Nine Wheelmates along the Danube

Nav Grah At Belvedere Palace

It began in May 2017 when we were trekking in Himalaya. That rainy day when we were trapped in tent and when everything under the Sun had been spoken about, our experience of cycling in Europe emerged in the discussion.  Chandan and I had cycled in Europe the previous year and knew how enriching the experience was and were more than eager to do it again. So what was started as a talk to kill time, took the shape of wonderful journey of nine of us on wheels in Europe.

Sunset at Shonbrunn Vienna

The route was finalized, tickets were booked, visa was stamped and on 9^th May 2018 we finally landed in Vienna. Two and a half days in Vienna were like any other site seeing plan in the famous cities of Europe. The glorious palaces, displayed enormous wealth and unfolded the history of Austria. We learnt how the Emperors lived, bathed slept and got entertained. But more importantly we got the flavor of the city by roaming around the city in a metro or a tram. We learnt how to cross road on Zebra crossing and how to talk softly in public places. As we saw others cycling in the city, our cycling aspirations kept rising. Finally after meeting Sisi ( A beautiful queen of 19^th Century) in her museum and admiring her well maintained beauty and lavish lifestyle we began our tour on wheels. Cycling tour from Vienna to Budapest.

Luggage at the lobby

We were handed over our bicycles on the previous day along with the cycling plan. Josef, our local tour assistant was very elaborate in describing our route. None of us really absorbed everything he said, however were sure we were more confident about the entire journey. Josef took us to the parking and showed us our bicycles. We were quite excited and started comparing the bicycles as if there was any difference. After much debate and keen observation, we finally left for our dinner and retired to our rooms.

The next day began with much excitement. We left our bags behind in the lobby to be picked up by the transport van and took charge of our bicycles. Chandan and Narendra quickly directed us to the cycle path along the Danube River. It was Saturday morning in Vienna. Like any other busy city in the world Vienna was waking up to the laziness of weekend. Some people had just begun their weekend run or cycling. There were a few families setting up their tents and there were a few groups already cooking on wood fire. It was a very different seen  

Bike Path Sign Board

altogether. Now on, river Danube was going to be our mate and Euro Velo 6 (Cycle Route 6) was going to be our guide.

Yes, the journey had begun, journey of nine lives from a far away continent. The journey of green fields and blue skies, the journey of delightful Danube, the journey of fulfillment and the journey of tranquility.  The journey of thoughts and journey of relationships. All at once. On two wheels.

        

    The Wheel Mates 

Smita and Milind Sandhane               Ashwini and Chandan Sovani      

                             Sangita and Shekhar Rege     

Sharvari Brahme                                Narendra Brahme                        


                                 Sachin Pantaviadya                                                                

                                                                                                                                                                To be continued………