Good morning, we are finished with our 2010 Europe trip.
Nothing new fits into my brain. I need to sort all the newness out, need to find familiar things, need to clean up, repack up for the trip back to Canada.
I believe Carol feels the same way. Enough is enough.
It is strange how these feelings creep into me. There comes a point where, after almost 8 weeks on the road I look for the familiar. Our most familiar place in Europe is Stefan Knopf’s B&B and we are off this morning to rest there for a few days before we fly to Toronto.
Taking the Autobahn from Bayreuth to Heidelberg took us about 4 hours and we were lucky, Stefan had a room for us. We had made reservations but they only started tomorrow, we are a day early.
I build in some spare time, a day or so because one never knows if the bike will break down, how the roads will be or if the weather will cause delays. I do not like to ride under the gun to get anywhere. Having time to spare is fine with me.
The actual ride to Kirchheim was uneventful. It was typical Autobahn riding. I stay with the trucks in the right lane, going about 100 or 110 km per hour. I learned that this is a much safer way to travel than speeding along, even though I know that in certain sections the Autobahn has no speed limit. Germany’s Super Slab, the Autobahn is still a free road system. No tolls are charged. Compared with the rest of Europe this is a great and fast way to travel. There are no vignettes, no tollbooths, and no charges for travelling on the Autobahn. Just do not run out of gas, as there are few gas stations on these roads. Even getting off on an exit does not mean you will find gas immediately.
At Stefan’s we cleaned both bikes, wrote emails, sorted out pictures, slept in until 8 AM, took a shower in hot water, washed our clothes, updated the blog, had breakfast without planning where to go and we met interesting new people. Stefan’s place is a little like a pigeon coup, a constant in and out of people dropping off their bikes or picking up their bikes. The place, every time I have been there, is always busy.
The total miles we rode on this trip were a measly 4411 miles. This is nothing compared to riding in the U.S. but then we were not riding to break a record. We stopped often to smell the roses. We spent a good deal of time meeting people and talking to them. From a Serbian police officer to the new couples we met at Stefan’s, namely Richard and Sylvia Hutchinson, who live in Guatemala and Bruce and Petra from British Columbia. One never knows when, on the roads we travel, we will run into each other again. We found new people, new stories, and new trips and learned so much along the way.
Germany played England on the Sunday we were there. I lost $ 5.00 and a coke to Stefan. Germany won 4:1 and I bet on England. I paid up and still have a credit now with Stefan since he did not have change.
We left Tuesday morning; Stefan drove us to Heidelberg to catch the bus to the airport. We had a good trip, a great time and we are planning to see Romania and Bulgaria next year.
Sunday, July 04, 2010
Bayreuth
I have a purpose today and feel much better, thank you. We did not take the Autobahn to Bayreuth, our next stop since were only about a 100 km away. Since Bayreuth falls into the ‘theme’ of Opera, the theme we had for the last few weeks, it makes sense to visit. We rode a winding, pastoral road to Bayreuth and arrived by midday.
Part of Bavaria, Bayreuth is world renown for the yearly Wagnerian Festspiele. In fact, the Opera built for and by Richard Wagner is not an opera, per say, but a Festspiel house.
This Festspielhaus, yes, it is an Opera, specifically built for Wagnerian Opera (http://www.bayreuther-festspiele.de/english/english_156.html) is part of Bayreuth. It is the holy shrine of Wagnerian Opera. Nothing else plays at this Festspielhaus, only Wagnerian Opera. If all this sounds strange, it is. Compare it to having an opera built just to hear Mozart’s Operas. Weird, but such is the case with Richard Wagner. I am not sure I understand all of the implications but those are the facts.
I decided to visit Bayreuth and see this place for myself.
Checking in with our friends, the Info center people, we found an affordable hotel, the Hotel Weihenstefan, just outside the center of everything. Close enough for us to walk to the bus depot and to visit the city and attractions Bayreuth has to offer. We parked our bikes in the back of the hotel next to the kitchen, secure and away from public view. The space was tight but we managed to get the bikes close together and away from the kitchen traffic, too.
The hotel Weihenstefan is an old place, not very posh yet Weihenstefan has been making beer since the year 1040. Weihenstefan is the oldest brewery in the world still making beer every day. I am not sure if our hotel had some connection with the brewery specifically, but since we were in an old place with the name Weihenstefan in its name, there might be some connections. http://www.brauerei-weihenstephan.de/index2.html?lang=eng
The beer certainly was good and the ratings given by others are excellent. http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/252/731
For the afternoon, we decided to walk the town. The Info center gave us a city map and with that, we were all set. Our first stop is the Margrave Opera, a building built in 1748 in an all-wood construction in the most decorated Baroque style I have seen. Gold leaf decorated everything. There were audience boxes for the elite and common floor space for the paupers. I could truly feel the atmosphere of the place, the old set up certainly adds to the feeling of authenticity. This is an opera house as they should be, as they used to be, very festive and formal.
We were the only visitors and had the place for ourselves. I sang an aria from Mozart’s Magic Flute from near center stage but no applause followed. Carol then sang Skinamarink and even though the acoustics were phenomenal, the thunderous applause could not be heard. Bummer! Maybe we picked the wrong song; it could not have been our voices, could it?
This Margrave building is wonderful. Nominated as a world heritage building by UNESCO, it needs to be preserved. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margrave%27s_Opera_House
Going back to our hotel we had a pizza/pasta dinner and then watched, along with many others Germany play Ghana in the 2010 World Soccer cup. Since Germany lost the last game against Serbia they would be out of the competition should they lose! The tension was high. Young people had their faces painted with small German flags. Grownups drove past us with flags mounted on their cars. Honking and blaring their horns when Germany scored a goal. When Germany won with a 2 to 1 win, everybody cheered and the mood, helped by all the alcohol consumed, made for a noisy affair. Carol used her earplugs to sleep that night. It was fun, it was nice to see the pride and the good time everybody had. I could have done without the flag waving, but so be it.
The next morning we decided to visit the Festspielhaus.
The bus depot, I read, is important because to visit the Festspielhaus you need to take the bus. Sitting on the ‘Hügel’ (hill) a bit outside of town, in the middle of a small park, the Festspielhaus had closed when we got there because rehearsals were scheduled. Yes, we tried to sneak into the building but we had no luck. Caught in the act and after receiving a small reprimand, we were back outside. No matter, just seeing the general layout of the place, its surroundings and the scenery for various Operas stacked outside, made me realize that Bayreuth is for connoisseurs, for Wagnerian fans. The seats inside the building, I heard, are very uncomfortable for the performances. Some performances run for over three or 4 hours. I wanted to see all of this myself but it seems not everything is going my way. I took some pictures of the Festspielhaus from the outside, including some of the stage backdrops. We walked around the surrounding park of the Festspielhaus a bit and, naturally, took some pictures of the statue of Wagner, too.
I did not realize, but found out while photographing Wagner’s bust, that Franz Liszt was the son in law of Richard Wagner. Oh, how much I do not know about the world.
After the ‘visit’ of the Festspielhaus, Carol wanted to visit the Hermitage. We took the bus. The royals of the area, in about 1717, a sister of the German Kaiser named Wilhelmina, improved the already existing Hunting lodge and a small zoo with, for the times, a revolutionary idea, a landscaped garden. This was the first such garden on the European continent and included water fountains, a temple dedicated to Apollo with gilded busts of 40 Roman Emperors, nymphs, stone gardens, a dragon grotto, Japanese temples, etc. Whatever the fantasy could create, was presented to us in statues and buildings, planned and spread throughout this garden. This is a huge layout, miles of walking trails and garden paths. We did what we could, even managed to see the hourly fountain display before we returned via bus, to Bayreuth proper.
On the way back, we stopped off at Wahnfried, the residence of Richard Wagner, the place where he wrote some of his music. The name Wahnfried is a strange name. Wahn translated means mentally deficient. Fried means peace. So a place where Wagner found inner piece from his mental burdens?
He certainly was a mental case. Yes, he was talented and he knew it. Constantly in debt, he was ruthless in begging and showing off his talent, all in order to get money. He used everybody, including the very young King of Bavaria, named Ludwig. The King was just 18 years old when Wagner met him. Wagner was the original egomaniac. Wagner was so conceited, so full of himself, that reason failed him. On the other hand, was he a product of his time? When I read some of the letters on display, they all sounded contrite to me. All of the writing was too fickle or considered inappropriate today. Talk of love, talk of heroes, talk of heroic actions, or self-denial, of wanting this, of poets and poetry, of false and real or overpowering music and a somewhat sheltered life. I read about a lifestyle long past that was in its own stratosphere. Reality, the daily grind, work in factories, sports were not part of the lifestyle of Wagner. He was like an orchid, living only in his protected world. It seemed to me he knew little, if nothing, about hard work and labor. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Wagner He wrote drama plays, not opera. He wrote constantly, letters, opinions, music and his own lyrics. He lived in his own world, loved by some and hated by others. Having had a difficult youth, his father died a few months after his birth, he matured into a peculiar character. The critics then and now are many. His music however was new, was powerful, was loud and substantial. Even today, the overtures to his operas play like symphonies. Wagner was different, his house, the name he gave it, and all other things about him make the man for some people a demigod.
Right next to the Wahnfried house is the residence of Franz Liszt. He was another tortured soul. There was no question that Liszt was a superb pianist. Chopin and Liszt were equal in their dexterity and could display their emotions musically. While Chopin composed, Liszt played for the elite. So much so, that, after years of submitting himself to the whims of the few, Liszt burned out. Liszt was very religious. In fact, he became an ordained monk in his later years. That Liszt was the son in law of Wagner surprised me. I did not realize it but yes, all these musicians lived at the same time. Even Chopin, whom Liszt knew well (they even played fourhanded piano together or gave concerts), was a contemporary. I think I need to see a timeline of all composers.
The small museum in the Liszt house, packed with anecdotes of his life, again is for scholars. So much information is given that it becomes overwhelming. I just love the music of those men, and yes, I am trying to figure out what made them write, what made them compose, what made them so special. Could they write music the way I write sentences? Did they hear the music in their head before they wrote it down? Did they dream in music? Could they think musically? Why did we have so many composers at this time but none now? Sorry, I do not call Rap Music, music and I hate Techno Sounds. So what happened then? Why could Vivaldi just sit down and write music the way I write words? I find it amazing, maybe because I know nothing about music. I just know what I like to listen to, but cannot spell out to you why I like this piece and not that piece. Music is a mystery to me.
As a side note to the Wahnfried Museum, when we entered there was a showing of the life of Arturo Toscanini, the conductor. I did not come to Bayreuth to visit Toscanini or learn about his life but could not help myself. The exhibition showed the transition in music from live performances to performance for the record industry. The world certainly changed and playing the piano, as Liszt did most of his life, was no longer needed or interesting when you can hear music from a record. Toscanini was instrumental, pun intended, in working on this transition. The show certainly gave me ‘food for thought’.
After a day of searching the city for what it has to offer and taking in all these impressions I get tired out and there comes a point when I am too full of newness. I have had enough museums, parks, ideas, etc. Maybe I need to come back to Bayreuth once more to see other things but for today, this is it.
Part of Bavaria, Bayreuth is world renown for the yearly Wagnerian Festspiele. In fact, the Opera built for and by Richard Wagner is not an opera, per say, but a Festspiel house.
This Festspielhaus, yes, it is an Opera, specifically built for Wagnerian Opera (http://www.bayreuther-festspiele.de/english/english_156.html) is part of Bayreuth. It is the holy shrine of Wagnerian Opera. Nothing else plays at this Festspielhaus, only Wagnerian Opera. If all this sounds strange, it is. Compare it to having an opera built just to hear Mozart’s Operas. Weird, but such is the case with Richard Wagner. I am not sure I understand all of the implications but those are the facts.
I decided to visit Bayreuth and see this place for myself.
Checking in with our friends, the Info center people, we found an affordable hotel, the Hotel Weihenstefan, just outside the center of everything. Close enough for us to walk to the bus depot and to visit the city and attractions Bayreuth has to offer. We parked our bikes in the back of the hotel next to the kitchen, secure and away from public view. The space was tight but we managed to get the bikes close together and away from the kitchen traffic, too.
The hotel Weihenstefan is an old place, not very posh yet Weihenstefan has been making beer since the year 1040. Weihenstefan is the oldest brewery in the world still making beer every day. I am not sure if our hotel had some connection with the brewery specifically, but since we were in an old place with the name Weihenstefan in its name, there might be some connections. http://www.brauerei-weihenstephan.de/index2.html?lang=eng
The beer certainly was good and the ratings given by others are excellent. http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/252/731
For the afternoon, we decided to walk the town. The Info center gave us a city map and with that, we were all set. Our first stop is the Margrave Opera, a building built in 1748 in an all-wood construction in the most decorated Baroque style I have seen. Gold leaf decorated everything. There were audience boxes for the elite and common floor space for the paupers. I could truly feel the atmosphere of the place, the old set up certainly adds to the feeling of authenticity. This is an opera house as they should be, as they used to be, very festive and formal.
We were the only visitors and had the place for ourselves. I sang an aria from Mozart’s Magic Flute from near center stage but no applause followed. Carol then sang Skinamarink and even though the acoustics were phenomenal, the thunderous applause could not be heard. Bummer! Maybe we picked the wrong song; it could not have been our voices, could it?
This Margrave building is wonderful. Nominated as a world heritage building by UNESCO, it needs to be preserved. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margrave%27s_Opera_House
Going back to our hotel we had a pizza/pasta dinner and then watched, along with many others Germany play Ghana in the 2010 World Soccer cup. Since Germany lost the last game against Serbia they would be out of the competition should they lose! The tension was high. Young people had their faces painted with small German flags. Grownups drove past us with flags mounted on their cars. Honking and blaring their horns when Germany scored a goal. When Germany won with a 2 to 1 win, everybody cheered and the mood, helped by all the alcohol consumed, made for a noisy affair. Carol used her earplugs to sleep that night. It was fun, it was nice to see the pride and the good time everybody had. I could have done without the flag waving, but so be it.
The next morning we decided to visit the Festspielhaus.
The bus depot, I read, is important because to visit the Festspielhaus you need to take the bus. Sitting on the ‘Hügel’ (hill) a bit outside of town, in the middle of a small park, the Festspielhaus had closed when we got there because rehearsals were scheduled. Yes, we tried to sneak into the building but we had no luck. Caught in the act and after receiving a small reprimand, we were back outside. No matter, just seeing the general layout of the place, its surroundings and the scenery for various Operas stacked outside, made me realize that Bayreuth is for connoisseurs, for Wagnerian fans. The seats inside the building, I heard, are very uncomfortable for the performances. Some performances run for over three or 4 hours. I wanted to see all of this myself but it seems not everything is going my way. I took some pictures of the Festspielhaus from the outside, including some of the stage backdrops. We walked around the surrounding park of the Festspielhaus a bit and, naturally, took some pictures of the statue of Wagner, too.
I did not realize, but found out while photographing Wagner’s bust, that Franz Liszt was the son in law of Richard Wagner. Oh, how much I do not know about the world.
After the ‘visit’ of the Festspielhaus, Carol wanted to visit the Hermitage. We took the bus. The royals of the area, in about 1717, a sister of the German Kaiser named Wilhelmina, improved the already existing Hunting lodge and a small zoo with, for the times, a revolutionary idea, a landscaped garden. This was the first such garden on the European continent and included water fountains, a temple dedicated to Apollo with gilded busts of 40 Roman Emperors, nymphs, stone gardens, a dragon grotto, Japanese temples, etc. Whatever the fantasy could create, was presented to us in statues and buildings, planned and spread throughout this garden. This is a huge layout, miles of walking trails and garden paths. We did what we could, even managed to see the hourly fountain display before we returned via bus, to Bayreuth proper.
On the way back, we stopped off at Wahnfried, the residence of Richard Wagner, the place where he wrote some of his music. The name Wahnfried is a strange name. Wahn translated means mentally deficient. Fried means peace. So a place where Wagner found inner piece from his mental burdens?
He certainly was a mental case. Yes, he was talented and he knew it. Constantly in debt, he was ruthless in begging and showing off his talent, all in order to get money. He used everybody, including the very young King of Bavaria, named Ludwig. The King was just 18 years old when Wagner met him. Wagner was the original egomaniac. Wagner was so conceited, so full of himself, that reason failed him. On the other hand, was he a product of his time? When I read some of the letters on display, they all sounded contrite to me. All of the writing was too fickle or considered inappropriate today. Talk of love, talk of heroes, talk of heroic actions, or self-denial, of wanting this, of poets and poetry, of false and real or overpowering music and a somewhat sheltered life. I read about a lifestyle long past that was in its own stratosphere. Reality, the daily grind, work in factories, sports were not part of the lifestyle of Wagner. He was like an orchid, living only in his protected world. It seemed to me he knew little, if nothing, about hard work and labor. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Wagner He wrote drama plays, not opera. He wrote constantly, letters, opinions, music and his own lyrics. He lived in his own world, loved by some and hated by others. Having had a difficult youth, his father died a few months after his birth, he matured into a peculiar character. The critics then and now are many. His music however was new, was powerful, was loud and substantial. Even today, the overtures to his operas play like symphonies. Wagner was different, his house, the name he gave it, and all other things about him make the man for some people a demigod.
Right next to the Wahnfried house is the residence of Franz Liszt. He was another tortured soul. There was no question that Liszt was a superb pianist. Chopin and Liszt were equal in their dexterity and could display their emotions musically. While Chopin composed, Liszt played for the elite. So much so, that, after years of submitting himself to the whims of the few, Liszt burned out. Liszt was very religious. In fact, he became an ordained monk in his later years. That Liszt was the son in law of Wagner surprised me. I did not realize it but yes, all these musicians lived at the same time. Even Chopin, whom Liszt knew well (they even played fourhanded piano together or gave concerts), was a contemporary. I think I need to see a timeline of all composers.
The small museum in the Liszt house, packed with anecdotes of his life, again is for scholars. So much information is given that it becomes overwhelming. I just love the music of those men, and yes, I am trying to figure out what made them write, what made them compose, what made them so special. Could they write music the way I write sentences? Did they hear the music in their head before they wrote it down? Did they dream in music? Could they think musically? Why did we have so many composers at this time but none now? Sorry, I do not call Rap Music, music and I hate Techno Sounds. So what happened then? Why could Vivaldi just sit down and write music the way I write words? I find it amazing, maybe because I know nothing about music. I just know what I like to listen to, but cannot spell out to you why I like this piece and not that piece. Music is a mystery to me.
As a side note to the Wahnfried Museum, when we entered there was a showing of the life of Arturo Toscanini, the conductor. I did not come to Bayreuth to visit Toscanini or learn about his life but could not help myself. The exhibition showed the transition in music from live performances to performance for the record industry. The world certainly changed and playing the piano, as Liszt did most of his life, was no longer needed or interesting when you can hear music from a record. Toscanini was instrumental, pun intended, in working on this transition. The show certainly gave me ‘food for thought’.
After a day of searching the city for what it has to offer and taking in all these impressions I get tired out and there comes a point when I am too full of newness. I have had enough museums, parks, ideas, etc. Maybe I need to come back to Bayreuth once more to see other things but for today, this is it.
Amberg
Waking up, we need to decide where to go next. We have no target, no plan for the day. We have plenty of time left over; we do not need to be in Heidelberg until the end of the week and today is Tuesday.
Not far from Passau is the town of Regensburg. I heard the name mentioned often but have never been there. I know nothing about Regensburg so let us go there and spend a day or two finding out about Regensburg. What do you say, Carol?
So, off we go, really meandering down the roads, from small town to small town, looking left and right, drifting towards Regensburg and get to this large city around noon. Again, I know nothing about the town but that is ok. Let us just find a motel, hotel or something and stay a few days. The old part of town looks interesting enough.
So here we start. The first hotel, on the edge of old town Regensburg wants 140 Euros for a room. I pass. The next Hotel around the corner, a not so nice place wants 90 Euros without breakfast and no parking. We get back on the bike, ride around some more, and find a hostel but all is “sold out”. The folks at the hostel send us to another place but there is no room in this place, either. Yes, there is a place around the corner, but when I try there, the place only opens up at 5 PM. For us to be waiting for 4 hours, and then to find they are sold out too is not an option. What do we do? By now, it is 2 PM, we looked for a hotel for two hours and yes, they have them, but I refuse to pay these prices.
Good-bye Regensburg maybe I will see you some other time.
So now what do we do? The next bigger town is Amberg. I never even heard of this town. Let us go and see what this town has; maybe they have a hotel that is ok for us, for just one night. We ride the short distance to Amberg, taking the Autobahn to get there faster, just in case we run into problems again.
With a few questions, we find the hotel Altstadt in Amberg. At 72 Euros with Breakfast, it is not great, but better than paying 140 Euros in Regensburg. The parking for the bike is in front of the hotel, all is well. We have a room for the night. Now let us go and explore the town.
Like so many towns in this area, Amberg, too lived off salt. Salt was so much in demand that whole towns, whole counties could live off the money it created. Yes, Amberg had a wall around the city; yes, Amberg has cobble stone streets and the former market area is still active, still visited. A river running through the town still brings visitors, still runs along its old path. After visiting Amberg, walking its old streets, I still do not know why the town is there, what it did in the past. I am sure Amberg traded salt, but what else did Amberg do?
After some visits of European towns, no matter the county, no matter the area, the towns start to look alike. Walled off from invaders, giving their tradesmen work, having a protective royal patron, being blessed by the church, they existed for some reason. They had to be famous for something, produce something. I never did find out what made Amberg famous. Only after I checked Wikipedia on line did I learn we missed the ‘famous’ smallest hotel in the world. Rats!
We are getting tired of travelling; it has been a long trip. It is time to go home!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amberg
Not far from Passau is the town of Regensburg. I heard the name mentioned often but have never been there. I know nothing about Regensburg so let us go there and spend a day or two finding out about Regensburg. What do you say, Carol?
So, off we go, really meandering down the roads, from small town to small town, looking left and right, drifting towards Regensburg and get to this large city around noon. Again, I know nothing about the town but that is ok. Let us just find a motel, hotel or something and stay a few days. The old part of town looks interesting enough.
So here we start. The first hotel, on the edge of old town Regensburg wants 140 Euros for a room. I pass. The next Hotel around the corner, a not so nice place wants 90 Euros without breakfast and no parking. We get back on the bike, ride around some more, and find a hostel but all is “sold out”. The folks at the hostel send us to another place but there is no room in this place, either. Yes, there is a place around the corner, but when I try there, the place only opens up at 5 PM. For us to be waiting for 4 hours, and then to find they are sold out too is not an option. What do we do? By now, it is 2 PM, we looked for a hotel for two hours and yes, they have them, but I refuse to pay these prices.
Good-bye Regensburg maybe I will see you some other time.
So now what do we do? The next bigger town is Amberg. I never even heard of this town. Let us go and see what this town has; maybe they have a hotel that is ok for us, for just one night. We ride the short distance to Amberg, taking the Autobahn to get there faster, just in case we run into problems again.
With a few questions, we find the hotel Altstadt in Amberg. At 72 Euros with Breakfast, it is not great, but better than paying 140 Euros in Regensburg. The parking for the bike is in front of the hotel, all is well. We have a room for the night. Now let us go and explore the town.
Like so many towns in this area, Amberg, too lived off salt. Salt was so much in demand that whole towns, whole counties could live off the money it created. Yes, Amberg had a wall around the city; yes, Amberg has cobble stone streets and the former market area is still active, still visited. A river running through the town still brings visitors, still runs along its old path. After visiting Amberg, walking its old streets, I still do not know why the town is there, what it did in the past. I am sure Amberg traded salt, but what else did Amberg do?
After some visits of European towns, no matter the county, no matter the area, the towns start to look alike. Walled off from invaders, giving their tradesmen work, having a protective royal patron, being blessed by the church, they existed for some reason. They had to be famous for something, produce something. I never did find out what made Amberg famous. Only after I checked Wikipedia on line did I learn we missed the ‘famous’ smallest hotel in the world. Rats!
We are getting tired of travelling; it has been a long trip. It is time to go home!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amberg
Passau
Breakfast was in town. We had to get packed, get dressed in full gear to ride back to town. Get undressed again, to have coffee and cold cuts and the typical German Brötchen (or Semmeln). Our proprietor from last night had a good time serving us. At 72, she runs a bar in town and the Gasthaus we were in last night. Spry and nosy too, she wanted to make sure we were well before we left town. The breakfast was good, the whole experience last night unique.
In a light rain, we left Untergriesbach and the way to Passau was a mere 30 Km. We left town in no hurry thinking we could be there in 40 Minutes. After some 10 KM, we ran into a blockade. The road totally closed down. I tried to ride around the blockade, but no, we had to go all the way back to Untergriesbach to find a new route. Passau was not easy to get into. Even coming close to the actual town of Passau, an old, medieval town, we had to take a long detour.
Luckily, I saw a sign for the Info center in Passau. Those folks in the Info center are a Godsend. Without them, it would have been tough to negotiate the cobble stone roads, the hilly terrain, and the one-way streets. With the help of the woman at the Info center, we had a hotel in no time. Our hotel was immediately on the Danube River. The Danube in Germany changes name and is called the Donau.
Passau is an old town situated at the confluence of three rivers. The Inn, Ilz and Donau, all three are navigable Rivers and come together here. This makes for a unique situation and the position of Passau is such that even in olden days, people took full advantage of this uniqueness. All shipping in years past had to pay the city a toll to pass through. The benefactors were the King and the Bishop of Passau. People in a castle, high on the hill, watched ships come and go and made sure they paid their tolls. Passau became so rich and was so famous that the King of Austria came here during the attack of Vienna by the Ottomans. Passau had and still has lots of money. The old buildings ooze voluptuous rococo and show old money. I am sure the King of Austria and the Habsburgs, could not have found a better place to find refuge from the Islamic attack.
The town itself sits on a huge triangle formed by the Rivers Inn and Donau. Due to the recent rains in the area, a lot of the shoreline, even some minor streets were flooded. This did not affect our stay yet it shows that the rivers still play a most important part in the town. High water was always part of the town; the rivers ruled and still rule today. The transport of salt, a necessity in the middle ages, made Passau rich. Today the money comes in from tourism. Boatloads of people from all over Europe stop here. River cruises, a popular way to travel on the Donau (Danube), come from as far away as Bulgaria on the Black Sea and dock here. Passau is worth a visit; it has charm, has many nooks and crannies and caters to most everybody’s taste. The history buffs love it, the water lovers find it interesting, and the café and restaurant eaters find their Mecca, too. A large number of people rode in on bicycles since Passau is a hub for five major ‘highways’ for enthusiasts of this sport. Travelling on bicycles, using the very rural, for bicycle only, created roads is the way to go. If only I were younger…
We just explored whatever struck our fancy. We stood by and it fascinated us that River Cruise ships were loaded by hand. Each box of supplies made its way to the hull or storage on the ship via a human chain. Each case of beer, cereal, orange juice, fresh vegetables, meat, etc. was passed on from hand-to-hand until it disappeared inside the ship. It is a strange thing to see today, this handing off from person to person. You would expect a machine to do the work, a conveyer belt maybe, but no, not here. Somehow, they find it more efficient to stock the ship the old-fashioned way.
We are in a much more relaxed mood. Getting to places is not important. We are more adrift now. We do not have a target. In fact, we look at each other and do not know where to go next. Where do you want to go to next, Carol? Wherever, you pick it! Exploring churches is now off limits, we saw too many of them. Climbing up a steep hill to see another castle seems too much work. We discriminate now when we see a restaurant. Now we want to find a place that is unique, it is not that we are that hungry that any food will do. I think we are near the end of our allotted time, near the end of our trip. We both know it. We are looking forward to some peace and downtime. Our brains are loaded up to capacity with newness, we need time to digest the info we collected.
In a light rain, we left Untergriesbach and the way to Passau was a mere 30 Km. We left town in no hurry thinking we could be there in 40 Minutes. After some 10 KM, we ran into a blockade. The road totally closed down. I tried to ride around the blockade, but no, we had to go all the way back to Untergriesbach to find a new route. Passau was not easy to get into. Even coming close to the actual town of Passau, an old, medieval town, we had to take a long detour.
Luckily, I saw a sign for the Info center in Passau. Those folks in the Info center are a Godsend. Without them, it would have been tough to negotiate the cobble stone roads, the hilly terrain, and the one-way streets. With the help of the woman at the Info center, we had a hotel in no time. Our hotel was immediately on the Danube River. The Danube in Germany changes name and is called the Donau.
Passau is an old town situated at the confluence of three rivers. The Inn, Ilz and Donau, all three are navigable Rivers and come together here. This makes for a unique situation and the position of Passau is such that even in olden days, people took full advantage of this uniqueness. All shipping in years past had to pay the city a toll to pass through. The benefactors were the King and the Bishop of Passau. People in a castle, high on the hill, watched ships come and go and made sure they paid their tolls. Passau became so rich and was so famous that the King of Austria came here during the attack of Vienna by the Ottomans. Passau had and still has lots of money. The old buildings ooze voluptuous rococo and show old money. I am sure the King of Austria and the Habsburgs, could not have found a better place to find refuge from the Islamic attack.
The town itself sits on a huge triangle formed by the Rivers Inn and Donau. Due to the recent rains in the area, a lot of the shoreline, even some minor streets were flooded. This did not affect our stay yet it shows that the rivers still play a most important part in the town. High water was always part of the town; the rivers ruled and still rule today. The transport of salt, a necessity in the middle ages, made Passau rich. Today the money comes in from tourism. Boatloads of people from all over Europe stop here. River cruises, a popular way to travel on the Donau (Danube), come from as far away as Bulgaria on the Black Sea and dock here. Passau is worth a visit; it has charm, has many nooks and crannies and caters to most everybody’s taste. The history buffs love it, the water lovers find it interesting, and the café and restaurant eaters find their Mecca, too. A large number of people rode in on bicycles since Passau is a hub for five major ‘highways’ for enthusiasts of this sport. Travelling on bicycles, using the very rural, for bicycle only, created roads is the way to go. If only I were younger…
We just explored whatever struck our fancy. We stood by and it fascinated us that River Cruise ships were loaded by hand. Each box of supplies made its way to the hull or storage on the ship via a human chain. Each case of beer, cereal, orange juice, fresh vegetables, meat, etc. was passed on from hand-to-hand until it disappeared inside the ship. It is a strange thing to see today, this handing off from person to person. You would expect a machine to do the work, a conveyer belt maybe, but no, not here. Somehow, they find it more efficient to stock the ship the old-fashioned way.
We are in a much more relaxed mood. Getting to places is not important. We are more adrift now. We do not have a target. In fact, we look at each other and do not know where to go next. Where do you want to go to next, Carol? Wherever, you pick it! Exploring churches is now off limits, we saw too many of them. Climbing up a steep hill to see another castle seems too much work. We discriminate now when we see a restaurant. Now we want to find a place that is unique, it is not that we are that hungry that any food will do. I think we are near the end of our allotted time, near the end of our trip. We both know it. We are looking forward to some peace and downtime. Our brains are loaded up to capacity with newness, we need time to digest the info we collected.
Passau? (Untergriesbach)
The word Passau popped up in my head many times in the last year. I cannot say why, but is has a certain ring to it. It seems in my head that pass (like a pass in the mountains) is in this world and the word ‘au’ which means meadow in old German. So what will the town look like?
Riding along the back roads, finding my way out of Vienna, which is not that easy, I am thinking about where to we stop that day? We are going west, the sun is at our back but it is not warming us that much at 54 Degrees F. Adding a few layers to our outfits helps a lot. The roads I choose are back roads, curvy but not difficult. Some detours even bring us past fields of wheat, corn and potatoes. Riding, after so many days in Budapest, Szentendre and Vienna, is a pleasure. Yes, it takes all day to get from Vienna to the German border but crossing the border is hardly noticeable, one sign spells out “Thank you for visiting Austria” the other “Welcome to Germany”. It could not have been more pleasant.
On the way to Germany and with Passau still in my head, I see this wonderful restaurant around noon. Many cars outside indicate to me a popular place. We are seasoned travelers now, we stop when we feel like it, do not chase the sun any longer and we stop for lunch when it feels right. The fried Zucchini, the fresh pressed apple cider with a piece of pie as desert gave us new strength. A birthday party for ‘Margaret’ was in progress during our stop over; she was turning 80 years old. Just before we left I walked over, sang her a ‘Happy Birthday, dear Margaret’ song, gave a Canada pin as a momentum and made her day. She might still be wondering who this ‘young’ man was that sang for her that day. It made all of us smile.
In late afternoon, close to Passau but too beat up by the cold weather and just before it started to rain seriously again, we came into a town named Untergriesbach. Yes, it is easy for me to say that and for all you English readers, yes, those German words are long, and I know it.
We decided to stop for the night; it was late enough, even if we did not get to Passau yet. I checked with two hotels in town but their prices were too high. A one-night stay for 80 or 90 Euros is just too much for my budget. The last hotel, a nice enough place with a 3 star rating, pointed to a little Gasthaus nearby, that might have room for us. Driving up to it, we found it closed with just a note in the window, “See us in town at this address”. Ok, off we go and we do find the woman running this place. She drives back in her car; we follow her on our bikes. It was somewhat of a comedy but we agreed to take the room for the night (what choice did we really have, it was raining by now?) for 50 Euro incl. breakfast. The problem was this guesthouse was way out of town. There are neither restaurants near us nor any other shops, just a few other houses. Even for breakfast, we have to ride back into town again, tomorrow morning. For that, we have the whole house to ourselves. There is nobody in the whole place. Even the woman leaves again in her car, leaving us to take care of things. We have a living room, we have the choice to sleep in as many as eight bedrooms, we have access to the beer, to TV, and it is literally our house for the night. It feels a bit strange, I must admit. It feels like we just ‘moved’ to Germany and now have this furnished house to live in. The bikes, parked securely under an overhang since the garage has ‘stuff’ in it, are ok. For dinner, we had an apple and a banana, food we had in our bags as left over from breakfast this morning. As it turned out, the lunch stop was a good thing; at least we had some food in us and the beers we found, the soccer match we watched of the 2010World Series, made up for not having dinner.
After riding in cool to cold weather, we were glad to be dry and comfortable and the sleeping experience, even if it was a bit surreal, added spice to our trip.
Riding along the back roads, finding my way out of Vienna, which is not that easy, I am thinking about where to we stop that day? We are going west, the sun is at our back but it is not warming us that much at 54 Degrees F. Adding a few layers to our outfits helps a lot. The roads I choose are back roads, curvy but not difficult. Some detours even bring us past fields of wheat, corn and potatoes. Riding, after so many days in Budapest, Szentendre and Vienna, is a pleasure. Yes, it takes all day to get from Vienna to the German border but crossing the border is hardly noticeable, one sign spells out “Thank you for visiting Austria” the other “Welcome to Germany”. It could not have been more pleasant.
On the way to Germany and with Passau still in my head, I see this wonderful restaurant around noon. Many cars outside indicate to me a popular place. We are seasoned travelers now, we stop when we feel like it, do not chase the sun any longer and we stop for lunch when it feels right. The fried Zucchini, the fresh pressed apple cider with a piece of pie as desert gave us new strength. A birthday party for ‘Margaret’ was in progress during our stop over; she was turning 80 years old. Just before we left I walked over, sang her a ‘Happy Birthday, dear Margaret’ song, gave a Canada pin as a momentum and made her day. She might still be wondering who this ‘young’ man was that sang for her that day. It made all of us smile.
In late afternoon, close to Passau but too beat up by the cold weather and just before it started to rain seriously again, we came into a town named Untergriesbach. Yes, it is easy for me to say that and for all you English readers, yes, those German words are long, and I know it.
We decided to stop for the night; it was late enough, even if we did not get to Passau yet. I checked with two hotels in town but their prices were too high. A one-night stay for 80 or 90 Euros is just too much for my budget. The last hotel, a nice enough place with a 3 star rating, pointed to a little Gasthaus nearby, that might have room for us. Driving up to it, we found it closed with just a note in the window, “See us in town at this address”. Ok, off we go and we do find the woman running this place. She drives back in her car; we follow her on our bikes. It was somewhat of a comedy but we agreed to take the room for the night (what choice did we really have, it was raining by now?) for 50 Euro incl. breakfast. The problem was this guesthouse was way out of town. There are neither restaurants near us nor any other shops, just a few other houses. Even for breakfast, we have to ride back into town again, tomorrow morning. For that, we have the whole house to ourselves. There is nobody in the whole place. Even the woman leaves again in her car, leaving us to take care of things. We have a living room, we have the choice to sleep in as many as eight bedrooms, we have access to the beer, to TV, and it is literally our house for the night. It feels a bit strange, I must admit. It feels like we just ‘moved’ to Germany and now have this furnished house to live in. The bikes, parked securely under an overhang since the garage has ‘stuff’ in it, are ok. For dinner, we had an apple and a banana, food we had in our bags as left over from breakfast this morning. As it turned out, the lunch stop was a good thing; at least we had some food in us and the beers we found, the soccer match we watched of the 2010World Series, made up for not having dinner.
After riding in cool to cold weather, we were glad to be dry and comfortable and the sleeping experience, even if it was a bit surreal, added spice to our trip.
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