Donaubach

Transcription

Danube Cycle Trail: Germany From Donaueschingen to Passau Autumn 2009 - Spring 2010 - Autumn 2010 The source of the Danube is in dispute, as are most origins. According to popular opinion, it is in Donaueschingen, at the confluence of the Donaubach (Danube creek), Brigach and Breg. Two symbols honour this: the karstic spring in the Prince of Fürstenberg gardens and the Temple of the Danube, where the Danube creek flows into the Brigach. The German part of the Danube Cycle Trail starts in Donaueschingen and here I start with a first leg in late October 2009. I plan to go as far as the city of Ulm. Since I can cycle on the first day only for 3 or 4 hours, my goal for the day is Tuttlingen. On the way I pass the Danube drainage near Immendingen. A dry river bed of limestone bears witness to the fact, that nearly all water is siphoned away through holes in the ground. The Jurassic rocks are riddled with them like Swiss cheese. The next morning I make an early start from Tuttlingen. I cycle into the midst of a beautiful fall day. The Danube Gorge through the southern Swabian Alb shines in radiant beauty. Again and again I put up long stops and admire the white limestone rocks in the middle of the autumn woods. This day I only cycle as far as the Benedictine Abbey Beuron. It occupies the site, on which an Augustinian monastery was already founded in 1077. Near the monastery a 73-meter-long covered wooden bridge crosses the Danube. It is over 200 years old. Here runs the Way of Saint James, coming from the Neckar valley and continuing to Lake Constance. The interior of the church is decorated in Beuronese art style. It emerged in the second half of the 19th Century and was based on early Christian and Byzantine art. It radiated far: F.e. the Abbey of St. Hildegard in Rüdesheim and the monastery of Monto Cassino were re-designed in this style. I hope for another beautiful autumn day, but get disappointed. The fog does not clear and the second part of Danube Gorge between Beuron and Sigmaringen turns up gray and cold. To stay in motion I put in no extended breaks. East of Sigmaringen extends a monotonous endless plain, which on that day looks twice bleak. To warm myself I stop at the Roman Museum in Ennetach. Then I cycle on to Zwiefaltendorf, passing the reconstructed Celtic Heuneburg. The next morning crows instead of storks fly near the church tower and the fog is even thicker. Nevertheless, I make a side trip to Zwiefalten monastery. The monastery fell victim to secularization, but the church still shines in late baroque splendor. 7 miles further I visit the sprawling monastery complex of Obermarchtal. It is the only completely preserved monastery in Upper Swabia and even in the cold, foggy autumn weather it is an impressive sight. The monastery is now used as a church academy for teacher training. Before I reach Ulm the Danube splits into many side arms and backwaters. Despite the cold and nasty weather, the landscape is not without charm. In golden autumn sun it certainly would be nicer. On a cold but sunny spring morning I cycle into Ulm. I have already covered some 30 kilometers, because from Amstetten a rail replacement bus service was running. I abstained from that. My goal for this day is Günzburg and because I only have 3 days for cycling I target Ingolstadt as the intermediate step. Although I'm almost the only cyclist who travels this early on the Danube Cycle Trail, I have difficulties finding accomodation in Günzburg, a side-effect of Legoland. From Günzburg I proceed to Dillingen, where the Bavarian Teachers' Academy is sovereignly housed in the former Jesuit College. Then I visit Höchstadt castle, where the museum shows a very interesting exhibition about the battle Battle of Blenhem. The next city I reach is Donauwörth. I take a room in the Inn to the Golden Deer and finish the day - after a long stroll through the old city - with an excellent dinner. The next day, the cycling through the Danube valley offers an interesting lesson about flooding and St. Florian principle. (Oh thou Holy Florian, spare our home, burn another one!) Some loacal residents protest against destructive landscape river regulation works, 3 kilometres further the people call for dikes and flood control basins. I can not make it to Ingolstadt. I conclude the spring stage in Neuburg on the Danube and visit the Renaissance castle there. In the fall of 2010 I start the last leg of the Danube Cycle Trail on German soil. From Ingolsheim it cycle to the Bavarian Danube. Although we already have the first week of November, the weather is still very warm, usually about 15 degrees and often the sun breaks through the clouds. But almost no one is travelling by bicycle and when I reach Weltenburg, river cruises through the Danube Gorge are closed for winter. The imposing Benedictine Abbey, the monastery of Weltenburg, is situated at the start of the Danube River George. The previous building was the oldest monastery in Bavaria and its roots date back about 1300 years. The current monastery was built in the early 17th Century and the abbey church was painted by the brothers Asam. Since I can not go by boat I push my bike up the steep river bank and walk on narrow paths through the autumn woods. After about 3 kilometres I reach Kelheim and the Liberty Hall. It was commissioned by King Ludwig I of Bavaria, built to commemorate the battles won against Napoleon during the liberation war. In Wikipedia you can read the nationalist lard that was composed by the king himself for the occasion. It starts with: Hail to you, valiant men, brave warriors. Built out of Kehlheim limestone the Liberation Hall is 45 meters high and provides a wonderful view over the confluence of the Danube and Altmühl. Together with the Altmühl the Main-Danube Canal flows into the Danube. From Kehlheim I continue to Regensburg. I reach Regensburg on the evening of this wonderful autumn day and embosom the city at once. It recalls a bit an oversized and hill-less Tübingen. To my mind it is the most beautiful city on the German leg of the Danube Cycle Trail. Since I stayed 5 kilometres from Regensburg in the beautiful Cycle Hotel Walba, next morning I visit Regensburg a second time. I get past the Pentling Earthcache, which shows the sedimentary deposition and the erosion patterns during the Cretaceous period. Here Cretaceous sandstones have superimposed the karst forms. After a second extensive stroll through Regensburg I continue to the Valhalla. It is a creation of Louis I, too. The German Hall of Fame took until the summer of 2010 before Heinrich Heine was honoured with a bust. He probably would have been quite happy without it. The hall is closed for lunch break, therefore I waive a visit to the interior and make myself happy with a view over the Danube valley. I want reach the heartland of the Bavarian wine growing region by daylight. It is situated near the village of Baach. The Bavarian wine is - according to the signpost - strong and tough as the Bavarian people, but is otherwise scarce. The wine bar, in which I take a late lunch, must serve Austrian Zweigelt. The Bavarian grapes are not getting along well with the hard Bavarian autumns. A few miles away - in Wisent - I experience Nepal in Bavaria. An industrialist has transplanted the Nepalese Expo 2000 pavilion to this place. From Wisent it is still a long way to Straubing, the city with the most beautiful square in Bavaria. I arrive there at dusk. From Straubing the cycling distance to Passau is more than 100 kilometers. But, as a change of weather is announced (which than is one day late), I decide to cycle without rest. I put up very short stops in Bogen, Deggendorf and Niederalteich. Late in the afternoon I cycle into Passau and move into my hotel in the old town. The next morning I go to St. Stephen's Cathedral and then stroll through the old town. I climb up to the fortress of Veste Oberhaus. It affords a beautiful panoramic view of the three rivers city. Next year I plan to cycle the Austrian leg of the Danube Cycle Trail toward Vienna and Budapest, and - who knows - from there to the Iron Gate and the Danube Delta.