Germany – Travelling reflections

OE Day 15 Passau to Linz 100k

A day alongside the Danube. Passau is the confluence of three mighty rivers: the Ilz, the Inn (as in Innsbruck) and the Danube. They continue as the Danube. Did they toss coins to decide? We crossed the murky looking (snow melt?) Inn, turned left and navigating done for the day.

After 3k Austria. Weirdly it immediately feels like it too. More wood on the houses, trees lined gorges and fine meadows. We are also on the Rommeradweg a cycle trail linking up Roman sites, mainly associated with Julius Caeser.

Very beautiful, like Scotland in sunshine. A stone marks stone historic flood levels. Given the existing volume of water, that’s a pretty scary extra volume.

Linz our destination. The third largest town in Austria. Famous for cake. Still active manufacturing, a legacy of its infamous “son”: Adolf Hitler considered it his home.

Cycling, Germany, Orient Express

OE Day 14 Straubing to Passau 98k

Mainly on the North side of the ever widening Danube, we meandered to Straubing. Our last full day in Germany on this trip. Some of the route was navigated the old fashioned way using a map (but on a phone) with many river works diverting the path.

Every scrap of land is cultivated. No Ivor Williams trailers though. An opportunity. Saw two new things today. A) First Amazon Prime van since we’ve started. B) An e-tandem.

Passau is dripping with cruise ships and churches. The magnificent Baroque St Stephen’s 17974 organ pipes were in full throttle as we gaped at the over the top decor.

Tomorrow Austria. Germany without humour awaits…

Cycling, Germany, Orient Express

OE Day 13 Regensberg to Straubing 50k

A short hop down the Danube, through wheat and corn fields. Framed by pretty working villages and the usual hill top extravaganzas.

Straubing has its fair share of old churches and towers. A prosperous wee place with a choice of breads 🍞 to make a tenement building quake (“you canny through a piece out a twenty storey flat, 10000 hungry wains will testify to that; if the breed is plain or pan, the odds against it reaching earth and 20000 to wan.” ….the Jeely piece song.

Germany, Orient Express

OE Regensberg

Not the normal tour of the sights. Off to a bike shop for a spare tyre, a short 2.7km each way walk through where normal people live and work.

Bike shop? Bike shopping Hall more like. 26″ tyre (and every other size imaginable); replacement nut for SKS mudguard; cycling sandals for Barbara. And bikes in quantities to boggle the imagination. Mainly e- bikes and commuting hybrids with a smaller number of mamil road bikes. Saddles from tractor seats (there are a few buttock challenged folks – at least they are cycling – to razor thin “where do I sit?”. Stands, baskets. And spares galore.

The centre is nicely cooking by the time we sweat back. The unexpected sign is for Compostela de Santiago. Lost? There’s another Compostela from Prague to Santiago.

Tomorrow a short 50km hop.

Cycling, Germany, Orient Express

OE Day 12 Kipfenberg to Regensberg 97k.

A river route today. Two rivers, as after 60k we joined back with the Danube. Which is getting big enough for cruise and pleasure boats. Prosperous villages, aspiring church towers. The occasional telecom mast, which makes a change and contrast from masts with somebody hung out to dry. New gods replacing old.

Families out enjoying the Sunday cycle. Traditional dress in places: hope they have ice packs underneath.

We continue mainly downhill on gravel tracks. Buttocks like tenderised meat. There’s an uphill payback coming, never fear. Over 1000km done, 12/39 cycling days.