Inn to the Danube

As the mountains receded, covered by clouds,

we headed for Wasserburg, cycling along the Inn River. Our lunch break was in a park where outdoor sculptures lined the river, and a fun exhibit of streetlights attracted the kids. 

The rain we were hoping to outrun caught up with us just a few km away from our destination, pouring down on us as we meandered through farmer's fields on a dirt farm road we had mistakenly taken, only realizing our error when it was too late to turn back. We regularly encounter problems just short of our destination - it's like the Murphy's Law of cycle touring. We all feel excited that we are a mere half an hour away from the end of our route and that's when we get lost, rained upon, or beset by some lengthy traffic detour due to construction.

We finally arrived in Wasserburg at Mike and Hajar's house, our warmshowers hosts, and couldn't have received a warmer welcome. Hajar, delighted to meet the kids, greeted us with hugs and kisses. They showed us their incredible garden where our bikes would be stored, 

then helped us settle into our own room with enough beds for all of us (it later turned out they had given us their room and they were sleeping in the caravan in the driveway).

In the kitchen was Yusuke, another warmshowers guest who was cycling with his violin from Slovenia to Lyons to play in a folk music festival. He prepared Japanese pancakes for us all, 

while Hajar had made amazing stews and rice so our dinner table was groaning. 

Breakfast, served in the garden house, 

was a similarly abundant affair, complemented by freshly picked black raspberries.

We felt like we were leaving old friends when we set off the next morning, so grateful for yet another amazingly hospitable host.

We were aiming for Passau, a German town at the confluence of the Danube and Inn Rivers. The route along the Inn was quieter than the Rhine had been, with far less development along the shores and virtually no boat traffic. After Wasserburg it was easy cycling and our campsite the following night in  Marktl was idyllic. Across the road was a small tranquil lake with lush green banks. We swam out to the high diving board on a raft and took turns doing flips (Jacob) and dives (the rest of us).

Our last day on the Inn River was hot, and we had already cycled 50 km when we rolled into a pastel coloured town square filled with buildings that looked like gingerbread houses. 

We wanted to buy supplies for lunch, only to discover all the bakeries shuttered - it was Saturday at 12:10 and the shops closed down at noon for the rest of the week-end. We ate on a restaurant patio instead, and spotted a touring cycling family, one of the first we've seen, sitting in a shady spot nearby eating their picnic (they were better prepared than us). I went over and met Peter, Ulrike and their three daughters and discovered we were all headed to Passau for a couple of nights. 

Passau was yet another gorgeous town - somehow I keep being surprised by the beauty of the places we come to. Crossing the bridge into the centre we stopped to admire the view, 

and then came across an open air concert in the town square. We decided to sit with a glass of white wine and enjoy the sounds of a chamber orchestra as well as performances by two harpists, a guitar duo, and a violin soloist. 

Cycling away from the concert I just wanted to eat the buildings - the whole square looked like a giant frosted wedding cake.

The Passau campsite was right on the river and packed with friendly touring cyclists. We had beer and dinner with Ulrike's family and the kids took off to play soccer in the field until well after dark. 

Sightseeing around Passau we visited a cathedral with the world's largest organ and walked up a steep hill to the castle until we gave up fighting the heat and headed to the pool to join Ulrike and Peter. Of course that was the kids' favourite part of the day. 

Jacob made us vicariously nervous with his dive off the highest board, then played pingpong with Ully 

while Kyra, Tom, Meerit, Pia and Ana raced excitedly from waterslide to waterslide.

We rode in a long line along the river 

and over the bridge to our campsite. 

The next morning after one last soccer game we said good-bye to our new friends, 

and set off along our fourth major European river. 

The Danube (or Donau as it is called in Austria) is a major cycle (and boat) touring destination, with a lovely combination of green forests beside its well paved paths

and historic towns along its banks. First was the Austrian town of Linz, where we wanted to stay and explore but the town's campsite, marked on the map but nowhere to be found, meant we had to camp 10 km out of town instead. We caught a short glimpse of the architecture on the way through the centre

and were at least able to get a flavour for Linz by eating the Linzertorte Paul brought us from a bakery when he later cycled back into town to get a part for his bike.

The next day's route took us by Mathausen, 

a massive concentration camp where thousands of Jews as well as other targets of the Nazis were detained and killed. There were memorials, exhibits and plaques from all the countries whose citizens were killed as political prisoners. 

The sculptured and landscaped grounds 

did not diminish the feelings of horror due to the atrocities, vividly brought to life by walking through the barracks and showers. Leaving afterwards we cycled through small neighbourhoods just outside the memorial. It seemed wrong that people were watering their gardens and going about their daily lives right next to a site where evil of such magnitude was perpetrated.

We were still in a daze from the visit when we went to get groceries for dinner, and were shocked to run into Andrei and Klarina, a Dutch couple we had stayed with way back at the beginning of our cycle trip in Dordrecht. They were doing a cycle tour along the Danube with their children too, and we were all so glad to find out we'd be cycling along the same path for the next few days. Over the next four days we travelled as a convoy, 

camping together in Au, visiting the grounds of the stunning Melk Monastery, 

a UNESCO world heritage site, and relaxing in Tulln, where the campground was next to a small swimming lake with a rock pool. 

We shared breakfasts, dinners,

 watermelon 

and of course ice cream 

along the way. Part of our route went through the stunning Wachau valley, terraced with vineyards 

and lined with trees filled with ripe apricots which we could pluck off low branches as we rode. Rows of ripening corn reminded us of how long we'd been cycling for 

- the stalks in the first cornfields we passed during this trip had been just emerging from the ground.

We said good-bye at a campground on the outskirts of Vienna, as they rode off to Romania while we stayed to explore the city. Cycling two great river paths with two wonderful families - a joy for us adults and such a treat for the kids to have friends their own age to play with for awhile. Ully and Peter, Andrei and Klarina, we hope we will ride with you some day in Canada!