Detours & Floodings: From Vienna to Bratislava

We are only cycling for eleven days and have already experienced a lot. Our start was a bit of a disaster because of the strike of Deutsche Bahn and some wrong information from the Meridian Bahn, so that we had to pay more than we had planned and it took us seven hours instead of only four. Great job Meridian Bahn! Anyway, despite wrong information and constant rain nothing can drag us down as we came here to have fun and live our dream for the next four months.

After our arrival in Vienna we explore the city by bike and are euphoric to head towards the Danube River. From here we are planning to cycle through Lower Austria towards the Slovak Border. Sounds like a plan, right? Well, unfortunately it failed. Thanks to heavy and constant rainfalls, paths are impassable and we are forced to leave the route very often. The floodings are all around the river and villages next to it. Out of a sudden we are stuck in the middle of the Donau-Auen Nationalpark. The path is gone and deadfalls making it hard for us to travel further. The floodings are taking over and we decide to go all the way back. Very frustrating as it is quite exhausting under these conditions. What we don’t know at that time: We will be faced with situations like this more often during the next days.

It’s getting dark and we pitch up our tent to get some sleep and energy for the next day. 5.00 am. It’s getting bright outside and the temperature dropped to 9 degrees. Not the best motivation, but we need to get further. The next days are similar to the last one and after three days of heavy rainfalls we are passing the Slovak Border and are heading towards Bratislava. Sun is finally out and it feels good to be back in Eastern Europe after a long time. We are happy to explore the city with good weather finally. A special thank goes to our local tour guide Andreea who showed us all the famous and hidden spots of the city. In the evening we get to know the culinary site of Slovakia and are enjoying traditional food and drinks in a rustic and welcoming atmosphere in the local restaurant Flagship Bratislava. Conclusion Bratislava and Slovakia: Very friendly and hospital people, keen prices, a beautiful oldtown and quite good signage of the EuroVelo6 and other bikepaths.