Deggendorf to Passau

Today was one of our "short" days cycling only 57km (35miles), which is weird to say because it is about 10 miles longer than I biked at any one time the whole summer!  I can tell you that I knew immediately that I had rode a "long" ride yesterday when sitting on my bike!

The scenery today was beautiful. . . more of the same pastures, small towns, pastures, and small towns.  We had a couple of stretches of compacted gravel trails that weren't my favorite.

We stopped by the side of the road to take some landscape pictures and we noticed the the back of this semi and thought what a perfect background for a photo!

Jeanna, Paula, Barbara, and Dede

Here are the landscape photos from the ride today. 

A family out for a Sunday ride!

We made very good time into Passau today, mostly because we rode by all the stopping places for coffee and the lunch stop!  We arrived in the town center around 1pm and had a great lunch. . .I had a hamburger and french fries. . .yummy!!!  After lunch we headed to the hotel . . . Jeanna promptly took a nap and I had worked on the previous blog!  We met the group at 5pm for a walking tour of the city.  It was a fun twist on the usual walking tour. . .the guide told us the story Bishopric nature of Passau using different members of the group as characters in the story.  Interesting facts about Passau:

1.  Much of the town was destroyed in a great fire in 1662.  After the fire, the Gothic ruins served as the foundation for rebuilding which was built in the style of Italian baroque.
2. During the Renaissance and early modern period, Passau was one of the most prolific centers of sword and bladed weapon manufacturing in Germany.  The blades were stamped with the Passau wolf that is shown in the coat of arms of the city.
3. Passau is the point of confluence for 3 rivers. . . the Danube, the Inn River, and the Ilz river.
4. St. Stephen's Cathedral is the largest baroque church space north of the Alps and it has 5 organs that can be played simultaneously from a single console!  With 17,974 pipes, 233 registers, and 4 carillons!!!  The only other organ bigger than this one is at the First Congregational Church in Los Angeles.

Pictures from the city tour:

Our Tour Guide

City Hall Clock Tower

A door used to feed infected people during the Black Plague

St. Stephen's Cathedral

St. Stephen's Cathedral Courtyard

St. Stephen's Cathedral

In June of 2013 the waters from the Danube flooded the city of Passau!  The watermark was the highest in recorded history 12.8m (42Ft)!  Many businesses have not yet reopened and many buildings are still being repaired from being flooded.

If you look closely you can see the light line above the last dark mark representing the watermark for 2013

The flood waters reached this point in June 2013!

We ended the evening with a group dinner!   Tomorrow is another "long" day of cycling, the ride is 99km to Linz.  There is an optional pick up at 70km that might have my name on it :-)!  

Bis morgen, wir sehen