Lower Austria Bike (Cycling) Trip with Kids
During a summer trip to Austria, we decided to stay in the town of Tulln an der Donau (on the Danube River) and take a bike trip in the beautiful farmlands of Lower Austria! This area to the locals is called Niederösterreich and is one of the flatter parts of Austria. Below, check out our Lower Austria Bike Trip itinerary for a relaxing, family-fun day in this charming area!
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Though many people think of the Alpine mountains when they think of Austria, they would be surprised to know that Austria has so much more than mountains. For people who are looking to bike the Danube Cycle Path along the river, you may also want to take a short break in the town of Tulln. Read all about our time in Tulln, Austria HERE!
Others may be interested in knowing just what they can find if they leave the splendor of the Alps and the tranquility of the Danube River. This itinerary will give you a good idea of how to explore this path with children to have an enjoyable day for all.
Check out one of the best cycling routes in Europe that makes a day of cycling for kids and families easy and carefree in Lower Austria.
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Renting Bikes at Donaupark Camping Tulln
Since I had been wanting to do a family, bike trip for a very long time, I convinced my family to take a day out of our Austrian vacation to explore what lay beyond the town of Tulln. Luckily for us, we came prepared with our bike helmets, and we were able to rent bicycles at our campground for an entire day.
Since cycling was a very popular thing to do in the area, we made sure to reserve our bikes with the receptionist at the campground the day before we wanted to go. We also picked up a cycling map at the reception, so we could plan our trip ahead of time. We had many different ideas for where we could go, but we decided to try the countryside for a relaxing view of the local area.
On the day of the bike trip, we arrived at the reception at 8:15am, and we were on the road by 8:30am for our family’s Lower Austria bike trip. Read more about our campground in Tulln HERE.
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Tulln to Freundorf, Austria
First, we rode just outside of the Donaupark Caming in Tulln to the Aubad Recreational Park that was next door. In between our campground and this park, there was our first path leading south through the town. This was called path 421, which we took until it merged with path 420. Finding the paths was easy, since there were many signs along the way.
Once we reached path 422, we were near the town of Freundorf, which the map showed had a church and castle that we wanted to check out. We thought that churches and castles would be the things to see on this trip, since the map was filled with them.
The St. Johann church was a nice place for a photo opportunity, but the Schloss (castle) Freundorf wasn’t actually for tourists like we had thought. In fact, it was a retirement apartment building. I talked with a lady who lived there and was sitting outside, who seemed to be happy to meet someone new. We wished her a nice day before heading out of town onto path 420.
Baumgarten, Austria and Marillen Tasting
Along the path, we found many beautiful vineyards and natural areas. We didn’t have to worry about heavy traffic or cars, which was a great relief when cycling with kids. Not far from Freundorf, we decided to take a break at a bench under a tree outside the village of Baumgarten. This bench just seemed to appear out of nowhere, and my youngest son took that as a sign to ask for a break! ?
We knew that this would be the first of many requests since long, bike trips were very new to him. A couple passed us and offered us some apricots while we sat there getting a drink from our water bottles.
“Marillen” as the locals called them were in bloom at that point in time all throughout the area. It was very nice of these passersby to offer us some of their fruit. It made our break much more enjoyable!
Judenau, Austria Castle
Next, we got back on path 420 and headed toward Judenau. The map showed a playground and castle, so we thought this would be another good place for us to take a break. We didn’t want to overwhelm the boys on our first, long trip as a family.
If they got burnt out on this trip, we didn’t think they would want to do it again! Fingers crossed that this trip would be a success!! We passed a tennis center with a playground out front, but we decided to keep biking to check out the castle.
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In Judenau, we stopped to take pictures of the Schloss (castle) Judenau. This castle was actually visible outside of the town, which was helpful in getting our excitement levels up. However, it was also repurposed as a school for the town, so we weren’t able to go in and look around. It seemed like a shame at the time, but in reality, it was a good thing.
The added time visiting all of the castles would have made the day much longer, so it all worked out. We still were able to get some nice pictures from the outside. It was also a great place to take a water break and stretch out a bit, since there were benches in the shade for us to sit.
This put more of our focus on finding playgrounds instead. In fact, we just took sightseeing castles off our list and enjoyed the day with the boys. Sometimes, we pack our agendas so full with seeing things, that we don’t take as much time to just enjoy each other. This trip suddenly took on a new purpose!
A Change of Plans and the Judenau Playground
Since the complaints of sore legs and butts and being tired started to come more frequently, we knew that we wouldn’t be able to go the full itinerary that my husband had planned. This meant that we would need to improvise and cut the trip short. After looking at the map, we decided on a shorter route and continued on the path in the direction of Michelhausen.
Luckily for us, this new path took us directly past a nice playground. Since we decided against the first playground we saw, we were glad to have another option. A second chance!!! The boys also deserved some play for doing such a good job. We hoped that it would recharge their batteries, so to speak, as a way to get them motivated to keep going. It is safe to say that we were right in this assumption.
Another Playground on our Lower Austria Bike Trip
The next part of the path was also directly next to the train tracks. In fact, we followed them all the way to Michelhausen. This was a very easy and safe route since we were separated from the roads and rail tracks. We had great views of the farmland, and it was a perfect, sunny day for a bike ride.
Somewhere along the path, we noticed a nice playground next to a set of apartments. We took another break to play and get a drink. Yes, I realize that it must seem like we stopped a lot, but for our youngest, he had never been on such a long bike trip before.
The many pauses were necessary to keep our bikers happy. We pretty much had a half an hour of biking and then a break! If my husband and I were to do this trip alone, the break schedule would have looked much differently! 🙂
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Getting Ice Cream in Michelhausen
After more riding on this nice path and many chats along the way, we decided to stop again at Michelhausen at the café and restaurant that was simply called Erich Schmöllerl. I think it was actually the name of the guy who owned it and served us an ice cream.
For me, it was more a necessity that we find a bathroom on this path, since I was the only one who couldn’t easily go in the open nature. The restaurant was quite charming. Its décor was a bit old-fashioned, but it added to the authenticity of the place and the area. You could really feel that you were in an Austrian village in there!
This was also a nice place to give the boys a reward for a “biking” job well done. Who is going to say “no” to ice cream!? I thought it was quite nice to have stops like this in each of the different villages. It made the trip much more memorable since we had a place and activity to connect to our memories!
Lunch at Landgasthaus Hiesinger in Rust, Austria
After getting back on the path, we headed to Rust, Austria. This was another quaint, little village in which the map said we could find a place to eat. The town had a very nice church in the center of town and some industry, but not much else other than the Leopold Figl Museum. Leopold was the first Austrian chancellor after WWII, and you can read more about that museum HERE.
That is…until we noticed the Landgasthaus Hiesinger. We were hoping to find a place to eat, but we had no idea we would find such a diamond in the rough. This place not only had local cuisine, but it was also prepared in a way that made us feel that we had our own personal chef.
The inside of the restaurant really had an Austrian charm to it. The décor was stylish but also rural. I really liked that about it. Since it was a very nice day, we sat outside on the patio surrounded by flowers.
Finding Local Austrian Cuisine on our Lower Austria Bike Trip
We loved all of the great local choices on the menu at Landgasthaus Hiesinger.
Main Meals
My husband had Geröstete Eierschwammerl mit Speck, Zwiebel, Ei, Petersilerdäpfel und gemischtem Salat. This was a combination of roasted mushrooms and scrambled egg with bacon, onions, and parsley potatoes.
The thing was that the mushrooms were not the average, white mushrooms that we get in the USA. These were, in fact, very common to this area, and my husband was very excited to try a local mushroom.
I had a very delicious salmon filet on top of risotto. They also brought out a salad in the middle of the table. I am not sure if that went with my food or my husband’s, but we decided to share it! We also both had local beers called Schremser Naturparkbier while the boys each had fruit juice.
Kids’ Meals
My oldest son had the “Mickey Mouse” from the kid’s menu. Normally, he orders something form the adult menu, but we were told that the kids’ portions were actually quite large. We decided to trust them, and his meal came with two pieces of breaded schnitzel and fries. I’m not sure why it was called “Mickey Mouse”, but we thought it was funny!
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My youngest son decided to order the “Flipper”, which was a child’s fish meal. We were absolutely blown away when the fish was salmon. I had never seen a child’s fish meal that wasn’t deep fried and breaded. Not only that, but there was quite a bit of fish too.
Along side of the fish, he also had a very good helping of French fries. To me, it seemed like a lot of food for a child’s meal, but our child had a strong appetite from a long day of biking. We were glad for the portion sizes.
Through the Farm Fields and Back to Tulln
After a fantastic meal, we didn’t have much left to see but farm fields on our way back to the main road. We literally road on a gravel road in between cabbage fields. It was very cozy, and it gave us more time for small chats as we rode. We even saw a tall, red and white post that reminded the boys of John Dillermand, a Danish cartoon. If you are interested in knowing more about Danish cartoons, check out this video.
After some twists and turns, we managed to find our way back to the main path that led back to Tulln from the west. We were back on the promenade that went all along the Danube River, and of course, we had to treat ourselves to an ice cream next to the floating stage!
Duration and Map of our Lower Austria Bike Trip
All in all, the entire trip lasted from 8:30am to roughly 3:30pm. When I mapped it out in Google Maps, it says that it is 32.1 kilometers long. Though Google thought it would take an experienced biker just under 2 hours to ride this path, it took us longer.
I am sure it is because we took many breaks along the way, but we were very glad that the path was flat! It could have taken us longer if we were in the mountainous parts of Austria. That is why I say that if you are looking for a nice, biking vacation, the Tulln area of Austria is perfect for this!
Here is the route we took:
Overall Thoughts on our Lower Austria Bike Trip
If we were to do it all again, we would. This was a great way to see the slower, and quieter spots in Austria. Since we had great weather, it was a perfect day to be on the bikes.
We also thought that the culture of Austrian villages was quite interesting and different to that of smaller towns in Denmark. We particularly enjoyed seeing all of the crucifixes and shrines to Mother Mary. These are things that you don’t see in Denmark.
I think it was also a success because we didn’t put too much pressure on ourselves. Had we planned to combine the bike trip with sightseeing in other, larger towns, I think the boys would have gotten worn out faster.
This trip also allowed us the freedom to alter it as we wanted to make as many stops as needed. We just wanted to be out in nature and enjoy each other’s company. This route was great for that. We had plenty of chances to bike next to each other and chat.
We also loved the playgrounds along the way. This area of Niederösterreich is truly a great choice for beginners who are looking for cycling holidays for families. The flat landscape makes paths easy to access and safe to travel. If you are in the Tulln area and want to see a bit more of the countryside, this itinerary is for you!
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