C2C

From one capital to another today - Bratislava to Vienna. We navigate our way avoiding the cobble streets and cross the UFO bridge, and have a picnic breakfast overlooking the castle, reminiscent of Chinon. We soon cross the border into Austria, and again there are no controls, just derelict and deserted buildings. With Teutonic efficiency there are now a plethora of cycle signs, in fact at times so many that it can be confusing as there are all manner of local routes also signposted. I begin to worry that my role as lead navigator will be redundant. We join the route of a former railway which runs completely straight for the best part of 20 miles. There is a strong cross wind from the North, but we are often sheltered by trees, but buffeted when the landscape is more open. Unusually we approach Vienna via a nudist colony - pot bellies and cocktail sausages on display. The concern I had about my navigational role soon abates, when with customary predictability all signs disappear when we most need them at the entrance to the city. We thread our way through the one way streets of Inner Stadt and arrive at our hotel, which is in an imposing building right in the centre of the old town. It is quirky and characterful (to put it euphemistically). We have a wander and Clare has her first Viennese coffee - mélange ( just seems like milky coffee to me) and a slice of sachertorte(looks like chocolate cake). Andrew arrives later in the evening. (Bratislava to Vienna - 45 miles)