Deggendorf to Passau 8-23-11

Deggendorf rathaus and market

Deggendorf church and market

Water sprite in Danube

Water sprite

Danube from bridge at Vilshofen

Vilshofen getting ready for a fest

Vilshofen gate

bike ferry crossing at Sandbach

Our ferry person

The river Inn at Passau

The organ at the Dom in Passau

The altar at the dom

Frescos in the Dom

Castle across the river

Johanna checking the menu to see if it's German enough to eat at.

We left Deggendorf in a heat wave.  J wanted to swim in the danube and so it seemed like a good time to do it.  After the swim we pushed on to Vilshofen and had a beer to tide us over to Passau.  The last 10k seem like it took forever.  We got to Passau and got a room at the Spitzburg Hotel where we had stayed 2 years before.  They actually had a small refer in the room with some expensive water in it.  Of course J took one.  I drank out of the bathroom tap.  We took off around town and went down to where the river Inn meets the Danube and then went to the Dom to see if they were playing organ music.  It sounded like somebody was doing a little practicing as there was some music coming out of it.  The organ is the largest in at least Europe and makes some beautiful music.  We had heard it 2 years ago when we just happened to catch a sunday mass.  After dinner at the Blauer Bock and a little eis we went back to the hotel for another hot night in the rack. 
The part of the Danube trail we did was listed a 593k.  But with all the other stuff we did it was more like 800k.  There were parts that were great but some other sections that I could have missed.  I think the section from Passau to Vienna is better overall because most of it is along the river and not  near roads and thru farmland.  But overall it was a good trip. 

Regensburg to Deggendorf 8-22-11

Wahalla Temple built by Leo von Klenze for Ludwig I between 1830-1847.  It honors distinguished people of German history.

Walhalla

The Danube valley from Walhalla

Cute statue in a park along trail

Another castle along the trail

We left Regensburg early to beat the heat.  The last couple of days it has been hot and muggy.  Just out of Regensburg is Walhalla which sits on a hill overlooking the Danube valley.  There is 354 steps up to the monument which wouldn't bother me going up but would kill me coming down so I stayed with the bikes while Johanna walked up.  When she got to the top there was a fee to go in and she hadn't any money so she walked back down after taking a few pictures.  It is modeled after the Parthenon in Athens and is immense.  Another one to look at Google earth. 
After Walhalla the trail stayed mostly away from the river and ran thru corn fields.  It got really hot and muggy but we pushed on only stopping twice for beer to keep up our energy.  We did 95k this day, a record so far.  We ended up in Deggendorf at the Hotel Hoettl. 
I want to comment about ice cold water or iced tea.  In Germany and probably all of Europe there isn't such a thing.  There are lots of fountains but no drinking fountains.  If they had drinking fountains they couldn't sell you water in a bottle and warm water to boot.  I saw one drinking fountain along the way and it was set up so you couldn't fill a bottle or a cup, only drink.  In stores there aren't any cold sections that store water or beer so whatever you buy there is room temp.  The only time I bought water was in Bad Bruckenau.  We had had along ride and we stopped at an eis shop and ordered cold water with the ice cream.  We got .2 litres of water each for 1 euro eighty each or 4$. No refills.  Never again.  A lot of people order water with wine and it comes in a .75 litre bottle and has gas in it.  It is usually as expensive as the wine.  When I got back to home after this trip I made a jug of ice tea.  I got some ice cubes and poured the tea in, added lemon and slowly savored it.
And another thing, there are no air conditioners in the hotels or anywhere else.  The last 4 days of this trip there was a heat wave.  With no way to move the air in the hotel rooms they remain hot all night.  At gasthaus Delegera we left the hall door open even.  The only air conditioner I've seen was on the train and not all of them have that.  The local trains have openable windows.  Enough bitching

Kelheim to Regensburg 8-21-11

Main-Donau canal at Kelheim

Danube river along the trail

Runabouts going thru the locks

Alte rathaus

St Emmeran's.  Thurm und Taxis private church

fresco in St Emmeram's

Organ at St Emmeram's

choir and altar at St. Emmeram's

Hemma, consort of  "Ludwig the German" in St Emmeram's

Statue of St. Dionysius at St Emmeram's

St Francis would preach not only to humans but he would preach to the animals as well

The back of the statue has a fox hiding in the robes and snatching the fattest goose.  I think there is a moral to this story.

Altar at St. Peter's

Organ at St. Peter's

St. Peter's

Tourist

A small chapel nest to St. Peter's

Porta Praetoria.  The only original roman building to have survived above ground in Germany.  179 AD

Sign outside pub called "zum walfisch" shows Jonah be chased by strange shaped Whale

East Gate

The old moat

Konigliche Villa, built by Maximilian II so he would have a fitting residence in Regensburg.  It was only used 6+/- times before monarchy ended.

Steinerne Brucke(stone bridge) a romanesque arch bridge was built between 1135 and 1146. 

Gate into Regensburg from the Steinerne Brucke

The Bruckmandl(little man on the bridge)  According to ledgend this man was the master bridge builder and had made a bet with the cathedral's architect that he would finish the bridge before they finished the church so he was always looking at the progress of the church.

St Peter's for the stone bridge

Furstliche Brauhaus.  The Thurm und Taxis brewery.  We had dinner there.

Tourist headed for gate by the Thurm und Taxis palace.

Thurm und Taxis palace.  This was an old Monestary of St Emmeram.  The Thurm und Taxis bought it in 1812 and renovated it during the 19th century.  It is said to have more rooms then Buckingham Palace.  This the only place where a picture can be taken without taking the tour.  They still use the palace as a residence.  There is a green belt with fence around one egde which is where this pic came from.  Google earth it

We left Kelheim and biked the 30k or so to Regensburg.  Along the way in the town of Metting they were raising the May Pole.  A beer garden had been set up and the was an umpapa band playing.  The pole, a 40' log tapering from 1' dia. to 2" dia, was being raised by hand by a bunch of guys using various length poles.  I took some video of it and will try to get it in a future blog when I have the time to sit and watch 200mb upload.  It was a funny operation and alcohol was involved.
We got to Regensburg in the early afternoon and decided to take the rest of the day to see the city.  The old part of Regensburg is UNESCO World Heritage Site.  It started out as a Roman camp in 90AD.  From 530 to 1245 it was the capital of Bavaria but in 1245 it bacame an imperial free city.  Although the city adopted the protestant reformation in 1542 it remained the seat of the roman Chatholic bishop and several abbys.  From 1663 to 1806 it was the permanent seat of the Reichstag of the Holy Roman Empire.  In 1803 it lost it's status as a free city and was handed over to the Archbishop of Mainz.  In 1810 it was ceded to the Kingdom of Bavaria.  The old part of town sustained very little damage during WWII and was made a UNESCO site in 2006.
The famous family Thurm und Taxis, held a monopoly of the postal service in Europe for hundreds of years.  They have resided in Regensburg since 1746.  They bought the St. Emmeram Monestary in 1812.  They are one of the richest familys in Germany. 

Grossmehring to Kelheim 8-20-11

gate at Vohburg

Hop field

UNESCO world heritage site Abusina.  Founded around 80 AD Abusina was early a fort on the upper Raetian Limes which was a 550k section of the external borders of the Roman empire.  It lasted till around 550AD when the Romans couldn't afford to defend the area anymore

Abusina

abusina

Abusina

Abusina model

drink stop along the trail

Danube and trail

courtyard at Abby Weltenburg

Alphorns waiting for Bride and groom

ceiling fresco Weltenburg abby

organ at Weltenburg abby

Altar at weltenburg abby

fresco at Weltenburg abby

In the Danube gorge

Some of the siightseers in gorge

The gorge

the gorge

Hall of liberation commemorates the victorius battles over Napoleon in the wars of liberation 1813-1815.  Commisioned by Ludwig the 1 and built by Leo von Klenze.  Google earth it

the gorge

Picking a table at outdoor restaurant

radish appitizer

We left Grossmehring riding thru Volburg and on to Eining and the roman ruins of Abusina.  From Eining we took a dirt track along the River to Weltenburg Abby.  During the summer people park in Weltenburg town, walk a 1/2 mile to the Abby and have beers and food and/or take a boat ride thru the Danube gorge to Kelheim and back.  We stopped at the abby and the courtyard was packed with people eating.  There was also a wedding in progress and using the chapel.  There were 5 alphorns players waiting in the courtyard for the bride and groom to come out.  When they did come out they were serranaded by the horns.  I got it on video and tried to put it on the blog but it was going to take 11/2 hrs to upload so I moved on.  Maybe later when I have more time.  Anyway we got into the abby and got a few pictures.  Then we caught a ferry down to Kelheim thru the gorge.  The river has cut thru the Franconian Jura ridge and the resulting cliffs rise to 110 meters or more.  The ferries carry about 500 people at a shot and they were always packed.  We decided to stop in Kelheim which is where the Main-Donau  reaches the Donube.  We got a room at the hotel Kloisterbrauerei.