To Vienna

October 12, 2021

End of the road

All good things must come to an end and today is the last ride of the "September" tour. Our accommodation in Wiener Neustadt was very basic and did not include breakfast. So, in the morning Pat went to a nearby Spar and bought some yogurt, cereal and bananas to get us started. This was a nice change from the large breakfast buffets that we have been over indulging at recently, but a coffee stop is now a must have!

The route out of Wiener Neustadt was easy to follow but not much fun to ride. The path was dedicated to cyclists but was often more of a sidewalk than a cycle path and it was beside a fairly busy road. We continued along this route for about 10 kms until the weather turned showery and we thought it would be best to hide sheltered beside a building and let it pass. We had commented to each other that it was too bad there was not a coffee shop nearby to wait the showers out. We began riding again and turned onto a quiet street in the town of Sollenau and immediately spotted a coffee shop and bakery. A great combination and the timing was perfect. Sipping our coffee we noticed that it was now raining and blowing quite hard.

The hourly forecast for nearby Vienna had one rain drop and it was happening now in Sollenau. You can't believe how much water can some out of one drop!!

Our coffee stop in Sollenau was well timed and had great coffee.

Fortunately the rain was just an isolated shower and the remainder of the day was dry. Our route once again connected with EV9 as we rode along the Wiener Neustadt Kanal for the next 40 kilometres. The canal is Austria's only shipping canal and was planned to extend as far as Trieste but development was stopped before WWI. When we left the canal the route transitioned to gravel tracks through agricultural land and eventually to a shared road network on the outskirts of Vienna. We reached the city during the end of the day rush hour and the chaos of Vienna's busy streets. We stopped just short of reaching our hotel at a local bar with outdoor seating to celebrate our final ride and for reaching the 1000 kms of cycling mark on this tour.

EV9 and our start along the Wiener Neustadt Kanal. It was an easy cycle on a well marked route.

Love these benches at a rest stop. The carved map shows the entire EV9 route. Gdansk, Poland to Pula, Croatia!

Lots of ducks enjoying the canal. Couldn't decide if it was boys just having no interest in the girl or if it was a little sister tagging along. We have important things to consider as we ride! lol

The finale in our lunch series. Not at all warm but a very nice spot to have lunch.

View of the hills from our lunch spot with the canal in the foreground.

Leaving the canal can be hard work at times.

A celebratory beer as the sun is peaking through the clouds in Vienna. The bar was Das Eduard at Sparkassaplatz! Love those Austrian street names.

Passing by Maria von Siege Church in Vienna. So many striking buildings in this city.

After checking into our room we immediately got to work starting to complete the steps necessary before our flight back home. First on the list was the completion of a PCR test. This is obviously a critical step for re-entry into Canada and can be tricky to organize. Test results are only valid for 72 hours from the time the test is taken and when using the City of Vienna's free testing sites, results can take 24 and up to 48 hours. A bit concerning as we only have a little more than 36 hours available before our flight.

We found a testing site location nearby our hotel. We completed the registration, received the necessary QR code and made an appointment the same evening for 8 pm. We went to the testing site early and they allowed us to complete our gargle PCR tests immediately. We were very pleased with ourselves! By getting this done so soon, it would allow a full 24 to get the results back and that would be in time for our flight the following day. God forbid if they were slower or ....yikes....positive! The "to do" exit Austria list was now shorter but we still needed to pick up our suitcases from our first hotel, dismantle the bikes, complete the arrivecan app, retrieve our covid test results, pack up our stuff, book a taxi to go to the airport etc etc! Sometimes it felt like we were participants in the Amazing Race.

Dinner was at a nearby pub (Zur Mitzitant) that had great authentic Austrian food. Scott had a chicken cabbage goulash dish and Pat had a schnitzel and potato salad. We went to sleep feeling full and ready for the challenges of next day's activities.

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Today's ride: 59 km (37 miles)
Total: 1,049 km (651 miles)

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Rachael AndersonWow, you’re done. I’m going to miss reading you journal.
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3 years ago

Rich Frasier1000 km! Amazing !! I’ve so enjoyed following along - what a great tour.
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3 years ago