Day 8--Deggendorf to Schlogen, Austria

Largest pipe organ in the world

Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Deggendorf to Schlogen, Austria
Distance: 104.34 km (65 miles)

X+: We pass another Benedictine Monastery as we leave Deggendorf this morning on our way to Passau, gateway to Austria. In Passau we see the Danube nearly double in size as it is joined by the Inn River, flowing out of Austria and Germany. Our destination today is Schlogen, on a meander of the Danube 50 km. from Passau. 

Austria 2008: President: Heinz Fischer; Chancellor: Alfred Gusenbauer; capital, Vienna

Philipp, a pipe organ enthusiast, had told us that the Cathedral in Passau had the largest organ in the world and not to miss hearing and seeing it. Alas, we arrived at 1:30 pm just after an organ concert so we did not hear it. Seeing it was something though (see below).

Passau Cathedral Organ

Most of our ride today was atop a gravel levee with the river to the right. At ride’s beginning we passed through pastoral farms, but eventually the flat landscape changed to hills that ran to the river’s edge. We saw large touring boats, castles high on the hills, and pretty red-roofed towns nestled at the foot of the hills near the river.

The levee along the river

Buildings and churches on the other side of the river and some excursion boaters on this side; look at the long narrow boats they will paddle. The river is very swift, so I hope they will be going with the current.

Pastoral scenes along the river

The remnants of a building high on the cliffs above the river

There were several mermaid sculptures along the river in this area. I haven't got the sun right in either of the photos above, but you get the picture (pun intended).

On our first day, Rick warned all about the pavement differentials at street edges so common in Europe. There is generally no curb, just a slightly raised paver at the edge of  the road. Nonetheless, on our second day out, Marion took a hard fall because she did not cut perpendicular to the differential. She cut and scraped her elbow and had road rash on her hip and knee also. Well, Judy did the “differential fall” in Passau. She was not injured nearly as badly as Marion  . . . just scraped one knee a bit. I gave her Neosporin, gauze pads, and the stretchy bandage I carry, and she fixed herself up.

The Inn River joined the Danube just as we left Passau and headed on to Schlogen. It comes from the Alps so collects glacial silt. Where it combines with the Danube the water turns milky and continues to be so for the rest of its journey to the sea. Goodbye “blue” Danube.

Left photo is an attempt to show the meeting of the blue Danube and the milky Inn rivers; one can definitely see the milky combo in the photo to the right, also one of the huge, unwiedy Viking Touring barges. 

It was very hot today, probably in the mid 90s.

We took a very small ferry across the river to Schlogen with a young family of four—mother, father, daughter, and boy of about 8 or 9. The boy was riding a fully loaded small bike and on top of his kit was his favorite stuffed toy. This is not an unusual sight as whole families take off on cycling vacations using the Donau Radweg as their means of getting from one camping spot to another.

A worn me slumped on the ferry bench; note the milky river

Ferry captain--a kid with a summer job; and the stuffed toy on the young boy's loaded touring bike

Hotel Donauschlingen

When we got to Hotel Donauschlingen (loosely translated as “Donau bend”) in Scholgen, I took a short rest and then donned my nylon shorts and climbed a very steep footpath to the Donau Overlook. In Scholgen the river makes a 180-degree turn (shift?). I took some pix of this from far above. Horseflies were fierce and bit whenever I stopped.

The footpath to the overlook; that's a tourist ahead

The view from the top of the climb behind the hotel

Here I've cobbled two photos together to show the horseshoe--a bend of nearly 360 degrees-- in the Danube at Schlogen. The yellow line shows the track we rode and the ferry across the river; the pink line shows the trail along the river we will ride to Linz the next day. If you look at the wall of trees on the outside of the photos, you will realize how high I climbed.

A greatly enlarged view from the overlook to the ferry across the river, that tiny roofed boat to the left in the photo

The bike trail that we rode to the ferry 

A little island to the left of the hotel; it served as a jetty of sorts to protect a marina behind it

The blue sign at the bottom of this photo says "Stork Flyway" or "Stork Trail." The other signs in this photo tell how long it takes to get to each place. I hiked to Donaublickweg (Donau View Path) from Schlogen.

After climbing to and from the overlook (it took over an hour), I donned my swimsuit and cooled off in the indoor pool. The outdoor pool was in the direct sun and looked far to hot. I sat for a long time at one end of the pool and enjoyed a water jet massage. My upper lip and corner of my mouth have been blistered with sun poisoning since Day 2. Barbara doesn’t burn or tan at all, and gave me some Dura Screen™ that she uses. I will try it as my face is also deeply freckled, sun spotted, and red. I feel ugly.

Tonight I took a little walk around the hotel which is really a health resort and spa; had a Sprite and some peanuts with Judy, and then had dinner outside with the gang. I had trout and yellow potatoes and a salad; warm strudel with vanilla sauce for dessert. 

Dinner alfresco with the group: Rick, Judy, me, Carolyn, Barbara, and Bob. I asked Bob to take the left photo of the three of us but I should probably have thrown it out as I am dislodging something from a tooth and it does not flatter either Judy or Rick. That's the trouble with digital cameras: Unfortunately, I keep most of the pix I take, good or not.

Me trying the zipline. It was meant for children and way
too short and low for adults, but fun anyway

Left, a white wagtail, one of the most prevalent trail birds; this is an awful photo as the bird moves constantly; right, another photo of a mute swan and her cygnets--these swans were all along the river