At lunchtime we drive to Lake Neusiedl. It takes just 45 minutes from the third district. The Austrian holidays have started today. The motorway is full. Masses of wind turbines are turning in the strong wind. The first glimpse of Lake Neusiedl makes me cheer: there must be 100 kiters out there. My first ride in two months, high time.
Lake Neusiedl is huge. But there is only one small legal launch site for kiting. And the nice people of Podersdorf charge a whopping €5.50 entrance fee. Not just for kiters, but also for Sabine, who came along as a spectator. The spot is a good 30 metres wide and about 200 metres long. There are more than 100 kites on the meadow. There are just as many on the water.
First of all, I experience the usual effect when I arrive at a spot completely parched with kites: The wind suddenly stops. I could scream. We have a picnic. The sun is beating down. Yesterday there were 25-40 knots here. Today it should be 16. There are maybe five of them left.
The remaining wind is coming from the west. A powerful thunderstorm cell is building up right there. We can see heavy rain in the distance. The wind picks up again. I immediately get my Vegas ready, into my wetsuit and out onto the water.
The kite density is extreme. I’ve often been in situations where a kiter has come too close to me. Never a problem. It’s different today. The kites come from all directions, windward, leeward, left, right: five metres distance is already a lot. There’s only one thing to do: keep travelling at the same speed and don’t tear the kite away.
After a while, I’m out of the worst of the tangle and can accelerate. The wind picks up to 20 knots. And the water always remains smooth. Perfect. A bit of bouncing, a bit of sweeping and always keeping an eye on the huge thunderstorm cell and the nice lightning. It passes just north of Lake Neusiedl. After about 45 minutes, practically all the kites fall out of the sky. I just manage to get ashore. Short luck, but great fun.
We continue on to a Burgenland wine tavern in a rustic wine cellar, have a snack and shop for wine. The sunset makes the baroque church towers near Eisenstadt glow a gay pink colour and tells of a good day.
Frank Woelky, born in 1973. Kitesurfer since 1998. Since 2006, I have been combining kitesurfing and web design on trips lasting several months off the beaten track.