Magic breakfast in Austria

Location: Vienna
Km on the clock: 1,515
 
I cycled through Nova Bystrice and climbed one last hill. I entered Austria at the Grametten border crossing. I thought about my concerns of the possible language barrier that I had before I entered Czech Republic. Besides a few difficulties on the countryside, everything went well. Good old hand and feet communication also solved these situations.

Sieh dir diesen Beitrag auf Instagram an

Ein Beitrag geteilt von Chris Fritze (@fritzechris) am Jul 21, 2019 um 12:49 PDT

Cycling in Austria started off with a long downhill section. So I just kept rolling for a while. This is definitely my favorite part of traveling on a bicycle. It's the reward for climbing up a hill and always makes me quickly forget about the hard work getting up there.

The sun already set but I kept pedaling since I didn't cover as many kilometers as I wanted - not today and also not in last couple of days. I planned to be in Vienna the next day to visit friends. I stopped when I was finally too tired and pitched my tent at the edge of a forest. A look at my map made me realize that I had have to cover another 125 kilometers the next day. I never cycled so many kilometers in one day so far in my life.

Damn...125k to make it to Vienna today, was literally my first thought when I woke up. This is going to be a challenge! The first 10 kilometers were just horrible. I was tired and incredible slow. I already started to accept that I wouldn't make it to Vienna today. I stopped at a supermarket in Goepfritz an der Wild for a second breakfast. And since my motivation was pretty low I got myself a little buffet. I got cheese rolls, yogurt, dried fruits, ice cream and coffee. This feast really did its magic when I hopped back on the bike. The first hour I covered 30k. The road went constantly up and down and temperatures went above 38 degrees Celsius but I kept pedaling like a maniac. I came across Tulln an der Donau then followed the Danube River and then finally made it to Vienna.

---

---

Sieh dir diesen Beitrag auf Instagram an

Ein Beitrag geteilt von Chris Fritze (@fritzechris) am Jul 23, 2019 um 4:39 PDT

Natalia and Torben welcomed me with open arms and I stayed with them for a few days. The first day in Vienna I used to recover from the 125k ride. I didn't even know that I was capable to cycle that many kilometers in one day. It made me realize that nutrition plays an important role when it comes to cycling long distances. I also realized that my gear was too heavy. There were a few things that I didn't touch since I left home. Those things I simply left behind at the end of my stay.

Since I've been in Vienna already a few times and saw many sights I decided to visit the one place that I always missed out - Schoenbrunn Castle. I knew that it's a big areal but I had no idea that it's that massive. It's really impressive! I guess the Austrian royals knew how to live life back in the days.

Sieh dir diesen Beitrag auf Instagram an

Ein Beitrag geteilt von Chris Fritze (@fritzechris) am Aug 9, 2019 um 3:57 PDT

The rest of the time I spent with my friends, relaxed by the Danube, enjoyed the local food and ate lots of ice cream. I went to the nearest ice cream place up to three times a day. Since this year's summer was just crazy hot, I took it as my excuse for my excessive ice cream consumption. :D

After a few nice and relaxing days it was time to say goodbye and I headed off in direction Bratislava. Once again, thank you guys for your hospitality! I highly appreciate it! You're awesome!

I followed the Danube River and the EuroVelo 6 signs until I reached Slovakia.

If you enjoy reading this blog then please support my fundraising campaign to equip school classrooms in Darfur, Sudan. Thank you!

And if you enjoy reading it a lot, then I'd appreciate if you'd support me with a virtual cup of coffee on Ko-fi. Cheers! :)

Click here if you want to take a look at my equipment.