September 21, 2011
Sep 21 - Vienna Wanderings: From Renaissance to traditional Austrian guesthouse
Schosztarich Guesthouse, 90 Euro including breakfast
AGAIN back in Vienna. Because of the late night, the morning was very slow so when Tom and Kevin went for breakfast I had a fairly quiet morning and finished my book. Finally, it was done, and what a great book!
When they got back we packed out bags and collected the bikes. We had stored the bikes down in the parking garage, so once we had checked out, down we went to put the panniers onto the bike and up we rode to street level and with the help of our map and compass, made our way toward the Zentrum. Though very busy, it was fun and interesting. Much of the way included a bike path and there were lots of spots to simply pull off and confirm our route. A point came when I recognized the centre where we had strolled a week earlier. Very close to St. Stephen's we circled the core until we were close to the ferris wheel. In fact, we came to the ubahn station we had used to get the bikes last week.
Now we knew where to go so up the avenue we went to Pedal Power to drop off the bikes. It ended up costing us 110 Euro for just over a week. For a moment Kevin had a scare when they could not find his bike trailer, but when they checked another room, there it was. Kevin had to re-assemble his bike so I tried to secure a hotel using the tablet computer. The AH Vienna hotel was booked so I asked the bike shop guys if they knew of a place. They must have spent 15 or 20 minutes on the phone and finally found us a place just off of PraterSterne. It only took about ten minutes to walk there and a woman came out of the guest house followed by a very large jovial man of about 45 who quickly ushered us inside of the very traditional Austrian pub. He handed us a key to Room 7 on the third floor. Sixty-six steps up brought us to a large room with two beds and a futon. Then we noticed the other half of the room. The place could easily have held seven people with plenty of breathing room. We decided on lunch here and ordered the daily special of a cabbage roll with spiced meat and potatoes. He was so congenial. His faithful dog slept under his table as the owner tallied his bills by hand. The food was tasty but filling. I snapped a photo of him with his waitress and when I asked if I could post it online he asked if I could make him smaller (than his 300 or 400 lb) then laughed away. What a character! I felt as though I had been swept back to 1992 and was in a traditional guesthouse in the Austrian Alps.
I was not sure what I wanted to do, but I know I did not want to stray very far as I was kind of tired. Tom wanted to see the Belvedere so they went that way and I went to the Prater park. It was immense but so peaceful. There were cycling paths, walking paths, horse paths, a soccer field, tennis courts, and an amusement park. Note to self: a great trip would be to bring the kids here to play in the park and stay at the same guesthouse.
On the way back I found wi-fi so I sent a few messages to MA and Mom and Dad. I was back at the room by 5 pm or so and shortly thereafter, the others returned. We all dozed for an hour or so then decided on a last glass of wine in Austria downstairs. The big guy was still there chatting with everyone but even more amazing was that the place was packed and hopping. Every table was filled with boisterous men having beer, schnitzel, and cakes. And they laughed and talked on and on and on. We kept exclaiming how lucky we were to find a truly authentic Austrian guesthouse.
We had our fill of wine so we headed out for a walk on our last night in Vienna. Toward the ferris wheel we went. It was beautifully illuminated with blue LED-ish lights. Stunning. What I hadn't realized earlier was that it did stop periodically so I was able to get some really nice night shots. The way we walked brought us to the gate so we decided on a ride at 8.50 Euro each. The light was neat-looking so I was fairly excited. I also remembered that in a recent Amazing Race episode they had had to eat a huge Wiener Schnitzel within one revolution. I asked the girl about it but she had little knowledge since she'd been there only two months. I think the Race was here ten months ago in November 2010.
Each compartment had a picnic table and could certainly hold 10-15 people. On a hinge so it could stay floor-down, it also meant that moving around could easily make it swing. So we were careful. The fancier carriage went by which had tables with cloths and the controller said it could be hired especially. Ours had a picnic table in it which was ok since we were constantly at the windows anyway. The view was amazing including a building that had a light programme built into its windows somehow. It had all kinds of dancing patterns reminiscent of the other tower.
Too soon the ride was over and it was 10 pm or so, so we made our way through the amusement park toward the train station then on past to our guest house. Many of the tables were filled with the same people and there was the boss at his table tallying the bills. After a long day of walking it was a long climb up three floors so I just dropped my shoes off. I got my travel clothes ready (long pants, dress shirt and better shoes) and packed everything else into the panniers and MEC duffle bag and crashed. I was a day behind in the journal so completed yesterday then set the tablet comp to play bbr. Since I could not receive wi-fi in the room, at least I had something to listen to before falling asleep. It did not take long to fall asleep!
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Today's ride: 5 km (3 miles)
Total: 384 km (238 miles)
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