Today we did a ride of about 24 kilometers, we took it very slowly and arrived around noon, which was just a little bit more time than I would have wanted to spend here. But going all the way to Schloegen would probably have been too far. Tomorrow we're headed to Aschach which is past Schoegen and will be about a 42 k ride.
Getting out of Passau was a little stressful - little narrow cobblestone streets, lots of pedestrians. But we finally made it out to the bike trail. It's all paved now, not gravel like the Inn bike path. The first stretch seemed to be a little dead - lots of abandoned looking businesses. But then it picked up. Many business are advertising to the cyclists, and there's e-bike charging stations in some places as well.
We met a Belgian couple along the way - they had rented bikes and hotel rooms as part of a package, like a self-guided tour. They were very friendly, and we chatted in English. They're really the first bikers I've talked to - I thought I'd e talking with bikers all the time, but what happens is that they either pass us, or they're coming in the opposite direction.
We went past the dam at Jochenstein, which, finally, was one that was not under construction and could be ridden on. It was very impressive looking, and then right in the middle of the damn, as you walk across it, you're in Germany.
Here's a few photos from the ride.
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| One of the abandoned businesses |
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| Here the bike trail is RIGHT on the Danube |
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| A strange staircase structure on the other side of the river |
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| The dam at Jochenstein |
Once we got in town, we checked in (a little bed and no breakfast, right off the main road, large room, found it on booking.com).
Very close by there was FINALLY a little grocery store - a Spar branch - where we could buy a few things. We put together a simple picnic lunch, including a whole kilo of apricots, and sat by the river and ate, and then we called my mom, and Ann and Ken. From now on, we'll be in Austria all the time, and so I should have internet everywhere, not just at hotels. After a rest in the room we took a walk around town - there's a trappist Abbey, we went there and one of them was doing a talk for a riverboat tour group that we listened to (well, I did, Peter is engrossed in his book).
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| Lunchtime on the river |
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| These apricots were about half gone very quickly |
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| A ferry crosses the river here regularly |
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| The local grocery - pretty well-stocked, this time |
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| An interesting-looking cantilevered structure off a garage |
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| The local abbey - 5 monks are left |
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| Relics of a saint |
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| And crazily, in the greenhouse, they had pot growing. Or was it hemp? It smelled like pot. |
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