Sunday 30th Cycling around Vienna



Up bright and early for our cycle ride as we reckoned that the only way we could manage this would be early in the morning before the heat really became too much. We arrive at the cycle hire shop before they had opened but only had to wait a couple of minutes before the staff had arrived and our rental was under way. We were amazed by how many bikes and Segway scooters that they had. Clearly this is the way to see Vienna.`

Off we went initially along the Ring which encircles the inner city, before turning off to cycle through the historical centre. Our timing was excellent, the temperature was bearable and there was very little traffic so early on a Sunday morning. We ended up cycling around the entire Ring, through most of the centre and along the Danube canal. At one stage the LLW got slightly carried away and was halfway to Germany before Ray caught up with her and pointed out that we had significantly overshot our turning.

Towards the end of our ride we stopped for an incredibly expensive coffee at one of Vienna's famed coffee houses, and then cycled through the grounds of the Hofburg Palace back to the hire shop. What a fantastic way to see the city.

Back to our apartment to sort out a few admin items with the Hapimag manager and then we headed off for a walk into the centre. By this time the temperature was rising quickly and hit 36c when we stopped for a light lunch near the Hofburg. After about another hour we felt it was time to give in to the heat and return to Hapimag for a rest. Walking was too much so a combination of metro and tram took us back to Neudeggerstrasse quickly.

Vienna is magnificent and the buildings really are extraordinarily opulent. The city exudes wealth and class.

As it cooled down in the evening we took the tram and metro back into the centre and enjoyed an excellent, if expensive Thai meal. We have loved being in Vienna again but would have preferred 10c cooler!!