So our last Austrian destination until the next time: not only to the Muttiland but to the Muttistadt. There are so many things to do in Wien, some calls to the heart, but most of them needed slightly cooler weather. So we settled on staying cool and getting wet.

Day 21: Villach to Vienna

The train meandered along river valleys (the Mur and the Mürz, as far as I can see): very scenic and not to be missed but down to under 50km/h in places as the tracks got higher and the views down got scarier. I understand why ÖBB is building a new, time-saving tunnel under the Semmering pass but I wonder whether the loss of view will be worthwhile. I guess it depends on your reason for travelling. Also, will the high communities lose income and connections? We shall see.

By about 3 hours into the journey, we were on the flat plains of Niederösterrreich and pulling into Wien Hauptbauhof. After faffing to try to view Wienmobil cards on our phones (at first we could buy tickets, but not get them to display) and then getting separated after I had to run to a toilet, we eventually made it to Stadthotel Henrietta. I name it because it’s very friendly and has rooms with balconies looking over the Praterstrasse, which is a fun street, yet relaxed and away from the city centre, but still easily reached by U-Bahn.

I thought I basically know my way around Wien, but my sense of direction seems to be out by 173·44°. (Yes, I’ve measured it!) Hence an attempt to get to a Mediamarkt to try to obtain waterproof bags for phones involved several changes of transport. (Our phones are in waterproof cases, but we need some way of attaching them to ourselves.)

Here is the one photo I took this day:

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Day 22: getting wet in a city-approved manner

There are many places to get wet along the Donaukanal and Alte Donau. We decided to try Strandbad Gänserhäufel. It’s good, clean, organised, has water-slides and is run by the city government. Lots of people, yet not crowded.

Finding the tram-stop at UNO city almost flummoxed us though. Sense of direction? Not so much in my case. However, part of the cause was the extreme heat. I was almost tempted to break the rule of a lifetime: never use sun-cream.

The secret of these places seems to be getting a key-locker as you come in: it’s not a ‘get to the changing rooms and hunt for an unused locker’ scenario. It was hot enough for Elly to get wet too – hooray.

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Day 23 (so far): getting wet in the Danube

After a couple of coffees in the nearby Cafe Aida, we settled on a visit to the Donauinsel. It wasn’t stinking hot – in fact there was even a brief shower – but it was still enough to maintain lethargy and brain-death (in my case). Cyclemeter didn’t record the part between Nestroyplatz and Donauinsel.

The Danube’s water is quite cold, and it took me a while to lower myself in. There are some brand-new benches and swimming platforms, so we were far from alone. However, it wasn’t crowded at all – just nice to see people enjoying themselves in and near the water. Elly may have photos of me getting wet.