To round up my sweaty and slightly frustrating day in Vienna, I took the u-bahn northwest to the Donauinsel. It is an artificial island that was created in the middle of the Donau, as a way to prevent flooding in the river. During normal flows, the part of the river that is between the Donauinsel and the northern riverbank is sealed off so that it becomes an artifical lake. Then, when there are high flows in the river (for example during spring when the snow is melting in the Alps, they remove the seals and the water suddenly has double the amount of space to flow through. That’s why, during the high flows earlier this summer, many central European cities were flooded, but Vienna was not.
Donauinsel, the artificial island, has been mad into a narrow and very very long park, where people walk around, skate, bike, lie in hammocks, play music and swim. And it is so very green. It was exactly what I needed, after my long day in the city bustle.
By the time I arrived at the Donauinsel, the sun was already on its way down and the air was considerably cooler than it had been in the middle of the day. I felt that taking a swim in the Donau might make me too cold, so I didn’t. But my feet were sore and letting the small waves wash over them with that icy water felt lovely. Another time, on a hot day like this, I could have spent an entire day on the Donauinsel, reading and then cooling down in the river.
When the sun was almost down, the mosquitoes attacked with full force, though – so I decided to take the u-bahn back to my couchsurfing host Karin. Waiting for the train, I watched the sun setting in a pink impressionist sky behind the mountain tops – a color display that just couldn’t be captured by the camera sensor.
But it’s odd, though, with big cities that aren’t by the ocean. I can’t get perspective. Despite the mountains and the river. And somehow, I feel trapped.
Katja Malmborg 