Day 11--Krems to Vienna, Austria

barbara takes a fall

Saturday, July 5, 2008
Krems to Vienna, Austria
Distance: 88.57 km (55 miles)

X+-- We'll have an easy day along the Danube today though not without bicycle traffic since this stretch of the Danube Bicycle Path is one of the busiest in the world.

This morning after getting our bikes out of a storage room around the corner from the hotel—actually three rooms, each with a separate key—we started out to Vienna, a mere 55 miles away. The bike tracks were not nearly as full of cyclists as we had heard, but some of the cyclists we did encounter were a little different, especially on approach to the city: racing cyclists doing time trials and club rides on skinny-tired road bikes, not as many of the loaded touring cyclists as we had been seeing.

At first the track was flanked on both sides by wildflowers, particularly black-eyed-susans, a flower we had not seen before. Actually the flora in this area is very similar to that in NY state—chicory, jewelweed, dandelions, goldenrod, Queen Anne’s lace, yellow stork’s foot, mullen, butterfly bush, willows, cottonwoods, (both releasing their wool), beech trees, many horse chestnut trees—only a few flora that I could not identify. Once, we left the track for a stretch on the road and encountered field after field of sunflowers, dutifully facing the sun—all but one maverick whose head was turned the other way. The black-eyed-susans changed to some sort of low purple flower that lined the track for a good way also.

A semi trailer that a gypsy couple was painting and making into a trailside coffee bar. I stopped and spoke with them, admiring their artwork. The husband was painting this wildlife mural as we talked. he was quite talented.

Something impressive on a hillside across the river--what ,I never learned

View downriver from the bridge we crossed

Bridge near Tulln

Left: Unpleasant section of the Donauweg to Vienna. Can  you imagine falling onto this riprap?

We rode on only a small length of gravel track today, but the paved track was rough paved and also full of root heaves. I stood to go over these—to spare my seat, you know. We crossed the river three times, each on high bridges. I took a photo of my shadow resting on the water below one bridge. The river has broadened out ever since the Inn joined it, and the Inn’s glacial alluvial suspension has turned it a pale, grayish turquoise.

When we got to Tulln, we found Barbara & David and Marion & Fred. Barbara had taken a spill and needed the van to come and pick her up. Marion, who is German and speaks the language fluently, asked a passing cyclist if she could use his cell. But she couldn’t reach Philipp or Stefania on it. Harold was carrying the cell phone so we all waited with Barbara until he and Carolyn arrived. These two are always the last riders in—both ride straight handlebar bikes, and though they ride the whole route they are very slow. 

An injured Barbara and husband, David, and Fred with a bride posing for pix in the background.

Judy and Barbara  in Tulln waiting for the ExperiencePlus's sag wagon service

Harold reached Philipp who drove back, picked up Barbara, and drove her to the hotel. We will see how she is tomorrow. Seems she did something to her hip or groin. That makes three women (of five on the tour) who have fallen so far in only this first week. I am super cautious but confident. I hope I do not make an error and go down. I already have enough woes with my facial sun sores and bruised legs. A rambling wreck . . .

Tulln, one of the oldest towns in Austria, was a wonderful place to stop and wait with Barbara. It was the Roman naval base of Comagena, and the Tulne of the Nibelungenlied, where King Etzel (Attila) received Kriemhild, as depicted in its riverfront statues. Tulln is known for its floral decorations. Almost every house boasted flower gardens and window boxes or hanging baskets. It is also famous for its associations with artist Egon Schiele, a contemporary of Gustav Klimt. It sits on the river bank sporting a floating stage before an amphitheater. Several fountains, cascades of flowers, and statues of explorers mark its riverfront entry, and on this day it was having a craft fair. Before hitting the track again, we wandered the different booths and stalls after X+ picked up Barbara. 

At the moment, my roommate has left to go to 6 o’clock mass at St Stephen’s. I have my clothes soaking in the b.r. sink, and have gotten into my comfy p.j.’s, so now is the time to write up my journal. We are at the Mercure Hotel in the center of the old downtown area of Vienna. Our room is a bit small, but it is the first room we have had that has AC. Yes!

We are in the heart of the city only three blocks from St Stephen’s square. We got in about 1:30pm so we each took a shower and got into our street clothes, and then had a big pasta lunch at a very so-so Italian sidewalk restaurant. I had pesto spaghetti (overcooked spaghetti) and bruchetta. The bruchetta was like none that I had ever seen. Really no more than a long piece of pizza dough with baked on sauce of some kind. Dry and not tasty at all. But you know how bicycling whets the appetite. I ate it all anyway.

After this we wandered the area which is full of all the international stores in the world and was absolutely shoulder to shoulder with people and their kids and dogs and bicycles, and baby carriages; also large groups touring together all in the same color tee or other group identifier so they’d be easy to see.

We briefly toured the inside of St Stephen’s, but there were so many tourists that I could not really enjoy the experience. I did get some cool pix of rooftops from the spires and domes though.

Saint Stephens Cathedral with its intricate roof shingles

Greek Orthodox Church with intricate window detail

We watched some S.A. Indians dance with pheasant feathers—they were supposedly asking that Montezuma’s feather crown (headdress) be returned to them. Then we watched a very clever puppeteer whose puppet played the piano and ogled the women as they came through. Then we came upon a man all painted silver who would pose (for Euros, of course) for a photo; a street painter; and a group of very good break dancers. One guy had set up solo with his electric guitar, but two policewomen came and ousted him. I guess you need a permit to perform in the square.


After window shopping and gawking for a couple of hours, we stopped at a very good conditori and I had a cup of coffee and an almond, egg-white confection that was very tasty. Judy had an apfel strudel.