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| short-lived coach fad |
Today’s vast stifling network of road systems catering to the insatiable lust for cars was once presaged by a sudden emergence of coaches. In Europe from around 1810 to the 1830's, coaches ruled the newly sealed roads and reached fantastic speeds of around 12 miles per hour allowing a free and easy flow of traffic, passengers and goods. It seems odd that this short-lived coach fad should take hundreds of years to incubate only to take off for some few decades to almost die out overnight with the arrival of the train.
It would be another hundred years before roads regained their popularity. A writer at the time observed "... it is remarked that when they travel on the road they go with the greatest speed manageable ... they could not have gone at less than 14 miles per hour. This is the usual pace at which they go ... several persons at different times have been thrown down and hurt not being able to get out of the way soon enough".
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| they go with the greatest speed manageable |
In Beethoven’s time, travel from Vienna to Prague, possible only by coach, would take a week or more depending on weather conditions (3 hours today by car), with several stay-overs at various inns along the way to refresh horses, and allow travellers to rest their weary bones.
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