What a flow I had today. On my way into Melk, I passed everyone at a cruising speed of 30 kph (19 mph). A little guy tried to join me. For about five minutes he biked just behind me at the same speed. Then I slowed down a bit and we talked the last half an hour into Melk. He was a Swiss 13-yearold and part of a larger group that were going to spend the night in Melk.

I had planned to stay in Melk too, at first, but considering the flow I had, I decided to continue to Krems. On this stretch I met a Slovak solo biker on his way to Vienna from Bonn. We biked together for an hour or so, then he wanted to go slower and we parted. But not before he had invited me to his parents in Bratislava, in case I would take that way to Budapest.

The Swiss and the Slovak reminded me of my most valuable luggage: My languages. Being able to speak German with the Swiss boy and Czech with the Slovak (who of course spoke Slovak himself but those languages are quite the same) not only boosted the talks – it made them possible.

The camping in Krems is nice. After coming back from my sightseeing and dinner (fried mushrooms) in this old town, I had a drink with my German camping neighbours.

I'm thinking about Budapest again. There are so many days and so little distance left. I have to come up with something here, some solution, but not right now.