It rained heavily during the night - glad we were inside in a cosy, comfy bed. The owner of the Pension gave us instructions on how to proceed as the route follows both sides of the river. As luck will have it, he recommended that we take the bridge right across the river from our lodging. The traffic was heavy and we were grateful for the bike path.
We have noticed as we began book 2 of the Bikeline series (Passau to Vienna) that there is a new symbol on the map which signifies stairs on the route - well, we found out what that was about as our access to the trail over the bridge was down a curving flight of stairs. It looked ominous, but it was ok once we unloaded our panniers and disconnected the trailer.
The trail on the south side is quite narrow at times but well signed. As we rounded a corner, we were stopped by a group of fellow Canadians from Sudbury. They are on a bike and boat trip and will be heading down the river tomorrow to Vienna on a river cruise. We so enjoyed our visit with them as they are also avid cyclists and campers.
It is exciting for us to be moving into a new country with different customs, food and ideas.
Not long into our ride, the weather quickly deteriorated and we were in full rain gear as the rain was very heavy. We tried to take shelter but there was little opportunity as the communities were not close and there was no tree cover. The good news was that there was a nice WC along the trail - haven't seen one of those in a long time or for many countries. We had been advised to cross the river at Jochenstein as the route on the south side required us to share the road with heavy traffic. As the rain was not abating, we decided to do this - but it meant climbing 90 stairs with our gear and bike, up and over a barrage (lock) and down the other side. It was a tough job. Thankfully there was a cafe on the other side and we were able to get some hot coffee and dry out a bit. At this point, everything is soaking wet. As navigator and map reader, I felt badly that I had missed seeing that there was a bike ferry less than a km beyond the crossing we made at Jochensteiin. That would have been so much easier on our bodies and our bike. Oh well, it's all part of the experience of travelling, right?
We decided that we should stop early and attempt to dry out before proceeding. We discovered a new custom for this area, very few commercial establishments take credit cards or bank cards - only cash. This meant that we couldn't stay at any Zimmers or a Gasthaus.
Once we discovered this, we realized that we would have to ride on a further 35 km or up a 7 km hill to a bankmachine. So, we wisely turned around and backtracked to Gasthaus Luger at Kramesau that would take a credit card. As has so often happened on this trip, it was a fortuitous choice as the Gasthaus was a gem. Our room has patio doors that open on to a view of the Danube. From our window we can watch the cyclists go by on the trail and the cruise ships on the river. We had a light supper in the dining room. As the dining room was full, we joined a couple from Connecticut who are also riding a tandem and are destined for Vienna. They had rented a tandem in Passau for their trip, but also have one at home. They said that as their retirement gift to each other years ago, that they had bought a tandem bike. We really enjoyed the evening with them. He had been stationed in Germany and she was originally from Germany. We've booked the sauna for later - can't wait to get warm.
We so enjoyed meeting this group from Sudbury Ontario. We are going to look for their River Cruise Boat as we cycle along the Danube. The dog belongs to the local fellow we asked to take our photo - what a great dog!
The locks were very impressive and we discovered that many people come here to watch the boat traffic. One couple offered to help us carry our things. We were very grateful.
Oh, oh - I hadn't seen this ferry on the map. It was only about 1/2 km from the locks that we struggled to cross. And at this point, it wasn't raining, so this would have been a pleasant crossing.
