Austria - Pictures

The pictures are in reverse order of where we actually started. To see our true start to finish of Austria, start from the bottom up. Hope you enjoy:-)

The ups and downs.....

Following the Danau, extremely crowded with touring bikers as it is again paved, flat and slightly downhill, we planned to meet our friends Christine and Matt in Linz, the first big city we would hit in Austria. This story I am about to tell is a bit scary but pretty hilarious, that is if you can really try to imagine the entire scene. I spoke with Christine to let her know when we would be in Linz and she asked if we would feel comfortable with leaving our bikes outside their place, locked up of course. "It's really safe in Austria," she says. No problem. We normally don't like to leave our bikes unattended unless they are at a campground as we would be totally shit out of luck if something did happen. Anyway, the next night, our first night in Austria, we are at a campground that sits right along the Danau bikepath. Normal routine, ride to a store, cook dinner, drink wine, sit by the river, go for a walk, read our books in our tent and lights out.
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Weil der Statt, Germany and west - Writing

July 25 - August 10 or so
Leaving Weil der Statt, we had no idea where we were heading other than simply east. Maybe Munich to see some friends? We opted to just ride with no destination in mind and let the wind guide us. It has worked for the past 4 months, so why not now as wel?. 4 hours into our day of pedaling, we heard a couple come up on bikes speaking English. Fantastic! Before we knew it, we were all talking away and riding together. They were from California and Minnesota but were living in Germany for the past 4 years as he was in the army. He and Ryan talked about our trip and once again, having no plan or agenda has worked in our favor. They suggested we head to the southern middle part of Germany, into a valley with unused bike paths and castles on both sides built over 1000 years ago.
Following little bike signs, no real map, we rode through trails with enormous trees blocking the path, along a river, down valley, surrounded by nature and barely a sole within miles. The towns we rode through had anywhere from 20-500 people it seemed. Occasionally we would see a young boy or girl sitting on a stoop scraping the dirt with a long stick, humming and just passing the time. A scene not often witnessed as so many are consumed with technology and constantly on the go. These towns reminded me of what the early 1900's would have been like for our grandparents, quant and simply.
Always hungry and dark clouds moving in on us, we stopped at the only restaurant in a town of 100 for doner kebabs. We have found a new love for these delicious, cheap sandwiches! A woman was sitting behind the counter doing a puzzle as we walked in, looked up with a big grin and started speaking German. No luck, she didn't speak English. Ordering with hand gestures, we took a seat at one of two tables right as the rain started. Perfect timing as I hate geting wet as most of you know, but I am learning that I do not melt because of it:-) She picks up the phone and starts talking and laughing in Syrian and within a few minutes her 14 year old son walks through the door. 5 minutes later her other 2 boys and the guy who runs the school walks in. She was so excited to introduce her children to Americans, she had them come down to meet us. It's amazing how kind people can be and the littlest things that get a huge smile to cross their faces. The man who came with them spoke great English and asked us all about our trip. It was almost 6 and we had no idea where we would lay our heads at night. He recommended we ride another 15k up to one of the castles that is similar to a hostel. You can actually sleep in the castle!
This castle is mostly intended for backpackers, but of course they were happy to accommodate us. Luckily there was one room left as a group of 30 16-18 year olds and two teachers were staying the night for their end of the year school trip. Once they heard we spoke English, they raced up the tower steps where we were enjoying a delicious German beer, and they all started talking at once. I think it's interesting for peoploe to have conversatios with others who are fluent in another language. Europeans are taught English from kindergarden, which is quite amazing and I can't grasp why we don't do something similar in the states. We are so culturally closed within our own country and aren't taught about the rest of the world often enough, it's actually pretty sad. So for you teacehr and parents out there, expose your kids to other languages and cultures please!
They invited us to dinner for sausages and potatoe salad, followed by a bonfire where they toasted fresh dough on sticks like we do with marshmellows. The rain forced us in early where we drank tea and just relaxed to music on the stereo and a girl playing the guitar and singing, soaking up this great group of German teenagers. They were so well behaved, always helping with the cooking and cleaning, etc. Actually, now that I think about it, I don't think the teachers lifted a finger. I didn't hear one complaint while we were there. Maybe I should teach in Germany?! We had a great night, something that we will always be embedded in our memories as a unique and fortunate experience.
Making our way down the valley until it reached the Danube River, called the Danau in Germany, we rode through Ulm. This is a city with the tallest gothic spire sitting in the middle of the town square, benches all around and absolutely beautiful. Only staying for a quick break for some fruit and pictures, we had another 30k to ride before the sun was completely set. It does get a touch scary riding once it starts to get dark as we never know if cars can see us. Our bikes and bags are covered with reflectives and we have a rear light that we turn on, but it's still unsettling. So far, so good.

Germany - pictures, part 3

Lost in the Bavarian forest without a map looking for a flat, well hidden piece of ground to camp for the night.




Harbor entrance on the Bodensee




Bed and Breakfasts have no idea how much Lisa and I can pack away. No profits for them!






Gina out like a light on the Autobahn... John did actually hit 103mph

The main gate to Dachau concentration camp. Arbe Macht Frei translates to: Work makes you free

The ovens

The showers

Still bullet holes in the wall behind

One big stork!

The massive rain and hailstorm made for some interesting challenges

Lisa riding the greenway

We shared the castle for the night with 30 high schoolers. Quite fun!

Castle ruins above a valley that only hikers, bikers and horses can go.

The gates of the castle / hostel

Two cold beers after a long day of riding in a 10th century ruined castle? Yes please.

Every small town has their own local beer. When you order it, you get two choices: hefeweizen or Pils.

The huge Gothic spire in Ulm

The may pole in a small Bavarian town...

One always knows the time in Germay

They sell local beer from vending machines? If this machine did not take only exact change, our budget would have taken a big hit. Yes, we took a lot of pictures of German beer...

Herding cows with a bike... maybe we CAN make some money along the way.

We road to the end of the path and there was a ferry boat

Abbey on the Danube

Riding the ferry through the narrow gorge instead of pedaling... video of this at the end of the pictures

If I could trade in the bike for one vehicle... Africa here we come then!

View from the campsite - last night in Germay

Passau on the Danube - near the Austrian border

Germany....July 11-25

We will catch up eventually....but here is part of Germany. We are currently in Venice. Beautiful!
Riding along the Bodensee that led us into Germany was of course beautiful, but one of the more crowded sections of our trip. As the path around the lake is only 200k, paved, flat and lined with towns and campsites, it was a touring mecca for older couples and families. Many young families pulled a trailer with a child or two, rode with a toddler seat directly behind their own, had a double bike or the kids rode solo. Needless to say, we spent much of our time ringing our bells and trying to get around the leisure riders.
The last time we were around English speaking people (thanks Jason and Christine!) was when we were in Barcelona visiting friends. Some of the adjustments along this trip are 1. getting used to not being able to understand the conversations going on around us (this will be a trip when we are in an English speaking country again) and 2. remembering to speak slowly when talking to someone who only speaks a bit of English. Needless to say, we were extremely excited for meet some friends from Australia in Friedrichshafen, Germany.
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