Ybbstal Bike Trail - Part 1

Ybbstal Bike Trail

 

Friday, June 19th 2026

 

Friday after work we hit the road and drove to the small village of Ybbs an der Donau. We arrived in the late afternoon and once we found a good parking space our biking tour started. For our first cycling trip in 2026 we chose the Ybbstal Bike Trail in Lower Austria. The Ybbstal Bike Trail is a roughly 100 kilometres long, mostly asphalted cycling route that follows the river Ybbs from Ybbs an der Donau southward to Lunz am See. Luckily we only had about 30 kilometres to cover today, but since Austria was in the middle of a heat wave that was not as easy as expected.

 

Today's Tour

 

Ybbs an der Donau

 

Ybbs an der Donau

 

Ybbs an der Donau

 

The Start of the Bike Trail

 

The Start of the Bike Trail

 

Along the Bike Trail

 

Along the Bike Trail

 

Along the Bike Trail

 

Along the Bike Trail

 

Along the Bike Trail

 

Along the Bike Trail

 

Along the Bike Trail

 

The landscape along our route was rather flat and so we made good progress. After about two hours we made it to Amstetten, where we first had to find our hotel. We stayed at Hotel Exel and once we checked in, we were so happy to shower and then we headed out for dinner. To our surprise the hotel restaurant called Brothers offered some great vegetarian options and so we decided to eat here. We maded the right decisiosn, because the food was delicious and the staff was very friendly and welcoming. Claudia and I shared falafel as a starter and then we both hat the plant based shawarma. Afterwars we just strolled through the small city, got ice cream and stopped at a bar for drinks before calling it a day. 

 

Hotel Exel

 

Our Room

 

Our Room

 

Our Bathroom

 

Restaurant Brothers

 

Dinner

 

Amstetten

 

Amstetten

 

Ice Cream

 

Amstetten

 

Amstetten

 

Drinks

 

Malta 2026 - Part 1

Traveling Day

 

Friday - April 10th 2026

 

Finally it was time for another much needed vacation. After work we hit the road and drove to Vienna International Airport from where our KM Malta flight departed. About three hours later we arrived at the airport, dropped of the luggage and spent some time at the Vienna Lounge while waiting for departure. Around 9:00pm we left Vienna and two hours later we landed at Malta Airport. There we got picked up by a hotel shuttle and soon we arrived at out hotel. We stayed at the Verdala Wellness Hotel AX Privilege in Rabat and once we had checked in and got our room, we called it a day and went to bed.

 

Vienna International Airport

 

Vienna Lounge

 

Vienna Lounge

 

Our Room

 

Our Room

 

Our Room

 

Our Room

 

Malta 2026 - Part 2

Exploring Mdina And Rabat

 

Saturday - April 11th 2026

 

Since we arrived in the middle of the night, we didn't get to see a lot of our hotel except our room. So we were really stunned by how beautiful the hotel was. First we headed downstairs to the restaurant for breakfast and since the weather was so nice, we were able to sit outside at the pool. After our delicious breakfast we got ready to explore Rabat, where our hotel was located, and Mdina, Malta's former capital city. It was just a short walk from our hotel to the beautiful fortified city. 

View from our Room

Hotel Pool

Verdala Wellness Hotel

Breakfast

Verdala Wellness Hotel

Our Room

Verdala Wellness Hotel

Rabat

Rabat

Mdina City Wall

We entered the medieval town through Mdina Gate and suddenly we were in transported back in time. Our first stop was the amazing Mdina Metropolitan Cathedral, also known as St. Paul's Cathedral, and its museum, before strolling through the ancient town. Until now we had the city basically to our own, since the tourists hadn't yet arrived. Mdina is located on a plateau from where we had a wonderful view over the small island. Next we stopped at a little bar for a drink before it was time leave Mdina. In Rabat we found a lovely bar, where we got a couple of drinks and a snack for lunch. After checking out the catacombs of St. Paul, we decided to walk back to the hotel to spend the rest of the afternoon at the pool.

Mdina Gate

Mdina

St. Paul's Cathedral

St. Paul's Cathedral

St. Paul's Cathedral

St. Paul's Cathedral

St. Paul's Cathedral

Cathedral Museum

Cathedral Museum

Cathedral Museum

St. Peter's Church

View over Malta

Mdina

Mdina

Rabat

Drinks

Lunch

St. Paul's Cathedral of Rabat

St. Paul's Cathedral of Rabat

St. Paul's Catacombs

St. Paul's Catacombs

Rabat

Rabat

 

Pool Time

In the evening we headed back to Mdina to have dinner at Coogi's, only one of two restaurants that has a terrace on top of the city wall, from where we got to enjoy the beautiful sunset while overlooking the island. Coogi's offered a huge plant based menu and so Claudia ordered the veggie burger and I got nuggets with fries. After a wonderful dinner we got ice cream at the gelatteria next door and walked around the empty town with all the tourists gone for the day. Back at the hotel we spent a quiet evening in front of the TV trying different sweets from the convenient store.

 

Coogi's

 

Coogi's

 

Coogi's

 

Dinner

View over Malta

Ice Cream

Mdina Gate

Back at the Hotel