We had a rest day in Passau to celebrate our the first country cycled through following the Danube river. The weather was nice again and we had a meal in a restaurant, then visited the Cathedral and local markets.

2 other rivers join the Danube in Passau the Inn and Ilz.

The end of the trail in Germany 😀

The Cathedral, ssshhhh no talking inside!!!!

We caught our first sight of Austria a few miles later across the river.

The weather started to close in and it was raining for about 5 hours. We managed to get a few photos in under cover of trees.

By 6pm the sun came out again and we found a spot to camp, not exactly wild but out of the way.

Whilst we were relaxing a unicyclist tourer rode past!
I managed to get a couple of photos and I think the back of his shirt says

http://www.worldunicycletour.com

We carried on heading towards Vienna for 3 more days, unfortunately the weather was really poor so photo opportunities were far and few between. However I would say Austria has been nicer to ride through as we have been meandering through the forest valleys.

Beard selfie #2, it grows really slow!

Upon reaching Vienna we found a great campsite to stay in for 3 nights, giving us 2 full rest days to enjoy the city.

Lots of tourists chose to view the sights on horse drawn carts.

We then visited the natural history museum. I found the groundfloor of fossils and gems fascinating, however the first floor taxidermy collection was so vast it did make my stomach turn.

15 million years old…..

The museum entrance staircase

In the evening we treated ourselves to an authentic classical Mozart concert. The musicians were incredible and performed 2 hours of the most well known pieces. Very happy we went to this. It is a city of music after all!!!

The music theatre as we entered…

and left…

On the 5th May we headed to the Schonbrunn Palace.

No photos were allowed inside but here are a few snaps of the gardens and the view over Vienna.

They also had some pretty fun mazes and challenges along the way 🙂

So now we head further eastwards. Over the next 3 days we will be cycling on the border of Slovakia and Hungary before heading south to Budapest.

The knee is feeling good but I’m still keeping it strapped up to be extra safe.

I had a great time in Paris enjoying a few of the main tourist attractions, Eiffel tower/Arc de triomphe/Louvre museum/Notre Dame cathedral/Musee D’orsay/Opera house/boat and bus tours. I also obtained my vaccinations and a patella strap for the knee.

Apologies for all the ‘selfies’!

Afterwards I continued on Germany crossing the border from Strasbourg.

I then carried on to the start of the Danube river that will take me all the way across Europe to the Black Sea.  The town is called Donaueschingen. Here they have a fountain claiming to be the “source of the river”, but it definitely isn’t!
Unfortunately the fountain was under construction so it looked like a filthy pond in a building site.

It was also here I met Ross, who is from Jersey. We’ll be cycling together all the way to Istanbul, Turkey.

Since we met we have been camping wild for all but one night. It has been great fun seeking out places to stay. My personal favourite being our own little island in the middle of the Danube river (Donau in Germany).

Our first glimpse of the Donau.

Progress halted by the trains!

One of hundreds of bridges we are crossing over the river.

Drinkable water from village fountains.

Washing in the river, it was shockingly cold!!!

Frozen tents on our private island at 7am.

Through southern Germany we have passed through the cities of Ulm, Ingolstat, Regensburg and Passau. Each has been very nice but we haven’t stayed too long in each.
Our plan is to have a few days rest in the capital cities we encounter (Vienna, Budapest, Belgrade and Bucharest)

Cathedral in the city of ULM.

We cycled into a dead end where we caught a ferry to the next town.

A short 5km ferry ride down the river, with cheese cake and beer.

Bavarian beer in Ingolstat.

We went into the city centre In Ingolstat to get free WiFi at Mcdonalds. As we parked up a gentleman called Felix approached us and started chatting. Almost immediately he offered us to stay at his house!

Turns out he was a warmshowers host and a bicycle mechanic. He was busy that night getting hammered at the beer festival but made sure we were settled in the evening and even took us for a traditional pretzel in the morning. Here he is still drunk just before we parted ways!

Camp fire on Sunday 26th April.

We’ve been blessed with clear skies and the temperature has been a solid 18-24 degrees up until 27th April.

The cycle route has been beautiful so far, 50/50 gravel and tarmac, but most has been flat, which has been great for my knee recovery.

The German section of the route has been 580km in length, we’ve cycled it in just under a week I think. We’ve been aiming for around 50 miles/ 80km per day. We usually start moving by 9.30am and have multiple breaks, especially for lunch and shopping. Then look for a campspot at 6pm and are in our tents by 9pm/when the light has nearly faded.

As I write we are basically next to Passau, we’re here for two nights then we head onwards.

Next stop Austria!

After my rest days I tracked the Loire river up towards Orleans, criss-crossing the bridges that connected the towns together.

I spent another night with a warmshowers host, David. He was a really nice guy, who made me some dinner and let me sleep in his lounge. In the morning he showed me to the train station.

I then used public transport to go directly north to reach Paris. Yes I know it’s cheating but it was necessary to rest and essential to get my vaccinations on time. Apologies.

Upon reaching Paris I got myself an AirBnB place to stay, much cheaper than a hotel or hostel! I acquired my vaccinations and became a tourist for a while. This was really nice and a good morale boost!

Similarly to UK the weather has been fantastic. A cool 25 degrees!

I will continue to rest here for a little while then move onto Germany to meet Ross and start the Danube river.