Week two... Primal zwickl cycle

Some dear friends of ours, who are great enthusiasts for Vienna, asked me to record my first impressions given that I'd not visited Vienna before moving here. In many ways I expect that my second impressions will be more insightful; it seems unfair and injudicious to take a view on any place during the current COIVD pandemic. Vienna has been in lockdown since we arrived and my first impression is that (much like everywhere else) it feels like the spirit of the city has been tucked away for the time being. Of course, this isn't entirely a bad thing, I think it has softened the landing and enabled us to settle in at our own pace. A sense of anticipation and excitement is building; I still haven't been to one of these fabulous cafes that people talk about!

What I have seen is fantastic architecture and we have had the privilege to see it without sharing the experience with tourists (good for us, not so good if you run a business in the middle of town I'm sure); easily accessible beautiful woodland; parks that are full of trees; and infrastructure that has been designed to enable and enhance people's experience of living here (rather than the afterthought it usually feels back home). An absolute credit to Vienna!

This brings me to cycling. I've spent a good amount of time on my bike since arriving (so glad we brought them - see previous week). Cycling here is, unsurprisingly, profoundly different to cycling around in the Lakes... 😀 There is a really good network of cycle paths, cycle lanes and contraflows to enable people to get around by bicycle. And people really do get around on that network, often at surprising pace. And not only do you share this network with every kind of bike (and cyclist) you've ever seen, but also with runners, roller blades and every kind of personal e-transport you can imagine: scooters, electric skateboards, butcher's bikes & trikes and even an e-unicycle! People here are really getting stuck in to seeking out the optimal way to get around; to be honest I feel left behind with something as old-school as a simple gravel bike!

Learning to ride in the city and getting comfortable doing so will take some time, not least due to the presence of trams...😬 So it was great to have a different experience exploring the transition between the city and the Vienna woods on the cobbles of the Höhenstrasse. It's great to know there is such spectacularly dense "green-ness" so close to the city (more on that next week).

This week also saw the start of a new habit where I cycle into town to meet Anna after work to join her for the walk along the Danube that is part of her commute. Enabled by regular COVID testing, Anna is spending a fair amount of time in the office and starting to get to know more of her colleagues, learning numerous acronyms and looking forward to moving on from the inevitable admin that comes with a new job and getting stuck into some content, supporting countries who need some additional input into their nuclear issues.

Finally, leaving behind some of the finest breweries in the world was a wrench, but of course it is also an opportunity. I have been trying a few beers from the Spar and have so far discovered that I like zwickl, any kind of zwickl! (You can look it up 🍻😄). Microbreweries to be investigated soon... all in good time though.