I have become very much a morning person with age.
Even if I wanted to sleep in, and despite a perfect bed, complete silence and just the right temperature … I am up at 5:15.
So what to do before the hotel’s breakfast opens at 7:30?
A nice, relaxed run along the Danube seems like a good option, and I get to enjoy the sunrise over Bratislava at the same time.
Back at the hotel, and after a nice shower, I settle in for a long, slow breakfast and work my way through the buffet and the freshly baked goods. Then it is back to the room for a little more relaxing.
The hotel has offered me a late check-out, which I use right until the last minute.
Arriving back at the TWIKE, I am disappointed to see that the charge has not finished as planned. The battery is at around 11 kWh instead of the 15.2 kWh it should have reached. I have not received an SMS and the charging station is still fully functional. That means the TWIKE has stopped the charge gracefully and shut itself down.
This is something I will have to investigate properly when I get home, because it makes planning longer stages rather difficult.
But not today. Vienna is only 90 km away. The battery was supposed to be full so I could avoid charging in Vienna and then drive straight home from the train station in Feldkirch tomorrow, a 140 km motorway-only run.
Back to today.
I leave the old town and take the TWIKE across Bratislava’s main bridge, with its rather distinctive observation deck and restaurant, known locally as the UFO. It has been part of Bratislava’s skyline since 1972 and is hard to miss from almost anywhere near the Danube.
A few kilometres later, I cross back into Austria and complete the circle of my multi-country trip.
I stay off the main roads and make my way from one small village to the next.
By now the temperature is back up to 36°C, so it is time for the recurring section of this trip’s blog: sampling local energy drinks!
Further down the road, I get to see the seemingly endless fields of wind turbines. They make quite a sight at night, when every tower carries its own blinking light across the landscape.
The roads themselves are a real pleasure. Smooth, quiet and easy to follow. After some of the rougher surfaces earlier in the trip, it is very nice to be driving on these again.
And then I enter Vienna, and suddenly the familiar landmarks start appearing around the TWIKE. I never really get tired of arriving in a European capital like this.
The TWIKE still needs a little more charging, so I head for one of the many parking garages around the old city centre. I am genuinely impressed by how substantial the charging infrastructure is in them.
What I do not quite understand is why some electric car owners park in a charging space without actually charging, or perhaps simply mistake a charging space for an electric vehicle parking space. And then I find something even more frustrating.
Some people really do seem to feel entitled to the space. I will leave it at that.
I leave the TWIKE charging and set off to explore Vienna on foot.
I used to have a team in Vienna and spent around six years coming here every other week for a few days. With my Austrian background, the city has always felt quite familiar and comfortable to me.
And there are a few mood foods that have to be part of any visit.
Later that evening, with a fully charged TWIKE, I make my way to the car train terminal. Yes, fully charged by the on-board inverter and with no problems. I am not quite sure what to make of that either.
And here we are. I have been here quite a few times since Vienna’s main station was rebuilt and the car train terminal was moved away from the main station.
There is still another hour before loading starts, so I get chatting with the ÖBB employee about my trips and the many places I have visited in Austria thanks to the railway. I also show him the custom-built ‘here, this is how you need to tie my TWIKE to the carriage for it to make it in one piece to the other end-page‘ on this blog.
Then I get the signal to drive towards the loading bay as the first vehicle. #gogogo
See the video below for what this looks like!
With the help of my page, the operatives quickly secure the TWIKE. I add the duct tape, and then both the TWIKE and I are ready to travel home.
This time the sleeper compartment is the newer version, with plenty of space, a seating area, a full-sized bed and even a private toilet and shower. It feels like a small hotel room on wheels.
At 23:53 we set out into the night – I lie down and fall asleep more or less immediately.
See you tomorrow!
So, let’s have a look at today’s stats.
