To Vienna & rest day in Vienna
We had a short ride into Vienna of only 25k. We were in town by 10:30 so we had almost two days in the city.
This was the morning sun shimmering off of the Danube as we rode the levees.
It was a beautiful ride into town. As you can see in the picture above the ride was along the river on top of the levee a portion of the time. At other times we would ride through the woods just next to the river. It was mystical riding through the forest. The morning sun was penetrating the dense leaves with beams of light touching the forest floor. As the sun rose higher the number of beams grew to an almost saintly appearance. It truly was awe inspiring.
As we reached Vienna we saw skyscrapers for the first time on our journey. Up to now the only skyscrapers we saw were the spires of the cathedrals.
After reaching the city we changed and embarked upon our exploration. Mike and I started with a hop on hop off bus tour to get acclimated to Vienna. It is a very big city. The biggest we have encountered on our Danube quest.
It is a mixture of the old and the new. WWII certainly had an impact on this. Over 1,178 buildings were totally destroyed by allied bombings and Russian artillery shelling during the war. You can see this impact with newer steel and glass buildings interspersed with the old and classic.
We took a night tour of the city to see what Vienna looked like all lit up.
The lights gave it a whole different look and feel. The lights brought out more of the architectural details of these beautiful structures.
The city still uses the old electric trolley system to move people about.
The first district is where all the happening things occur.
There are cobblestone streets that are lined with shops and restaurants. Also, beautiful parks that let you rest your weary feet from all the exploring.
We have pedaled our way across Germany and almost all of Austria. We are a day away from reaching Slovakia. It has been amazing... 😊
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