to visit, the next morning.
We left as early as we could, 'cause our first stop was only some kilometers away - Grein town.

Even if the weather got a bit "grouchy", Grein town fully deserved the little time we got to spend there.

The spectacular view from Greinstein Fort immediately caught our eye!
Our short visit turned quickly into a photo shooting session, with all "weapons" engaged :) Nikon, Canon, Samsung, Nokia! Below some examples...

From Grein, we took another ferry (small ferry, for people and bikes), because our route continued on the southern bank. We cycled along the Danube until we reached Ybbs. The town of Ybbs is home to a great museum, that very well fit in the picture :-) The Museum of Bicycles (German term Fahrradmuseum).
It's actually funny, when you think about it :) We took our bikes to meet their predecessors.

Even if there was light rain and the weather got a bit crazy, we had our wind and waterproof clothing with us, so we learnt to enjoy bike riding in the rain :-)
It's just like singing, or dancing in the rain :D Don't care about the weather, if it makes you happy!!!

I can remember, at some point, we passed through a town that was occasionally flooded by the Danube waters. The long history on flooding was engraved on a very high pillar: on different heights there were different years engraved: the years of the flooding engraved on the height of the waters... It was frightening just to look up, above and realize the last flooding occurred so recently, in the 2000's. We also saw the Dam, recently built to protect the village from further flooding.

Since it was close to sunset (and we were on the northern bank), we were hoping to reach a bridge soon...

... and from that bridge, we had a first glimpse of Melk Abbey.

During the rest of the day we enjoyed a walk in Melk... and ... star of the evening :) Dinner!!!

...as I mentioned in one of my previous posts, during this bike-ride, I became a "foodie" (though I'm usually not one :P and since I've become a vegetarian-by-choice, in some places it's quite hard to find good veg-food).

But, I must say I was impressed by the local dishes I've tried. I just loved the local Austrian cuisine!!

I remember the top dishes :) Dumpling soup with mushrooms and spinach, Garlic soup, these are only some of the "must try 's"...

[... continued here]

Biking along the Danube, from Passau to Vienna (Day 3)

After a good night's rest in Linz, we found the city even more appealing than the evening before ;)

The nice, long parks are just perfect for spending weekends and free time. It was Sunday morning and Danube's banks were already a very joyful place: people of all ages were highly engaged in sports: bike-riding, skating, ball-games and so on. We were passing them by, with a smile, gaining energy just by feeling this pulse of this community...

When I come to think about it, this is the best type of travelling I've tried so far :) Meeting other tourists on the cycle-path, proved to be an interesting feeling, because you already know you have something in common - the taste for cycling. From athlete cyclists, that were passing by, in the blink of an eye ('cause they were fast, not 'cause we were slow :-) ), to families with small children that were pedaling on colorful small bikes.
Cyclic, similar to walking, gives you the great opportunity to feel the pulse of the places, see details and things you would otherwise miss. But, unlike walking, it is not so tiring and of course you can ride tens of kilometers each day.

We've had days when we cycled from town to town or village to village and we've also had days when we cycled in nature, without too much civilization. Each experience is unique and gives you a proper amount of satisfaction.

Now we were back on Danube Route 1 (or Eurovelo 6) and Vienna seemed so far away :-) actually about 227km far away :D
The third day of our trip was rich in beautiful places to see, both nature and civilization.
The plan was to have a break in the small town of Mauthausen. Before the proper town visit, we recharged our batteries with good food, coffee and drinks.

.                   

Later on, we reached Au an der Donau, a nice location - with some natural lakes, camping.. and of course - packed with tourists... :-) It seemed to be a great choice for a hot summer day, especially when I saw some teenagers jumping in the lake. However, we were "on the clock", so no bathing, just sunbathing on the bike :-)

The destination for this third day was, again (just like the first day), away from any city, town or village, in the heart of nature: Gasthof zur Donaubruecke, a small, but comfortable accommodation villa, just a few kilometers before Grein town.

Away from the town, but with a great panorama over Grein, from the terrace.

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Biking along the Danube, from Passau to Vienna (Day 2)

Wake-up!
Eat!
Cycle!
Take DSLR Pictures!
Cycle!
Eat!
Cycle!
Take phone-pictures cause getting the DSLR out takes too much time!
Cycle some more!
Eat!
Drink local beer (it's a must)!!!
Sleep like a rock :-) ... till the next breakfast!

...This would be a short version of the next days that followed the first post [read part 1 here]
However, I must tell the whole story! ..as there were some great moments between those cycle-eat-cycle sessions :-)

The second day of our adventure, started with a rich breakfast on the Danube shore...
I always used to say about myself that "I eat to live, not live to eat!" :-) Suddenly, eating became a high priority for me, as water & food are the "bike-fuel" and it's consumed incredibly fast!

Second day's target was Linz, a large Austrian city, settled 50~something km downstream on the Danube. So, we were biking again... surrounded by a fresh and wild landscape... The route was on the southern bank, a small forest on the right side and the Danube waters on the left.

The trees were protecting us from the shining sun, it was a good decision to cycle on that side... the other bank of the river was fully exposed to sunshine... and it can get quite hot in July!

The view, the trees' shadows, the sun, the river, the cycle-path... I loved this part so much!!! ... come to think about it, that part from Donauschlinge to Aschach was my second favorite part of the entire bike-tour.
Now that ranking came up ;) my favorite (#1) part was somewhere in the second half of our journey... and it involved wine fields. But, that's another story :-)

As I mentioned before, at the end of this enchanting forest-path, we reached a small town, Aschach, As a small break from cycling, we "recharged our batteries" with knowledge :) ---> we visited a local crafts' museum where we learnt some interesting things about evolution of boats, tools for building them and other local crafts. In the picture below, outside the museum, a transportation boat build recently for an exhibition, based on the old prototype.

Except for this small town and one other village, we did not see much civilization that day.

As we approached Linz, our destination for the day, the clouds started gathering, but fortunately it did not rain (much :-) ).

Linz is one of the largest Austrian cities and capital of the Upper Austria. Even if we arrived there in the late afternoon, we still got around for a city walk and dinner in the city center... :-) 

[... continued here]

Biking along the Danube, from Passau to Vienna (Day 1)

How do you like to spend the summer holiday?

Are you the "rest and relaxation in the sun" type or are you the "adventurer" type?
I like to think of myself, as a moderate combination of both.

If... you love traveling, you enjoy bike-riding and seek new experiences... here's a "must try":
plan a bike-tour-week with your friends or family! Or, just let one of the many "bike-tours" agencies take care on the planning part for you.

This summer, we biked from Passau (Germany) to Vienna (Austria), about 300km in 6 full days.
And may I state: It was AWESOME!

We chose to let the agency take care on the planning... and on our luggage! :-)
Yes, the greatest benefit (besides getting the planned route, maps and hints) was that our luggage was moved from one location to the next by the agency staff, so this make our bike-journey easier, a lot more relaxed and pleasant.

So, it all began once we reached Passau, the evening prior to our Bike-tour. We met the other groups of bike-riders and our agency responsible (organizer). We got the bike route maps and relevant information.
The other groups seemed nice, a french mature couple, another family with adolescent kids, some group of friends. I was expecting to see much more of those people in the next days. Surprisingly, we did not meet them so often along the way so we did not get to interact much with the other groups. Same cycle path, different people, different tempo :-)

That evening, we were looking forward and pretty enthusiastic, at the 6 days of biking ahead of us. The route for each day was already planned and we received the "check-in" tickets for all over-night stops along the Danube river, until the final "check-point", Vienna.

Our "task" for Day 1 was to reach Donauschlinge, a resort located on the Danube (close to Schloegen), about 50km from Passau.
For all you "non-german-speakers" out there, Donauschlinge can be translated as "Danube's loop" .. and in the end of this part you will see exactly what I mean :-)

Time for "cycling-accommodation"! Since none of us girls was an experienced bike-rider ;;) , we needed some time for accommodation...:
"Oh, my but hurts! Let's mount the silicone bike seat cover!" ;
" ... should have bought those gel-padded bike shorts, that everybody's wearing!"
This "accommodation" took about 2 days!

Ok, let's get back to what's important here: the fresh air, the Danube breeze that I can smell, the wind in my hair, the scenery along the Danube river... relaxing, refreshing, delightful to a <<programmer's eye>>. 'cause yes, in our "not-so-free-time", we are mostly sitting in a crowded room, in front a PC.

We stopped for a "photo session" when we reached one of the great Danube Locks, Jochenstein. This also plays the role of "German-Austrian border".

Also, we waited for a Yacht to see it passing through the lock.. just to better understand the process :) So... here goes!

- on the low water level side of the lock, the ship approaches and enters the gate;
- then, the gate closes and water is released and in a few minutes the water level will increase to the level on the other side of the lock
- the ship must stay close to one edge of the lock, and avoid hitting it...
- once the needed water level is reached, the ship is 'released' to the other side of the lock
Or.. the other way around!

While continuing our journey, we had to follow the instructions very carefully, as there are not many bridges to cross the river and in some areas, traveling on one bank is better than the other.
We crossed the Danube at Jochenstein and found a small restaurant&garden where we had lunch.

Then, we were back on the road, until we saw the Danube's loop and the ferry. Yes, we took the ferry, a small boat for bikes & passengers only. We reached this amazing resort, lost in nature... Donauschlinge... tired after the first 50km by bike, but very very pleased with this first day...
The evening ended with some relax-time at the spa, plus a well-deserved dinner, again, on the Danube shore.

As I promised somewhere above... a beautiful scenery, the Danube's Loop...

[... continued here]