One of the things I appreciate most about bike touring is that it removes the predictable structure of daily life and creates space for serendipity. Lots of things don’t work out according to plan, but they do work out and along the way there are thousands of little, often very simple, unexpected delights and surprises that emerge. Last night I ate a beautifully prepared char at a Viennese outdoor cafe and slept in an apartment that could be in Dwell Magazine. Tonight I ate a simple dinner out of my food pannier and am sleeping in a tent at a funky campground at the edge of a Hungarian national park. Both circumstances leave me with a sense of amazement and gratitude. After relishing two cups of delicious coffee, I left Matthew’s apartment and warm hospitality in Vienna. I rolled out of the city slowly and circuitously, trying to take as much of it in as possible. It is as architecturally beautiful a city as any I have been in, with gorgeous shops and colorful people.

  

  

 I could spend days people watchingin Vienna.

Because it would be irresponsible not to, I stopped for a pastry on the way out of town at a little cafe that has apparently had many noteworthy guests over the years. 

I picked a nusskipfurl, which I can only inadequately describe as a croissant type pastry with a satisfying flakey and crispy exterior dusted with powdered sugar and filled with a chewy sweet almond paste. 

I shared a bite with a Vienese bee. 

Remember those candy bars from the Baltics? Me neither! 

I left Vienna and after crossing the city line picked up a gravel bike path, which connected with small roads and made for a great morning of riding. 

After lunch in the shade of a pretty church, I headed up and over a small mountain pass on a road practically designed for me: nice uphill grade, curvy, and pretty trees. 

 But alas, no weasels. I dropped down to Lake Neusiedl, through verdant vineyards, and rode south along the lake to the Hungarian border. 

  

 Immediately, I liked Hungary. It felt poorer and a bit less organized than picture perfect Austria, but pretty and visually interesting with a lot of life on the streets. And how could I not like a place with bike paths that look like this? 

  Passing through Sopron, I continued on to Balf, where I am now camped for the evening.    Back to serendipity, when I was checking in to the campground, it became immediately clear that I was in the right spot when an older Hungarian lady walked into the house with a bowl full of homemade pickles and offered me one!