Europe

Nächster Halt: St. Pölten Hbf

Fast jog on the platform, down steps/up steps, across tracks, next train awaiting.

Day start in Vienna.  Van to Hauptbahnhof, train travel west to Krems (via St. Pölten Station).

Run-weather arrived day early.  Cooler temps, misty rain.  Taxi UP UP to Steigenberger Spa, our pre-race digs.  Mountainside resort.  Hot tub, pool, fancy robes & slippers – Sis did us right.

Retracked down to Town Centre.  Pasta lunch, my second Wachau EXPO this trip (Vienna 3 days prior), then a scenic walk-about UP UP UP past cathedrals, vacation villas & hillside vineyards.  Weingut (the local word).  And a lot of ‘em.  Packet pick-up included 2 BOTTLES of white.

SPA DAY.  Indoor swim, sauna, outdoor tub.  R-E-L-A-X 😊

Watched an over-achiever trail-run up the vineyard mountainside.  Accompanied by a cyclist, far far in the distant.  Much more entertaining watchin’/kickin’ back in a tub of warm alpine bubbles.  LOL>

Dinner, sleeps, morning marathon.  Emmersdorf to Krems, race route an-der-Donau.  Flat trek along Europe’s iconic flume.  Every day (3 countries, 4 cities) same constant, die river Danube.  Perfect!

Tomorrow: 42k in Austria’s Wachau Valley.  YODEL on!

 

 

…meanwhile in Colorado

 

Wachau EXPO (Krems)

 

 

Schönbrunn Palace

3 sleeps at Hotel Urania, first day exploring Europe’s glam capital.

7:30 Start, shoes laced.  Run day w Sis’ Fleet-Feet posse.  Zip-zag tour of early-morning city.  4 easy shake-out miles.  Riesenrad, giant Ferris Wheel on the Danube.  Gotta/hafta/must.  Bratwurst/cheese/boiled egg breakfast – it’s VIENNA day!

State Opera House, City Centre statues, Albertinaplatz.  Landed at the Hofburg (former Palace, now doubles as Austria’s Presidential residence).  Half-of-us watched the Spanish Riding School (Lipizzaner horses).  Other-half toured Habsburg Castle.

Downton Abbey-snooze of cupboards & silverware.  Winter-residence walk-thru of everything Sisi, one of the Empire’s last Duchess greats.  Headset facts in stereo, self-guided block-n-tackle tour.  So many tourists, so much to see.  French en masse, sea of Chinese, slow-moving Germans.  push, PUSH, push.  Gift shop exit.  SUCCESS!

City Centre eats & my second St. Stephen’s Dome this week.  No climb-to-the-top today, just a brief architectural stroll (while Sis, Swarovski-shopped).  Metro transfer, afternoon @ Schönbrunn Palace.  More Kaisers, ‘nother tour &… STRUDEL 😊

Train travel west, wiedersehen Vienna.  Vineyards & pre-race pasta await.

Krems an-der-Donau.  Saturday EXPO, fancy hotel digs.  Getting my YODEL on — AUSTRIA!

 

 

Vienna, Austria

 

 

Budapest

Uber for 4 to Vienna’s Haupt Bahnhof, first-class train stubs to Budapest-Keleti.  FIRST CLASS.  Yep, that’s how this family rolls.  Day 2.  Hungary.  Land of the Magyar & Zsa Zsa Gabor.

BUDAPEST.  Warmer day temps, no head-to-toe apparel.  Jacket/scarf/sweater (Austrians love to bundle).  Goulash & paprika, swarmy & humid.  More litter, less cookie-cutter colour.

Day’s all-star player: Sis’ husband, Paul.  I’m a good navigator, this dude’s a GPS pro.  Metro traffic, foreign language, street-signs pasted sides-of-buildings – EU’s 10th largest city.  Notta problem.

Hop-on Hop-off bus pass, all the city sights.  Gotta/hafta/must: Buda Castle, St. Stephen’s Basilica.

BUDA CASTLE.  Rode the vernacular UP.  Castle indoors, renovation-closed.  Outdoor walk-about?  BESTEST views of the city.  Parliament Building & St. Stephen’s high across the Danube.

Day’s all-star climb?  Thin spiral staircase UP UP inside St. Stephen’s dome.  Life memory ❤️

5 o’clock Hop-off & a fast-paced city-mile jog to Keleti.  Got a train to catch?  Paul’s absolute your guy.  On-time/early with 10 minutes to spare.  ‘Nuf time for a Hungarian Mickey D’s heart-attack.  Truth.  Menu-pointed, language-struggled but SCORE – little taste of USA for the train ride home 😊

Tomorrow: VIENNA, Austria’s capital gem.  St Louis in da house!  Morning Fleet-Feet run planned to Riesenrad (city’s skyline Ferris Wheel).  Sisi Museum.  Schönbrunn Palace.  The Hofburg.

More Americans, more laughs, even more adventure.

 

 

St. Stephen’s Basilica

 

Budapest, Hungary