Strawberries & Poppies Tour
I would recommend our Strawberries & Poppies ebike tour for so many reasons, but the main ones are:
- variety of scenery from the Alps to farmland
- excellent for beginners or people looking for limited ascent
- easy to follow as well as signposted
We made a quick decision to come to Upper Austria. It is an understatement to say it was a nice surprise; we were impressed with this mix of bike tracks. We used the Bikeline book “Öberösterreich Fluss-Radweg” (Upper Austria River Bike Tours), and I picked out a circular route. There is lots of variety with farmland, river paths, mountains and valleys. All of which added up to a brilliant 3-day tour.
Day 1 – Haid to Kirchdorf am Krems
Initially, the path runs by the river, then off through fields of barley, wheat, rapeseed and what I call – guess the crop.! There are loads of wildflowers at the side of the fields, which the farmers obviously plant to increase pollination. It also makes the whole route very pretty. Poppies line the route, so there is plenty of colours and one of the reasons why we named it the Strawberries & Poppies tour.
I had never seen purple poppies before, so when we saw a bright purple strip in the distance, we couldn’t even guess what it might be. The closer we got, our guesses became outlandish as to what would cause such a beautiful colour of purple. It wasn’t until we were very close that we realised it was poppies, which really took our breath away. Such a pretty sight.
It was a hot day, so when we saw the sign for Strawberry Land, we were keen to stop. There was a vending machine with all sorts of choices of strawberry jam, cordial and fresh strawberries. After buying a 500g punnet, thinking we would save some for later. We gorged ourselves on the whole lot in about 5 minutes. Absolutely delicious, and what a great idea to have a vending machine for healthy snacks.
Highlights of the day
- A field full of purple poppies, which were stunning
- “Strawberry Land” (Erdbeerland)
- lots of pretty farmland with more crops than we could name
- The Strawberries & Poppies tour was born.
Day 2 – Kirchdorf am Krems to Enns
Day 2 was a mystery day as we didn’t know where we would end up. The reason was that I hadn’t booked any accommodation. I love doing this in low season as you never know what will happen and where you will finish.
We set off from Kirchdorf am Krems well rested, following the poppies to the end of the Krems bike path. Where we immediately joined up with the Steyr bike path.
The change in the scenery as we got further into the Kalk Alps was amazing. Even though we were in the mountains, there were no steep paths; the route was mainly downhill. The views are pretty, and there are lots of things to see along the way. Including a rake maker and beautiful farmhouses, so keep an eye out.
The path runs mainly along the river until Grünburg, a stunning little village. I would suggest a stop to charge your battery, have a cake, and enjoy this idyllic setting.
After your stop, the track gives a little kick up onto a plateau and through more farmland as well as Strawberries & Poppies. On the plateau, there are a huge number of electric pylons and views over the Enns and into Steyr.
Steyr
Steyr is a beautiful town, we have been here twice and both times we loved it. The Rivers Enns and Steyr meet here, creating very different colours at the join. The town, with its gothic buildings, river and main square, all add up to a stunning setting, well worth spending some time in.
Top tip – the Information Centre has a water fountain outside as well as toilets. We bought a picnic and had lunch by the river. Then filled up our bottles before we set off in the afternoon.
After Steyr, you are leaving the Kalk Alps behind you and back into farmland. Once you leave the town, you follow the river for a bit, then head inland for a while too. We got a bit confused at this bit with the signage and ended up on a farm. A kind young lad helped us get back on the right track. I think it might have happened before. It was our fault, not the signage. Sometimes, we don’t pay enough attention as we are looking at the scenery!
Enns
The final part of Enns is at the side of a main road and honestly is a bit boring. This, to be fair, is because we had such fantastic views until then, but it really didn’t matter. Enns main centre is attractive with a cobbled Town Centre. There is a useful ebike charging station I used while sampling delicious ice cream. We ended up staying in Enns, so the extra charge wasn’t needed. My motto is to charge up when I have the opportunity because I need a new battery for my bike.
Highlights of the day:
- All 35 km of the Steyr bike route are too much to choose 1 point
- Steyr – it’s such a beautiful town and well worth a visit
- More Strawberries & Poppies
Day 3 – Enns to Haid with a few detours
We started off the morning with a coffee outside under the trees whilst choosing our final day’s route. We ended up going along the Danube path, which is always a pleasure, before turning off on the Traun path. The good thing about river paths is there are normally trees; on a hot day, they offer a bit of cover.
Top tip – Be careful in heat, drink loads of water, keep reapplying sunscreen and shade your eyes. You won’t notice you are a bit crispy until you stop, as there is normally a breeze by the river.
Traun
On the outskirts of Traun, we were discussing a potential coffee stop when a lovely gentleman stopped to help us. He ended up showing us where to go in his hometown. I think he was more intrigued by the fact we are British, speak German, live in Tirol and are on tour in Upper Austria. Mind blown! Meeting interesting people on our tours is a big part of it, and this gentleman was very sweet.
After our coffee and cake, we bought a picnic and set off along the Traun path. We took a few detours, got a little bit lost, had user error and had nothing to do with signage. However, we ended up by a pretty lagoon which offered us some shade on a sunny day. We could have had a swim, but with no swimming gear and being very British, there was no way we were doing that without the proper attire!
In the afternoon, we headed back towards the car, reminiscing about what a fantastic few days we had had. Perfect tour for your first one of the season. Not too much ascent, plenty to look at and a selection of scenery to make it very interesting.
We decided to call it the strawberries & poppies tour as we saw so many of both. The strawberries need their own special mention as we ate our body weight in them over three days!
Highly recommend this for a short tour for any ability.
Upper Austria Tourist Office
These people are incredibly helpful; they will send out loads of cycling information for you to plan. Go to their website for more information.
https://www.upperaustria.com/en/activities/e-bike.html