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Stage 12 - Vienna - Austria - 12th to 15th October
Quite interesting driving the rural roads north towards Vienna, from Lake Balaton, until I reached the freeway…very arable, crops galore to the horizon, a real food basket! Interesting…
That serenity was broken though on the motorway at rush hour, especially the closer I got to the city centre….very difficult negotiating what Google Maps was instructing, as the GPS was lost in the multiple tunnels…but somehow I went straight to John’s without a hitch! And there was John welcoming me on the roadside (I did invoke “Live Location” on WhatsApp!).
I hadn’t seen John in over 4 years, who used to live in Sheffield but now firmly ensconced in central Vienna. And you can’t blame him!
I spent 4 days with him, and although that’s a short time to gain a full understanding of anywhere, I was suitably impressed to how his lifestyle has been improved (oh, except a decent pint, unless you count Guinness!). The city centre is fairly compact, we went into the centre every night for food and liquid refreshment, but I also spent a chunk of a day walking around all the historical areas, which were very impressive (coming from me, that says a lot!).
Included the City Hall, Parliament, Theatres, Museums, Churches and the Cathedral, see photos.
And then there is the weather! Mid October and it’s sunny and in the low 20s, and invariably dry (rain shadow from the Alps to the west)….and John stated this is normal!
I did a spin on the island where the Danube was dammed, so on one side is an affective lake, and the redirected flowing Danube on the other side. Created relatively recently, in the 80s, to alleviate any flooding?
However on the Saturday, John lent me a road bike, and we did 100k plus / 4 hours riding, with three significant climbs and a few “blips”…first road ride for me for months, and certainly not that long…I survived just, but with some lower back pain. I thought Vienna was at the flat end of Austria!!
It made the evening pasta and Guinness taste that much better of course! Aided by a tremendous atmosphere in an Irish pub watching the Ireland vs NZ rugby quarter final…packed to the rafters….but most went home unhappy, but a classic frenetic top level game of that rugger!
All in all, 4 great days, it flew by, and the combo of John’s company and the city itself, I really enjoyed it….and…I had a bed! Lol.😂
But John was flying to Zurich on business on the Sunday, so head west young man? Vienna being the furthest point east on my trip (or was Hungary?)….so affectively heading back now, and getting back on the original itinerary to the Austrian Alps but it was pouring down as I approached Salzburg, with two hours more driving to go….what do I do? 🤷♂️😊
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