PASSAU & LINZ

Europe’s small towns are meant to be explored!

PASSAU

This charming town is at the confluence of three rivers and bustles with creativity. I am happy to stay a couple of nights here! I find: the Glasmuseum Passau with its 5 stories of history in the collection of glass art; lots of galleries; and a wonderful steep hike up to a monastery where the view over Passau shows the confluence of the 3 rivers and the colorful buildings.

FERRY RIDES

After Passau, is a day of several ferry crossings as there are sections of the Danube where there is no bike path. It is a lovely bike ride along the river to the first ferry crossing and a short wait for the ferry.

At the place for the third ferry, it looks closed. I ask a local and he says its closed for the season and the only way forward is to take the road away from the river, so I do and quickly find out what I’m in for.

MOUNTAIN CHALLENGES

It ends up being three miles of pushing my bike up a mountain! When I emerge from the woods, it’s another half mile of more pushing - now under the hot sun. I’m very relieved when I get to the top. Then it’s several miles of an undulating ride of downhills but pushing uphill as the downhill doesn’t get me up the next hill. I am exhausted from what ends up as a very strenuous day so far.

What is more stressful is the steep ride down.

Fold up bikes tend to have a twitchy front wheel. The good news is that the weight of the basket on the front will help stabilize it. Just as with hiking, I prefer the uphill as strenuous as it may be.

Steep downhills, whether hiking or biking, are opportunities for things going out of control really fast. So… I have that “Oh Shit!” moment just before careening down the mountain with total focus on potholes and bumps. It seems to take forever…

I am extremely appreciative of the German drivers. They don’t add to my stress and gently slow down behind me until I get to the bottom. Just another 22 kilometers to the next town of Linz. I immediately book two nights. While I feel victorious over such a strenuous day, I take a very hot shower and am happy to drop into bed!

LINZ

The next day I treat myself to an afternoon at the Lentos Kunst Museum with its fantastic modern art displays.

In European cities, I especially love wandering through interesting streets in the general direction of my destination, excited with what I may discover. Here I discover a section of town that has lots of street art which may end up on a skyrt.

Next up: a city that has street art everywhere!