No cars!

We trained it out of Czech.  After going over our options, it was going to take up too much time if we biked it all the way to Regensburg. Too much uncertainty with the trail markings, with too much of a lack of us knowing one word in Czech to ask for help. The random pedestrian in Prague knew a little English, but out in the countryside not so much. So we had visions of two weeks in the beautiful Czech forests, when we only had about two days left in our schedule to meet up with the Danube.

So we Luger the trains on to the train, where we assumed that for our five euro for each bike there would be somewhere to put them. But when we got hustled them onto the train, we got no further than the entryway. Any further would have required dismantling the bikes to fit in the narrow hallway. So we blocked the restrooms and doors, one bike in the way of two different doors each. The conductor just walked by each time, and didn't seem to mind. But after we came back once to check, people had moved them to use the loo, and they were now sprawled across the only way in or out of the car.

It ended up being a blessing in disguise, because Laura insisted on moving to a different car closer to the problem bicycles. There we met Lou and Manuela, two Germans from Chom who were nice enough to give us a personal tour of Regensburg when we arrived. It would be hard to find two nicer Europeans, except for our other new friends Renata and Jana from Prague. 

The bikes that Renata acquired for us have worked out great. I talked Laura into switching back in Czech republic, and that helped. Since then we have tilted the seat forward and moved it closer to her hands.  My pack has a few more items in it now which helped also. Today we rode about forty five miles, and she can still walk normally. Yesterday we rode about thirty five and things weren't so good.

Last night we stayed in Bogen, Germany. Very Bavarian. A nice little Gasthaus with breakfast included. The Danube is a stones throw away all along the bike path, and it is the most wonderful riding! How could it get any better than a smooth path with no auto traffic, fabulous scenery, a tailwind, and a smooth running machine between your legs?

Tonight we are in a little Gasthaus on the river just short of Schalding. Still in Germany. Tomorrow we will plan on getting to Passau, a border town with Austria directly across the Danube. 

Internet service has been surprisingly hard to come by. No wireless anywhere, no service in the hotels, and once in a while an Internet station where you pay for a certain amount of time on their computers. I am trying to paste the blog in from the iPad, so can't put it on yet. We are hoping that in Pasau, a bigger city, we can access some kind of wireless. 

Dirk Novitzki is in the papers here, but otherwise we are out of touch, so if the world blow up, hopefully it will spare Bavaria.