Krems to Vienna, Austria: Cycling to the City of Music
3 - 5 September 2019
Krems to Vienna (3 September 2019, 86.7 km, 53.9 mi)
The rainy weather of the past few days has ended. Today we cycled in lovely, sunny-but-cool conditions. That was perfect for today’s ride, because the route was all on the levees that border the Danube River, and there was hardly any shade. We were very pleased that the day never got too hot.
At just about 30 km into the ride, we passed a unique sight: a nuclear power plant that has never actually produced nuclear power for consumers. Construction of the Zwentendorf nuclear power plant was completed, but it was not brought into service because of a 1978 referendum in which Austria’s citizens voted to ban nuclear power in the country.
But just because it’s not producing nuclear power doesn’t mean it’s idle. One of the nuclear reactors inside is still used for scientific research. One thousand solar panels have been installed on the roof, producing about 0.00003 times as much energy as the nuclear plant would have generated each year. And the company that owns the building rents it out for security training, filming, photography and other events.
What do you do with a nuclear power building that can’t produce nuclear power? Put solar panels on the roof, run a research program, and rent out the space for events. Zwentendorf an der Donau, Austria. Copyright © 2018-2019 Pedals and Puffins.
We crossed the Danube River three times today. It’s gotten so big, that getting across requires some serious infrastructure. Here’s the view from our second crossing, near Asparn, Austria. Copyright © 2018-2019 Pedals and Puffins.
Approaching Vienna, we could see a castle-like monastery high on a hill, and the Danube Tower in the distance. The tower is in the new part of the city, with high-rise buildings and modern architecture. But we weren’t going there. Our destination was across the river, in the old, imperial city.
Just outside the city, we overtook a group of four people on bikes. One of them turned out to be Audrey, the French cyclist we had met on the ferries a couple of days ago. She was riding with three Germans she had met along the way. She laughed when she saw us, and said that she had just been telling the guys about meeting us, and how we were riding all the way across Europe. They thought that was pretty cool. Bratislava, Slovakia, was their destination, after two weeks of riding that started in Germany.
The ride into the city started nicely enough. We turned off of EuroVelo 6 onto a bike path in the city that ran along a canal. But the last kilometer or so was very tricky. We were riding on busy city streets that didn’t have a bike lane, and had to ride part of the way on the sidewalk. The last few hundred meters were on cobblestones, which rattled our teeth as well as our bikes. We were elated to finally arrive at our apartment.
The first part of the ride into Vienna, Austria was easy as we followed a bike path along a canal. Copyright © 2018-2019 Pedals and Puffins.
We are staying in a rental apartment on the Judenplatz, in the old Jewish Quarter. It’s a tiny, studio apartment. But it does have room for the bikes inside, and has a nice, cold refrigerator. There are no windows, but that’s probably a blessing. The apartment is serenely quiet.
We went out for a short walk in the evening, and strolled through some of the city’s most popular shopping areas. For the entire time, we were able to walk along pedestrian-only streets. And the streets were crowded with other people who, like us, were just out to enjoy a beautiful evening in a magnificent city. Something we noticed right away was the high level of talent among the street musicians. We passed several groups and individual performers, and they were all playing classical music.
Vienna (4-5 September 2019)
For the next couple of days we explored the historic center of Vienna. It was a whirlwind - there’s no way to deeply explore everything Vienna has to offer in that short of a timespan. But the visit gave us a taste of the grandeur of the Hapsburg Austro-Hungarian empire, and helped us gain a much greater understanding of the deep history in this part of Europe. Here are a few of the sights we saw along the way.
This isn’t one of the grand plazas. It’s the Judenplatz, where we stayed while visiting Vienna, Austria. From our apartment on the ground floor of the center townhouse, we launched our daily excursions in the city. Copyright © 2018-2019 Pedals and Puffins.
Museum of Natural History. Vienna, Austria. Copyright © 2018-2019 Pedals and Puffins.
Atlas holding a golden globe, on the roof of the Austrian National Library. Vienna, Austria. Copyright © 2018-2019 Pedals and Puffins.
We spent most of one day wandering around the grounds of the Schlosspark Schönbrunn, the summer residence of the imperial Hapsburg family. The gardens are built on a scale meant to rival Versailles in France, including formal gardens, spectacular fountains, and a grand, columned building perched atop a hill in the distance, so that you can gaze in awe over the gardens, back towards the palace. It’s all very royal.
One of the many statues on the Neptune Fountain. Schlosspark Garden, Schönbrunn, Austria. Copyright © 2018-2019 Pedals and Puffins.
View of Schönbrunn Palace, through a waterfall in the Neptune Fountain. Vienna, Austria. Copyright © 2018-2019 Pedals and Puffins.
Evenings are lively in Vienna, with the crowds just as thick as during the day. There’s plenty to do. During opera season, select performances are broadcast live on a huge screen, in a plaza next to the State Opera House. We gathered with a crowd to watch part of The Tales of Hoffmann, a very strange and fanciful opera. We caught part of Act 1, where the lead character falls in love with an automaton named Olympia, and we got to hear her sing one of the opera’s most famous arias, “The Doll’s Song.” It was an unforgettable experience, watching one of the world’s best opera companies perform on a gorgeous, September evening in Vienna.
The Vienna Opera on the big screen. We caught part of Act 1 of the opera The Tales of Hoffmann broadcast live in a plaza next to the opera house. Vienna, Austria. Copyright © 2018-2019 Pedals and Puffins.
In the end, we just scratched the surface of things to do and see in Vienna. There are over 100 museums and we decided to skip all of them since we had so little time. We will probably go back again someday to spend more time, see a few museums, and soak up some more of Vienna’s amazing culture.
