Day 30 - Graz to Bruck an der Mur.

Day 30. Graz to Bruck an der Mur. 70 km, 4h30.

It was cool and cloudy as we left Graz following the small green R2 cycle path signs. It was always reassuring to have the Mur River on our right as the map of the cycle path is not particularly accurate. Nevertheless we had to be wide awake to spot the signs especially approaching or leaving towns.

Initially we cycled past the industrial area of Graz, but were usually separated from the factories by trees. It was interesting to see a massive SAPPI sawmill here. Then it was into the dairy farming area, with the path twisting and turning between the hills as we climbed slowly to Bruck. The cycle path plaited its way between the intertwined river, railway and highway. A steady cold headwind was funneling down the valley, and there were many short, cheeky, anaerobic climbs along the way.

There is a 3-day Mur Cycle Tour taking place so we passed hundreds of cyclists in groups going in the opposite direction. Unbeknown to us, this event and a bikers rally near Bruck meant that accommodation was all fully booked (and the Tourist Information here is closed on a Friday which makes zero sense to us). Eventually a very helpful lady at a guesthouse phoned around on our behalf and found a room for us about 3 km outside Bruck at Gasthof Pichler - these bits of kindness are what makes the trip memorable. It was interesting to hear from her that people here regard Croatia and Slovenia as dangerous destinations, and she would be reluctant to travel there. We found this strange as we felt very safe in both countries.

At Bruck an der Mur, we will leave the Mur River after 3 days along its banks. The Mur originates near Salzburg, initially flowing east, turning south at Bruck. It flows for 480 km through Austria and Slovenia before joining the Drava in Croatia (which we cycled along between Ptuj and Maribor). The Drava is one of the main tributaries of the Danube. The amount of water flowing in the Mur and the number of small hydro-electric plants along its course is astounding.

Cycle path, railway and river.

It's poppy season in the Mur Valley.

The surface changes from good asphalt to broken asphalt to gravel.

Schloss Rabenstein overlooking the Mur Valley.

Day 29 - Exploring Graz.

Day 29. Exploring Graz.

Fortunately it has stopped raining so we can get out and about to discover this beautiful city. It is Ascension Day today and all the shops are closed, but the museums are open.

What a pleasure to stroll around Graz with hardly anyone around. We visited two modern buildings. The Graz Kunsthaus and Murinsel. The Graz Kunsthaus designed by two British architects looks like a giant sea slug. It is a free form shape covered in glass which comes to life at night with hundreds of lights that turn on and off,  a bit like a huge disco ball. We found the design interesting and felt it gave Graz an air of lightness.

Murinsel is a modern bridge-cum island that is constructed from glass and steel. It has a restaurant and small stage on the floating island in the middle of the river and looks a little like an igloo floating in the river. Once again a refreshing addition to the more traditional buildings.

Most of the buildings in the old city are to be found around the Hauptplaz. The City Hall, Dom Kirche ( from the 15 th century ), Museum im Palais and the Mausoleum of Ferdinand ll. The Baroque and Rennaisance styles are ever present.

There are many small eateries crowded around Jacomina Plaz where people take a break from their busy lives to recharge with a bratwurst or a cup of coffee while standing. Quite a good spot to get a budget snack.

Graz was called "gradec", which means small fortress, by the Slovenians . This fortress was situated on the site where the Schlossberg now stands guard over the city on the hilltop. It is a steep climb up 259 steps to get there. It grew from a small fort 1000 years ago to a huge Rennaisance fortress in the 1500's. All that remains now is the Clock Tower and the Bell Tower which were allowed to remain after Graz surrendered to Napoleon in 1809. Almost all the other fortifications were raised to the ground.The vistas across the the red-tile-roofscape to the mountains and hills in the distance is fabulous.   

Schloss Eggenberg, that lies on the outskirts of Graz, was built in 1625 by Prince Johan Ulrich Von Eggenberg. The palace is themed around the symbols of the universe. There are 4 towers for the seasons, 12 gates for the months and 365 windows for the days of the year. We did not go into the Schloss but spent our time wandering through the magnificent park and gardens. There is a beautifully designed Rose Mound next to the Palace that is filled with the most impressive selection of heritage roses that we have ever seen. They were in full flower so it was a joy to wander through this enchanted piece of the garden.

The Planet garden has been divided into seven separate gardens that make the whole. Each garden is dedicated to one of the seven major planets and the plantings have been made according to the characteristics of each planet. The Moon garden for example is planted with white Icebergs, variegated hosta, lime green alchimilla molus and white irises interplanted with various greens of different textures. We were so fortunate to see this garden at its best.

As everything was closed we asked the receptionist at the JUFA Hotel to recommend a restaurant for supper. We had a great meal at Ungerhof just around the corner from our accommodation. A great end to our day!

The Rose Mound of heritage roses at Schloss Eggenberg.

Schloss Eggenberg.

Venus in the Planet Garden at Schloss Eggenberg.

Eggenberg Park.

The view of Graz from Schlossberg, with the modern Graz Kunsthaus, known as the "Friendly Alien".

Murinsel, the floating restaurant and bridge in the Mur River.

Day 28 - Ehrenhausen to Graz

Day 28. Ehrenhausen to Graz. 50km, 3h15.

It was heavily overcast as we left Ehrenhausen, and within minutes we had to stop to pull on the rain jackets. We cycled in light but steady rain along the Murradweg, the cycle path going upstream along the Mur River. It was such a pleasure not to have to deal with traffic in wet conditions. 

The cycle path left the river at times to wander through farmland, where we were surrounded by wheat, rye, corn, spinach, pea, potato, strawberry and leek fields. Judging by the size of the plants (7ft high rye) and the amount of weed killer, it all looked pretty GM to us. A good part of the path was through natural forest with white rosa multiflora rambling up into the trees, past numerous barrages and then along a very fast-flowing Mur River.

We arrived at our accommodation early, so dumped our bags and bikes and set off to orientate ourselves to Graz, the 2nd largest city of Austria, in the steady drizzle. Graz is the Unesco Design City for 2014; there is an interesting blend of modern architecture with the impressive Baroque buildings of the Hapsburg era. We will take photographs tomorrow  when the sun is supposed to appear again. 

We are staying at the Jufa Graz-City Hotel, a kind of modern family-friendly hostel. It caters superbly for travelers of all ages; the price is very reasonable (but evidently varies dramatically depending on demand), it includes a breakfast buffet (so the WW vacuum cleaners are fully charged), and the rooms are spacious with a very clever design. We are not normally keen on hotels but this concept works. 

Somehow we ended up at a vegan cafe for supper, where a light jazz band kept us entertained. I stood out as the only person without a headband or dreadlocks. Fortunately no-one recognized me so I'm unlikely to be tagged on Facebook, and I did manage to avoid the tofu burger. The main course of deep-fried cauliflower was a novel experience, but I have to admit the food was excellent. The menu was translated for us by a fellow patron, a young and passionate entomologist from Berlin. He spent the evening telling us about the communication systems of grasshoppers, and we reciprocated with the rhino situation. 

The Murradweg in the rain.

Rosa multiflora climbing trees along the route.

The Mur River speeds up as we approach Graz.

Now that's what the entrance to underground parking should look like.

Jazz band at Cafe Erde.

Day 27 - Svecina to Ehrenhausen, Austria.

Day 27. Svecina to Ehrenhausen Austria. 14 km, 1:30

We had a late start this morning as our host at the wine farm only arrived at 08:00 to open the garage where our bikes spent the night. We were expecting breakfast, but there was nothing forthcoming; fortunately we had some bread, cheese, salami and apples left over from lunch yesterday!

Just as we were leaving the owner called us to meet a wine journalist and wine expert, Darja Zemljic, from Ljubljana. She is writing an article about the Podravje region (Northern Slovenian wine area) and was very interested  to hear our opinion on Slovenian wine. We have been very impressed by the Slovenian wines which have been mostly from the Podravje region close to the Austrian border. She may also mention that we are cycling to raise funds for rhino conservation in her article, which will be cool.

Ian spent a long time plotting the route we were to take today. The map has a route that goes pretty much straight up into Austria.There is no information on what the road is like; is it is too steep for cyclists and is it paved? Our host said that it is paved and so we decided on the steeper shorter route. After a short steep descent from the winery we turned left and started riding up an 18% climb which was hectic, as we had not warmed up yet and had never climbed such a steep hill with our panniers. We ended up pushing our bikes for the last 20 meters. Fortunately we only climbed for 1km before we reached the Austrian border, which was a non event. If we hadn't seen the big EU Austrija sign we wouldn't have known we were in Austria. Here one half of the road is in Austria and the other in Slovenia - so little separating them. 

We had a lovely downhill all the way to Spielfeldt where we joined the Murradweg - a bicycle track that runs along the Mur river from Bad Radkersberg through Graz, almost all the way to Salzburg. What a pleasure to cycle through beautiful forests and not have to worry about vehicular traffic. 

We arrived in Ehrenhausen where we are staying for the night, at about 11:00. Our  accommodation was locked up, as most places close on a Monday and Tuesday in Austria. 

As this is the Steiermark wine growing region of Austria, we cycled out towards Berghausen and stopped at the Vinotech Haus Regele where Thomas gave us an excellent tasting of their wines. They make a large selection and we tasted most of them including the Welschriesling (WWS 7), Scheurebe, Gelber Muskateller, Rheinriesling (WWS 8), two Sauvignon Blancs from different vineyards, a Pinot Noir and a Pinot Noir sparkling wine. The wines are fresh and made to drink early. We found the Welschriesling, which was new to us, interesting. It is similar to a Rheinriesling, with a little less minerality on the palate - a good lunch time wine. On leaving, Thomas kindly gave us a bottle of their excellent Rheinriesling. We really have experienced good reception at the wineries we have visited on our trip.

Eherenhausen is watched over by the beautiful baroque style church the Pffarkirche on Markt Pflaz. Our guest house, Apartements am Markt Pflaz is right next door so we hope the ringing bell won't keep us awake. 

The imposing mausoleum of Rubbrecht von Eggenberg (1546-1611), hero of the battle of Sisak against the Turks, is on top of the hill and affords beautiful views of the village and  the adjoining farmlands.

We had a good supper in a small restaurant, The Golden Crown, where we had our annual quota of trans-fats, all washed down with some suitably acidic Welschriesling house-wine (WWS 4).

Early morning from Valdhuber Winery

Too steep, too early. This one beat us!

Hello Austria.

First view of the Steiermark winelands.

The sign to follow for the next few days.

No traffic - what a pleasure.

Clematis in Eherenhausen. 

Wine tasting with Thomas at Regele Winery

Part of their extensive range we tasted.

Rosa Blairy No 2 against Regele Winery.

Day 26 - Ptuj to Svecina.

Day 26. Ptuj to Svecina. 48 km, 3h30.

A feast of a breakfast, including pumpkin preserve and a great view over the Drava River Valley, at our friendly overnight stop, Panorama Rooms. Then we had a flat cycle along the river and flood plain to Slovenia's second city and centre of its wine industry, Maribor. We passed numerous small villages with roses in full bloom, and the odd white stork nesting on top of a telephone pole.

Maribor is wedged between the Drava River and the hills covered in vineyards behind. Large portions were destroyed in WW2, as it served as the headquarters for occupying Nazi forces. The old town, which has been rebuilt, was easy to explore as it's closed to motor traffic. They are very proud of having the oldest vine in the world - it is claimed to be 400 years old - growing against an old building, now a museum of wine, on the river bank. The helpful tourist office provided us with cycling maps for our onward journey.

All the towns in Slovenia have dedicated cycle lanes, mostly as part of the pavement. There are some gripes about these on cycle-touring websites, but we have enjoyed them as we are not in a hurry. We are able to look around at the town without worrying about trucks, we can stop to take photos or look at the map easily, and nobody can open a car door in your face suddenly. Today we even had a long section of paved cycle track through the countryside.

The car drivers have become increasingly cautious as we've traveled north through Slovenia and will often wait a considerable time to overtake on narrow roads. Perhaps the Austrian influence is responsible, as opposed to the Italian one further south. The fine for traveling more than 70 km/hr in a built-up area, with its 50km speed limit, is 1000 Euros and one month of license suspension. However, no one seems to take much notice of the seatbelt and cellphone laws - 120 Euro fine. 

From Maribor we had a gentle climb, between the hills to the small village of Svecina, which is in spitting distance of the Austrian border. Again our accommodation is high up on a hill, but this time we had to get off and push our bikes with considerable encouragement from the thunder and lightening above. We made it in the nick of time before the heavens opened. We are staying at Valdhuber Winery, a modern wooden building with great vistas across the rolling vineyards. 

We were greeted with a glass of excellent Sauvignon Blanc, a big surprise to find here (WWS 8). Later in the evening we tried their Renski (Rhine) Rizling (WWS 7) which we  enjoyed with our self-catered gourmet courgette and pancetta pasta - a one-pot winner. 

Breakfast overlooking the old city.

On our way again.

On leaving Ptuj.

The Drava flood plain.

Maribor across the Drava River.

Information plaque concerning the Old Vine.

The Old Vine 

Peonies are in all the gardens.

The evening view from Valdhuber Winery 

An enjoyable Renski Rizling.

Day 25 - near Celje to Ptuj.

Day 25: 2km before Celje to Ptuj. 92km. 5:30hrs.

Our route today took us through beautiful farm lands of hops, apples, wheat, corn and vines, with small villages every 8-10 km. After about 40 km we reached the Dravinja River Valley, which we cycled along over rolling hills. 

The roses are in full bloom, and almost every house along the way has a few peonies and a beautifully tended veggie patch with potatoes and beans growing in it.

Slovenia comes to a halt on a Sunday, so by the time we arrived in Ptuj all the supermarkets were closed. Fortunately we found a bakery that was open which kept the wolf from the door.

The signposting and road signs in Slovenia are not good to put it mildly. One has to know the name of the big town that you are heading towards as this is the name that will appear on the road sign. None of the other towns in between will appear and they don't number the roads. We spent about half an hour looking for our accommodation today; we eventually located it after much cycling back and forth. Panorama Rooms is set high up on a hill with a magnificent view. We had to negotiated a steep gravel road to get there which wasn't great after a 93 km cycle, but the accommodation was well worth the effort.

Ptuj (puh-TOOey) - it sounds like someone spitting - is a quaint town with a castle set high up on the hill. Unfortunately it was closed, as we only did our sightseeing after 18:00. The walk up was great after spending a day in the saddle and the views of the Drava river were spectacular.

The town has been inhabited since the early Stone Age and was populated by the Celts, Romans, Dominican friars, Habsburg counts, Nazi's and Yugoslavs over the years.The Gothic Church of St George, the patron saint of Ptuj, is situated behind the City Tower. It has a beautiful vaulted ceiling and stained glass windows. We have not seen another example of Gothic architecture in both Slovenia and Croatia. The city tower is capped by a Baroque steeple and was built in the late 16th century to defend against Ottoman invaders.

If you are planning a trip to Slovenia, this quaint laid back town, is not to be missed. However our dinner at a local eatery, recommended by our hostess, consisted of slabs of boarding school beef that should be used by Nike and salad that was made last Thursday. 

Farmlands on route to Ptuj.

Crossing the Drava River to the old city of Ptuj.

Looking back to the Drava from Ptuj castle.

A 2nd century marble slab commemorating the Roman major of Poetovio (now Ptuj).

Sunset over the Drava River.

Day 24 - Ljubljana to near Celje.

Day 24. Ljubljana to near Celje. 93km, 5hrs35.

After long consideration we decided to head east to Celje, rather than do a there-and-back to Bled. Lake Bled is one of the sightseeing highlights of Slovenia, but unfortunately it is in totally the wrong direction for us unless we wanted to do an extra 120km or tackle the Alps. Not today thanks! 

There was hardly a soul around as we left Ljubljana with the imposing snowcapped Alps to the west. We cycled along the Ljubljana River which soon joined the Sava River. The Sava flows east to Zagreb in Croatia and eventually joins the Danube at Belgrade in Serbia . We made good time on small roads next to the river and railway line in perfect cycling conditions. Our odometer hit 1000 km for the trip along this section. We have been wobbling along for 3 weeks now - that's the duration of the Tour de France. No EPO, transfusions, professional masseuse, backup bus, mechanics, and 7 kg bikes. Take that Lance!

After coffee in Litija, we continued along the river as it entered a deep gorge, so we had great pedaling mostly in forest with good views of the river. Slovenia, in spite of being the smallest EU country, is the third most forested.

We then turned north towards Lasko, with its large brewery, and Celje along the Savinje River. The houses here are very Austrian in design. We tried to stay on small roads approaching Lasko, but ended up having to push our bikes up a very steep and stony gravel track. After lots of sweat and muttering, we eventually ended up on the intended route.

Rather than look for a room in the city of Celje on a Saturday afternoon when all the information offices are closed, we stopped at a sobe a few kilometers before Celje. There was a 50th birthday party in the restaurant downstairs, so we had accordion "music" for most of the night.

1K and going strong.

The Sava River - also going strong.

An old wooden bridge across the Sava. It still takes normal traffic.

The gravel track became smaller and steeper from here.

The local brew. Our glasses are still half full.

Day 23 - A day in Ljubljana.

Day 23 : A day in Ljubljana.

We spent some time doing a few loads of washing in our wonderful Scrubba - such a great invention for travelers and really good to have clean clothes!

Just strolling through the peaceful walk ways and to feel the atmosphere of this city is wonderful. There are so many interesting nooks and crannies which are tucked away down alleyways, through an arch or in a small secluded square.

The American couple that we met last night said that the free walking tour of the city was excellent.The meeting place is at the Franciscan Church at 11:00. Our tour guide was the delightful Neza who revealed the real Ljubljana to us. We were fascinated by the history and architecture. The Triple, Cobblers and Dragon bridges are the main bridges across the Ljubljanica river. It is interesting to note that on the one side of the river the architecture is from the Secessionist period and on the other side from the Baroque period. Plecnik designed so many of the buildings in Ljubljana; he was a genius and ahead of his time. He designed simple, elegant buildings with a distinct Venetian influence that can be seen in the colonnades and balustrades which are prominent in all the buildings.

The stroll through the fresh produce river market was bustling with locals. Although the produce at the market is more expensive than the supermarkets the locals do support it because it is fresh, organic and often more tasty. 

Just behind the Cathedral of St Nicholas, a market with food stalls opens each Friday from 10:00- 20:00.  It is well supported by the locals especially in the evening when families come down to eat and a drink and catch up with friends. A fabulous way to spend a warm Friday evening. 

Soren Jankovic, current mayor of the city, was the man behind changing the streets into pedestrian and bike friendly areas. He also pedestrianized kilometers of riverfront embankment. The new look of Ljubljana is a good example of how a progressive electorate can trust a capable leader to wisely invest public funds in urban beautification projects that benefit the common good.

Ljubljana buzzes at night with lots of music along the river and on the bridges. People are out and about strolling through the cobbled streets, eating ice creams and enjoying the ambience of the city at night.

Ljubljana market - the place to be seen on a Saturday morning, a local tradition.

A part of Plecnic's Triple Bridge

The colonnade, again by ......- you've guessed it - Plecnic.

A dragon on Dragons' Bridge.

Peonies everywhere.

The modern doors of St Nicholas Cathedral depicting the history of Ljubljana, made to commemorate the Pope John Paul's visit.

Ljubljana River at night.