Stayed last night with Oli Keetch, a colleague at DFID India, who now has a senior position with WWF based in Vienna.
Spent most of the day wandering around Vienna. Streets of rather charmingly old-fashioned independent shops - leading to the impressively grand centre. Huge churches, public buildings and museums. Visited the Museum of Arts & Crafts - beautifully curated examples from past Vienna - furniture, glassware, silverware, ornaments, a few pictures and carpets. A fine exhibition of kimonos and haories.
Then back to Oli mid-afternoon to say goodbye, change and pick up my bike. Then a stuttering zig zag, along bike paths but with frequent traffic lights, out of Vienna and along the Danube cycle path. The River Danube surprisingly unbusy. No sailing boats, canoes or kayaks.
No merhcant vessels. Just the occasional hugely long tourist boat - seemingly almost empty. Quite cold - less than15°C all day. The riverside path good & flat, and moostly paved - but strong headwind against me the whole way. Hope it's not going to be like that all the way along the Danube.