I guess the temperature was in the low 70s...a t-shirt with a long sleeve shirt was enough to keep me comfortable. No jacket required.
Back in the OKC, I don't ride a bike, but I want to change that. I like the relative silence of cycling---no noisy stereo, as in a car, no mechanical noise from your bike...just the sound of the breeze in your ears.
We went north on the Danube Island, then crossed the bridge east back onto the mainland and along the river. The usual quiet----other cyclists, roller bladers, joggers, walkers, people with their dogs. Along the side of the path, people on blankets...reading, writing, having a picnic or a quiet conversation. We even saw a couple of guys along a wooded bank making a small camp fire from wood they found.
After about an hour we came to a little snack stand, so we bought some apple juice and decided to take a rest. I noticed an old motorcycle parked nearby, and the guy was standing at the counter with us, so I asked him how old the bike was.
"60 years old," he said. He went on to explain the motorcycle had belonged to his father, and though it was in great shape, the paint scheme wasn't original. So, not a perfect restoration, but still, a clean machine. B took pics:
Puch 250
Reverse side of the time machine.
Ferry across the Danube. It goes back and forth every ten minutes or so. It's self powered but the ferry is held in position with the help of a cable that stretches from the stern to another cable high above the river; I guess the ferry doesn't have to spend too much energy fighting the current, that way.
Sitting on the grassy bank in the sun, looking the opposite direction from the ferry.
A good place to enjoy a drink after a bike ride along the Danube.
I've said it before, but Vienna is a town where a poor person has a lot of no-cost things to do, both in town and just out of town. You can take interesting hikes through the city, or take public transportation to the Vienna Woods and enjoy a hike/picnic/whatever in nature, or ride a bicycle onto the Danube Island for some people watching or a cookout or some quiet time staring at the clouds. There are a lot of place to get a rich person's view of the landscape, without having to be rich. Somebody in the past thought it would be a good idea to provide public space for fun activities, and I thank them.
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We returned the bikes to B's parents house, where they'll undoubtedly rest through fall and winter. No more riding this year, probably...
B's parents gave me a gift to take home. There's a drink called Underberg, which is a digestive liquor made from a bunch of herbs combined in a secret way. The bottles are tiny and Underberg made a leather belt, rather like a bandoleer, with which the dedicated drinker can store the bottles like shotgun shells in an ammo belt. It was a nice gift. Let's see how many of the bottles I can get through security. They're the right size, just 20ml, but the sum total of all your liquids can't be bigger than a 1-quart sandwich bag.
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On the way home, we stopped in the vineyards for a glass of wine at the Sirbu, one of the Heurigen up here.
The view from our table---vine covered tables with the lights of Vienna in the distance.
Rick Steves tells you about the Heurigen
And, unknown to me until now, Rick likes The Herb. Another reason to respect Mr. Steves.
We drove home, where B graciously prepared a nice supper---mashed potatoes with truffle oil, Swedish meatballs, and a cucumber-radish salad----the cukes from her own garden. Delicious with a glass of white wine...
