Day 70: Passau, Germany: One more look before heading up the Inn

July 28, 2012

The influx of young adults from the school in Leipzig had a salutary effect on the camping spot, as previously pristine parts of the facility filled with packs, bikes, food, sleeping bags and sleeping people. After dark there was singing and I went to have a look. Forty healthy young people sitting around a camp fire, one with a guitar, singing campfire favourites they all seemed to know. It was a touching scene, far removed from any sex, drugs, and rock and roll (that we could see!).

We have lots of neighbours, all cyclists

The carefully managed restaurant area is overrun.

In the morning, the fun and chaos continued, but we headed out with Jurgen, back to the hotel for the breakfast buffet. In Germany such buffets do not include bacon, fried or scrambled eggs, eggs Benny, or stuff like that. Rather there is cheese and salami, bread and honey, and possibly boiled egg.

At Jurgen, Birgit, and Kate's hotel, Dodie helps out four cute sisters at the breakfast buffet.

A key part of the German breakfast buffet.

Back downtown, we brought our bikes to see if any improved stand could be fitted. At the Klinik, a stand designed for the front rack was tried on for size, as was a bigger, stronger single foot stand for the centre mount. Both of these options were too big for our little bikes.

We did a walk around the tip of the peninsula, looking at where the siltier water of the Inn joins the bluer Danube. Tomorrow we will bike up that Inn river, though not to its source. In fact, we will cut out early onto the Salzach River and head for Salzburg.

Here is where the Inn meets the Donau. We have to cycle way up thataway!

Dodie, Jurgen, and one of the many river boats.

A docked river boat with the Oberhaus in the background. We believe we can boat to anywhere on the Donau and Rhine, but still have to compare prices with the train.

Meanwhile we said farewell to Birgit, Jurgen, and Kate. We really had a lot of fun with them here, and are looking forward to seeing them in Canada in a few months.

I remembered seeing one other bike shop, so we toddled off in search of that. There we found a two legged centre mount stand that could fit our bikes, because you cut the legs to the needed size. We also got hard rubber feet, which should increase the ability to stand on soft ground. With any luck now, I will not be breaking any further mirrors or brake levers from bikes crashing down.

At the bike shop a little up river, my bike is scared of the high service bench.

...but Dodie is in there watching over it.

A new swiss made double foot stand installed.

The bike shop that had the stand that worked.

We took our newly outfitted bikes a little deeper into Passau, actually looking for a standard grocery store. Since in the heat we did not really feel like going far, we discovered only additional picturesque tourist areas. They are pretty nice, though, and besides with the heat and all the food we have had in the past days, groceries were not on our minds.

Rather we returned to the tent site and sorted our stuff, in the cooler, covered picnic area. As I write this, we are anticipating a Skype with Avi and Violet, since it is the day of their fourth birthday party. We are having fun here, but we miss them soo much!

More Passau shopping streets are discovered

Today Avi and Violet are having their fourth birthday party. Since the Grampies are all about being grampies , this is a pretty important event. So we fired up the LIDL USB stick and got Avi and Violet on Skype to wish them happy birthday. The transmission quality was not great, but it did the trick.

Happy Birthday, Avi and Violet!

After the video call, we strolled into Passau. With nothing to do but enjoy ourselves (strangely rare on this "vacation") we really did enjoy the experience of the city. We also met our friend Rene again, something that doubled the fun.

On the Donau bridge at Passau. We headed over in the evening to look for food.

With freaky good luck we bumped into Rene, our cyclist friend from Zurich, sitting at an outdoor table. We got to talk for two hours, while eating a wonderful supper and watching the scene go by in the Passau street.

Partyers on one of the anchored river boats

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