Rain in Passau

Cold, rainy day today. Passau was shut down completely. The town plaza had about 10 people in it rather than the hundreds we've been seeing in other towns. Austria is just across the Danube now that we are in Obernzell.

We watched the locks do their magic, lifting this barge.

Passau is purportedly one of the most beautiful cities in Germany, but coming into the town from the West was quite industrial. (Scott is riding across in the right of the picture.) These enormous buildings had a dystopian, megalithic feel to them.

The town hall (Rathaus) records Danube floods like I used to record the kids' heights on the pantry hall back Maine (it makes me a little sad to not have that marred up piece of woodwork now).

Steady rain all afternoon, so no great shots of Germany's Venice, as Passau is known. I actually enjoyed riding for several hours in the rain because the exercise kept me warm enough and it was somehow a contemplative ride behind my foggy and rain-spattered sunglasses. 

A wooden mermaid cradling a fish. I am soaked!

As I said, everything is closed, so I didn't have high hopes when I knocked on the door of Zum Freischutz Gasthof in the small town of Obernzell. The 3 old guys drinking beer and the stern lady of the house had no English but I can now ask for a double room and find out if breakfast is included. This place is frozen in 1972. Super kitschy and a little spooky and dark. But we are warm and dry finally.

Creepy dolls guard the hallway.

But they had a picture book about kitties being friends with all sorts of other animals (When Cats Love). Made me very happy.

Some other little snippets:

Like the Camino, there are no bathrooms along the trail, so every hidden bush has piles of toilet paper (we never leave ours behind). Last night I squatted outside the tent at dusk only to turn around afterward  and have some fishermen raise their beers to me some 50 yards away. We came across a man in the middle of some serious business next to the trail 2 days ago and the only thing to do was look straight ahead and try to give the guy some dignity. One must squirrel away a day's worth of toilet paper every morning. In the cities you must pay fifty cents to use the WC.

Again today we are asked if we are Brits, and told that the only American who bikes is Lance Armstrong. A German couple was incredulous we had brought our bikes with us. Yesterday a woman I was buying postcards from stated that I was on the cruiseship. No, I am on a farrad (bike) and I am from the USA. Again, some disbelief. We are certainly an anomalie. 

So far there aren't really places to get quick hot foods here. We are buying everything we eat in grocery stores. Sometimes I get a hankering for some homemade hot French fries or some greasy spoon bacon and eggs.

Exercise is a big deal here. All ages are Nordic walking (with poles), running, biking, walking, and roller blading.

Everyone greets you on the trail - "Morgan!"  "Hallo!" "Tag!"  (Pronounced tock). We got a big cheer from some dudes today riding by, cheering us on. 

There are no laundry facilities to be had so every night we hand wash a few articles and either pin them to our panniers to dry or we put them on the radiators in the rooms. Scott sometimes reminds me to unpin my delicates before riding into the bigger towns :) He's always looking out for me!

There are also family pictures of this David hasselhoff looking character all down the hall from 1987. At breakfast Scott was especially missing Ben when he heard the ballad over the radio, "I swear, by the moon and the stars up above.....I love you with every piece of my heart..."  He remembers mock singing this song with Ben, who knows all the lyrics (Backstreet Boys?). Scott's favorite music is overwrought pop (not!).