High Water and Oktoberfest Lite

We're back in Germany without internet access, so I'm not sure if I ever uploaded the last post from Austria. I've got a lot to do whenever I find the next internet point.


I feel like Alice in Wonderland - everything's bigger here!

We've had a lot of rain lately, and I must say I still prefer the rain to the intense heat. It was one of those days in Deggendorf when it was raining early in the morning and looked like it was about to rain all day, so we decided to stay. Of course it didn't rain from the time we paid for another night at the campsite, until later that night when we were walking back to the campsite from the Volksfest in Deggendorf. But the Volksfest made our staying worthwhile - drinking beer under a huge tent listening to a great band play German music. I actually recognized some of the songs from the radio station Matthias' parents listen to. There must have been over a thousand people in the tent, and Matthias said that's what Oktoberfest in Munich is like....only bigger and more expensive. We had so much fun we didn't mind the rain pouring down on us as we were walking back.



Or the fact that it was still raining the next morning when we woke up. Hell, the Volksfest was on all week, and we could stay if we wanted. But then it stopped raining, and as we were deciding whether to stay or go, the camper that was parked between our tent and the river packed up and moved, revealing that the river threatening to come over the bank! The little beach that had been there the day before was underwater and it looked as if the water could actually rise up and wash our tent away (at least to me). So, we packed up and left, at which point (of course) it started pouring and continued to rain all day. Actually, the rain stopped just before we reached the next campsite, so we had a chance to sort of dry out before we set up our campsite. Then again, nothing would really dry out for the next couple of days.



The next day, although it didn't rain much, we rode through a lot of mud, and had to take a lot of detours as the bike paths by the river were flooded. Fortunately, our campsite near Kelheim was open and relatively dry, so we set up our tent and went out to the local beergarden. As we were enjoying our beer under the shelter, the sky opened up and let out a downpour! We rode back to our tent to find that all was still dry inside, but we were on the edge of a huge flooded area. I persuaded Matthias to move the tent a few meters toward higher ground, which was a good thing, because within the next hour, the entire area where our tent had stood was flooded. But on the bright side, that marked the end of the rain for a few days. We've enjoyed cloudy, cool, but dry weather as we ventured into the Altmuehl Valley, what will probably be the last leg of our trip. It's really beautiful, but I've got to say that at this point, I'm nearly immune to beautiful. I'm just about ready for a real bed...after 60 days in a tent.

More pictures online. See link to August 2010 photos.

Real Summer

Stein (Krems) on the Donau

Rain day: We are in a campsite in Krems, Austria, in the beautiful wine valley known as the Wachau. We arrived here yesterday just as it started to rain, and fortunately, the campsite happens to have a "rec" room with tables where campers can sit and relax and get warm. So, I have no excuse not to plug the computer in and write a blog entry. Unfortunately, there's no internet here, so I have no idea what I wrote for the last blog entry! Hopefully, I won't repeat myself too much.


Packing up after the rain day in Krems

So...the heat wave has finally broken to what we are accustomed to as summer in Europe: Cold and rainy (and/or windy)! But we're still at the point where we'll take this weather gladly over the intense heat. And before I continue by tirade about the weather, I have to to mention the two great people we met at the campsite near Vienna - Bob and Sue - who were on their way to Budapest and beyond. I told Sue about my blog, and she said she never reads blogs, as they're usually all about the weather, what the author ate, and how much everything costs... so of course, now I'm mortified that I gave her the blog address! Forgive me, Sue, if you ever bother to read this.


This was full of people swimming a week ago....now Matthias needs a jacket!

Yes, we were in a campsite near Vienna, and we actually went into Vienna for the day and saw some of the sights. What a beautiful city! This time, we visited the Schönbrunn Palace - the summer residence of the Hapsburgs - the Naschmarkt (for food, of course), and a traditional Viennese cafe (for more food - Kaiserschmarm, to be specific. Yumm!)



At the cafe in Vienna

The Markt square in Vienna

As we enjoyed Vienna, I was also looking forward to heading back along the Donau trail through Austria at a more leisurely pace (now that we don't have to hurry to Budapest for Matthias' birthday and since we don't have any real destination in mind!) Krems (where we are now) was our next stop on the trail, and I suppose it was lucky for me that it rained because we decided to stay an extra day here and I got to try marillen knodel (apricot dumplings - they taste way better than they sound) in the old town (yes, Sue, mention of food and weather in the same sentence. Fortunately, it wasn't too expensive.)


Stein on the Donau

Now that we're back in Austria, I'm thinking of our time in Hungary and how much we really enjoyed it there. We had originally planned to ride past Budapest but he heat got to us and changed our plans ( I bet it's nice and cool in Hungary now!) But we did enjoy our ride back to Austria. Funny, but I always prefered to travel in circles, or circuits, instead of traveling 'there and back'. I forgot that when you travel in a different direction (even on the same path) your view is almost completely different. So, on our way back through Hungary, it was like seeing new things (or old things from a different perspective - nearly as good) but without the stress of having to find our way. Grossartig! (I think that means "FAB!" in German, but without my online dictionary I can't be sure.)


Matthias, enjoying salami like a good cigar!

So....one more thing while I'm in the mood for writing (and without anything else to do right now) is to talk about some of the "stuff" we've seen along the way. One of our (my) favorite things to do in campsites is to watch the other bikers put up/take down their tents, and we always comment on their gear - is it better than ours? lighter? as comforable? On this trip, we've seen a lot more bike trailers like ours ("Bob") and a lot of different bikes. These include recumbent bikes (where riders are reclined and look like they're riding an exercise bike) to mini-folding bikes to tandems. Can you believe people actually travel long distance on tandem bikes? On tandem bikes with trailers? On tandem bikes with kids in trailers? With two kids and/or dogs in trailers? I'm not kidding! I just watched a Dutch family cook and eat dinner and put their three little kids to bed in a tent in this very campsite, and I was exhausted just looking! And on a totally different note, we met a couple from Andorra yesterday. I was psyched about that - I mean, how many people actually live in Andorra? Not many, I suppose (or not many more than those who actually know where Andorra is.)


My favorite Jause (snack) bar on the trail

So, the tour goes on, and I'm loving it. And I'm going to have to remember that if it keeps on raining....