Day 41 - Tulln to Vienna

49.4 km - Total so far 2,284.80 km - Route pedalled.      Relive Video (with pictures)

Video of the day: Europe Day 41 

We are safe and secure in Vienna, Austria.

We had a mission today, get to Vienna and pick up denatured alcohol for our Trangia alcohol burner. We left under cloudy skies and got intermittent rain till about the outskirts of Vienna.

We spent last night in the industrial section of Tulln and did not get to see much of what it offered. As we neared the town center, we got to see the usual old buildings, sculptures, a large fountain, a convent and numerous play areas near the Danube River Bank.

The trail took us inland and we got to see how the locals deal with the constant threat of flooding. Many new and older homes are built on stilts with only the garage as an enclosed space.

As we got closer to Vienna, we left the Danube and followed the Danube Canal on the one side and railroad tracks on the other side. The bike path eventually took us under an elevated road. It was not a very scenic setting. At one point, we had to take a ramp that got us to the level of the elevated road. We were in awe!

Gone was the industrial setting and the wall of graffiti.  Instead we were looking at wide avenues with majestic buildings on either side. Even the more modest buildings stood out with their architectural details. We will write about the other buildings tomorrow.

We eventually made it to the sport store and got the alcohol. We now had to turn around and cross the Canal to our rental apartment. We did a quick tourist loop before getting back on track to our destination. Lots of tourists, cars, trucks, tram cars and horse drawn carriage which made it even more fun biking in the city with loaded touring bikes.

Being early for the check-in, we stopped for a quick bite at the "Budapest Bagel Vienna". We highly recommend the food . We went in for a bite to eat and left with tips and tourist information on Eastern Europe. Turns out that Barbi (Hungary), Daria (Ukraine) and Linda (Germany) were curious about are trip and offered their travel and living experiences in Eastern Europe. Thanks for the tips ladies and we wish you much success in all future ventures and travel.

A while later, we were settled in our apartment and headed out grocery shopping. So much easier when both of us get to buy groceries together and not worry about our bikes. 

Over the next two days, we will be off the bikes and being regular tourists.

Around the corner from where we are staying