Swimming with Swans

We are now back in Passau, Germany, having biked from Budapest along the Danube bike trail. The journey is great - I highly recommend it. In Hungary, the riding was not the best...we had to ride a lot on busy streets, but the countryside was lovely, and we spent a few days in a small town where we could swim and relax in the Danube. We also rode two days in Slovakia, which would have been nice (the bike path was pretty good most of the way) except for an incredible headwind. That was tough...like riding uphill all the time.

Back in Austria we stopped for one night in Vienna - the campsite was pretty international, and pretty expensive (20 Euros). We had fun in the city, though, visiting Matthias´favorite restaurant - in an historic keller (cellar). We also spent two nights in a campsite in Feldkirchen, a small town with a nice swimming lake, where we were able to cool off. The weather has been great - hot during the day and cool at night.

When we got to Passau yesterday, there was a festival, so we helped ourselves to some Maß (1 liter beers) and snacks and met some nice Bavarians. Now, we are trying to figure out where to go next. We will probably head up the Inn river back toward Austria and then head off to Munich at some point.

We have had our share of gear problems. The tune-up we wanted to get in Budapest did not work out (they wanted us to leave the bikes for 7 days just to fix a spoke! It reminded Matthias of the Communists.) So, Matthias had to ride with a broken spoke until we could find someone to fix it, but who then messed it up worse, so we had to go to another bike store in another town to get it fixed. Then, the day before yesterday I got a flat, and broke a spoke as well. So, our bikes are now in the bike shop getting new back tires that should be able to better handle the weight of our gear.

And, in Hungary, our tent broke, so we went out to buy another. The new tent was really cheap, but we should have known that it would not keep us dry. So, we tossed that one and went on a search for another, better tent, which we found in Slovakia. Once we figured out how to build it up, we were quite happy with it. Hopefully, this one will last until the end of the trip.

That´s all the updating for now. Internet places are somewhat scarce on the bike trail so I´m not sure when the next update will be. Until then, hope all is well wherever you are.

Why did Italy wear blue?

Is one of the many questions I have after watching the world cup championship in Budapest. It`s one thing not to understand the game completely, but when watching in a different language, I almost feel lost. Good thing it is a pretty straightforward game, but could someone (Steve Rich, maybe) explain the offsides rules? Matthias doesn`t know, or doesn´t care, or doesn`t care to tell me....

We arrived in Budapest late last night, via train from Vienna (from Tulln, really) Unfortunately Jennifer and Brenda were not able to meet us, due to a family emergency. We were terribly disappointed, but we were ready for the break from biking and camping (at least I was.) We found a cheap and comfortable pension near the train station and are staying for three nights...leaving on Tuesday. Then we are going to bike back along the danube through Hungary and Slovakia to Vienna, and then who knows (any ideas for us?)

In response to my father`s constant questions, we have now travelled over 1,400 km on our bikes. They are holding up reasonably well, but we are taking them for tune-ups tomorrow. We took a ride around Budapest today, to Margit Island, which was quite beautiful. Yesterday, we spent the day in Vienna (the only train we could get to Budapest was late at night.) We really love that city, and plan to spend a few days on the way back. But for now, it is nice to have a place to stay where we don´t have to pack up (the often wet tent) in the morning and start on our way. I have one more morning to enjoy that before we are off again. (photo of odometer reading 1000 kms)

Until next time...

Austria Rocks!

Hello from Tulln, located about 25 minutes by train from Vienna (I think that's their claim to fame!) We are really enjoying biking along the Danube river. The bike trail is wonderful, the scenery is gorgeous, and we are meeting some nice people. We are heading east toward Budapest, but we're not exactly sure how we're going to get there yet (combo bike riding/train). Still, we are enjoying the ride very much. Weather has been great, although it might rain tomorrow.

That's all for now. We actually found a campsite that has free internet, but I think they're closing now.

Course Change

We are now in Passau, Germany, near the Austrian Border. Following the advice of our friends Jennifer and Brenda, who commented on the last post, we decided to ride toward Budapest to meet them. We reached the Danube (Donau) river two days ago and have been traveling east. We expect to be in or near Vienna in about a week, and we will see whether we can keep riding or if we have to take a short train ride.

The Danube bike path is very nice, and a lot more heavily traveled than the others we have followed. It is also much less hilly (so far), which is nice on the legs. We had a few rainy days recently, but the sun is now shining and the weather has been great for biking and camping. And the campsites are wonderful, with clean bathrooms and sometimes even a beergarden.

We did get to watch the Germany-Sweden match in Hof, which was really fun...when Germany won it was as if they had sealed the championship - people partying in the streets, honking horns, waving flags and so on. A few days ago, we watched Germany beat Argentina in a rather young local bar. We felt a little out of place amid the raving and chanting, but it was fun. Too bad about England, though...we watched that match at our campsite in Straubing with a nice English couple. Guess we are going to see the rest of the matches from Austria.

That´s all for now. Perhaps I will be able to do the next update from Jen´s blackberry!