Vienna by Bike

I’m in love….with electric bikes. (Denise and Amber – you’ll be proud of us, five hours in the saddle)

After a tiring hot arrival in Vienna yesterday, cooled down by overnight thunderstorms and rain, and an early night, we awoke to a cool fresh morning.

Set up my work station in my tiny space and worked for a few hours, then off to find coffee.

Russ enjoying a large hot cup, but we spied the afternoon activities while there. Even in German this makes sense!

Happy hour pints for €2.90 from 4pm….but we had to earn this. Around the corner we rented E bikes (the ones with the electric motor – that help old people up hills)…and off we went towards the Danube river.

Our first glimpse having cruised up this circular on-ramp to the bridge with ease(and assistance of the high setting motor on our bikes)

Across this bridge (Russ in the lead) and one more to the other side….saving the the island in the middle (donauinsel island) for our return.

Vienna’s Sky tower…

And a view from the bridge. We cycled around residential streets and decided that we would return to the island for more country cycling.

Houseboats and big boats moored at the waters edge – average speed (fairly unaided) 20kms! The clouds were lifting and heading back to our side….

This glass tower reflecting in the Danube, as a riverboat debarked on it’s next leg…next stop for the free wheeling kiwis…lunch.

A very delicious and cheap kebab, I won’t need dinner.

Mine came first and Russ waiting patiently on the park bench, backdropped with a mass of white hydrangeas. We were heading towards and almost to the Hundertwasser museum and village, (J9 this next lot of pictures I especially want to share with you)

Just enjoying the moment! (While resting the legs). The Museum cafe for a coffee break and toilet stop.

Not a patch on the Kawakawa ones that he build when he settled, in his later years, in New Zealand.

However his other architecture was spectacular!

And a collage of the cafe and Museum, his trademark the uneven tiled floors and his reason for this…

For humans to experience, touch and feel and senses. Then to the village (J9 are you holding your breath)

Tiling and shapes and colour in every nook and cranny! So unique in the large ornate, cream gothic style of a lot of Vienna.

And one more….

The street view of the village (actually there are more but I still have some ground to cycle before happy hour) ok one more inside the shopping mall…

Moving along, having avoided the one rain shower of the day with Mr Hundertwasser…clouds gone and afternoon warming up considerably, it was off to the Belvedere palace and gardens…home now to a massive art gallery. We were now in city traffic, and cycling became a little more stressful avoiding trams, one way streets, tour buses and lots of people! But we made it, locked up bikes at gate and entered!

In the distance…

And inside, beautiful gardens, lake and palace (do not walk on the grass)

Mushrooms growing after the heat and thunderstorms – no picking as we could not walk on the grass!

And behind, even bigger gardens and statues – female lions, angels dragons or something of that combination, en guard!

Getting near to happy hour time, and a few bits getting saddle sore, it was navigate the city and drop bikes off.

Past Mozart’s museum by pure chance!

Easier said than done…one of the many stops, and many circles around the city, Russ resetting the google tracking. We got told by a policeman not to ride on footpaths, so risked our lives and bikes with the trams, horses, buses and cobblestones. At one point we decided to follow a local who appeared to be going our way, only to have to backtrack and start again. An extra hour on the wheels, getting rather warm now….but finally here we are….

Happy hour and happy after a great day of exploring on our E Bikes!