Close to the border
N 48°24'219'' E 015°35'535''
Day: 54
Sunrise:
06:28 am
Sunset:
7:06 pm
As the crow flies:
48.99 Km
Daily kilometers:
64.34 Km
Total kilometers:
1345.86 Km
Soil condition:
Asphalt
Temperature – Day (maximum):
25,6 °C
Temperature – day (minimum):
16,9 °C
Temperature – Night:
14,2 °C
Latitude:
48°08’883”
Longitude:
016°56’482”
Maximum height:
190 m above sea level
Time of departure:
09:01 a.m.
Arrival time:
4:30 pm
Average speed:
15.33 Km/h
Just like yesterday, we sit on our trestles at 9:00 a.m. and leave our overnight spot with the many mosquitoes that drive us to hurry even during breakfast. Our destination today is the town of Pratislava in Slovakia. Excited about what awaits us in Slovakia, we first approach the city of Vienna. As we only visited the city with our friends a few days ago, we want to leave it behind us as quickly as possible. In the suburban area, we pass a residential area bordered by the main road and the railroad. Small houses, dilapidated fences and dilapidated roofs make the neighborhood appear quite poor. Then we reach the harbor of the former imperial city. Cruise ships lie on the shore like oversized hotels. It’s a hive of activity. People disembark and appear to have just come from the Black Sea. Others make themselves comfortable on deck and wait with interest to see what else the great river has to offer them before reaching the estuary. We cycle past the white floating hotels in amazement and take a shy look through the large windows into the dining rooms, cabins and kitchens. We are also looking forward to the destination, which is still a long way off.
At a bridge, we pedal our bikes up the spiral staircase. Then we cross the Danube Canal to the right and before we know it, the skyline of Vienna disappears behind us. We cross the Lobau nature reserve on long embankments. All of a sudden we rarely see cyclists. It looks like the number of cyclists using the Danube cycle path has dwindled to a minority. Every now and then we stop to take a sip of water. We are immediately attacked by countless mosquitoes and forced to drive on. Even in one of the last snack stops before the border, where we enjoy another ¼ of a storm, we have to save ourselves from the onslaught of blood-sucking mosquitoes inside despite the bright sunshine.
We cross the Danube on a mighty span bridge and it is not long before we are at the gates of the medieval town of Hainburg. Here we have reached one of the most important gates on the Danube. With 3 city gates and 15 city towers from the 13th century, the city was second to none. Hainburg was once the most important eastern outpost of the Holy Roman Empire. The town, already described as old in the Song of the Nibelungs, was impregnable for centuries. It was not until the Turks overran the town in 1683.
“It’s still about 11 kilometers to the border. No problem then. The only question is whether we should look for accommodation today in a country that is foreign to us? Especially in a big city? What do you think about staying somewhere here and setting off for Slovakia tomorrow morning with fresh energy?” I ask Tanja. “I’m actually still fit. If it were up to me, we could go on. But you’re right. That’s enough for today,” she replies.
We find a nice room at the Hotel Krone. Compared to some campsites, it is cheaper at 25 euros incl. Breakfast even cheap. We enjoy the late summer evening atmosphere. Then we look for a restaurant and order fish. “It tastes kind of rancid,” I say. “Hm, that’s right. Do you want to send it back?” “We can’t do that. We’d hit the waiter, who is also the chef, in the head,” I reply. “Do you think the fish is spoiled?” “No, just a bit rancid,” I reply and cover the taste with tomato sauce. Hours later, I regret my good-natured decision and toss and turn in bed with stomach cramps. I spend a terrible night and am glad when it starts to dawn outside.
