Well, we arrived safe and sound and grabbed a taxi from the airport to our hotel – Arcotel Vienna – which is impressively posh. The room is lovely if a little bland, but bland is often good; the view out of the window leaves a lot to be desired though !

Last night we went out to eat at a Austrian resturant (http://www.kaisermuehle.at/) since the hotel offering seemed a little expensive and limited. We walked about 15 minutes and found it; and it was well worth it. It was basically a huge barbecue with any variation of meats or fishes you could imagine perched right on the banks of the Danube.

I had baby octopus, Lucia had schnitzel and Belinda choose a skewer of pork. We had to wait about 30 minutes for a table which was no trouble since we seated ourselves near the bar and sampled Austrian beer (well I did, Lucia had a Coke and Belinda an apple something). The staff were very welcoming and friendly – definitely the smiliest Austrians we have seen so far ! We had dessert too, strudels, profiteroles and a moose – but the mosquitoes came out as the sun went down and quickly drove us away from the waters edge – even so, it was a superb meal.

Breakfast was magnificent; We could have feasted on poached salmon, champagne, juices, coffees, teas, cheeses, meats, breads, cakes, fruits.. pretty much anything you could have wanted to start the day – stunning !

But today is a non-cycling day, we don’t actually start pedalling until Thursday (today is Tuesday), so we plan on spending it wandering around Vienna, drinking in the culture, sights and sounds, and almost certainly going for a ride on the big ferris wheel.

Well, we are back at the hotel; hot and tired. Vienna is an excellent city: bright, clean, filled with interesting places to see and visit.

We started off by getting the underground to the centre of Vienna and then commenced touristy things including

St. Stephen’s Cathedral.

A magnificent, ornate building with a quite stunning roof. It is half covered in scaffolding at the moment, so I give you a photo of the inside.

Trip in a horse drawn carriage. Yes, very clichéd and very touristy, but we did it in Bruges and we did it in Amsterdam, so we HAD to do it in Vienna !

Whizz around in the big ferris wheel. It is, it seems, a very famous ferris wheel, and has pretty spectacular views over the city.

We had a great time. Vienna has a huge fun fair just a kilometre out of the town centre – like a mini Disney World. Some of the rides where so scary that even Belinda ( a woman who knows no fear) said “Oh Lord, that is just stupid!” – so we went on a mini train instead ! Oh, and Lucia showed her prowess as an archer :-

All in all, a great day. Tomorrow we go to see the horses in the Spanish riding school and then prepare for the point of the holiday – the cycling 

Introduction

Well, we have less than a week before we start so it is time for introductions : There is me – Andrew – approaching 50, and an enthusiastic if occasional cyclist. I love watching the Tour on TV and reading magazines, but find it significantly harder to drag myself onto a bicycle and ride.

Then there is Belinda – of a similar age and disposition to me, but Australian and therefore self-assured of her sporting superiority – we shall see !

And last, but by no means least, is Lucia, our daughter. She accompanied me on a previous tour 6 years ago, and has been encouraged to venture back out onto two wheels. Fond of rest stops and less fond of hills, the trip along the Danube should be perfect – again, we shall see !

Seasoned travellers all of us (by way of airport lounges and air conditioned comforts) and very part-time cyclists, we decided on this trip mainly because

a) we fancied something different b) we had already done a canoeing holiday c) we wanted to say that we had covered three countries and three capital cities by bike.

We booked the trip via www.skedaddle.co.uk and are hiring bikes when we get to Vienna – so let the journey commence….

The Itinerary and Route Wednesday July 2, 2014 This is our itinerary : Perhaps rather regimented and safe for the more adventurous, but suits us down to the ground – with the added bonus that someone moves the majority of our luggage from place to place each day, leaving us to carry the minimum required and enjoy it all the more.

Day 1 – 07/07/2014 – Arrive Vienna
Day 2 – 08/07/2014 – Free Day and Overnight in Vienna
Day 3 – 09/07/2014 – Free Day and Overnight in Vienna
Day 4 – 10/07/2014 – Vienna – Bratislava 42 Miles / 68 Kms Approx.
Day 5 – 11/07/2014 – Free Day and Overnight in Bratislava
Day 6 – 12/07/2014 – Bratislava – Mosonmagyaróvár 27 Miles / 44 Kms Approx.
Day 7 – 13/07/2014 – Mosonmagyaróvár to Gyõr 25 Miles / 41 Kms Approx.
Day 8 – 14/07/2014 – Gyõr – Komárom 34 Miles / 55 Kms Approx.
Day 9 – 15/07/2014 – Komárom – Esztergom 35 Miles / 57 Kms Approx.
Day 10 – 16/07/2014 – Esztergom – Szentendre – Budapest 36 Miles / 58 Kms Approx. (plus boat trip)
Day 11 – 17/07/2014 – Free Day and Overnight in Budapest
Day 12 – 18/07/2014 – Departure

This is an approximation of the route:

The first day – but no cycling yet – that comes later