Fahrräder sind RAD, dude

Vienna is a beautiful cycling city. Beautiful enough that I have a spare moment at lunch to post about it, because it's such a quick system to zip around! I've mentioned this elsewhere, but they have a Citybikes program similar to the Hub in Boston and Divvy in Chicago. Difference being, it's cheap. As in, one euro to register, and the first hour free on every subsequent ride. So, in essence, my non-rainy-day mode of transit for this trip is a bike that cost me 1 Eur for about four weeks. Not. Too. Shabby.

What really makes it worthwhile, though, is the fact that the city's bike infrastructure is superb. Bike lanes are plentiful, usually separated from traffic, and sometimes even from pedestrians. Lanes are demarcated, and intersections usually are clearly marked so you never have to wonder where you're headed next. Well, almost never. If you're a semi-clueless tourist/researcher, you miiiiight accidentally go the wrong way on the Ringstraße and take a full loop around Vienna rather than heading the right way. But even then, you're adding about 15 scenic minutes to your trip: NOT SHABBY.

Note, too, the smooth and clean asphalt. Yep: they street-clean the bike/walking paths, and nearly every inch of biking routes in Vienna is better-maintained than almost every inch of pavement of any kind in Chicago (we won't even begin to bring Boston into it). Hooray for infrastructure investments!

Anyhow. I do love the transit here - it's quiet, fast, efficient and timely - but cycling through the tree-covered bike paths that lace through the city has got me very happy to be on two wheels for most of my stay. Here's hoping I find more of the same as the summer rolls along!