July 5 and July 6, 2018

We knew we had a long ride today, and decided to get an early start. We were up at 6:00 a.m. and on the road by 8:00 a.m.

A long, hot and quite a boring ride today. The route was flat and along the Danube, that we couldn’t see because we were on the farm roads and not on the berm. The temperature was at one point 32 degrees and we were guzzling water to stay hydrated.

There was an Umleitung which cut off a big part of the route. However, Ralf wanted to follow the proper route and not take a short cut. We took a ferry across the river. The river was very fast flowing and the skipper had to negotiate a large sandbank.

We cycled through farm fields for about 10 kms. We arrived in the small village of Osterhofen at about 12:30, it seemed as if we had been on the road forever. We were hungry and hot, we stopped for lunch at the small metzgerei (deli) which made sandwiches.

Then we were away again towards Vilshofen. Vilshofen was a very pretty Town. We stopped to take a photo of the Entrance Gate and I spotted a sign for a W.C. That is when we discovered the lovely Town behind the “Entrance Tower”. The Rathaus/Tourist Information Centre had tunnels running underneath the building. There was also a cycle route you could take through the Town’s alley ways. Not much room with the panniers on, but would be fun unloaded.

We texted our warmshowers host and told him we were about two hours away from Passau. I thought we were only about 1.5 hours but it is a real pain texting on the “not very smart” phone.  After we had crossed the river, we spotted a small runway,  the planes tooks off above the radweg!

However, it did take us two hours to get to David’s place in Passau. The route had been on paved roads, until Vilshofen.

The last 25 kms was on gravel and some small hills.  We crossed the Danube again and a large dam before finding the Train Station and David\’s apartment

 David was waiting for us at his apartment as we arrived. Just our luck he lives on the top floor of a 4 storey building with no elevator!! David helped us carry our bags to the apartment which he shares with five other students. Yep, we are in student accommodation. He apologized for the mess, we didn’t care, we had a roof over our head and a bed. We chatted to David for a while, he then went back to work until 8:00 p.m.

First Impressions of the flat.  Why is there a large pink flamingo in one of the rooms.  A couple of weeks ago they rented a party boat.  These boats are hired for corporate parties and leave from Passau and have bands and run up and down the river for a couple of hours.  David and his friends organized a \”communal\” party boat and invited 500 of their closest friends.  The flamingo and a ball pit were created for a \”rest area\”.

We settled in, showered and made our beds, then headed out into the small downtown area. We had dinner at a classic Bavarian restaurant with a very local menu. The portions were huge, but I was hungry and I ate the three small pork loins served in a pepper sauce and a huge portions of fries. I didn’t have enough room for the salad!

Room with a View

We got back to the apartment and tried to find somewhere to stay in Salzburg for Saturday and Sunday. The prices were horrendous over $200 per night.

Both of us were tired and a little disappointed in both the Rhine route and the Danube route. We were even considering calling it a day and flying home. I think we were frustrated not being able to find accommodation in Salzburg and very tired. Ralf asked David if we could stay another night as the prices in Salzburg are cheaper on a week-night. He had to check with his room-mates.

We went to bed early 9:30 with thunder rolling around the City and pouring with rain. So glad we had a roof over our head.

Rest Day in Passau – Walk 4.32 kms

Friday July 6, 2018

Yes we can stay an extra night at the apartment. We immediately went on-line to find somewhere to stay in Salzburg. We are staying in near the Bahnhoff (Train Station), with most attractions within walking distance.

We had a very relaxing morning. We chatted to Pauline (one of the room-mates) while we were eating breakfast. Pauline is taking Policy and Local Governance as her B.A and history as her major. She told us that before applying to University, you have to know what you want to study. In Germany you do not take a year of General Studies and then decide what you want to study. You have to decide what you want to study and then apply at the Universities that offer those courses. When the German tax-payer is footing the bill, it doesn’t want you to switch courses half-way through because you don’t like the course. However, she did tell us that in Germany there is a Grade 13, which is a general study course and allows you to decide what to study. The cost for her studies are E70 per semester – she gets a E20 bus pass included in that and we surmised that the remaining E50 is for administration fees. Students from poorer background also get assistance with the cost of accommodation up to E800 per month. However, she told us that the forms the parents have to fill-in for this assistance is very in-depth. “Do you have two cars, what did your mother/father do for the last 30 years etc.!” On graduation, the student has to pay 50% of the subsidy back to the government.

The University in Passau is a small University, 13,000 students. The City’s population is 50,000 including students.

At about 12:30 we headed into the old Town of Passau to be tourists.

Once again the old cities of Germany are beautiful. We went into the Protestant church and the Catholic Cathedral (Dom). Amazing architecture in both of them, but they left me a little cold. As Ralf asked, “would He have approved of all of this?” I don’t think so. I remember sitting on the side of the hill, in Israel, where He was supposed to have performed the miracle of the fishes and bread, and thinking – I could see Jesus standing there preaching to the poor and rich alike. I cannot quite get my head around these ornate churches and compare them to that scene over Lake Galillee.

As we walked through the little alleyways, a fella emerged from an archway with a Brompton. We are considering getting folding bikes for our next tours (credit card tours) not sure whether to get a Brompton or a Bike Friday. I said to Ralf “oh a Brompton” The cyclist responded “Yes it is” – in English with an English accent. We chatted to him for a while, it turns out he is from Nottingham! He “collects” folding bikes and prefers the Bike Friday for longer tours, the handling and the way it rides, far more comfortable. I am guessing our next bikes will be Bike Fridays.

We got caught in a thunder-storm during our walkabout and arrived back at the apartment – wet as drowned rats. I am so pleased David allowed us to stay an extra night. It is no fun cycling or camping in the rain. Although the new rule is no camping in the rain.

We were going to go out for dinner with David, but he informed us because of the weather they are making lasagna at home and we would be welcome to join them. Ralf went back out in the rain and bought some wine for dinner. – 4 bottles shared between 7 people

What a great afternoon and evening. I helped prepare dinner – cut up red peppers for the lasagna. We had a mix of vegetarian and meat lasagna. However it was all cooked as it was prepared in the same lasagna dish. Pauline’s attitude was “she won’t die if she gets a bit of meat in the vege dish and meat eaters won’t die if they get too many vegetables” When it was served no one complained. It was a lovely meal. We were also served apricot dumplings for dessert. OMG they were delicious – Again I assisted:) the dumpling was flour, melted butter, egg, and quark cheese. The filling was an apricot. You mix the dumpling mix, de-stone the apricot and replace the stone with a cube of sugar. You wrap the dumpling dough around the apricot and then place in boiling water for about 10 minutes, then you cut it open sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar and melted butter –enjoy. It was good but I should not have had the second helping of lasagna.

After dinner we polished off the 4 bottles of wine Ralf bought and chatted about the education system in Germany. I think it is very tough on the students or maybe I am getting soft in my old age.

I really enjoy staying with warmshowers hosts. I find when we stay with young people we have really interesting conversations. We learn a lot.

We said our good-nights to our hosts and our thank-yous as we are not sure if we will see them in the morning. It is 1:00 a.m. now and we want to get up at our usual time of 7:00 a.m. and on the road by 8:30-9:00.

July 4, 2018

A lovely flat ride today, just what I like. Actually, I don’t mind a few hills so long as they are about 5% not 16 – 18%.

We were late starting today. I heard our canoeing neighbours leave around 6:00 and decided I would have an extra half an hour, I woke up again at 7:35! Although we didn’t rush through breakfast and packing up the tent we were on the road by 9:00. We had decided on a short route today, so that we could get some brake pads for Ralf and I could get the washing done and maybe the bikes cleaned.

The route took us through the old city of Regensburg, which was another Roman City. Although the route the bike path took us along was very convoluted. At one point I felt I was playing that kids game “Pin the Tail on the Donkey” We were turned around so many times I didn’t know which direction we were heading.

We saw the Danube a couple of times today and it looked very nice. Today’s route was on paved roads all the way into Straubing. There was one route we could have taken which would have been along the Danube, but it was gravel so we decided to stick to the farm roads.

There were some odd buildings today. This is part of the Romantic Road through Bayern and the wine routes. We saw one building that looked like a copy of the acropolis.

We don’t see as many castles in this area as the Germans didn’t have to fight the French as much in this area. We did see this lovely old castle.

When we arrived in Straubing we knew there were two campsites – another Kanu Club and one other one. There were directions to the second campsite. We decided to check it out as we need a washing machine, power and internet. Luck would have it, this is a municipally run campsite. The tent site is large and grassed. The showers are clean and hot. The washing machine was E3.50 which is a very good price and we are close to an Aldi. The internet is provided by the City and is free, although a little sporadic at the site, it works really well in the laundry room. All of this for the great price of E18.00.

The reception was closed for lunch when we arrived (12:30). We headed the 500 metres to the Aldi and had lunch.

On the way back we noticed a very large bike shop. We met Frank who was very pleased that we were fully loaded and \”no motor\”.  He had cycled from Passau to Salzburg and around three small lakes.  He asked a lot of questions about our trip.  He said he only cycled in Europe as he was afraid of flying.  I told him I was afraid as well but, I had to fly to be able to visit other countries.  He asked us if he could take our photo and assured us it was for him – no posting to the internet.  – We could have been \”bike porn\”.

We went in to the bike shop and it was huge. The store sold everything from motorbikes, motor scooters, ebikes and regular bikes.  However, I saw one lonely road bike.

Ralf got his brakes fixed and we put air in the tires. Because it was a rush job they charged Ralf double the price for labour! Almost everywhere else we have been as touring cyclists, we were not charged for labour. In Australia the owner asked us our favorite places we had visited and why – that was the charge for labour! However, in this region, because of the popularity of touring – even though they might be on e-bikes or credit card touring you pay double if you need the job done quickly.

While the washing was getting done, I looked for warmshowers hosts in Passau and Salzburg. We finally have a warmshowers host in Passau for tomorrow night. Tomorrow is going to be a long ride but it should be flat and paved.

At the moment I am sitting near the tent while Ralf has gone back to Aldi to get dinner. There is thunder rumbling around and the forecast for tonight and tomorrow is for thunderstorms. One of the other cyclists showed Ralf a \”Thunderstorm Warning\” on his cell phone. I hope it passes over and we don’t get wet. 

I didn’t get the bikes cleaned but that is o.k. if we are going to get wet anyway, I might as well wait until we get to Salzburg.

I can hardly believe we have finished the Rhine and almost finished this section of the Danube and we are not even a month in to the three months.

Windmills. Running Total is Ralf 14 Jacky 6

July 3, 2018

I was tired today. My legs felt good, but I didn’t seem to have any energy. We cycled out of the campsite and passed all of the military bases that were in this area. The first few kms followed the Donau along the top of the berm. Then we left the Donau and cycled along farm roads and gravel paths. The bikes are in desperate need of another clean and Ralf needs new rear brakes, especially before we hit the Alps!

I was expecting some early climbs but they were hardly noticeable. Although we did have an umleitung (detour) which may have taken us away from one of the hills. However, we now know where all the hops are grown for the beer brewed in Germany. There were acres and acres of hops and a few acres of barely thrown in for good measure

We arrived at the Kloster in Weltenburg and there were two signs – “Schiff to Kelheim” or cycle your buns up this bee-jeesus hill for 6 kms.

I persuaded Ralf to take the “ship”. It was just our luck, the “ship” couldn’t run because the water was too low. We cycled back to the road and pedaled up the hill. Not before spotting this oddity. A church and the pagan May pole, they have all sides covered in Bavaria.

We could go up the road or through the woods. At the top of one of the climbs this little shrine was here.  Ralf said it was so that you say your hail Mary\’s when you got to the top of the hill without having a heart attack.

The temperature was getting above 25 degrees so I opted to go through the woods to stay cool. I figured I would be pushing anyway and I would be safer with no traffic. As we were negotiating one section Ralf said “I will get you mountain biking, when we get home”. I thought I am already mountain biking and I never liked it before and I certainly don’t like it now. I certainly did not expect to be mountain biking with 20 kilograms of weight on my bike. As we came out of the woods we came down a single-track path with a 17% degree downhill. I couldn’t imagine coming in the opposite direction and pushing up a narrow path 17%. It was scary enough going down the single-track. We emerged 2 kms away from Kelheim. We could take the single-track woodland paths or join the road. We got onto the road and hurtled down the road. Again it was a 14% downhill. My top speed was 47.8 not as fast as I thought I was going.

We had lunch in Kelheim, a very pretty town.

When we left Kelheim, we cycled along the Donau Canal for a few kilometres.

Most of the area today was settled by the Romans way back and there are still lots of Roman artifacts and Towns. Bad Abbas has hot thermal baths. Kelheim has a Roman temple that towers above the City. Regensburg where we finished the day has many Roman structures including a bridge that crossed the Donau.

We have no idea why there were two stone lions here and this latin inscription.

The route signs today were very interesting, the mileage was very variable. We crossed over the bridge in Kelheim (about 200 metres) and the distance went from 29 kms to Regensburg to 25 kms. We cycled 12 kilometres out of Kelheim and it was went back up to 27 kms to Regensburg. I had no idea how far we were going to cycle today. I had estimated about 85 kms, I was very close at 88 kms, however, at one point I thought it was only going to be 76 kms because at 70 kms (on the garmin) the sign said 6 kms to Regensburg!

Part of the variation was due to the different routes you could opt to take. Other times I think the road guys were just having a bit of fun to mess with our heads and legs.

We arrived at the Kanu Club camping site at 3:15. This Kanu Club camping spot is similar to the one we stayed at in Donauworth. A basic camp site with hot showers, clean toilets and a place to wash dishes for the great price of E14.

By the time we had set up the tent, chatted to our canoeing neighbours it was past 4:00 p.m. I went to shower and Ralf went to Netto to get some dinner supplies.

As I sit here waiting for Ralf to return, in this very basic camp-site situated next to the Rad weg (cycle-path) I spotted two blue tits, a couple of chaffinches and a tiny Robin and three blackbirds, what a lovely place. However, it is noisy with two highways running parallel on either side of the river.

Our canoeing neighbours arrived from Passau today via vehicle. They seem to have a tonne of stuff including two folding bikes which we thought they were going to pack into their canoe. However they assured us that the folding bikes will stay in their vehicle which will stay at this site for the next few days. For the next three to four days they will be heading back to Passau in their canoe on the Donau (150 kms). When they get home to Passau, they will take the train back to Regensburg to pick up their car.

Our camping meals have varied from the Set Menu # 1 that we ate a lot on our Grand Adventure # 1. Set Menu # 1 was Pasta, tomato pasta sauce and a tin of tuna. Tonight’s sumptuous meal was sausage, with mushrooms and rice. We bought “boil in the bag” rice and it has varied our menu considerably. We have also been very extravagant and bought packages of Tortellini and pesto sauce (one meal) but it makes a big change from Set Menu # 1, which we have only eaten once on this trip.

Tomorrow I think we will plan a short ride of about 50 kms, that will give us the opportunity of uploading the blog, doing some washing and maybe getting the bikes cleaned before we get into Passau.

Windmills. I thought I had spotted a windmill, but it turned out to be a small power generating windmill. Running Total is Ralf 14 Jacky 6

July 2, 2018

We packed the tent and decided to have McDonalds for breakfast. It wasn’t very good my eggs were cooked in an oily buttery concoction, Ralf enjoyed his breakfast. We followed the route back into Town and spotted two posties on electric trikes delivering the mail.

We went back through the downtown and out of the walled gate

A tough day of riding for me, the first 40 kilometres were hills ranging from a steady 5% to an 18%. Ralf was like a man possessed, he loved the hills and passed several other cyclists who were not as loaded as he is, my mountain goat is back.

I, of course, struggled up the hills. Most of the hills were paved, but occasionally they were through forest paths and were dirt or gravel, which made it more difficult. I wasn’t the only one getting off the bike to push. We saw several other touring cyclists today.  A couple on road bikes wearing backpacks and a small bag attached to the back of their bikes were struggling.  The fella kept looking for alternative routes on his garmin.

After 40 kms the route was finally through farm fields and along wooded tracks.

We saw the Donau three times today! Once when we were leaving Donauworth, again somewhere in the middle of the day and finally arriving in Ingoldstadt.

We arrived in Ingoldstadt about 3:00, we asked a lady for directions. She told us not to cross the Donau, stay on this side. I am glad we didn\’t have to use this bridge!

\”Ride slowly as it is very pretty\”.

Once we were on the right road we found the campsite very easily, there were signs almost all the way from the Donau route. After setting up the tent Ralf headed straight out to the Aldi for groceries tonight. I showered and started to write the blog.

This campsite is nothing to write home about, a patch of grass, the bugs are free. The showers are push button but hot and clean. As is often the case the bikers get the worst site. However the camper vans are also crammed in like sardines.

The campsite is called the Azur and has “Wine barrels” to sleep in and camping tents on stilts. The “wine barrels” are E59.00 per night with electricity and heat. Our camp site was E28.00.

One of the things we have noticed about the biker sites in Germany is that everyone keeps to themselves. When we were camping in N.Z., Australia, U.K. and the U.S. everyone chatted to each other – where are you going, how many ks do you do a day etc. Even though we are all touring cyclists, cycling the Danube, no-one chats.

We were the first to arrive today, and as the biker site started to fill up I would say a cheery Guten Tag. I would get a response then every one went about their business.

Ralf returned from his shopping trip with a recumbent tandem in tow. The English couple had taken the long route to the Aldi, and asked Ralf if there was a short route back. He guided them back, a quick wave to me and then they hid themselves away in their camper van. They are doing day trips.

It is very strange to me that touring cyclists don’t share “notes” on the route ahead etc.

The weather was really good today apart from that bloody wind. Yesterday one of the guys told us if the weather is good the wind comes from the north or east, if the weather is bad it comes from the south or west. Do I wish for bad weather so we can have tail winds or good weather and fight the wind. I think I will fight the wind.

Windmills. Ralf spotted two windmills today, one doesn’t count as I was so far behind him climbing the hill, it was obvious he would see it before me. The second one was definitely one for him. Running Total is Ralf 14 Jacky 6

July 1, 2018

Happy Canada Day everyone.

We had a lovely day of cycling today. The weather was good (apart from the wind), it was warm about 23 degrees. We left the hotel after breakfast in the room of muesli and yogurt. We picked up the Danube from where we left of on Friday. It was easy to get back on route. We passed a large flea market on the outskirts of Ulm. There were some big stall holders and others with their car boot open selling from the back of their vehicle on a small table. We used to love wandering around these “flea” markets when we lived in England.

We have now moved into a new state, the state of Bayeria famous for its Munich beer festival.

The Ulm to Passau section is supposed to follow the Danube the closest of all the sections. Today it did, we cycled close to the Danube for the majority of the day and it was very pretty. The river was wide and gently flowing, with lots of water birds around – moor hens, coots, swans and diving grebes. A very peaceful day.

Surprisingly there were not a lot of people out on bikes. There were a mix of walkers and cyclists but not as many as we saw our first week-end in Belgium and Holland.

The route was a mix of paved farm roads and gravel tracks which followed the river. We were taken through small villages and towns which is a nice change to the farm fields of rye, wheat and barley. We had decided on two end points today. A lot depended on how bad the gravel tracks were as to whether we would finish in Dillingen an der Donau at about 50 kms where the first campsite was or carry on to Donauworth at about 90 kms where the second campsite was located.

We got to Dillingen an der Donau before noon, too early to stop for the day, but we did stop for lunch. When was the last time you have seen cigarettes advertised?  Unheard of in Canada.

Both Ralf and I were feeling good. The only problem to carrying on to Donauworth was we were not exactly sure how much further it was. The route took us away from the Donau and through fields and farms roads in a very convoluted manner. We could follow the B16 but it could be a busy road.

We cycled past a large stone mason with some lovely granite. Then I spotted this carving of an eagle. I called Ralf back to take a photo of it and he then spotted Stalin and two other guys.

We arrived at Hochstadt an der Donau and there was a sign that the B16 had a radweg (a farm road) along side the main road. Because it was Sunday we knew the B16 would not have a lot of traffic on it, so we opted to take the non-scenic route to Donauworth. The route was probably very similar to the scenic route with fields of barley, rye and wheat and maize (corn). However, if you opted to take this route during the week the noise of the traffic would be awful. The small town of Tapfheim are campaigning for a By-Pass

We arrived in Donauworth at about 3:00 p.m. the map said there was a campsite. Donauworth has 19,000 population with 7,000 of the population working at the Airbus helicopter factory in the Town.

The old city was open for business with every café and ice-cream shop open selling cakes, and ice-creams. It was a very busy downtown. The amazing thing in Bayeria is that every other store is closed on a Sunday even the garden centres.

There were no signs to the campsite. Maps.me found it as the Kanu club camp site. I was beginning to think that this campsite was for campers and not tents. We followed the garmin and then asked an elderly couple where the camp site was. We weren’t sure of the street name at the intersection we were. They gave us great directions and Ralf congratulated them it was the same as the Maps.me! Within five minutes we were at the Kanu Club. Ralf wasn’t sure we were in the right place, I cycled through the barrier and there were instructions on what to do if no one was there. It was a camp site, situated along a tributary to the Donau, with a waterfall (dam) located just up stream. It could be a noisy night with the flow of water, but we have ear plugs.

There were a couple of guys drinking on the balcony. Ralf asked if this was a camping platz and more importantly were there hot showers. Yes, it was the camping platz, and hot, clean showers and toilets and beer, the beer was extra. The campsite was E14.00 with excellent showers.

We set up the tent and then went to register, there were three guys sitting drinking beer on the balcony so we got a beer out of the vending machine and joined them for a couple of hours chatting and putting the world to rights. Sometimes they would switch to English if I lost the conversation, but most of the time they were chatting in German. Another couple of cyclists joined us, one of them was having trouble with his bike and needed to know if the bike shops would be open tomorrow. The two bike shops are closed tomorrow. I was going to offer my help until I realized the bike in question had a Rohlhoff hub – nothing I could help with. A Rohlhoff hub is a very expensive sealed hub. They don’t often go wrong but when they do they tend to go wrong in a big way. Fortunately there customer service is really good and because they are more common in Europe there are more bikes shops that are familiar with the mechanics of the Rohlhuff hub.

It was a lovely day and a great way to finish it off chatting over a beer, putting the worlds to rights!

June 30, 2018

What an amazing Rest Day in Ulm. How I managed to pick only 35 pictures out of the 195 pictures that Ralf took today, I am not sure.

Ulm is a large busy City, it is actually two cities Ulm and New Ulm which is located across the River Danube. There are lots of opportunities for shopping (which we did) and sightseeing which we also did.

The Ulm Munster (Minster) has the tallest steeple in the world and is the largest church in Europe, it is absolutely stunning. Evangelical/Lutheran is equivalent to the Anglican Church in England, I think. The construction of the church began in 1377, it was consecrated in 1405. However work was continued until 1543. A three hundred year break and the work was restarted in 1844 and the final steeple was finished in 1899. There was a rivalry between the Ulm Munster and Koln Cathedral – Ulm won by 1.5 metres! The church is 161 metres high (530 feet). The final building was 10 metres taller than the original medieval plans.

When we arrived in the Munster square, the Saturday market was in full swing and the weather was very warm.

We entered the Munster to be told that there was a choir happening at noon and we would have to pay for the “concert”. However, we could climb the stairs of the steeple if we wanted to. We had to pay to climb the steeple E10.00 for the two of us. It was worth every penny.

At the second level we met J.J. (Joachim) his week-end job is the \”steeple keeper\”. The Steeple Keeper ensures that the place is kept clean and the tourists are well behaved as it is part of the church and respect should be shown in this area as in other parts of the church. He also gives information about the bells and a little bit of the history of the building of the church.

We were above the bells and there was a basket hanging over a large cover. I asked J.J. what the basket was for, he told me “It is used to lower little children to the bottom, if they were too tired to walk down all the stairs! That was a joke”, however, it is used to carry supplies to the Keepers accommodation.

J.J. spends 11 hours a day maintaining order and ensuring that if there are medical emergencies he can assist. Considering he is training to be a Doctor he is well qualified to assist in any medical emergencies. There are three prerequisites for the job as \”Steeple Keeper\” – physically fit, first aid training and to be a member of the church or at the very least be interested in the Munster. He spoke very good English and we had a great conversation with him not only about the Munster but also about his training to be a Doctor. The average wait to get into medical school, in Germany, is over 6 years – he told us he was lucky he only had to wait 6 years. The studies for G.P. are for six years and then depending on specialty another 4 to 6 years. The German tax-payer pays for his education. To be a Doctor costs approximately E180,000.00.

We chatted about the renovations that were started in 2007.  There are 23 craftsmen that work at the Minster full-time and they have apprentice stonemasons and wood-workers to replace the older craftsmen.  The Church requires 3 million Euro per year for its maintenance, that does not include any renovations that is needed.  The stone is quarried near Stuttgart.  Some of the stone is limestone and other is the softer sandstone.  They still have most of the original plans from the 15th Century.

After we had finished our conversation with JJ we headed up the final 120 steps to the very top of the steeple, and then returned down the 768 stairs where we met J.J. again on the ground floor.

We got a quick personal tour of the church.

The church survived World War 2 bombings relatively unscathed. They had removed some of the stained glass windows for protection, the remainder were shattered and replaced with brown or grey coloured glass. He also told us that the original plan was for one large nave and two smaller naves however a new builder in 1477 took over and made changes to the plans of the Munster but especially to the main tower and in doing so caused the church\’s first major structural problem the heavy vaults of the wide aisles and high nave burdened the columns with too much lateral force. Another master builder, replaced them with vaults of half widths, which afforded rows of additional columns dividing each of the aisles in two.

We exchanged emails and we hope to meet Joachim (J.J.) again.

After our two hour visit to the Munster, we carried on exploring the older part of the City and had lunch. 

We visited a sports store, I needed some more clothes washing concentrate, should have cost about E5.00, – 150 Euro later Ralf had bought a new windbreaker and we bought two new sleeping bag liners. I had bought a new windbreaker before leaving Canada. Ralf spotted the one that he had wanted to buy but couldn’t find it in Brockville, with zip off arms, his old jacket was over ten years old and rather raggedy.

We are eating dinner and breakfast in the room – Budgeting!!

Often it is the people we meet that make our day. J.J. was one of those people that made our day. When I gave him our email which includes the year 1985 – he very astutely said that is the year you were married. I laughed and said “I thought you would think it was the year I was born.” He laughed and said “I was born in 1986!” Yes there was an exclamation point in his comment.

Windmills. Still no more windmills. Running Total is Ralf 13 Jacky 6

These windmills do not count. 

June 29, 2018

 Awake early and on the road by 8:45. We ate breakfast in the room and Ralf made coffee in the Jetboil.

It had rained overnight, and the skies were grey and cool this morning, it did warm up a little and by the time we arrived in Ulm at 12:30 the temperature had warmed up, at least enough to take off the wind breakers. A very dull and cold start to the day. The wind again was coming from the north-east, but not as strong as the past few days.  

Maybe the weather had a little to do with our moods. Neither of us are very enthralled with the Danube Route. I had read that it was a lovely route, to follow. Today we cycled on farm roads past more wheat, barley and rye. I think we crossed the Danube about 6 times but we didn’t follow the Danube.

We made one mistake today in Ehingen which was a nice Town.

Partly, our fault and partly the municipality’s fault. We followed the signs out of the town up a hill and then took the cycle route through the park as directed by the Municipal signs (to stay off the road). We came out of the other side of the park and there were no signs. We made one large circle of the Town. (Note the circle on the map!) At the bottom of the hill that we had already been up once, Ralf asked an older gentleman where the route went as there were no signs at the top of the hill. Yes, he told us there were definitely signs at the top of the hill for the Danube Weg. \”Don’t go into the park\”. Off we went back up the hill and yes at the crest of the hill there were very large signs indicating the left turn to follow the Danube weg. If you were in the park you could not see these signs. My suggestion to the municipality is put the signs in the park as well as on the road.

When we crested the hill (for the second time) we hurtled down the other side – 30 kms speed limit that I broke all the way down the hill – top speed of 48.6 kph.

This area (Baden-Wurtemburg) is very religious, lots of churches but also lots of crosses in fields. Almost every farm has a cross on it praying for good harvests. I think this is a throw-back to paganism where there would be an alter to the god of fertility ensuring a good harvest. When catholicism came to the area they replaced the pagan alters with the cross.

Our first sighting of the Ulm Minister was on the outskirts of the City.  We think this might be the best picture we can get of the Minister.  As we got closer to the City it is surrounded by other buildings and has scaffolding around.

We arrived in Ulm at 12:30 and found the hotel pretty quickly as it is next to the Main Train Station. However, although we could see the sign to the hotel we had to negotiate a very large hole in the ground before we could get to the main entrance. The City has a new infrastructure plan with parking garages, trams, buses and the trains all connecting at this point. A lot of roads are ripped up to accommodate all of this new infrastructure.

The rooms were not ready, so we left our bikes in the luggage room and went to a Burger King for lunch!! By the time we returned from lunch, the rooms were ready. This afternoon we got the boring stuff done – washing, shopping etc.

We found a laundromat about 1.5 kms from the hotel and a very nice lady told us how to use the machines.

The scenery out of the hotel room is one large building site. Fortunately the workers finished at 5:00 and will not be back until Monday.

Interesting in most hotels in North America there is a bible in the bedside table. Although as I mentioned earlier this area is very religious, this hotel has a New Testament and the Teachings of Buddha. First for everything.

June 28, 2018

Again the tent was wet with dew this morning and once again a cool night in the tent. Ralf wore his merino wool long-sleeved shirt, because he has been cold most nights we have camped. The temperature is dropping down below ten degrees at night and our thermal sleeping blanket says it is good for 5-7 degrees – Ralf doesn’t think so as he is cold if the temperature drops below 10 degrees. Ralf was awake at 6:00 and woke me up, I looked at my watch and told him to go back to sleep for an hour.

We had our breakfast of muesli and banana and coffee. The tent was packed and we were on our way at 9:00. It was cold and the wind once again was in our face. Ralf took the lead all day. I do love him when he does that, it makes it a much easier ride for me.

It was a cold, windy and at times wet day. Our first day of riding in the rain and it was cold rain. I had to get my thicker rain jacket out of my bag because it was cold.

Again there were some hills, one of them saw all the non E-bike riders get of and push up the hill – a 21% grade – are we back in New Zealand?

We saw the Danube about twice today! Most of the day we cycled past fields of barley, wheat and rye.

The route is well signed advertising local businesses including bakeries, and places to stay further along the route.

We had lunch at a small bakery, there was one other pair of bikes already close to the bakery, we were the second set and then four more cyclists arrived. As we were leaving another couple arrived. Why was this bakery so popular, because you could see it from across the bridge and if you were thinking of stopping for something to eat it was very handy to get back on the route.

We passed through one small village, as we entered I smelled the tell-tale smell of barley and hops. The wonderful aroma of a brewery in full brewing mode. A small brauerei, restaurant and guesthouse. What a great place to stay.

However, our destination to day was a campsite in Munderkingen.  We still had a little way to go and things to see.

Munderkingen had a lovely square with the Rathaus, which was also the Tourist Information Office.  However, you could only get in if you knew the password!  The door was locked and there was a key pad to press and then you could state your business and they might let you in, We weren\’t successful in getting the right password.

We couldn\’t find a translation for Pranger, I think it means liar – but no definition.

Ralf asked in the bakery for directions to the campsite and she gave us directions. He also asked how much it was to stay at the attached hotel.

We headed out towards the campsite and spotted a Lidl. We stopped for much needed supplies and it started to rain. Ralf checked the garmin for other hotels – one 3 kms down the road and the one back in Munderkingen. The new rule (which I made up today) is if it is raining we don’t camp. We are eating in the hotel room and will eat our own breakfast supplies in the room as well, to save on the budget.

Tomorrow is an early rest day in Ulm. Another new rule – Rest Days are spent in hotels. By the end of next week we could be in Passau or possibly Salzburg. This trip is going much faster than I thought it would. I thought we would have more “tourist” days. We could have stayed an extra day in Koblenz, but we really enjoyed our ride from Koblenz to Bacharach. We only spent one rest day in Wesel instead of two and we only spent one rest day in Lahr. I think we are almost a week ahead of schedule.

June 27, 2018

The tent was wet with dew this morning and it was a cool night in the tent. We are back into the routine we have when we are camping. I get up and go to the showers, and dress. Ralf folds all his bedding up and by the time I get back from the shower, I can then get in the tent and fold all my bedding. We are like a well-oiled machine.

We uncovered the bikes and flipped the fly on the tent to allow it to dry quicker. I am not sure it helped. Ralf picked it up and put it in the sun – which seemed to work. We ate our muesli and had a cup of coffee while watching one of the fellow campers packing up his tent. Ralf thinks we carry a lot, but my goodness you should have seen the stuff this guy had, unbelievable. More unbelievable is that he didn’t have an ebike. More about ebikes later (a separate post).

We also watched a young couple who were not having a good start to their day. They were on the other bench with their backs to each other, not talking and a very black cloud hanging over their heads. Not a good start to their trip, or maybe an early end! We were only 10 kms outside of Donaueschingen, the start of the Danube. This does not bode well for the rest of their trip.

All of the reviews I have read of the Danube Rad Weg is to cycle from the source to the Black Sea or Vienna – basically from west to east. I have no idea why, because at the moment the winds are all from the North-East and we are heading into the wind every day. The weather was warm but the wind was constant today.

We took turns today 10 and 10, it helps me but doesn’t help Ralf as much as I am smaller and narrower than he is so I do not break as much wind for him as he does for me. There I go with the “Gutes Fahrt”. It is called \”drafting\” watch the Tour de France and you will see the professionals doing it all the time.

We went through a small village, that had a very appropriate war memorial from the First and Second World War.

Around the back of this, was a globe Ralf translated.

The route today was not flat nor did it follow the Danube!    We saw the Danube only a couple of times.

One old fellow we met said that this was the best leg of the route as far as Sigmaringen – well we might as well catch the train from Sigmaringen.

It was a beautiful ride although rather hilly some of the hills were 14 and 18 degrees, although relatively short about 500 metres at the most. We climbed 483 metres today, notice that uphill right at the end of the ride!

We went through a valley of amazing limestone formations it was lovely.

At one point I was getting a little tired of the hills and the wind. My lovely hubby made me laugh with his bizaare sense of humor. Along this section of the route, we were actually following the Danube, there were signs of the different fishes that were in the river. Ralf told me the translation was about the elusive dry-land fishes, if you stood at any of these signs you would be able to see these elusive dry-land fishes. He can be very silly, but it helped keep me going for the next few kilometre before we finished for the day.

Often we see faces or some other interesting things in these limestone formations.  This one shows aliens in the woods.

This one is definitely a pair of hands, praying.

There were lots of “protest” signs. I had read them as “kein walk about”. Not Kein Kalk Abbau which means “No Limestone Removal”. It would be horrendous if the gravel industry got their hands on this beautiful area.

By the time we arrived in Sigmaringen it was 4:15 and there was no-one at reception at the campsite. There was a note on the door to say that they were watching the Germany versus South Korea match! We set up our tent, but couldn’t shower until they were back. I had a quick wet wipe and got changed and we went to dinner at the restaurant. We heard the oohs and aahs as the game progressed and eventually the sobs as Germany lost and are now out of the world cup.

Every where we have stayed there have been outdoor TVs set up so that people can watch the games. I am not sure that this will continue now that Germany is out of the game.

After dinner at the restaurant we registered at reception, they told us where we could get breakfast and supplies – a very large grocery store across the road from the camp-site. For some reason it didn’t show up on Garmin! We were able to get some supplies for breakfast.

As we walked up the road from reception we saw the reason people come to Sigmaringen. The Sigmaringen castle, has been in existence since 1077, a medieval fortress or royal residence towering above the Town. The Princes of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen were linked to most of Europe’s royal families through marriage. The castle is open to the public with guided tours, cost is E12.50 per person. There are also audio tours available.

My laptop ran out of power last night and we had no electricity at this campsite, there wasn’t anything I could do after my shower. I was very tired and I think I fell asleep about 9:00 p.m.

The campsite we stayed at was called the Out and Back – E17.50 showers included, it is directly on the Danube route. The Out and Back is primarily a site for kids on an adventure holiday. There are rope climbing areas, archery and canoeing along the Danube. They were all in bed and quiet by 10:00. There were also to areas for tents and one area for camper vans.

Windmills. Still no more windmills. Running Total is Ralf 13 Jacky 6

June 26, 2018

A good start to the day (8:15 a.m.), it was a little cool with dew on the hills. We didn’t put our windbreakers on as we knew we were starting with hills to climb.

Although, as we cycled out of the village there was one old fella with a jacket and scarf on. The weather was good today, a little windy at times but very nice.

The route (after the climb) was lovely. We climbed 142 metres and then lost all the elevation gained. I hate it when that happens. The route was very rural we cycled through fields of wheat, barley and a second cutting of hay.

When we got to Villengen-Schwennigan the actual route took us around the old town. We knew today was going to be a short day, so we ventured through the Entrance Gate and tower and discovered a lovely historic downtown.

Ralf was taking photos of the Entrance gate while I “guarded” the bikes. A lady asked me where we were going so heavily laden. I responded in German telling her where we had started, where we had been and where we were headed. She nodded and smiled, then switched to English – I guess she figured her English was better than my German. She told me she was also a cyclist and her husband and her were going to cycle around Lake Constance this summer and then head to northern Germany for a trip in September.

We spent about an hour in V-S taking photos and enjoying the old town.

I loved the way these buildings were squished into place and rather higgledy piggledy.  Not the normal straight lines of Germany.

There were two routes to Donaueschingen. One route took you via Bad Durheim (another big hill to climb) the other route took us through the farm fields. It was a rolling hill kind of day, a short sharp hill and then down the other side and then long stretches of flat farming areas. It was a lovely day of cycling. We passed through one very rural area where we spotted a mill stone that commemorated the Bauern Kreig. We knew Bauern was farm or farmers and Kreig is war. After searching Google/Wikipedia in 1524 there was a revolt against the aristocracy by the peasants who worked the lands. It failed for a number of reasons, the prime one being lack of experience as an army and lack of equipment. The “noblemen” slaughtered up to 100,000 of the poorly armed peasants and farmers. The German Peasants war was Europe’s largest and most widespread uprising prior to the French Revolution in 1789.

We arrived in Donaueschingen at about 12:15, the Tourist Information office was open and very helpful. We got some supplies for dinner tonight and the directions to the Donaquelle (the source of the Donau). The amazing and most important thing today was that the public toilets were free. These things are very important to a touring cyclist – one that there are public toilets available and secondly that they are free and clean. The best public toilets are still the ones in New Zealand where they played music while you went. “What the World Needs Now is Love Sweet Love”

We took all the tourist photos of the start of the Donau Radweg, and the Donauquelle the source.  At the \”source\” there was a lift to take cyclists and their bicycles down to the source.  When you see the bubbles in the pond this represents the spring from the source of the Donau.

There is a poetic license here as the actual Danube starts where the two rivers meet the Breg and the Brigach which is about 1.5 kms outside of Donaueschingen.  The lady at the Tourist Office, explained that the water from the spring flows into the Breg and when the two rivers meet the waters mix.

We arrived at the campsite at 2:15. The tent was set up, albeit in two different spots. We set up the tent in the open and then realized we would not have any shade for hours. The sun was very warm. I found a spot underneath a tree and a good place to lock the bikes overnight. Ralf was busy pumping his air mattress. I suggested we move the tent. I gave him several good reasons why we should move the tent – and he agreed! We pulled out the stakes and carried the tent to its new spot. We were showered and clothes washed by 3:00. We set up our washing line attached to my rear rack and Ralf’s cross bar. Ralf then found a branch to use as a clothes-line prop to hold the clothes of the ground. He is very clever.

We headed up to the café for a beer. Ralf said this is the last camping trip we are going to do. When we get back he wants to sell the camping gear and only do credit card trips from now on. I do tend to agree with him, setting up the tent, and eating outside is not that much fun to be perfectly honest. Cheap, for sure and we can spend more time doing longer trips, but in the long run when you are not enjoying the sleeping arrangements, is it worth the economy. Maybe we will do shorter trips and stay in hotels. The hostels in Germany are not that much cheaper than hotels. The hotel last night cost us E88 with breakfast. The average stay at a hostel has been E68.00 with breakfast –pay extra for towels (E3.00 for two towels), wi-fi is usually free but not very good, you make your own bed and then take the sheets off the bed and bring them to reception in the morning. Ralf says pay the extra, get free towels and wi-fi – and let someone else make the bed.

We may break the budget on this trip, we are already over-budget, but we have slept well.

Today would have been my Dad\’s birthday.  Mum reminded us – my Dad\’s nickname for my Mum was squirrel.

Windmills. Still no more windmills. Running Total is Ralf 13 Jacky 6