Since our last blog we have cycled over 1400km, through four different countries, visited some beautiful cities, seen more naked people than we care to remember and more roller-bladers than we knew existed. We have also had our longest day, our hottest day and our wettest day of the whole trip.After an absolutely awesome time in Munich we hit the road again heading south-east across Germany, back toward the Alps. The riding along the Austria-Germany border was idyllic with some great track riding along alpine rivers, through green valleys and over a few passes. The traditional Austrian houses are huge with wide verandahs, detailed wood carving and overflowing flower boxes. At least half the house is for the cows - very different to farming in NZ!!
Our destination was a beautiful alpine lake called Konigssee. Nestled among high peaks the deep green waters draw many German hikers and tourists. We spent two days there walking and riding in the hills. 
The second day turned into a pretty big mission. We climbed 1400m on our bikes over 13km (all in granny gear) to the top of the mountain, then descended by foot down to the other side of the lake. After a glorious swim we climbed back up the 1400m on foot before being rewarded with a mean downhill ride late in the evening. On our way home we enjoyed a good German beer in the last of the evening sun. Unfortunately that night our cooker decided to remind us just who was boss and refused to get going (lost all pressure). At 11.30pm, a very dispondent Kate gave up trying to fix it and we went to bed hungry, tired but content. 
Luckily Kate managed to fix the cooker in the morning and we had a big feed of chilli beans, veges and rice for breakfast! From Konigssee we rode north to the gorgeous old city of Salzburg. Reknowned as the birthplace of Mozart and of course the filming of everyone´s favourite ˝The Sound of Music" it was swarming with tourists. We had a good wander around and lunch before hitting the road again. 
Between Salzburg and Vienna the scenery was a bit mundane so we decided to crank through the km´s. In the city of Linz we joined with the Danube River. This is quite a famous cycle route for Europeans and is really well set up for cycle tourists of all abilities with great signposting and lots of rest stations. We thought finding the cycle path itself would be really straight forward, but without a map of the city we found ourselves in a confusing industrial area. Trying to get to the river we accidently biked onto the Autobahn! With tooting cars screaming past us at frightening speed, and us in a slight state of panic and fear of our life, we had no choice but to bike until we got to the next exit. (Trying to turn around would have been certain death I think!) 
We spent several very relaxing days in the beautiful city of Vienna. We stayed with another generous warmshowers contact called Martin. He had also biked in South America, so it was great to share stories and learn about his passion for paragliding. He took us out for a fantastic Turkish meal and to one of his favourite chilled out bars.
The buildings in Vienna are magnificent 
Leaving Vienna by bike we encountered hundreds (maybe a thousand) nude people along the bank of the Danube! Mostly middle-to-old aged people sunbathing, swimming or just having a picnic. Not a pretty sight!! We crossed into Slovakia and cycled to the city of Bratislavia. This was a nice place with good atmosphere.
On leaving Brataslavia we encountered hoards of roller bladers. There were literally hundreds of them swarming the cycle paths - many only wearing bikinis or speedos! So many bodies in one day!!
We really noticed the difference leaving Western Europe and traveling into the East. Dreary Soviet style apartment blocks are the most striking and obvious feature that remains from the years of communist rule.
Slovakia had a rather empty, slightly depressing feel about it. Part of the former Czechoslovakia until 1993, the rural areas felt rather unchanged from its Soviet days with tired looking towns 
and many of the local men gathered at shabby looking pubs drinking vodka shots at nine in the morning. The good news for us was very cheap beer- 40c for a pint! We managed to find a late evening camp spot in a forest only to realise it was completely infested with mosquitoes - worse than in the Amazon! We were covered in hundreds of bites within a matter of seconds and had to take refuge in our tent- forgoing dinner for the second time that week!
Typical Soviet style house....brightly coloured with large windows!
As the scenery was fairly dull and the riding flat we decided to mission it to Budapest (the capital of Hungary). With temperatures soaring to forty degrees we completed our longest day so far....the odo clicked to 199km when we finally reached our destination in Budapest. Both exhausted, hot, sweaty, and quite pleased with ourselves, we were welcomed by Anna, our warmshowers host. We had a relaxing evening enjoying some beers at a buzzing outdoor pub.
The following day we visited a museum called the `House of Terror´. This documented life in Hungary under two consecutive totalitarian regimes- firstly the Nazis and then the oppressive Soviet communists. Soviet rule existed from the end of WWII until the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989- apart from twelve days of revolution in 1956, when 260 000 Hungarians fled the country, most never to return. 
The museum was really well done and gave us real insight into the way people lived in fear and with such strict restrictions- every aspect of daily life was monitored and controlled . Citizens were forbidden to leave the country awear western clothes, and thousands were tortured, murdered and deported to Russian labour camps. Today Budapest is a modern, vibrant city with stunning old architecture and great cafes and restaurants.
The next leg of our journey saw us cycling through Hungary to Croatia. Unfortunately our riding in Hungary was slightly tarnished by some of the wettest, coldest weather we`ve had on the trip- in stark contrast to the sweltering temperatures just days previously. Three days of solid rain is not much fun when you`re riding and camping. At one pub, while we sat shivering over the menu, the waiter took pity on us and brought out blankets! We were relieved when the rain finally stopped and we crossed the Croatian border....heading towards the beach, sun and islands of the Adriatic coast. Bring it on!! 
Typical European hiker....Leki poles and talking on a cellphone!
Kate and I have absolutely loved our time in Deutschland so far. The combination of great riding, ever-changing landscape, cool people, delicious bakeries and the fantastic beer is hard to beat.
The highlight of the Rhine was the beautiful Rhine valley/gorge.
We are really into our riding at the moment and have been doing lots of km's. After a particularly long, hilly 160km day we decided to have a rest day at the idyllic lakeside town of Hopfen Am See. What was meant to be a "rest day" turned into a ride across the border into Austria, a 70km cycle around a pristine lake in the Alps and then a hike up a 2000m peak. We were just so stoked to be back in the hills! We paid the price the next day with very tired and sore legs! Luckily we only two relatively easy days riding to reach our next destination - Munich. And that`s where we are now. 
Reading at Hopfen am See
