Lying in between Vienna and Bratislava the National Park Donau Auen spans
over 9,300 hectares area, the park protects the last remaining major wetland environment in Central Europe. For a distance of just over 36 km, the Danube flows freely and is the lifeline of the national park. The dynamic rise and fall of water levels – sometimes up to 7 meters – mean that the wetlands landscape is constantly recreated and reformed. In this way, the flow of the Danube creates habitats for a large number of plants and animals. (Donauauen.at)
One of the loveliest ways to visit the park is going by boat. The “Nationalpark Boot” leaves every day at 9 AM from Schwedenplatz and brings you right into the park. It´s also a great possibility to see Vienna from the Donaukanal – but we left the city behind quite soon and reached the end of the Donauinsel, where the Donaukanal joins the Danube again.
When we had reached the end of our boat tour a ranger already waited for us and during a little walk through the Au he told about their work to protect the area, the animals living here and many more things.
We had to say goodbye to the Danube jungle and start our journey back to Vienna – upstream it takes about two hours.
