Wachau Valley, Austria

What we did:
- Woke up to catch an 8:15 train from Budapest to Vienna. Got to the train station with plenty of time to spare but Sally and Trent got separated from Steph and Doug and got lost somehow? Those two…SMH (shake my head). Got on the train with two minutes to spare after finding them again. First train that Steph and Trent took with seat troubles. Likely because this is such a popular route, people pay extra for seat reservations. As a result, all four of us got kicked out of seats multiple times before we decided to upgrade to first class and ride out the remaining three hours in peace.
- Arrived at the Vienna train station, threw our stuff in temporary storage lockers, and boarded a train to Wachau Valley! We had been communicating with a guy named Erwin who would drop off e-bikes for us at the train station and then pick them up at another train station later in the day. However, Erwin decided to stop responding to us the day leading up to the bike activity, and we were unsure if we were even going to be able to do the biking up until 20 minutes before when he sent us an “all good - enjoy your ride!” message.
- Doug and Sally walked Trent and Steph through the basics of an e-bike and we were off. WOW! Trent and Steph are completely sold on e-bikes and don’t know why people bother with normal bikes anymore. Boring. The e-bikes make it so much more relaxing and really allow you to enjoy the scenery! And, my goodness, the scenery! So pretty! Perfect crisp fall day, following along the Danube river, through rolling hills with vineyards. Such a perfect day - shoutout Sally and Doug for pitching and planning this activity!
- Steph was dying of starvation and caffeine deprivation (and not being quiet about it) so we stopped at a little hotdog stand on the river. Such a nice group of Austrians who ran it, and great vibes! Split some hot dogs, pastries, and got some coffees while we enjoyed the view. Got back on the bikes and took a (ferry?) across the river. More like a floating barge utilizing a pulley system to get it back and forth across 100 feet of water.
- Grabbed lunch at a beer garden in Spitz and then went on our way. The second half of the bike trip was definitely the most scenic as this is where the vineyards and small towns really started. We ended up stopping at a winery for a quick glass of wine. Lots of people in an outdoor garden and very picturesque! Steph is still unconvinced that we didn’t crash some sort of neighborhood gathering, but hey everyone was very nice when they tried to talk to us in German.
- Hopped back on the bikes and cycled through the valley during golden hour and sunset. Lost the men for a bit when they decided to stop and admire a local soccer stadium. Found Erwin back at the train station, dropped of the bikes, and hopped on a couple of trains back to Vienna.
- Train ride allowed Doug to get some shut eye while the rest of us people watched. A group of young Austrian boys hopped on the train and one let out a giant burp, and unable to stop her natural instinct, Sally proceeded to say “EW!” loudly enough for everyone to hear which made the whole train car chuckle (including the boys)😂. Sally then thought the way the boys were talking sounded like Arnold Schwarzenegger so she took a video to send to Jenna and Joe (J&J have been into Arnold after watching his documentary on Netflix).
- After getting semi-lost in the very large Vienna train station, we made our way to the hotel and stopped at an Italian restaurant nearby for dinner. After a long day, we called it a night to get some rest for exploring the city of Vienna the next day!

What we ate:
- Train breakfast and coffees
- Imbiss Aggsbach Dorf: hot dogs, some sort of cinnamon twist pastry, coffees, and beers
- Gasthaus Spitzerl: Radler beers for the women, Austrian beers for the men, sausages, skillets, and a burger
- Weingut Famile Hermenegild Mang: Wine at a vineyard! A couple of reds and a couple of whites.
- SOTH.kitchen: pizzas and a salad for trent and Steph, pistachio pasta for Sally, and lasagna for Doug

Fun facts:
- Arnold Schwarzenegger was born in a suburb about 20 minutes outside of Vienna.
- Wachau Valley is one of the biggest wine producing regions in Austria.Read more