We’ve spent the last few days in Vienna visiting the countless sights and soaking up the atmosphere in this stunning and lively city. We’ve walked for hours every day, eventually plopping ourselves down in some café to rest our weary feet, enjoy a cup of coffee and watch the swarms of people go about their day. Real or imaginary I’m not sure, but it at least feels like Europeans take the time to appreciate life so much more than we do in North America. Art is a priority, dinner is an event and they don’t introduce themselves by stating what they do for a living. It’s nice. Everywhere you look, people are beautifully dressed, coiffed and accessorized. Spiros and I on the other hand are still clad head to toe in safari wear. I feel like I should be tossing out my torn, stained beige pants and sensible shoes, and buying a pretty flowerily dress with a pair of high heeled shoes. (I ain’t gonna mind you, but I feel like I should be).
The majority of our time was spent in the Innere Stadt, Vienna’s beautiful and lively town center which is well deserving of its World Heritage site status. The impressive Stephansdon gothic Cathedral, could not and should not be missed. There are countless museums with incredible collections; one can easily loose themselves for days. Naschmarkdt, Vienna’s outdoor market, is a great spot for lunch. Another big attraction is the infamous imperial palace, the Schönbrun. The picture shows the palace and the gardens.
Vienna is very much like the Schönbrun gardens. It’s immaculate and orderly. Service is prompt, people are polite. You can expect your strudel to be flaky, your room to be clean and the train to arrive exactly on schedule. Everything is perfect…That aspect kinda rubs me the wrong way. 
That amount of order, discipline and perfection just doesn’t sit right with me. I like a little chaos, a little bit of unpredictability thrown into the mix. Know what I mean? I’m sure I’m not the only one that thinks an overgrown field of wildflowers is more beautiful than a perfectly planned, symmetrical and manicured garden. Cross the street in a place like Cairo and you are taking life into your own hands. “Am I going to make it or will they be scrapping me off the road with a spatula?” One never really knows. For some reason, I miss that. Don’t let me dissuade you though. That just my personal quirk and judging by the number of people I’ve annoyed in the past by putting red caps on blue pens, I’m in the minority. Vienna is without doubt a beautiful, world class city, overflowing with impressive architecture, unbelievable art collections and beautiful music. The opportunities to see or hear a timeless work of art are endless.
BTW, we decided to point the bikes in a northwest direction. I know, I know, the classic route would be to go along the Danube River. We’ll likely join the Danube a little later. The decision was based on the fact that we found a lot of information about the Danube route and knew exactly what to expect: excellent cycling roads, pretty scenery and all the amenities. We found much less information about the Greenways route in the Czech Republic and just felt like rolling the dice and seeing for ourselves. We are trying to “Cycle the Road Less Travelled” after all. Czech Republic, here we come.
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