Sunday 22 September 2019: Deutsch Jahrndorf - Rust am Neusiedler See (alt 173 m): 60 km, sunny, very windy, 22ºC

Again today, Volker went alone for a bicycle tour this morning along the Iron Curtain trail to the Monument of the 3 countries Austria, Slovakia and Hungary. Julia stayed home and prepared the BBQ. Deutsch Jahrndorf is a municipality in the district of Neusiedl am See, in the Austrian state of Burgenland. It is within a few kilometres of the borders of both Hungary and Slovakia. Deutsch Jahrndorf is the easternmost municipality of Austria, at 17 degrees eastern longitude, and the easternmost commune of the German Sprachraum. With Burgenland, the former Hungarian village passed to the Republic of Austria after World War I. During the Cold War, or from shortly after World War II until the Revolutions of 1989, Deutsch Jahrndorf was the easternmost community in Central Europe with a Western market economy. It lies farther to the east than all of the former East Germany and is farther east than parts of Poland and parts of what were then Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia, all of which were communist countries behind the "Iron Curtain". After lunch we drove to Rust am Neusiedler See and settled at the Camping Storchennest (28,50€/night with electricity), but we can only stay one night, because the Camping closes tomorrow for renovation work. We took our bicycles and drove into the really nice old town and had wine and a Jause at the Weingut Gabriel (18 €). N47º48'05" E16º41'31"

Monday 23 September 2019: Rust am Neusiedler See - Podersdorf (alt 124 m): 56 km, good weather, sometimes cloudy then cold, 21ºC

Drive to Podersdorf with a stop for grocery shopping at Merkur near Parndorf (a very good supermarket here, we bought lots of delicious things, also our lunch for today!) and then at Mueller at the Pannonia Shopping area near Parndorf. Settled at Sloboda Weingut (12€ + 1,50 local tax/night with electricity, water, dumping station, fresh water). One night is free of charge if we buy 12 bottles of wine ;o ! After lunch we took our bicycles and rode down to Hölle (= "to hell") and had a Gespritzter at the Weingut Hölle. Back home we ate lots of plums from the tree just in front of us. Then we went to the bar and had 2 wine carousels (4 white wines each, 33€) and bought of course 12 bottles! N47º51'1" E16º49'50"

Tuesday 24 September 2019: Podersdorf - Sankt Andrä (alt  m): ## km, cloudy 19ºC

Drive to Spar where we bought some grocery, then to Camping Sankt Andrä (27€/night incl. electricity etc.). Very good place to do laundray (3 machines, price max 1,50€/each). Volker rode off to do the same loop around the lake as last year, this time the other way round while Julia did the laundry. N47°47'1''2 E16°54'16''

Wednesday 25 September 2019: Sankt Andrä - St. Martins Therme Frauenkirchen

We spent the whole day in the St. Martins Therme and stayed there overnight (20€ with water, electricity, no dumping facilities). Only in combination with an entrance ticket to the therm. We paid "best age" tickets 63€, Julia taking advantage of the fabulous sauna landscape there. We did a lunch break, went home for 2 hours and then back to the therm.

* * * * * *  On our way from Frauenkirchen (Neusiedler See) to the airport (Lower Austria):

Thursday 26 September 2019: Frauenkirchen St. Martins Therme - Carnuntum-Petronell - Volker to Klagenfurt, Julia back home VIE-FAO: lovely weather 22ºC

On our way to the airport, we did a 25' deviation to the Roman city Carnuntum, which has been reconstructed in the ways it was before. Drive to the airport where Julia sprang out of the camper and took the flight OE2364 (Laudamotion) at 15:00-17:30. Flight 1 hour delayed.

* Sturm is a partially fermented wine sold at the beginning of fall that still contains a fair amount of grape, and Grüner Veltliner, which is one of the most popular types of Austrian wine. Almdudler and Gespritzer are also commonly found at modern Heurigen. Heuriger is the name given to taverns in Eastern Austria at which local winemakers serve their new wine under a special licence in alternate months during the growing season.

**The Heurigen are renowned for their atmosphere of Gemütlichkeit shared among a throng enjoying young wine and simple food. They correspond to the Straußwirtschaften in the German Rheinland, the Frasche in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, and Osmiza in Slovenia. Heuriger is the abbreviation of "heuriger Wein" (this year's wine) in Austrian and Bavarian German.

Two things to think about when having a meal in a restaurant:

1) You can ask for "Leitungswasser", i.e.. water from the tap, almost always for free.

2) There is a difference between "Mineralwasser prickelnd" (sparkling mineral water) and "Soda", sparkling water, the latter being cheaper than the mineral water.

Total km: