Travel to the Austrian Danube

Day 9 Tulln - Klosterneuburg - Vienna - Tulln

(in 23 km) Klosterneuburg: If we continue from where we left off yesterday, we would bike to the route between Melk and Krems, but we left this stretch for a few days later, and do it on the return trip. The following section is between Krems and Tulln. Reading reviews of other travelers, we decided not to do this stretch, so we left our camping in Tulln biking towards Klosterneuburg. I drive the car until this village and bike the way in the opposite direction to meet my family. This section does not stand for anything in particular, or perhaps only by a forest area with picnic tables and a small beach just after the dam of Greifenstein.

Donauweg

Danube greenway. Section between Tulln and Vienna

As its name suggests (Kloster = ´monastery´), the development of the city is linked to the famous monastery or abbey of the same name. The abbey church, dedicated the Nativity of Mary (Maria Geburt), was consecrated in 1136 and later remodeled in the Baroque style in the seventeenth century. The impressive monastery complex was mostly constructed between 1730 and 1834. Its foundations, including a castle tower and a Gothic chapel, date back to the twelfth century. Other older buildings still extant within the complex include the chapel of 1318 with Saint Leopold´s tomb. We did not visit the Abbey and we drive to the center of Vienna.

Vienna State Opera (Wiener Staatsoper)

Vienna State Opera (Wiener Staatsoper)

(in 14 km) Vienna: We parked in a parking lot next to the Vienna State Opera. The Vienna State Opera (Wiener Staatsoper) is one of the most important opera theaters and prestigious and tradition in the world. It is a neo-Renaissance building built between 1861 and 1869. In the interior decoration renowned artists participated, particularly the painter Moritz von Schwind, who painted the famous frescoes in the foyer and the terrace. During World War II, March 12, 1945, the building was set alight by a bombardment that destroyed the stage and the auditorium. Only the front section, the main stairways and the vestibule with frescoes by Moritz von Schwind remained intact. The reconstructed theater, with 2,284 seats (instead of the original 2,881), reopened on November 5, 1955.

Vienna - Hotel Sacher

Vienna - Hotel Sacher

Kärntner Straße (Carinthian Street) is the most famous shopping street in central Vienna. It runs from the Wiener Staatsoper at Karlsplatz on the Ringstraße out to the Stephansplatz, where is the St. Stephen´s Cathedral (Stephansdom). In this street is the Vienna State Opera, the Sacher (famous for its Sachertorte) and Ambassador Hotel, Casino Austria, Galerie Ringstrasse and Steffl department stores, the church of the Maltese Cross and Haashaus.

Vienna - St. Stephen's Cathedral (Stephansdom)

Vienna - St. Stephen´s Cathedral (Stephansdom)

St. Stephen´s Cathedral (Stephansdom) is the mother church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vienna. Its multi-coloured tile roof, become one of the city´s most recognizable symbols. The current Romanesque and Gothic form of the cathedral was largely initiated by Duke Rudolf IV (1339–1365) and stands on the ruins of two earlier churches, the first a parish church consecrated in 1147. Built of limestone, the cathedral is 107 metres (351 ft) long, 40 metres (130 ft) wide, and 136 metres (446 ft) tall at its highest point.

Vienna - St. Stephen's Cathedral (Stephansdom)

Vienna - St. Stephen´s Cathedral (Stephansdom)

The glory of St. Stephen´s Cathedral is its ornately patterned, richly coloured roof, 111 metres (364 ft) long, and covered by 230,000 glazed tiles. Above the choir on the south side of the building the tiles form a mosaic of the double-headed eagle that is symbolic of the empire ruled from Vienna by the Habsburg dynasty. St. Stephen´s Cathedral has 23 bells in total. The largest is officially named for St. Mary, but usually called Pummerin ("Boomer") and hangs in the north tower. At 20,130 kilograms (44,380 lb), it is the largest in Austria. The interior of the cathedral has three naves and numerous altars; each has a varied amount of objects and works of art that were received through donations of different personalities.

 Wurstelprater amusement park

Wurstelprater amusement park

As resting time after as many kilometers of cycling, we took the girls to the Prater amusement park. It´s not necessary to pay to enter the park, but you must paid at each attraction you want to ride, usually run by local families. Its most famous attraction is the Ferris wheel, known as Wiener Riesenrad, with 61 meters high. and it was one of the earliest Ferris wheels, built in 1897 to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of Emperor Franz Josef I. The park also has roller coasters, carousels, museum Madame Tussauds, water attractions as Wildalpenbahn or Praterturm carousel, with 100 meters high, spinning through the air to its occupants at 60 km/h.

(in 45 km) Tulln an der Donau: We returned to our base camp in this area.