It seems like camping spots associated with kanu clubs are our favourites. First off, they have no camping cars (RVs) and most of the tent people are cyclists. Next, the facilities while perhaps more basic are less controlled. That is, there is a better chance of finding a miscellaneous power plug, table, or chair somewhere, and the management (such as it is) does not care if you take advantage of it.
So it was that we were sitting at a picnic table in a concrete bunker under the sanitary block (much as in the kanu club at Donauworth) when Jürgen, Birgit, and Oma (grandma) Kate walked up. The back story here is that five years ago Jürgen & Birgit’s son Christian came to stay at our farm as part of a work and tour program supported by Canadian regulations. Christian liked the farm and we like him, and he ended up immigrating to Canada. Eventually he left the farm and moved to Victoria, but he comes “home” most weekends with his partner Melissa. Jürgen & Birgit have visited Christian several times from their home in Leipzig, and so naturally have come to the farm as well. Oma Kate is Birgit’s mom and Christian’s grandmother.
On following this blog, the three had arranged to meet us in Passau, driving four hours or more from Leipzig to get here.
Although a computer science graduate, Christian has also worked as a computer tech doing repairs. He has amazing manual dexterity and a mind for remembering where all the little parts came from. Just as Jürgen arrived I was in the process of trying to repair one of our bike headlights, where I had inadvertently wrecked the switch. I showed Jürgen, and immediately had him doing a “Christian”, though in the end we could not really get the darn thing fixed.
Jürgen also immediately did another important thing for us. We have been using a LIDL USB stick to write this blog while in Germany. However in Austria we understand they will charge a huge, impossible amount. Jürgen phoned LIDL on his German phone for us (“Your call is important to us, please wait forever…) and verified with them in German what would happen in Austria. They confirmed the exhorbitant charge, but importantly revealed that the German stick they had sold me is not locked. That means I can put an Austrian SIM in the stick and be back in business!
Jurgen, Birgit, and Kate appeared at the zeltplatz
The five of us walked into the old town, stopping first for lunch at a café in front of the rathaus (city hall). We walked to St. Steven’s cathedral, which accounts for most of the towers visible in shots of Passau. We have seen a few cathedrals on this tour, but this one really is pretty over the top. It has super elaborate carvings and frescoes. After having pretty much burnt down in 1662 it was rebuilt. No idea how long that took, but it could not have been quick. However the stucco work and frescoes were done by two Italian baroque artists, so the total time could not have exceeded one lifetime. Amazing.
The cathedral also has the world’s largest cathedral organ, with 17974 organ pipes, 233 stops, and 4 carillons.
In a back room of the cathedral was a dispensing machine for organ music CDs and maybe Passau DVDs. I noticed it especially because it was a "Wurlitzer"
On our walk we saw some super narrow streets, and markings on the rathaus showing flood levels of the Donau of past years. We found traditional Bavarian dress for sale, cuckoo clocks (which I would love to buy but lack space for on the bike), and a Shaun the Sheep –like flock of rubber duckies.
We also stopped at a bike shop – the bike doctor (Fahrrad-Klinik) for two chains. Dodie’s chain is worn now to .75%, while mine is better. Still, at 3000km we are going to swap them out whether they need it or not.
This was my first bratwurst in Germany. Normally (for take out) you get two sausages, but here I got three. With two, you can squeeze them into the one bun, but with three it's a problem.
The rad doctor. I paid about 17 euros for Shimano chains. The wear on Dodie's right now is .75%. We expect about 3000km per chain and this is what we have on them, so we will change them now whether they need it or not.
Above the city is the Oberhaus, a fortress type affair built in 1219 by Passau’s prince-bishops in order to control commerce across the three rivers here (Donau, Ilz, and Inns). From the fortress you can see the three rivers, which often have three different colours – blue, black, and green respectively. You also look down on all of Passau and see the rathaus, the cathedral, and all the original buildings. You also see the area surrounding. The border with Austria is not the Inns at this point, but the border is just beyond. So from the hill of the Oberhaus you see Austria.
Also up the hill we witnessed a hot air balloon being unfolded and inflated. It was somehow fascinating to watch it grow, and then take off. Later we looked up at it, almost just a dot in the sky!
Jürgen & Birgit insisted on taking us back to their hotel for supper. The hotel produced some huge plates of delicious German food. We tried our best to eat these, but do not expect to complain of hunger on the road for some time!
Having Jürgen & Birgit & Kate to help us tour Passau added greatly our enjoyment. Firstly, doing anything with friends is fun, and secondly sharing something wonderful with friends increases the enjoyment of it.
Also at the campground we have had Sascha and Irina, and also the recently arrived Aude and Roman. Unfortunately all these sets of old and new friends will be parting ways with us tomorrow. We hope we will see them again, maybe in Canada, maybe when we come back here. At least, we have learned that Christian’s family is coming to Victoria in November!
Assuming that I can get this blog entry (and all the photos of our Passau tour) uploaded sometime really soon and get to bed, we will rejoin Jürgen & Birgit & Kate for breakfast, and maybe a brief further adventure. Then it’s back to entertaining ourselves by our own devices. First on that list – sleaze on down to the bike shop and maybe buy something exciting, like a new stand. Stay tuned for that!
Oma and Jurgen look at Avi and Violet and Amelia photos.
