May 15, 2013
Tulln to Vienna 38km, 898 total km.
20C, sunny and not a cloud in the sky - but a fierce head wind all the way :(
Hotel Resonanz €59 ($76) double room, including breakfast

   
Attila the Hun in Austria (Really?)
 
When we stepped outside and noticed the flags on top of buildings in the main plaza being blown to shreds, we knew we were in for a rough ride. Naturally, there was not a cloud in the sky.

Before leaving Tulln, we rode over to see the Nibelungen Fountain Statue at the edge of the Danube. Attila the Hun reportedly saw Gudrun and proposed here. 

 
 
Vacation Homes and a Big Monastery
 
The ride from Tulln to Vienna was not a particularly scenic stretch when compared to the ride so far. Several communities butting up against the dyke were made up of mostly humble vacation homes. Several small harbors had people readying their boats for the summer season. No recreational boating going on yet.

We arrived at Klosterneuberg, which has another visit-worthy monastery. From the bike path, we could see the huge monastery in the distance. It seemed to be surrounded by construction scaffolding. We decided to press on instead of stopping for a lengthy visit.

 
 
Windy City of Vienna
 
The closer we got to Vienna, the more the wind was in our faces. It was time for our picnic lunch and we didn't find a suitable spot out of the wind. We finally spotted the skyline of Vienna. We rode along the Donau canal a bit before finding a bench to rest on and eat our sandwiches. 

With the help of Dave's GPS on his phone, and the bike routes on Google, it was a pretty straight forward route to our hotel. 

 

 
 

Tired of Riding Against the Wind

After we checked in, we all said we were tired and needed to rest. 

Dave went out exploring and found the rental shop where Yolanda can rent a good bike for 10 euro a day and leave it in Budapest. (www.pedalpower.at), Yolanda will need to get her bike on a holiday and Pedalpower is open on holidays! Junko and Hiro relaxed a bit before heading to the large Augarten park behind the hotel for a visit. I showered and worked on journal. It seems we were not that tired, just tired of riding against the wind......

Dave had scoped out potential restaurants in the neighborhood for dinner and there were many. We picked Pancho, a great Mexican place.


 
Hiro and Junko add;

Tulln to Vienna  
今日のドナウ河は怒っていた。荒れ狂う風に木々が揺れ動き泥色の水面が騒いでいた。向かい風。逃げ出したくなった。ウィーンに着くという日なのに、、、。今迄が良過ぎたのか?これから先はこうはいかないという警告か？つらい一日。ともかく900キロを走り終えた。全行程の三分の一。今日は試練の日だった。これからは夏に向かい、その上ドナウもワイルドな局面を見せるだろうと思うと弱気な気分におそわれた。 
 
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References: 

....1) The Danube Cycle Way; Donaueschingen to Budapest by John Higginson
... 2) Bikeline Maps & Guides; Donau-Radweg 1, (5 books in the series)

Our plan in a nutshell; 2900 total kilometers at 50 km per day - 2 days riding for 1 day off for a total of 58 riding days & 90 total days - April to July, 2013 :)