Radfahren und Essen

We cycled along part of the Niederösterreichischer Thermenradweg this weekend.  The total length of the trail is approximately 100 kilometers from Wien to Mönichkirchen, but we only cycled about 30 kilometers when all was said and done.  I wanted to bike this particular trail because I've been curious about the path David takes to work on fair weather days.

 
David's commute takes about an hour any way you slice it -- by bike, bus, or streetcar (or a combination of all three).  When the weather's nice and he takes his bike, the commute doesn't seem as long though.  In fact, the opposite is true.  Can you imagine how energized you'd feel if you started your workday after an hour of cycling through fresh fields and adorable Austrian towns?  The ride has the same invigorating effect on the return trip as well.  After an intense day of sitting in a chair and staring at a computer, David says it's rejuvenating to hop on a bike and crunch the peddles home.  It sounds awesome to me.
           
My favorite spot along the Wien --> Guntraumsdorf portion of the trail was the Blumen selbst schneiden (cut your own flowers) field.  Here, one picks as many flowers as their heart desires (or can afford) and throws some money in the collection tin.  There is a sign that suggests how much to pay per the number of flowers cut. 

After cycling the full tour to the small town where David works, we shifted gears (literally) and headed west into Gumpoldskirchen, a town famous for it's wine and Heurigers (wine taverns).  Our destination: Klostergasthaus Thallern.

We feasted on the best Austrian food with the best local wine we have ever tasted in this country.  Besides the "Unsere" Cremeschnitte mit Schlagobers & Vanillesauce (cream cake with whipped cream and vanilla sauce) for dessert, my favorite food was the Eierschwammerl-Erdäpfelrahmsuppe (mushroom and potato cream soup).  Oh man, just thinking about it now makes my mouth water.

After our feast we cycled north through some vineyards to Mödling.  From there, we caught the train back to Wien and then passed out when we got home.  It was a long day, but a memorable one.