Susan: We needed to be up and out of our rooms bright and early to catch the 9:00 a.m. ferry across the Danube. After enjoying the now-familiar—and delicious—breakfast buffet, we had our luggage downstairs by 8:50. Everyone gathered by the bikes, and a few in our group, still young at heart, couldn’t resist taking a turn on the swings.
James: The ferry is a cute all-wooden boat that holds about a dozen people and bikes which is just half of our group so the "fast" group went first.
We started biking from there. Cool and overcast, probably low 50’s. Typical weather for this trip. Beautiful scenery, very flat. Woods and steep hills on one side and the river on the other. We stopped briefly at the old toll house, a large beautiful structure on a large acreage.
Susan: In the Middle Ages, the Danube was a busy trade highway, lined with toll houses at narrow bends, rapids, and castle crossings. Local rulers and monasteries sometimes stretched iron chains across the river to enforce payment, using the tolls to build regional wealth and maintain towpaths. In return, merchants were promised safe passage and protection from river pirates.
James: Soon after that we crossed the Austrian-German border. At the border is a large lock and dam and power generating station (Kraftwerk - love that name). We stopped for coffee and pastries and did a quick tour of the museum.
Susan: In Austria and Germany, whenever you order coffee, they also give you a small glass of water. At this pastry shop they had really cool glasses for our water. I asked about them and Franz said you can buy them here. They were only 2.5 euros so I got two!
After that things started off pretty well but as we approached the Obernzell where we were scheduled to break for lunch, we had a sharp turn in the path and a pretty abrupt uphill immediately following the turn. Neil was unable to navigate it and fell. Unfortunately he fell on the same knee that he had fallen on in Vienna so he re-opened that wound. Franz had bandages and shortly after Neil was back on the bike riding.
James: We reached the quaint river village of Obernzell. We parked our bikes at the village center in front of a butcher shop and deli. This was where Franz said was a great place. Ordered as best I could in my pantomime German. I ended up with a very good salad with a yogurt dressing. After eating we walked the Main Street. It’s a very quaint, neat little town although many of the downtown storefronts seem to be empty. Tourism is the main source of income for towns along these bike trails so I hope that things pick up for them.
Susan: From Obernzell we had another ferry across the Danube. This one was much bigger than the last one. When we approached we saw that the ferry was leaving and it had one passenger aboard. When the driver saw all of us, he pulled back up to the dock and we all piled in. I apologized to the lone cyclist that had to wait for us all to board but he was very pleasant and said he was in no rush. He was on his way to Vienna. Another 10 miles and we were riding into Passau, our next place to stay.
Our accommodations were the Hotel Residenz which is right on the water next to the wharf where all of the river cruise ships dock. We checked into our rooms and decided we should check out the sauna. Jim is getting pretty used to this lifestyle!
Our first glimpses of Passau's old city was from the bridge. It is pretty amazing to see all the old, ornate buildings.
Passau, known as the “City of Three Rivers,” sits where the Danube, Inn, and Ilz all come together. We walked with the Harmons to the official viewing spot, the Dreiflüsseeck (Three Rivers Conjunction Point). It was finally a beautiful, sunny day, so we had our picture taken by a very kind German man. Walking back to our hotel, we stopped at the Ratskeller for our first german beer! It was very refreshing!
James: We met the group in the lobby and walked several blocks up a narrow cobblestone alley to one of the main commercial streets. The restaurant was really nice. We were seated and got our drinks. We all had the same meal, a big bowl of gnocchi, a salad and dessert. Unfortunately, it took forever for everybody to get their food. Service was really slow. So after our salads, we had to wait about 45 minutes for our main course and then about another 45 minutes for dessert. All of us were exhausted by the time the meal ended. Many decided to leave before dessert arrived. People are tired and the cold has spread to most of us.
When we got back to our hotel, it was pretty late. I was absolutely stuffed on carbs so I decided to take a little walk. Susan at first said she didn’t want to go but then changed her mind. We walked a few more blocks and then headed back to hit the sack.