Photo of a historic tram

© Dagmar Fischer

Photo of a historic tram

After this year's excursion took place in Vienna, the meeting point for morning grouches was suitable at 10 a.m. in front of the Transport Museum Remise, We enjoyed a very interesting tour of the history of Wiener Linien.

Photo of a historic stock bus in the Tramway Museum

© Dagmar Fischer

Photo of a historic bus in the Tramway Museum

For the older semesters among us, memories of trips on the number 13 double decker bus were awakened. The bus was a "big hum": its dimensions exceeded everything that had been used as a regular service bus in Austria up to that point. Above all, its height of 4,135 mm was a problem: Since it exceeded the legal limit of 3,800 mm, the bus was severely restricted in operation because it could not pass many bridges and underpasses. In addition, despite its high weight of 11,620 kg, the three-axle vehicle only had a normal Büssing engine with 150 hp, which made the large double-decker quite cumbersome. In practice, however, most passengers found it too arduous to climb the upper deck - especially passengers who were only going a short distance did not want to put themselves through the stress of "dismounting" in good time. It was better to stay tightly packed on the lower deck and within sight of the exit. Only children and young people like to use the upper floor and enjoy the view (Wiener Linien).

Photo of the repaired bus of the collapse of the Reichsbrücke

© Dagmar Fischer

Photo of the repaired bus of the collapse of the Reichsbrücke

A highlight of the museum is the famous Danube bus, which was recovered from the Reichsbrücke that collapsed in 1976.

Photo of the collapse of the Reichsbrücke

© ORF

Photo of the collapse of the Reichsbrücke

On Sunday, August 1, 1976, between 4:53 a.m. and 4:55 a.m., the Reichsbrücke fell into the water along almost the entire length of the river bridge. The bus driver crashed with his vehicle into the Danube, but was rescued unharmed within a few hours because the bus didn't sink, remained standing on the rubble in the water. The bus was subsequently salvaged, repaired and returned to service from October 1976 to 1989.

Group photo from the picnic excursion 2022

© Ernst Kozeschnik

Group photo from the picnic excursion 2022

After a picnic in the park in front of the museum, we took public transport to the next item on the program, the Ottakring brewery.

Group photo in the Ottakringer brewery

© Dagmar Fischer

Group photo in the Ottakringer brewery

In the brewery we learned a lot about brewing beer. Founded in 1837, the Ottakringer brewery is still a family business.

Special beers such as IPA, Porter, Flanders Red and much more have been brewed in the BrauWerk since 2014.

Group photo tasting beer at the Ottakringer brewery

© Ernst Kozeschnik

Group photo tasting beer at the Ottakringer brewery

At the end of the tour we were allowed to taste several types of beer.

The photo below shows the impressive bottling hall of the brewery.

Photo of the bottling hall in the Ottakringer brewery

© Dagmar Fischer

Photo of the bottling hall in the Ottakringer brewery

Finally, we ended the evening at Plachuttas Grünspan in Ottakring. This was interrupted by wind and weather, whereupon we fled into the interior of the restaurant.

Photo of the windy end of the excursion at the Restaurant Grünspan

© Ernst Kozeschnik

Photo of the windy end of the excursion at the Restaurant Grünspan

Here, too, the Ottakringer beer was shown respect before we took the public transport back home.