Today we finally made it and hiked the Traunstein! It has been on my list for a long time! Starting at around 7.30, hiking the Naturfreundesteig trail, we’ve been up at around 1pm (we are not really experienced hikers ;)), having one break. After an extended lunch break and some coffee we hiked down the (easier) trail via Mair Alm.
After all, for the last 30 minutes walking back to our car we experienced a thunderstorm and got pretty soaked. My hiking boots did not really turn out as waterproof ;). It is a wonderful hike but take into account it is one of the more dangerous mountains to climb in the area.
Today, we finally cycled from Passau to Linz. We planned it for a long time, but every time something has cropped up. Elli and I took the train REX 1728 at 07:12am from Linz to Passau. We arrived back in Linz at about 6pm. The tour was about 100km. Cycling time was about 5 hours – we did a lot breaks for lunch, ice-cream and cake. It was a nice trip! Here are the pictures!
On Thursday my grandfather and I went to Vienna for sightseeing. Particularly, we were interested in the guided tour at the Hofburg Vienna Imperial Palace, which was offered because of the 50 year anniversary of the congress center. The tour was stunning because it took us to parts of the palace which are normally closed to the general public. Another chance to see nearly the same would be the Wiener Kaffeesiederball which of course would give you a much more festive impression of the former imperial place. At a much different price point and without stories though… Further, we climbed the 343 stairs up the south tower of St. Stephen’s Cathedral which rewarded us with great view especially over the first district. After that we had brief stops, mainly for photos at the Votivkirche, Burg Theater, Parliament and Schönbrunn Imperial Palace. The weather was very much in the photographers favor! Blue skies. No clouds. Here are the pictures!
Last Saturday we (nearly) cycled around Lake Neusiedl. We took the train from Vienna South Train Station to Neusiedl am See, where we started our bike tour. In Illmitz we had a break for lunch. Afterwards we took the ferry to Mörbisch am See. Unfortunately, it started to rain heavily. So we stopped cycling already in Purbach and took the train for the last kilometers.
Guys cycling around Lake Neusiedl
This was our tour: Neusiedl am See -> Weiden am See -> Podersdorf am See -> Illmitz -> Mörbisch am See (by ferry) -> Rust -> Oggau am Neusiedlersee -> Donnerskirchen -> Purbach am Neusiedlersee -> Neusiedl am See (by train)
The library of my home university JKU in Linz has really poorly opening hours during holidays – it is opened from 9am to 12am. So (and of course because I like traveling), I’m writing my thesis in Vienna at the libraries of the University of Vienna and of the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration.
Yesterday a few friends and I went to see the exhibition Linz Texas A City Relates at the Austrian Museum of Architecture in Vienna. After some traditional Austrian lunch at Siebensternbräu we walked up the stairs at the South Tower of St. Stephen’s Cathedral. The view from up there is fantastic; you can see pretty much all over Vienna. Here are the pictures! At about 3pm we started the tour through the Schönbrunn Zoo. Overall, just another lovely and culinary day in Vienna!
Since yesterday the summer ticket of the Austrian Federal Railways is valid, I’m quite busy with traveling. Our first trip led us to Leopoldsberg and Kahlenberg (in Vienna), one of my most favorite places in Austria. Have a look at the pictures! We enjoyed dinner at (my favorite) Asian restaurant Toka Lee in Grinzing. After dinner we split up – some went home; my three American guests and I went to Prater (see also prater.at and Wikipedia) to see the famous Giant Ferris Wheel (see also Wikipedia).
Last Friday, June 6th, Christina and I visited the 111th Concordiaball. We attended the opening ceremony. The ball is arranged by the Viennese journalist’s club Concordia, the world oldest journalist’s club. The ball took place in the very awesome premises of the Viennese City Hall. It was moderated by Barbara Rett. The opening ceremony was choreographed by Prof. Klaus Mühlsiegl, who is well known as the choreographer of the Viennese Opera Ball opening ceremonies. We enjoyed another great ball night until the end at 5am. View our pictures!
Since Mario had the excellent idea of biking up to Giselawarte, we started the tour today at 10am. We met at the ESH dorm. As we are not professional athletes, it took us about one and a half hours to reach the peak. After enjoying the great view, we had lunch in the tavern. And proper Austrian dessert, coffee and cake. Going downhill was quite effortless – we did it in about 25 minutes. The trip was great – enjoy the pictures!
Last evening I watched the very popular opera La Traviata (Wikipedia) at the local theater in Linz (in German available only). It was amazing! Some exchange students who attended were fascinated by the performance too. We are looking forward to watch another play!
