Tuesday we uneventfully caught a train to Vienna. Arriving well before the check-in time for our apartment, we rode south of Vienna to Schonbrun Palace.
The entire time we were in Vienna we lost track of which side of the city we were on. Apparently arriving in a city on the north side messed with both of our senses of location.
We purchased the extended pass at Schonbrun, took the extended guided tour, and wandered about the gardens before heading over to the zoo.
The zoo made me sad. The animals lived in small pens, often alone or with only one or two others of their kind for company.
Now late in the day, we headed to our booking. We had found an apartment reasonably close to the center (but north) of town. The apartment used dialing a phone number to get the doors to open. Arriving, we learned the apartment was on the 5th floor, with nowhere outside to store the bicycles securely outside. I loaded Linda onto the tiny elevator with all of our gear. I followed her then, one bicycle at a time.
Wednesday started out with us having the tram and the metro maps confused. Eventually we straightened ourselves out (after finding ourselves headed off the wrong way – again in part due to the north,/south thing) and spent the rest of our time in Vienna bouncing from Metro to Metro to get where we wanted. We started the day by visiting the butterfly garden. From there we wandered about the city exploring a variety of churches. That evening Linda went to a concert at Schonbrun while I wandered about the city.
Thursday started off early at the Spanish Riding School watching the morning practice of the Lipizzoner stallions. Then off to Hofburg Palace and the associated Imperial Treasury and history museum. We ended Thursday at the Prada, an amusement park located on the outskirts of Vienna. Great roller coasters.
Friday we rode out of Vienna, stopping in the tiny village of Orth as we cut the day short attempting to duck incoming rain. We had planned to catch a ferry to the other side and ride a few more kilometers, but no ferry. Even in this little village we just dropped into by accident, castle.
Saturday I wanted to show Linda Hainberg Castle, which I visited in 2015. We climbed up the steep entryway and explored the ruins, before taking a break resting under a tree inside.
From Hainberg we rode into Bratislava. Given our extended stay in Vienna, and the shorter riding days overall than originally planned, we were still a few days shy of where we planned. To catch back up, late in the day we caught a train in Bratislava to Komarno – another city with an interesting castle nearby that I had visited in. 2015.
Several bridges crossed the Donau into Bratislava. We took the second as it lead most directly to the train station. Both that bridge and the one before had lovely cycle bridges underneath the highway.
Sunday morning we crossed the river via bridge to the south side to view Fort Monostor, more modern than my usual preference, but a massive impressive structure from the 1800s.
Then our longest day yet (67 km), riding to Esztergom, including crossing over to the North side again for spectacular riding on a fairly new bike path, and crossing back to the South side in Esztergom. I’d selected a small hostel near the basilica in Esztergom. While it was the first day for the host at reception, he was friendly enough, and finally called his boss to work out the final details that he hadn’t learned yet. The hostel definitely showed its age, more than a little worse for wear, but pleasant enough. We were the only guests that night.
We’ve been switching back and forth from one side of the Danube to the other, depending on a combination of dedicated bicycle path and bathroom locations. We’ve had good luck with both small ferrys and bridges (far better luck than my last trip). Overall however the best paths have been on the northern side of the Danube. When I look back at my notes from 2015, I spent a fair amount of time on this section between Austria and Budapest on highway. I don’t know what I was thinking then, or what’s changed now. Almost the entire time we’ve been on dedicated bicycle path. Nice dedicated bicycle path. Occasionally we’ve ended up on a busy highway between sections, but the instances where we have been without at least a dedicated lane for bicycles have been few and far between. Some of those improvements are clearly since 2015. Others attributed to me just choosing poorly back then on which side of the river to have been on back then.
Monday morning we left the bicycles in the hostel in Esztergom, and walked up to the basilica, visiting the treasury, crypts, and viewing platform before viewing the sanctuary, which had been closed earlier due to ongoing services.
We left Esztergom at 1:00 p.m., riding to Veroce, the roughly halfway point between Esztergom and Budapest.
Monday night we sat our tiny apartment listening to the rain ping off the metal roof on the terrace. We’ve had spectacular luck with the weather. Even when we tried to duck the rain in Orth, it only rained about 30 minutes.
Tuesday, barring an unexpected turn of events the two of us would arrive in Budapest. Shortly thereafter, our trip model changes. I’d begin my ride back to Munich, while Linda would return by slightly more conventional means, even if those are as yet undetermined..