A very good day, buffet breakfast i was disappointed looking forward to scrambled eggs n potatoes but no all cold stuff, what they do, thin sliced meats and cheeses, fresh cut veggies, fruit, yogurt, mueslis cereal, juices breads, toast, coffee, cappuccino, espresso, but i have to say after all of that sampling a little of each, i was quite satisfied, 2 or 3 different cups of coffee, cappuccino, mochiata, toast that nutty dark German bread with butter jams, honey, butter, Nutella, so it ended good. Did not go for the hard boiled eggs i guess that’s a thing too, tomorrow I’ll do it a little different cut a kaiser roll in half, toast it with butter or cream cheese, then put the sliced ham or salami on there with some cheese and have a sandwich with the muesli and strawberry yogurt and vegges on the side… can’t beat the coffee cafe espresso mochiata tho, with real cream or milk or half and half and brown or reg sugar.. yum…
Anyway, after that, i loaded up my dirty clothes and got the bike out of the storeroom and headed for the one and only coin laundry in town, found it OK between google maps and Apple Maps they had me going in circles but at a bike lane red light a guy pulled up behind me i said hey go on, he’s like naw you go i said no I’m trying to find this coin laundry, he says oh, go left here, go down to the next street turn right and you will find it… so i did, and 7.90 euro for a load, but it includes the detergent and they spin the clothes real dry, so you can dry in 10 mins for another 2 euro, but i put for 30 mins they were still all done in 10.
there was a guy sitting there I’m trying to figure stuff out you pay on a screen with your credit card and you tell it which machine you are going to use then you have 3 minute to get your stuff in there and turn it on… so I’m talking out loud what the heck? And a voice in English says you gotta put the number in there, well i had put my stuff in a empty machine #6, and on the screen i paid for #4 lol only had 3 minutes to figure that out get the stuff into #4 and figure out how to turn the thing on… well it all worked out ok but the voice the guy was from ventura cali he and his wife over for a couple weeks staying down at Mauthausen went to visit the concentration camp there… anyway, so we chatted 45 minutes or so so good to speak English to someone for a while….
When i finished that, went looking for a bike shop get a new 9 speed chain, mine been rusted with rain and mud and then got twisted up there the other day not shifting right last thing i want is a broken chain middle of nowhere… finally found one, again google maps has me going around the block then back around it.. and they only have shimano pin type no i want a quick connect i only have a small chain break took its not that strong and those shimano pins are tricky devils. Sorry, i searched well in searching by those stupid maps i finally come to another shop, “bike feeling” i think… same thing, only shimano, i said no sorry geez don’t you have kmc or anything with a quick connect? They guy says hm maybe, and goes back to his bench he empties out this plastic bin must be a dozen, 11, 10 8, after about 10 of them oh yeah here’s a 9 ! So i got it.
Next now should i go unload this laundry or try to find a thai massage place? I say go find one, talk to them, set an appointment for later, then go drop off the stuff and come back, won’t have to leave everything the bike and clothes and new chain and all out back for an hour that way, well back and forth i go up down around this street 3-4 times, before i see the sign, its around back through a courtyard, back entry up the stairs, lock my bike go up there, yeah they can do it now… so go get the bags and all carry them up lock the bike up good… and get me 60 minutes massage… best ever !
I went to this one to get the skinny old gal with 15 years experience, but she handed me off to her colleague who must have been 35-40, chunky, and strong omg she hurt me bad all over, lol… for 60 minutes, i told her about my shoulder she worked on that a long time, pushed pulled cracked, massaged, stretched, pulled it behind my back, and she covered everything else, found my left thigh hurting so bad from pushing the bike up the hill to Maria Taferl the other day… anyway, great massage i feel really good now. The massager was so thankful, thank you thank you, she is telling me, what? Why are you thanking me, thank YOU i say… lol… thank you so much… left there feeling really good.
Then I flew back to the hotel, unloaded
everything, went for lunch it’s 300 by now late for lunch so just went Chinese fast counter for hot n sour soup and noodles with Vegs.
Then rode around town just get 20 easy miles in see how the legs are, well they are sore as can be from that massage! Came back started packing everything up for tomorrow early get away to Passau, Germany, yes tonight is my last night in Austria.
Got clean clothes on yay put the bike away just walked for dinner to Coconut Asia, thai food it was very good tho too much red pepper oil and sauce i was sweating a bit had to have a .5 liter beer, Stiegl Weisse they young gal had to take my order mom didn[t speak any English, i said they tell us everybody here speaks English lol lol she laughs shakes her head… Nope you want a Stigle Vise? That’s how you say it, un stigle vise bitte. Anyway, following dinner it started raining, light sprinkle but still high 50’s so i was walking around taking pics and videos this is such a nice place, side streets and all kinds of places to walk and explore so nice cafes and bars and restaurants tucked in corners everywhere people out having coffee or drinks or dinner people walking or riding bikes everywhere, i ran my battery out on my phone well it was low from al the navigation earlier in the day… but then… once my phone went dead and i put it in my pocket, zipped it away, i relaxed… for the first time on this whole 6 weeks trip, i really relaxed, nothing to do now, just walk the streets, window shop, just saunter along see the sights, listen to the people, the bikes, the trams, laughter talking… footsteps, rainy shlipp of shoes on the pavers…
My trip is about done, tomorrow I’ll get to Passau, end or the line… well, the EuroVelo 6 goes on for who knows how many more miles to the Atlantic Ocean in France, but i haven’t time for that, only 100 miles or so to Munich, where my clothes and bags are stored… I’ve done it, about 1,000 miles in a month of riding, just me on my own, carrying everything i need, credit card touring hotels and guesthouses and pensions, just 65 more miles tomorrow, and i already booked my room at the Hotel Atrium Garni. And 100 km well by now I’ve done that about a dozen times no stress, funny it is i feel stronger now than i did at the beginning when you’d think i was fresher…. Anyway,
So i relaxed and just walked, and walked side streets, alleyways, passages, for an hour and a half, not wanting to stop and go in, tho i know i have to finish packing and be ready to go first thing. Stopped to give spare change to a homeless young woman, chat a minute, she’s from Italy, her boyfriend is sleeping now, she’s so tired, cold… she asks where I’m from…many people on this trip have asked/said, oh usa, you have a high standard of living there don’t you? So it comes back to this, all this time what makes me the most happy and feel good is to give something to someone less fortunate, an unexpected tip, a kind word, a look, a smile, just something to help someone else get through their day a little easier.
Well the witching hour used to be 12 now it’s 11 lol…. Smile and be thankful for what we all have, there’s a whole lot of people out there can only dream of a life so lucky.
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