Hello Christine

Well, yesterday, I managed to send a little note to Katharina following my Danube Impressions boat and bike tour, so tonight, your turn has arrived, following my Passau 3 Rivers “Home based” tour last week.

I’m sure it will come as no surprise to you to hear I really enjoyed my few extra days in Passau, which fitted so well with the Danube Impressions tour.

On leaving the Theodor Körner, I went straight to the hotel. They weren’t able to check me in (which I had foreseen and prepared myself for), but did allow me to leave my baggage in a side room in the Reception area. This allowed me plenty of time to head off to Fahrrad Klinik to collect my hire bike before its closing time on Saturdays. I was very pleased with the bike issued to me: very high quality components (I won’t go into the details, but cycle enthusiast would be aware of the same). I was initially pleased with the Rad und Reisen pannier bags with which I was issued (more than ample capacity) but in practise, they weren’t suitable for me because my feet are too big and I couldn’t stop striking the bags with my heels when I peddled. I didn’t use the bags for any of my rides; instead strapping a small backpack to the bike’s rack.

To take up some of the time before I could check in at the hotel, I made use of one of the vouchers and went on the Wurm und Kock “3 Rivers” boat ride.

The following day (Sunday) I followed one of the suggested routes, travelling to Engelhartszell, because this complemented the rides from the Danube Impressions tour (which, this year [2015], did not involve the section between Passau and Engelhartsell). At Lindau, I spotted the My Story and stopped off for a quick chat with members of the crew.  At the hydroelectric dam at Jochenstein, I went to the Danube Water museum, spending much longer than expected there (very good value), thanks to the English translation audio guide available. Then over the dam and on to Engelhartszell, visiting Stift Engelhartszell (briefly visited a few days before on the Danube Impressions tour). Finally, back to Passau along the south bank, travelling in the opposite direction from my Danube Impressions tour of LAST year [2014]. It was nice to encounter places I had seen the year before. I entered Passau along the main road and was a little confused how I’d managed to miss the Donau Radweg right at the very end, having distinct memories of having left Passau along it the previous year. Anyway, a good first day.

On Monday, I decided to travel along the Inn river to Scharding, again following the suggestions in the tour literature. Having crossed to the other side of the Inn, my curiosity about the ending of the previous day’s ride not being on the Donau Radweg got the better of me, and I spent a bit of time exploring in the opposite direction until I understood what had happened. So, back on to the intended trip rather later than expected. Plenty of interest along the way, but what a revelation Scharding turned out to be! I cycled through the town gate and it was like entering a different world! A real highlight of the tour! After lunch, I crossed the bridge to the German side of the Inn and started my return journey. What a difference between the two sides of the river! Cycling through the woodland beside the river was a delight. As I approached Passau, I noticed I kept encountering another cyclist: I would overtake, then a bit later on, I’d have stopped to take photographs and she would pass by. And so this went on. Then, in Passau itself, I’d just reached the place to turn off for the hotel, so I stopped again for another photograph and there she was right in front of me! A little conversation got underway and I discovered my travelling companion was a Business Studies student at Passau University, which I had passed a few hundred metres back. So a nice conclusion to my cycling and an excellent second day!

On Tuesday, it was back to the Donau, this time west along the German section to Vilshofen. Again, varied countryside along the way, but Vilshofen was easily the highlight with another magical transformation after passing through the town gate. I was very happy to cycle back along the same path as I’d taken on the outbound journey, knowing the sun would now be in a different direction when taking photographs. At the hydroelectric station just before Passau I spent far too long watching a boat pass through the lock. Anyway, another good day.

On Wednesday, having checked out of the hotel, I had a few hours in hand before I needed to catch the train to München. It was a beautifully sunny day and I decided to cross the Donau and climb up to the castle above Passau. I loved it! The views across the town were fantastic.

So there we have it: a really enjoyable few days. You may have noticed I didn’t use the vouchers for the boat from Passau to Schlögen (or the one in the opposite direction). If I had had a further day, I may well have used one or both, but my idea had been that, because I’d been to Schlögen on the Danube Impressions tour, I’d keep them in reserve if there was a rainy day, when I could jump on the boat and have a river tour, staying in the dry. But there wasn’t a rainy day, so I didn’t use them.

The Donau, the Inn. Not much of the Ilz. If I went back to Passau, I’d be interested in finding out what’s along that river, so it can truly be the “3 river city”.

A word about the hotel. At times it was full, at others it was pretty empty. As I said, I hadn’t been able to check in on Saturday morning and had to wait until the afternoon (I had expected this eventuality, so I was not upset when it occurred). The hotel seems to be very busy at weekends. This was obvious at breakfast on Sunday: the restaurant was absolutely heaving, with hardly anywhere to sit. A lot of people were checking out at 09:00 as I went down to the garage to start my cycle ride. On Monday morning, I had a whole room of the restaurant to myself. On Tuesday morning it was busy again (business guests, presumably) and on Wednesday morning, most tables had only one or two places made up with the other room of the restaurant closed off altogether. The hotel had good facilities for cyclists, with a section of the garage underneath the hotel set aside with cycle stands, so bikes were out of sight and under cover. The shoe-polishing machine is also down in the garage area, so next time I happen to be in Passau and want my shoes polished, I’ll know where to go for a free polish ;-)

On about the third day I noticed a leaflet in the Reception area of the hotel, saying that briefings for the “Eurocycle tour” were taking place that evening in the IBB Hotel. Should I have gone to these briefings? (I was tempted to go, just to see what they were about and to see if I’d be turned away, but I decided I had everything I needed, so they weren’t relevant to me.)

Now, my one problem is that, as I left the Weisser Hase hotel after checking out, I called back to the staff at the reception desk: “Bis nächste jahr!” But I no longer see this tour on your web site — so I hope it will continue to be offered next year. A number of Rad und Reisen tours start or end in Passau and even if you wanted to spend a few days there without any cycling, this tour would be good value. The vouchers give plenty of options for things to do in addition to exploring the city itself. And, even after several days in the city, I still don’t understand where you’re allowed to cycle and where you aren’t. So don’t give up on this tour!

My photographs for this tour: https://www.flickr.com/photos/132956868@N06/collections/72157659154207352/

In the next couple of days, I hope to find time to complete your questionnaires (for both tours). It always takes me several weeks to complete my post-holiday activities, so bear with me!

Best wishes from Reading!