It's getting cold early (or seems to be) here in Passau and we just completed our fall bike trip to Hungary and back. But before that, there were some summer adventures with the same cast of characters as last year! In July, Matthias and I celebrated Matthias' birthday here in Passau (bike ride, beer garden...his favorites) and then I met up with Jennifer and Brenda in Munich. They were making their way across the continent starting with a pride event and conference in Madrid, a visit to Liechtenstein (Jen's 100th country!) and then a journey through Innsbruck to Munich to see me! We had a Bavarian good time in Munich, carousing in beer gardens and halls, checking out the ratskeller and Marienplatz, taking the HOHO bus, walking around town to see quirky sights and (more seriously) visiting the NS Documentation center. It was so fun to hang with them!!
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| Bavarian Weisswurst breakfast |
Then in August, mom and Laurene and I met up for our summer extravaganza. They first came to Passau for five days to see where we live, tour the area and get over their jet lag. That included eating and drinking in places with sweeping views, a dinner at our fabulous beer garden with Matthias, some side trips and lots of walks along the (three) rivers. We then took the train to Nürnberg for a couple of days where we sweated out the heatwave and visited former nazi rally grounds exhibit, took a sweltering tram tour of the old town, and met up with Matthias' parents (they were vacationing in the area) for dinner. We also took a day trip to Bamberg, where we did a Jewish walking tour, which was interesting, but probably not the best idea since it was so damn hot and Laurene's leg hurt so much she needed a cane! Next, we took a day-long train trip from Nürnberg to Lyon. Despite my early morning panic attack after learning the wagon containing our first class reserved seats wouldn't be operating (which I was able to address by the time the train arrived) the journey was good. Our hotel in Lyon was just across the street from the train station so we grabbed a drink and a snack and settled in for the night. The next morning we got a taxi to the pier and boarded the S.S.Catherine for our 8-day luxury cruise on the Rhone river through Burgundy and Provence.
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| Veste Oberhaus Museum overlooking Passau |
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| Marienbrucke in Passau |
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| Meeting up in Nürnberg |
Our first day in Lyon included a (too) quick visit to the Museum of Resistance and Deportation, which was located near the ship. Then we settled in for the cruise itinerary, with another day in Lyon to tour the Basilica Fourviere and through the Traboules in the old town. That afternoon, I grabbed a bike and took a ride along the river to Parc de la Tête d'Or. Next, we cruised north up to Macon and took a tour in Beaune to see the town and the Hospices, as we had a lovely lunch (on our own) in town. The ship sailed back through Lyon that night (I caught a great view of the Basilica) arriving at the riverside towns of Tain L’ Hermitage and Tournon sur Rhone the next morning. We did a walking tour there, followed by a fun wine tasting and then chocolate sampling at Valrhona. Next stop was Viviers for another walking tour and a visit to a cafe for more wine and music. That afternoon we visited a truffle farm and a Chateauneuf du Pape vineyard to taste some fabulous wine (paired with wonderful chocolate - what could be better?) We met the ship downriver for the journey to Avignon, arriving in the evening in time for Laurene and I to ride the ferris wheel located near the docking spot. The next day in Avignon we toured the Palace of the Popes and the visited the central market, and I got a bike in the afternoon to ride around the city walls and along the river. Then we learned that that ship would not be able to sail to the last stop Arles because a lock on the river was closed, but they arranged the tour by bus so we got to see yet another charming French village, and it was market day so that was good for browsing and souvenirs.
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| Vineyard on the way to Beaune |
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| High over Viviers |
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| Ferris Wheel in Avignon |
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| Palace of the Popes |
In the midst of all of this, we had a great time on the ship. The meals were, of course, wonderful, featuring regional dishes and local wine. I took advantage of the beautiful little swimming pool and morning stretching/yoga class. And we all had fun listening (and dancing) to music that included a singer (Edith Piaf-style), a fabulous "Camargue" band (Gypsy Kings, style) and even a silent disco. We met some wonderful people including our "bestie" Sherryl from New Zealand and pals Linda and Steve from Australia, who also used the ship's bikes to cycle around. Linda and Steve were great dancers and actually knew people who were in the movie "Strictly Ballroom," one of my cult faves! In Viviers, a bunch of us went over to a local open-air bar/dance venue we could see from the ship for a drink and (for some, not me) a spin on the dance floor - like a scene from Dirty Dancing. Fun!!
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| Hanging out with Sherryl |
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| Playing around in the elevator |
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| The pool, my second favorite place on the ship! |
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| Silent Disco divas! |
Of course, I had booked a train to Paris for us from Arles, but since the ship wasn't going there, Uniworld arranged for a ride to the train station. I had hoped they would take us to Nimes instead (where we had to change trains anyway) because it was just as far as Arles; they declined. But then when our 6am ride to Arles didn't show up--causing my second panic attack of the trip--they ended up getting us a taxi to Nimes, where we had plenty of time to catch our TGV train to Paris. It was FULL, being the last day of the French summer holiday, but our first class seats were comfy and the train ride was quick. Arriving at Gare de Lyon, we got a grumpy cab ride to our dingy (but comfortable) hotel in the Marais and pushed on for a bit more sightseeing. I think at this point we were exhausted and pretty much done with travels, but Paris is Paris and it was wonderful! We went to Notre Dame, did some more sightseeing on the HOHO bus (without hopping on or off - good for aching legs!), and did a three-hour Jewish walking tour of the Marais. For some culture we visited the Musee Marmottan Monet, which was fabulous. Of course we also found time to relax in cafes for drinks and bites, including our last night for fancy cocktails up high. I even squeezed in morning walks along the Seine - would have gone swimming but the "beach" was closed due to water quality issues. Then it was finally over and I went with mom and Laurene to the airport to catch their flights and got a train back home. The train made it all the way to Nürnberg without delays but due to a track problem on the last leg of the trip we had to transfer to a bus that arrived three hours late to Passau (thank god Mom and Laurene were not there with their luggage!) But I was still home before 10pm, just a bit after mom and Laurene landed in the States. There are hundreds of pictures of this trip in this Photo Album
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| Walking around in Paris |
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| From drinks up high |
Back in Passau I got a terrible cold, which was no wonder since the previous three weeks were filled with early mornings, late nights, drinks, eats, fun and also a tad bit of stress. But I recovered in time for the Herbstdult and our bike trip to Lake Balaton and back! We originally wanted to ride to Pecs in Hungary, which we've wanted to visit since it was named a European Culture Capital in 2010. Unfortunately, due to a long-planned medical appointments for Matthias, we couldn't leave until the second week in September and I had to be back for a medical appointment on October 15th (oh the joys of aging!) So, the timeframe was a too tight for the distance. I was also having trouble finding campsites along the way that remained open after the 30th of September. So, we settled on Lake Balaton as our destination. I had also long wanted there to visit after learning about it as a hot spot for travel behind the iron curtain back in the day. East Europeans would travel there because they could, and West Europeans would travel there because it was dirt cheap for them. At least that's how German TV movies and shows would portray it.
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| Matthias' new digs for the dult (festival) |
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| Herbstdult! |
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Route to Balaton and back highlighted in yellow
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Although the logical route would have been the Danube Cycleway through Vienna to Balaton, we've done this journey a few times before, so this time I plotted a route that was actually more direct through Austria along the Alpen foothills. Our first day we rode along the Danube, but on the opposite shore as usual, and took a shortcut over a hill to a familiar campsite. The campsite itself isn't great (and has gotten expensive, like everything else), but we used to love it because it was near Jause (snack) stands. Although most of these were were either closed for the season or closed completely, it was fun to be back in the area. Next, we traveled along one of our least favorite parts of the route (along the river past Linz, which was fine because the wind was behind us) and then headed south into new territory for us. We camped that night in Steyr. Unfortunately, we didn't see the old town because the pedestrian/bike bridge was under construction--which also made getting to the campsite a bit complicated--but it seemed like a pretty area so maybe we'll be back. The next day's ride was beautiful along the "Most Radroute" over the hills through apple and pear orchards. We didn't find any stands along the way selling Most (hard cider made from apples and pears) or snacks, but did find a great picnic spot along the way. Actually, on this trip, we almost always found great picnic tables around lunchtime, particularly in Hungary (seems nearly every Hungarian town has a sheltered picnic table, but more on that later.) We spent the third night at a campsite in Purgstall and then rode over some more beautiful hills to Traisen. Unfortunately, at this point, Matthias' bike was making some troubling noises so we found a bike shop in town and had someone take a look. The guy took a test ride and--noting how fully loaded the bike was--thought that it was just something to do with the pedals, not serious. So we went up the steep hill to the campsite half believing that everything would be fine. (Spoiler, it was.) We got a nice spot with a pretty view and as we were winding down for the evening a group of young people settled into the picnic area nearby to light a fire and hang out. Well, this provided an opportunity to try Matthias' new tent, which I agreed to carry along for Matthias to use to escape excessive noise. He set up his little tent farther away from the picnic area and we each had a good night's rests - separately. The guys ended up partying there (not extremely loud, but close enough to hear the bander and laughing, in Croatian, I thought) until about midnight. No problem for me and Matthias was very happy with his quiet alternative. Yay!
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| Over the hills in Austria |
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| Pretty campsite in Traisen |
The next day we rode over more hills (and the bike noise got a bit worse, but this was our last hilly day) to a lovely little campsite on a pond in a small village. It was still quite warm--we had wonderful weather so far on this trip--but I didn't pack a bathing suit (regretted this often!!) so I only stuck my feet in the water. Since it was Sunday and we didn't do any grocery shopping, we were lucky that the town had a cute pub and a great little family-run restaurant for dinner. So we really enjoyed our first night out on the trip. The next day we rode into Hungary. The terrain got flatter, but we experienced our first headwind and some less than idyllic trails. I didn't know what to expect in Hungary, but once we got further from the border and through the busy city of Sopron, the ways improved: either quiet roads or dedicated bike paths. As its name suggests, our first campsite, Sa Ra Thermal camping in Hegykő , included access to thermal baths. Since I didn't bring a bathing suit (argh!!) I donned my black sports bra and black underwear and came the closest I ever have to a bikini....two pieces with bare midriff!! Although I was extremely self-conscious, it was worth it. We continued along the next day to our second stop on the way to Lake Balaton - another campsite (Vulkan Wellness Hotel and Camping) with a spa. I didn't bathe this time as we arrived kind of late and I knew we'd be back in a few days. The next day we arrived in Keszthely on Lake Balaton and settled in for a three-night stay. At this point, the weather started to turn rainy and a bit colder so it was nice to be in one spot, although it would have been nicer to have more sun while on the lake.
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| More hills in Austria |
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| Picnic lunch in Hungary |
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| First look at Lake Balaton |
On our first full day in Keszthely we wanted to visit the town market but sadly it was closed. The helpful people at the tourist information center gave us information markets in the area, as well as where to find the local butcher shop. So, after a lovely picnic lunch by the lake featuring yummy hungarian sausage from the butcher shop, we set off to the spa town of Hévíz, where the market was in full swing. We bought meat and cheese and had a large snack before riding back to Keszthely. And if that wasn't enough, that night we went out to dinner at a restaurant near the campsite where we had delicious local wine and food. The next day was rainy, so a good day for laundry and a visit to the Balaton Museum to learn more about the area and stay dry. We discussed whether to stay in Keszthely an extra day (Saturday would be market day in town) but decided to move on, which meant back toward home. The way back in Hungary would be along the same route until just before the Austrian border, where we would veer northward along the Neusiedlersee (lake) and around (avoiding) Vienna before joining the Danube bike trail to get home.
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| Picnic on lake Balaton, with wares from the local butcher |
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| Square in Hévíz |
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| Dinner in Keszthely |
As we were leaving the Keszthely campsite, I couldn't get my bike motor to turn on. The computer flashed an error message and although all the display functions (and shifting) were working, the bike motor didn't. In a panic, I pedaled my very heavy load under my own full steam to the supermarket, and while Matthias was shopping, I located a bike repair shop on google maps. Fortunately, as we got to where the bike shop was supposed to be (we didn't find it, though), my motor magically turned on. I was nervous, particularly due to the strong headwinds, but had no further issues before making it back to Vulcan Wellness campsite, unless you count the dog that came out of nowhere to chase me down the street, getting stuck for a while behind some horse and buggies and ending up in a parade of motorbikes at the end, unable to cross the street to the campsite until everyone roared by. Of course, once at the campsite, to relieve the stress I decided to head to the thermal pools. Turns out these were much nicer that the ones at Sa Ra Camping (which were more like municipal pools.) I probably stood out a bit more here in my bra, panties and camping towel as everyone else had white robes, presumably provided by the hotel. But the pools were great! Also, being Saturday, there were a lot more people at the campsite, and an outdoor rock concert was taking place not too far away. So, when our camping neighbors started to gather around to party, Matthias got out his trusty little tent and moved on down the road. Great idea as the small party near our tent was going until around 2am! The next day's ride back to Sa Ra camping in Hegykő was uneventful, but we spent our last lunchtime in Hungary shooing away hungry cats that must have been used to people feeding them from our picnic table. I visited the pools again - a bit disappointing after the last campsite - and we went out for drinks and a last dinner in Hungary. When we got back from dinner, Matthias overheard some people talking not far away and decided to set up his tent again. This time it was unnecessary as our neighbors were quiet by 9pm, but better safe than sorry, I suppose. Luckily it wasn't too cold and I didn't need all our sleeping bags!
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| One of the pools at Vulkan Wellness Hotel/Campsite |
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| Having a beer at Sa Ra Camping complext |
A few kilometers from Hegykő, we turned north along a beautiful bike route that took us through the Hungarian vineyards toward Neusiedlersee, a large lake near the Austrian/Hungarian/Slovakian borders. We rode through more vineyards on the Austrian side and reached our very empty, and very expensive (40 Euros) campsite on the lake. It was cold and windy (therefore the empty campsite) but it was quiet! From there we kept on northward and into the wind. We had a long day planned that turned out even longer when we realized our planned path took us through an active military training ground, where signs fairly clearly warned us to stay out (except on weekends) or we could be shot. So we battled the wind and went around the restricted area, then across the Danube and through farmlands to Zwerndorf, where I had found a really cute campsite run by a friendly farmer. Again, we were the only guests so we had the heated bathrooms and lovely indoor kitchen to ourselves for a nice dinner and breakfast. Then we cycled back toward the Danube through local bike routes that included "Energy Way' with tons of wind turbines, solar panels and even a couple of oil rigs. I think the wind turbines were producing the most energy that day judging from the wind in our faces! We did find a sheltered place for lunch before arriving at our campsite in Tulln (on the danube cycle path), where we were not the only cycle/tent campers. There was a couple from Canada, a family with three kids from Iceland, and a guy from Germany there. too. We had an uneventful night and then set off along the Danube to Rossatz in the Wachau, a wine region we have always liked. The campsite was near perfect, although Matthias was not pleased with the relatively unfriendly hostess. And the site was beautiful, if COLD. But we went to a local Heuriger (wine bar with snacks) for wine and dinner and to keep warm, and found ourselves sharing a table with a nice couple from Freiburg (other side of Germany). So, we drank too much wine, enjoyed snacks for dinner, and had a lovely evening. We decided to stay another day at the campsite, as I had originally planned. Fortunately, fresh air and exercise are wonderful hangover remedies, so we felt pretty good taking a ride through the area that day and enjoying a quieter dinner the next night at the restaurant by the campsite.
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| Neusiedlersee |
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| Rossatz Campsite |
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| Cold morning at Rossatz Campsite |
Leaving Rossatz, we rode along the Danube through the lovely Wachau valley to Grein, where we headed up the hill to a pretty farm-stay campsite, Binderalm. The campsite was cute, and nice because we were the only ones there, aside from the deer, sheep, geese, ducks, chickens, and dogs which were quite loud, actually (somehow that noise doesn't bother Matthias, though.) Next we rode through the hills from Grein to the Danube, where we faced strong headwinds past Linz to our last campsite at Höflein. We went briefly to the festivities at the local fire house for some accordion music and beer and then back to the campsite. The festivities followed us back to the snack bar at the campsite, where some of the partiers stayed until around 11pm, but fortunately that was no problem for Matthias because he liked the music, and with the rain it wasn't too loud in the tent. Speaking of rain, the forecast for the next day was one that would have led us to stay put for an extra day, but since our next stop was home we decided to go for it. We packed up our very wet tent and rode through blistering wind, lots of rain and one big climb on the 80km ride back home. It was a pretty ride made miserable by weather, but our warm and dry apartment awaited us. It was a great trip!
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| Danube Bike Path |
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| Binderalm Campsite in Grein |
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| Windy and rainy, but almost home! |
Not too many more pictures from this trip, but they are in the Google Album here
