Riding through a huge city like Vienna was very easy. The excellent network of bike paths and good signage helped us to get all the way through Vienna. Oh to experience this ease in the larger cities at home.
Getting back on the Amber Route is not going to be as easy a ride as the Danube Route. The 1000 metre(3000 ft.) climb in the middle is the highest point on the entire route from the Baltic to the Adriatic Sea. It looks like a nasty climb.
It was great staying in a hotel that was situated where we could easily ride to the many wonderful sights of Vienna. The Senator Hotel is located in the Hernals neighbourhood. The first night we rode the tram in to the centre and we noticed the number of cyclists, so we decided to ride our bike to tour. It is so much better for us to tour a city by bike. We're kind of like ducks out of water, when we have to walk, we feel less agile and we suffer!!
In Vienna, everywhere you look, there are magnificent sights and architectural wonders. Nonetheless, this simpler church caught our eye - we liked the rooster windvane and the evidence of the old roof tiles. This was by our hotel.
Next to our hotel was an amazing Turkish restaurant with a large clientele of Serbs and Turks. They offered amazing food at good prices - we ate every dinner here. This photo shows the salad bar which you have with your entree.
And here we are outside our favourite eatery in Vienna - Huhnerparadies "Chicken Paradise". The food, smells and service reminds us of our love of travelling in Turkey - and it is so affordable
This is typical of the street in Vienna where we stayed. The trams are an important travel network throughout the city. As cyclists we learn not to get our trailer tires caught in the tracks.
Throughout the summer, the grounds of the Rathaus are used for a film festival and food vendors do a good business. It is slow now as it is early Sunday, but in the evening when there are films, it is very busy.
Another example of the excellent infrastructure for cycling in Vienna. We had imagined that it might be challenging, but it works well. On our initial ride to the hotel when we arrived, we had to learn how to navigate around the trams and how to access the bike lanes, but it is surprisingly efficient for such a large city.
As we rode out of Vienna, we found this small coffee/cake cafe on a street corner. We love this kind of place that is a small, locally owned cafe with homemade goodies. We decided to enjoy a slice of sacher torte and a piece of cake (similar to a cake Cora makes) with a fine cup of coffee before we left Vienna.
Such kindness from this man as he rode with us to ensure that we found our way.The route confused us a few times as it led us to tunnels below a river or street and we were faced with stairs to go back up. This man came to our rescue twice and showed us the right way to go.
After we left Vienna, we were riding along the canal and met this man. He was most excited to meet us as his brother lives in Sooke BC and he has visited him there (close to our home). He said that his favourite places in BC were the small islands. When we told him that we live on a small island, he told us, I will call my brother to tell him that I have met you!
