Passau Day 2 - the day of departure
Meet the Royals in the foyer - out to dinner - Royals , K& E and Chris Harper - down a side lane - where in the hell is he taking us - rain is pouring down - i hope he has this all planned - sure does - good night - great music - good food - Austrian wine tasting - vineyard close to the Hungarian border - Pickler's - surprisingly good reds - run out of money - borrow from Chris - feel guilty - head out in the rain to the teller - forget umbrella - return wet but with a fat wallet - others now showing signs of settling in for the night - eventually convince the others to leave - in moment of madness tell Knud I will join them in the a ride out to meet up with Pam and Andrew.
Breakfast early - down to the bike shop - hire bikes - 12 euros for the days - do you need a deposit - no! ( says he with a puzzled look) - back to the hotel - check out and store luggage - back to the bike shop and off.
Knud - great rider - fair to middling navigator - Erica - steady calm - great rider - first encounter with bike traffic lights - stunned by the robust handles attached to the traffic light poles to enable the riders to balance while waiting for the lights to change - off out of Passau - hope I don't get lost - not sure what Knud is up to - off out of town - ah - now I get it - those little green signs reveal the real Danube bike trail - watch for the markings on the bike trail surface.
Continue on out of town - ah this is nice - along the hot mix track beside a regional road - look down to forest - plenty more of those greens -
Oh bugger - hot mix has gone - solid compacted gravel - not too bad - just a little harder to push -
Hell there a lot of cyclists coming towards us - all stoically pushing on - all in Danube biker riders uniform - all with ladened panniers - all with rain covers and suitable wet weather attire - hope it doesn't rain. - I am not equipped.
Push on - I follow Erica - Knud rushes ahead only to pause and return after a navigation issue
Lots of Zimmers and cafes along the way - along here you could stop and have a coffee every few kilometers
Track cuts up from time to time under the persistent bombardment of nature - regular repairs of the gravel leave some loose patches that toss the bike sideways and remind you that there is at least some need to concentrate on the your riding rather than the scenery.
Keep pushing on - haven't ridden for a while - tail ok but legs suffering - these hire bikes are actually pretty good - no rain
Reach the meeting point for Pam and Andrew - no sign of them - furious texting back and forwards - we swear about the lousy roaming sims - wander over to boat club - met by a local member - want a coffee - honesty system - where are you from? - never been there - must go! - more boat members arrive - kangaroo signs emanate from his friends - smiles - very pleasant people.
Eventually text messaging successful and there is furious waving across the Danube.
Pam wants to continue on the north bank - she is really keen on using the bike ferry just downstream - her heart is set on it - Pam there is no bike ferry between here and Passau - believe us - we are observant! - we would have seen one if it existed - Pam relents - ok they will come with us along the south bank to Passau - oh - bugger that does look like a bike ferry - Pam insists that we pose in front of the ferry - the ferry that never existed! - we go quite - suitably chastised and really a little sad for Pam.
Onwards to Passau
Time to head for the boat - dump our luggage on board - you cannot register until to 5:00pm - off to a nearby restaurant equipped with a cranky waiter - sit outside - he knows the tables now and settles down - down comes the rain - everyone relocates inside disrupting the restaurant and making him lose complete track of who owed who for what! - his humor did not improve- people happy to meet each other - the late comers arrive - where are Margaret and Gary - ah there they are - now where is Pam - Andrew takes a photo of the castle on the other side of the Danube up an enormous hill - labels the photo " last sighting of your mother"
Lots of drink - not sure if the cranky waiter ended up happy or not - on to the boat - Bernie tries to check in with a nice Danish lady who just happened to be another passenger - that problem aside we check in and get to our cabins - not too bad - top deck with a great view.
Back to the lounge for the briefing on tomorrow's ride.
Dinner - average but the company great - royals and reilly's
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