The four of us out of town

A few days back Velouria (from Lovely Bicycle!), Jaqueline, Paula and me (anna) headed off for a day trip along the Danube. For not-so-regular readers of our blogs let me note that Jackie and Paula are not real human beings, but our dearest city bikes. Although lifeless they acquired the status of a good companion, and henceforth they shall be treated as such.

Initially we had only planned to cycle as far as Klosterneuburg, but continued along the Danube on the EuroVelo 6 route till Greifenstein. So all in all we cycled about 45 km (that is 28 miles).

Map of the tour [plotted using anachb.at]

Overtaking ships, eating bugs

Well, overtaking ships is certainly not something I do every day, but today I cycled from Vienna to Stockerau (and back) to meet some friends. The easiest way to get there is along the Danube bike trail (Velo Route 6), a very famous and popular bike route among tourists. Beside fully loaded tourists from basically all over the world, one rides along families on their weekend bike trips, sporty road cyclists and old ladies on their shopping trips.

It took me about 20 min to get from our flat to the mighty river and another 1 ½ hours to Greifenstein. There I met up with my friend D. and his wife F. for lunch. Later we cycled together to their home in Stockerau. That's very easy cause there is a river power station and cyclists and pedestrians are allowed to cross the Danube there. To get to Stockerau itself one cycles through a floodplain forest – that's where I ate my bug (well, I spat it out and continued cycling with my mouth closed ;-)).

Cyclists in Stockerau

Stockerau is about 30 km upstream from Vienna and a few kilometers away from the Danube. On the way there I had to cope with strong headwind, but on the way back I could overtake some ships, because I also benefited from a light tailwind. Almost back I got caught by a short shower as I went onto the Danube island (but it was already finished when I left it).

All in all I spend a lovely day on a lovely bike route in Europe. If you got interested you can read more about it on Wikipedia, the EuroVelo 6 website (by bicycle from the Atlantic to the Black Sea) or the official website of the Donauradweg in Upper Austria (German). Or have a look at more personal impressions by the Cycle Tourist or by Filigree from Lovely Bicycle.

Day trip to Bratislava

Yesterday Anna and I were in Bratislava. We got there by train from Vienna South Station within 1 hour travelling time to Bratislava – Petrizalka. There is an EURegio – Ticket including roundtrip, public transport in Bratislava (which is very nice, because the Petrizalka station is far off the center), and also bicycle transportation. The ticket costs 14 EUR, which is quite cheap. On the other hand, one could go there by bike. Bratislava is only 60 km away from Vienna which is a nice distance for a recreational ride along the Danube/EuroVelo Route 6.

First thing I noticed in Bratislava was the absence of bicycles. There are no parked cycles, hardly any bike racks, and only a small number of riders although the weather was very nice and warm. Bike lanes seem to be available only in places where it would be impossible to ride otherwise, like the bridges over the Danube. For the most part the old town is a pedestrian area. I don't know if riding a bike is allowed there, but since the streets are paved with cobblestone, it wouldn't be very comfortable.

In the afternoon we watched some trial bikers fooling around at a wall. Anna took some pictures.