The Vienna City Marathon hosting 49,000 runners was held on my arrival day in Vienna. An interesting coincidence since for the first time in over 30 years, I came traveling without running shoes in my bag. I had two good reasons: 1) I’m in no shape to run a marathon while I’m doing physical therapy for a running injury and. 2) I’ve planned a rather different type of marathon.

It all started innocently enough. A friend passed along a book she thought I would enjoy. That book, Becoming Marie Antoinette authored by Juliet Grey is an intriguing historical fiction based on the early years and up to arrival at Versailles of a 14-year old bride. That bride was the Austrian Archduchess Maria Antonia, better known now as Marie Antoinette.

Before beginning my marathon journey, I toured Hofburg Palace, the home and administrative office of the Holy Roman Empire where Empress Maria Theresa and her son Joseph ruled the kingdom during Maria Antonia’s childhood. There is barely a mention of Maria Antonia during the tour, only in the context of the greater family paintings. More attention is paid to Empress Elisabeth (Sisi) who came along 100 years later and is remembered more kindly.

On a dreary rainy day, I toured the family summer home, Schönbrunn Palace, as well. Marie Antonia was known to love spending summers here in its parks and natural setting. It is easy to see why. Even in the rain, children now play in that expansive park.

Can the Bridal Journey Itinerary of Archduchess Marie Antonia be duplicated?

Certainly not in the style Marie Antonia experienced. In her book, Grey identifies six or seven stops along the journey across what was then the Holy Roman Empire (including current day Austria and Germany). en route to her new home in Versailles, France.

Could her journey be replicated? As I researched her stops along the way, I discovered there were significantly more than Grey had listed, 23 that I learned of through further research, 21 which could likely be accessed. Judging the distance between many of the stops through various sources, I found that the abbeys were about 75 kilometers apart.

A younger me with more time may have decided to cycle or hike long portions of this route. There are numerous hiking, biking and pilgrimage paths along the way. The not-so-young me with an aching IT band decided trains would be my mode of transportation.

Journey Preparation for the Royals

There were two years or so of remaking a late-blooming adolescent into a child bride, This was conversion of a kid who avoided her private classes but had an early love of nature and the arts. Her mother, the Empress Maria Theresa brought on a more demanding tutor, arranged for an early version of braces for her teeth and incorporated demanding lessons in the how-to’s of the French court,

Then there were practical matters, such as lack of sufficient roadways. In the years 1768-1770, the dynasties of the Holy Roman Empire and King Louis XV of France set about preparing roads that would sufficiently support the 57coaches and carriages, 450 horses and 257 personnel and court members. 

Marie Antonia’s lodging was worked out with overnight stays in abbeys and the palaces of other royalty and wealthy families along the way. It was a great honor for those abbeys and prominent land owners, but good grief that is a lot of company.

My Journey Preparation

I arrive in Vienna a day or two before my replica of her schedule. A good thing to, because my thigh muscles were not happy. I was following the advice of my physical therapist who sent me off with an exercise program to be followed daily. We agreed hiking poles would be a good accommodation when I am out all day. I felt more comfortable with this when I witnessed a significant number of people in Austria using hiking poles, even in the center of Vienna.

I didn’t have the support of multiple horses to switch during the journey, but I had my own iron horse: the combined railway systems across Europe all tied up in a click of a mouse. I purchased a Eurail Pass continuous for one month, which is roughly the travel time of the bridal journey, April 21 leaving Vienna to May 16 arrival in Versailles.

Although I attempted to make reservations at several abbeys where Marie had stayed, I was unsuccessful. I did stay in two hotels that continue to serve travelers through these 256 years. My other accommodations were chosen by proximity to railroad stations, knowing my time would be limited at each stop.

Stay tuned for the first episode of the journey which begins on the date of Marie Antonia’s much anticipated but tearful departure from Vienna, April 21, 1770 and the beginning of my highly anticipated rail journey April 21, 2026.

Bonus photos:

I boarded the wrong train my first day in Vienna. The resulting slice of life photos viewed from the train window in Lower Austria, having nothing to do with my marathon rail journey.