Day 14 - Passau to Linz

This was the easiest day so far. We completed 62 miles by 13:30 travelling along the Danube all the way. This is the first time we have used this path except for a few miles on previous days. The path travels a few metres from the Danube all the way. The first 45 miles or so are along a gorge with buildings, chapelks and chateaus growing out of the rocks here and there. Its nice to be surrounded by steep hills knowing that you don't have to go up and over them.

It was pleasing to stay on a serene, traffic-free cycle path today. In germany we were not comfortable using them as we tended to miss important road signs, slow ourselves down and end up on gravel tracks or, even worse, muddy farm tracks clogging up our mudguards. However, when we travelled on roads with a cycle alongside, we got frequent beeps from passing motorists to point out that we were breaking rules.

On the Danube way today we saw a large number of cz#ycle tourists for the first time. We were all rewarded with impressive scenery. In 2 places we had to cross the river on a small ferry to stay on the cycle path. After one crossing we saw a lone woman goatherding her flock of a dozen or so. I was half expecting to see the Vonn Trapp family appearing over a hill singing "Doe a Deer". A few miles further on we saw a man with a catapult on the river bank firing shots at swans. Not sure what that was all about.

Arriving in Linz, we got the usual traffic dust that sticks to your sun-tan lotion and makes you think your tan is deeper than it really is until you see it disappearing down the shower plug hole. The buildings are starting to look more Austro-Hungarian [Hapsburg emipre?] with more bulbous shapes at the tops of the towers. This evening we will be searching out the famous Linz chocolate cake to go with a cup of coffee.

Barry