Passau was lovely but there is so much of the world to see so we headed off.
A tributary of the Danube joined and doubles the volume of water at the point of leaving Passau. Ethan remembers learning this “confluence” from geography. It’s very cool that the waters actually have different colours which you can see!
Immediately upon leaving Passau we crossed the border into Austria. This is one reason why I wanted to start in Regensburg and not the more popular Passau, so we could spend a few days in Germany before leaving Austria.
The first part of the journey involved fast paths along rolling lanes with the road on one side and the river on the other.
We followed a disused railroad which snaked among our trajectory.
Picturesque houses and tiny villages punctuated the vast open plains.
At one rest stop we had beautiful river views.
I take lots of photos of the family but here is my bike setup! A Brompton S2L-X with a T-Bag (with smaller frame) and an Ortlieb saddlebag.
Ethan took this shot!
My little girl is quite the bike babe. Any interested boys must first catch her on the bike, then pass daddy’s tests.
It got quite hot and we were feeling tired even before lunch! So we were glad to arrive in a small town and scoped our our lunch options.
The small town had hardly any shops open except one cafe. Fortunately the young lady owner served ham and cheese sandwiches, great Viennese iced coffee, and these incredible swan pastries!
We cycled off and our route led us to cross the Danube on a barge! These small ferries take you across for 2-3€! They are called “Bike Fahre” here!
Ethan and I had taken one in Korea before. This was our first in Europe!
We continued riding along beautiful paths.
The heat increased and we needed a rest as today was a longer 60+km ride.
At the foot of a hill, just in front of the Danube we stopped, rested and had a radler and ice-cream!
The break really refreshed us and we felt much better afterward!
We hugged the meandering river…
Cut through forested paths…
And enjoyed the cool shade of the overhanging trees.
A fort on a hill watched us as we entered the town of Aschach.
We stopped at a duck crossing! They were obviously much more tame being near the town.
So I took out some bread I had kept and the kids fed the ducks while I kept the large scary swans a bit further away!
Our room at Josepha Hirsch Gästehaus was in a very old and classic building just off the Danube river.
Dinner was a beautiful pan-fried fish in a lemon butter sauce, and an Aschacher-schnitzel which had delicious sauce instead of being deep fried!
We slept happy and relaxed knowing that tomorrow would be a late morning, breakfast in the hotel and a short ride as “half-rest” day.
Munich to Budapest 
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