New Year's Eve - a hike

The search for new 'challenges' brought me DOMS ;-)

In the late afternoon I decided to view the spectacle in downtown. I had a hot wine at the 'country stage' and a bratwurst at the 'Oe3 stage'. Many people were on the road in the city centre. I walked down the Graben passed the St. Stephan's cathedral and sauntered along the Rotenturmstrasse. See that it got quite cold I decided to enter a premise. After drinking a half pint I returned home.

We met around 8 pm at Wiesi's place and had some sandwiches, snacks and of course drinks. The landlord also did his best in preparing a special hot wine that we took along on our hike. Quarter past 10 we started our challenge by taking the rapid train railway, the underground and finally a regional bus to 'Kahlenbergerdorf'.

Our goal was to make it on the 'Leopoldsberg'. It was a partially steep climb so we had pauses for breath (and drinking). 5 minutes to midnight we arrived at the top. Lots of people were up there.

We had a small radio with us – not to miss the turn of the year. But that was not necessary because 5 seconds past midnight the whole city exploded in colourful fireworks that lasted almost for half an hour. We danced a waltz and watched the fireworks. Then it was about time to redescend. This time we also had to walk the distance we did by regional bus.

Around 2 am we arrived at Praterstern and we entered the 'Fluc' for a drink. Initially the pub was well-frequented but became crowded throughout the night. The music was good and two other friends arrived there. Nevertheless there was a point I got tired and went to bed around 5 am.