Niederalterich to Passau: An auspicious day - the culmination of the first part of our Danube journey - London to Istanbul on a Recumbent Tandem - CycleBlaze

September 21, 2012

Niederalterich to Passau: An auspicious day - the culmination of the first part of our Danube journey

An easy day of cycling to Passau. We are both feeling tired, so we are taking our time having lunch by the river, having a cat nap in the sun and just enjoying the day.
The day begins cold and warms up by afternoon. We are grateful that the fall is remaining dry so far.
The route into Passau is a relatively straightforward path. We were able to find accomodation in the heart of old town - a very old building and we are on the top floor reached by an incredible winding stair case. We are staying at Pension Schill and it is full of charm and comfortable. Our room has a couch, table and view of the cathedral and the roofs of the city.
The restaurant is charming in the Pension and we decided to have dinner here - good food and lots of atmosphere. Went for a walk through the old town - Passau seems to be an interesting city.
When we leave Passau, this will be the end of our German portion - we'll be moving on to Austria and the second portion of our Danube Route.
Germany has been a wonderful country to explore. We have met some wonderful people, seen amazing things and have loved the food and beer.
The beer here has been a highight as each town has its own centuries old brewery and they serve their local beer in the restaurants. Each brewery is quite distinct and of high quality. It's interesting that big commercial breweries have not taken over this tradition. Good for them!

Our host at the private zimmer. He spoke no English, but never gave up trying to talk to us. So hospitable and entertaining. He created the garden animals and features made of metal.
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Auf Wiederhesen.
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A roman ruin
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Fall is here = hard to see, but a dog was going crazy barking at us as we looked at her window.
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Most anything is available from a vending machine. For cigarettes, you show your picture id to the screen and it approves your purchase.
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The Danube - a working river.
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Along the route the community had created a circuit about the planets.
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At first we couldn't figure out what the metal knob was for -but it represented the planet.
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Amazing remains of ruins in this area.
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When we got to Saturn, we finally understood what we were seeing.
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Barry is loving his compression shorts and socks - he is finding that he has less pain and better recovery wearing them.
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And finally the sun!
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Crossing the river to ??? Oh dear, I think I have been on the road too long as I can't remember the name of the town, but it is in Germany and it is on the Danube.
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This town had interesting art work and sculptures featured on the streets. We really liked the energy of this one.
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This figure is part of the threesome. Amazing creations.
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Wonderful fountain and statue in the heart of town.
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We loved how they incorporated these figures into the sidewalk - this was in front of the local bank.
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We are waiting to take this ferry (fahre) to the other side of the river. 3 euros for the two of us.
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This dog belongs to the ferry captain and the dog takes his job seriously. He greets you and runs off at each stop barking and running with you along the trail. Then he takes the next run back---full of character.
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Paying for our ride - a relaxing way to travel.
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The dog is ready for the landing - he jumps before the ferry reaches shore - amazingly athletic for such a small dog.
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Arriving in Passau via the giant locks (barrage) that accommodate the numerous river cruise boats and commercial traffic.
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Impressive structure.
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The Rathaus and clock tower in Passau.
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We are fascinated by the incredible art work on the outside of buildings - this is on the Rathaus.
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Castle atop the hill above Passau. We're not riding up there as the grade is 22%.
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Barry's dinner at our Pension in Passau, beef with fresh horseradish.
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Mary Ellen had a beef goulash with dumpling - so good. We have loved eating in Gasthaus or Pension as the food always tastes home cooked with such rich flavours.
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Note: new town,new brewery.
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The dining room at our Pension Golden Schill in Passau - absolutely charming and full of character...plus the food was really good.
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Our Pension, such a good experience. We are beginning to realize how important our journal is as we are able to capture our memories. Otherwise it does become a bit of a jumble after a while.
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Charmaine RuppoltYes, good that you journal where you stay and eat - - it helps other cyclists for recommendations. :)
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5 months ago

Today's ride: 48 km (30 miles)
Total: 2,623 km (1,629 miles)

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