8/26/2023: Biking Around Vienna

Vienna, Austria

This was probably our favorite (and most productive) day in Vienna. It started out with a bang - with James making coffee as soon as he heard be stirring and a vase of fresh yellow roses waiting for me on the dining table. Isn’t he the best?

Determined to not sleep the day away (yet again), we successfully rented bikes and rode them along the water until we arrived in town center. We parked our bikes and did some window shopping before finding a cafe specializing in ice cream and cocktails - two of our favorites. Our goal for that afternoon was to make both travel and hotel accommodations for our venture to Prague beginning the next day. We spent the next two hours browsing our phones for travel deals and indulging in said cocktails and ice cream. 

Once we had booked reservations, we stopped in a couple local shops before hopping back on our bikes to find a local beer garden. Along the way, we found ourselves in the middle of what appeared to me some sort of amusement park. While similar parks in the States would have been clearly labeled, this park was easy to find yourself in the middle of and we marveled at the sights and crazy rides people voluntarily chose to take part in. 

Satisfied by the people watching alone, we made our way to the beer garden nearby, only to run into some of the least friendly waiters we’d come across in the entirety of our trip. Despite the fun loving nature of the surrounding areas, this beer garden did not accept any funny business. We learned after about 30-45 minutes of being told to “seat ourselves”, that tables were by reservation only. “Read the signs”, we were viciously ordered after finding an open table by a waiter pointing to the small piece of paper reading “Dieser Sitzplatz ist reserviert”. The best part? Many of the tables were reserved for parties who were not scheduled to arrive for another hour or two. 

Unwilling to throw in the towel, we did laps around the property for another 15 minutes before finding a “standing only” table without any clear signage marking it as reserved. We eagerly flagged down a waiter and ordered two beers, which we guzzled down (face first, in my case) before packing up and heading out.

~ Savvy