day 47
Hintersdorf - Wien
35 km
With Daan and Richard we drive from our stay in Vienna to Hintersdorf where we left the tree bike yesterday. Sanne stays in Vienna to deal with overdue e-mails. Daan likes to bike with us today because, according to him, it goes down a lot. And it turns out to be so. In Mauerbach we stop at the town hall (Marktgemeinde Mauerbach) and tell our story as we are used to. We take pictures with the birthday tree handed out and exchange details. We also get the card of mayor Peter Buchner. I collect mayor’s cards. As we cycle away, a policeman comes to take a curious look at what is going on and he too gets a tree for his birthday, two weeks ago. We cycle on to Purkersdorf which, according to our schedule, we would like as a partner town. But it turns out the mayor is not there. We are given some information which includes the contact information of mayor Stefan Steinbichler. The lady who helps us gets a birthday tree from us and we get our picture taken. We drink coffee and set out for Schloss Schönbrunn, about twelve kilometers. Since we can’t go under the railroad we cycle around, but we can’t go under there either, two and a half meters is really too low, even for our overturned tree. We cycle back and follow the busier road, that way we manage. Then we cycle along the little river Wien, with trees that are also too low here, causing us to cycle a long way upside down. And so we slowly ride into Vienna. We park the tree bike at a church on the edge of Schönbrunn Palace. Because from here tomorrow filming of “Cycling-TV” will start. What a huge complex is Schloss Schönbrunn, and what large and beautiful gardens. We walk through it with the batteries as our briefcases and feel the weight, on our way to the car which is on the other side of the Schloss, a kilometer and a half away, so big it is. By car back to our accommodation on Baumgartenstrasse. It is busy with traffic. We are really in the big city now. What dynamism, what people and what a contrast to the quiet landscape of the past few weeks. Sanne has already prepared dinner. Delicious. The evening is office time, emails and phone calls. And, of course, this report. Tomorrow we go into Vienna with the tree bike. Exciting.
Wed May 28 - day 48
Wien
At 10:30 we leave Baumgartenstrasse in the direction of Schloss Schönbrunn where the tree bike is parked. In front of the main entrance we meet Martin Grabowski from ORF-TV, he is making a five-minute item about our tree bike that will be broadcast on the national channel this or next Friday at 6 p.m. Top PR, in other words. We take some shots in front of the entrance to the Schloss and then cycle about eight kilometers through busy Vienna until we find the yellow convertible on the Währinger-Gürtel 169, where environmental and traffic activist Christoph Schwarz with about twenty architecture students welcomes us with applause. What a nice entrance. We park the tree bike behind the convertible which is full of plants and there Martin conducts an interview with me and also with Sanne. Then I tell the story to the architecture students who respond enthusiastically. We hand out tree bicycles and flyers and answer questions. What a fun atmosphere. We show how tilting works and exchange data. There is something to drink and the neighbor comes with delicious cake. Totally great. A little before two we leave for the University Department of Sociology at Roosenveltplatz 2. Lisa Kilgus welcomes us. They are having a sustainability day and are making proposals for greening parking lots. We put the tree bike next to it and tell our story. Again, enthusiastic responses from the students. And here too, trees and flyers are handed out. It is around three o’clock when we enjoy a sandwich in a lunch tent. Then Daan and Sanne join the tree bike across the city in forty minutes back to Baumgartenstrasse. In a bike store we buy two helmets and extra flags for safety. Before and after dinner we do our administrative work, and so another day flies by, the forty-eighth already. In a good two weeks we will arrive in Nova Gorica if we cross all the hills. We are going to do our best.
do 29 may - day 49
Wien
Today’s agenda includes a visit to the “Klima Camp” at Maria-Jacobi-Gasse 50 in Vienna. Other than that, today is mostly administration, emails, finances, bookings, etc. We drive at two o’clock to the other side of the city where we find the “Klima Camp” on a very large paved area, where we meet Josh who was also there yesterday. A developer wants to build on this huge site and this group of activists would like to see it changed. They have been here for nine years and it is already a whole “village” so in the middle of the city. In a tent we place their beamer and put our large map on the floor. I present our story from the perspective of being able to give them some tips and suggestions. How nice would it be to organize a Bosk here on the large grounds? Surely that would be great. The tip of starting with temporary initiatives that can be extended often works better for local governments than permanent initiatives that require much more regulation. That way you create space for acceptance, habituation and mobilize supporters and stakeholders. It’s a small but interested group of young people. Very nice to tell our story here. Arriving at the Buamgartenstrasse again, we are slowly preparing to leave tomorrow for Graz where we will arrive in a few days. Today we eat out at a Greek restaurant just down the road. Good and cozy. Afterwards we have a chat and go to bed early. Tomorrow a new day with new challenges.