Heidi in Hungary

Sun 17^th Aug, we leave Heidi in ‘safe western Europe’ and head off into the unknown of Hungary on the bikes…

It feels like we’re sneaking in the back way. The route by car is a LONG way around!

We cycle through similar enough countryside covered with grape vines to Fertorakas and follow the road to Balf.  All is very quiet (its Sunday). The properties are much the same as just over the border, end on to the road and stretching back a long way. Deteriorating as they go back into barns and outbuildings, usually with a strip of immaculately kept ‘garden’ / driveway between, and with corn cobs hanging out in the sun to dry. Everything looks like it’s been a while since any funds were available for maintenance; there are a lot of well-kept but old cars about..

Corn cobs drying in the sun

It’s a beautiful, hot, sunny day as we cycle through the rolling hills and grapevines, pausing at a ‘fountain’ where everybody is collecting their drinking water. We top up our water bottles, only to find it sulphurous, with a distinctive eau de egg. I quite like it, especially cold from the spring, but Elaine is less sure.

We turn back towards Sopron and are more than pleasantly surprised. Sopron dates back to Roman times, with many ancient buildings much as they were in the past.  An advantage over many places that have had funds and inclination to restore and ‘upgrade’ over time. Also, the Ottomans never got this far.

Sopron was the site of the famous ‘Pan-European Picnic’  held on 19th August 1989; starting a chain of events which led to the fall of the Berlin Wall three months later and ultimately the tearing down of the ‘Iron Curtain’. ( Interesting article here: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/hungary/6408378/Sopron-Hungary-the-picnic-that-changed-the-world.html ) And it’s just 25 years ago.

I tentatively place my ‘plastic’ in ‘the hole in the wall’ and am presented with a great many thousands of completely unknown banknotes; all the better to enjoy the fete or whatever it is, that is going on in the main square. Local wine and beer and all manner of unrecognisable and unpronounceable food is ‘going on’. We wander around taking it all in, especially the elaborate, music accompanied, fountain.

Sopron main square

The ‘dancing’ musical fountain

..with some impressive engineering behind it!

Then with great trepidation managed to communicate enough to get food (some sort of sugary dough wrap thing called a kurtoskalacs) and drinks (an indecipherable fruit punch). For this we handed over thousands! of the ‘monopoly money’, and sat, waiting for the music to start and trying to pluck up courage to partake in the Sorhaz (beer house). I’m afraid to say I chickened out. Not only had one to choose between ‘light’ / ‘dark’ beer (‘vilagos’ / ‘barna’), you then had to decide on a size, with a specific name, and if that wasn’t enough, repeat what you couldn’t read properly in Hungarian – a completely unrecognisable language like nothing you have seen or heard before!

We loitered a bit trying to soak up the atmosphere and closely observing what was a ‘normal’ request from the completely unrecognisable food stalls, before deciding that, since we had no map, it was probably wise to try to escape this strange new world while there was still some daylight.

hehe – it’s all high tech here

Well, we made it out alive, and got back to Heidi before dark…
The next day, somewhat reluctantly, we leave an ideal parking spot, and head into Hungary with Heidi and more unknowns..
We follow the main road ‘84’ toward Lake Balaton, the largest fresh water lake in central Europe. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Balaton  ,Surprisingly only having an average depth of 3.2m perhaps accounting for its ‘muddyness’. The roads are long and very straight and the countryside flat and agricultural (mainly corn and sunflowers)

We stop near Keszthely on the SW end in a ‘beach’ carpark and reluctantly stump up the 500flt (less than 2eu) each to ‘enter’ and swim. It’s packed! windy and not exactly warm. The water is grey and very opaque.

It looked nice in ‘the brochure’

…the reality was somewhat different!

We go with the flow; realising that after 6.30pm, entrance is free and our chosen spot is deserted and quiet J

Tue 19^th. We set out on the bikes to explore. Heading for Keszthely centre, we discover that although you can get close to and occasionally sit near the lake, swimming is extremely difficult unless you pay to enter one of the many artificial ‘beaches’ . The edges are all artificially reinforced with sharp rocks. Humph.

An impressive town square leads us to the palace and gardens ..owned by the Festetics family for generations. ‘Grof Festetics Gyorgy’ (Count Gyorgy Festetics) being the most influential, turning the palace into a cultural centre, expanding the Library and founding the ‘Geogikon’ a pioneering institute for Hungarian agriculture which became famous throughout Europe.

Keszthely main square

Keszthely Palace

 

Count ‘Georgy’

A wander through the market; they like their paprikas here!

Keszthely was a nice enough place, rather ruined by an inordinate amount of ‘museums’ (there must have been 20!) all hoping to fleece the tourists to look at one thing or another. I’m sure some of it, be it folklore, pottery, agricultural tools, puppets, erotica, antique stoves, lace… might have been interesting, but the choice and variety of complex pricing was bewildering.

The scary language still preventing much interaction, but we did manage a couple of drinks (ordered in German!) ..and then it was back on the bikes for further exploration.

There’s a dedicated bike path all around the lake (all 200km of it). Unfortunately much of it is set back from the edge and the views are obscured by reeds – the view was actually mainly of the railway line! We went as far as Balatongyorok; just one of a great many holiday places with artificial beaches charging for access to the water; this one with music and attractive NOT! Exercise classes to join in.

Maybe it was the weather or we didn’t give it enough chance, but Balaton really wasn’t doing it for us. Another cold, greyish, uninspiring evening encouraged us to leave and drive via Helviz and its busy thermal spa and on to the Kis-Balaton lakes and marshes just to the SW. What a difference! It’s soo much quieter. We stop at a nature reserve carpark for the night and take a stroll before dark.

Kis-Balaton nature reserve – look clear water!

We stayed for a couple of days, enjoying the peace and quiet and the sounds of the birds – but not the mosquitoes! Luckily only a problem around dusk; the noise they make has to be heard to be believed! Luckily we can retreat inside and close all of the fly screens!

Friday 22^nd we continue our journey. Travelling on small, far from even, and very straight roads through the countryside (again mainly corn and sunflowers) we pass through quiet villages stretched out along the road and looking very self-sufficient with their well-tended veg. gardens and selection of chickens and goats etc. Several places are apparently derelict and for sale. Some places appear to have a selection of Roma inhabitants, the kids waving at us as we go by. We are definitely ‘odd’ in these parts; everybody turns their heads as we go by.

We stop at Koposvar for some shopping and a stroll round the town. It’s a big place, much of it made up of very run down looking flats, luckily partly hidden between attractive tree-lined avenues. The buildings in the centre were obviously once grand, but have now been declining for several decades. The EU money is now reaching here too and much effort is going into paving the pedestrian centre, restoring / adding fountains (the Hungarians might even be MORE fond of fountains than the Germans – if that’s possible?) and statues,

Koposvar centre has seen some renovation

..most of it is rather drap though. A favoured colour seems to have been dull green

part of a series of many – obviously by the same artist / designer

..and of course one must install ‘european regulation’ kiddie springy things!

We continue on in the direction of Pecs (pronounced Paich – that’s Hungarian spelling for you!) We stop for a few days near Orfu in the Mecsek Hills, at a series of lakes with some perfect free camping spots..

complete with our own, almost private, swimming steps 🙂

The weather as usual is pretty mixed, but we loiter here for several days, relaxing, swimming in the lake, cycling round it and walking in the surrounding hills and countryside. Considering its August and one assumes high season? It’s very quiet here. There’s lots of holiday apartments, a big water fun park with slides etc. several bars and campsites, canoe hire etc, but all seem very underused. At least one campsite is completely empty and shut up and looks like it has been for a while. Wonder why?

where’s Heidi?

 

walking through the VERY quiet woodlands

typical countryside in much of Hungary – so far

covered wells are a common sight in the villages, but I suspect most have mains water these days

Hungarian water pumps are also a common sight – useful for filling Heidi’s tank.

Relaxing hard!

Plenty of fishing (or should that be baiting?) boats

Fishing is very popular here. We wondered at the locals’ technique – it seems that even if you have a boat here, you only use it for going out and ‘pre-baiting’, if that is the right terminology?, the area that you will later cast out to from the bank. We watched several people doing this – strange! Surely if you’ve got a boat, you fish from the boat?? The ultimate in ‘wierdness’ was one young lad, who, without a boat at his disposal, donned rubber ring and flippers and swam out with his bucket of bait to bait the area and then returned to the bank to cast out!
We spent a day in Pecs, visiting ‘the old bit’ with it’s many impressive building, attractive squares, and of course fountains and water features. The ‘big Wow’ here was definitely St. Peter’s Basilica with its 4 towers and huge statues depicting the apostles along the roofline. Recently restored in its entirety to celebrate the 1000^th anniversary of the foundation of the diocese of Pecs, the inside is literally jaw dropping; painted in unbelievable detail on every surface. It’s so unusual to see something of this age and size in equally good condition throughout! The crypt was no less impressively adorned. And the acoustics – Wow! We were lucky enough to be there just as a tour guide demonstrated by singing a Hungarian hymn. I looked around for the speakers providing the accompaniment. There weren’t any! And it wasn’t just her ability; another tour guide proceeded to make an equally astonishing demonstration after her.

St. Peter’s Basilica

 

Wow!

 

SO much more than expected!

Amazing detail! There are vast areas covered in the identical geometric pattern seemingly without fault – at a quick glance you’d think it was printed wallpaper!

..and it continues down in the crypt

..and in the side chapel – Look at that ceiling!

outside, most of the surrounding buildings were also impeccably restored. Quiet leafy squares and fountains (of course!) too

We also hoped to visit the ‘Mosque Church’ in the main (‘Szechenyi Ter’) square. It’s the largest building still standing in Hungary from the time of the Turkish occupation (1543 – about 1700). It was still undergoing restoration and was unfortunately completely surrounded by fencing and piles of building rubble – ready 2015 (not the first time we’ve been just that bit too early at one of these sights!) Oh well, the surrounding buildings and beautiful weather (for a change!) made up for it.

The ‘Mosque Church’ in the main square

 

just a small change on the outside it seems

Many other impressive buildings surround the square

The National Theatre of Pecs

and MORE fountains 🙂

Next we’re off to find the Danube again; it’s been a while since we saw it last, and onwards to ‘The Great Plains’..

Lingering in Linz

We crossed the border in to Austria on Saturday 9th August and were pleased that with the Sat Nav set to ‘no toll roads’ we could cross the country without the need of a Vignette. (needed for motorways and expressways) Taking the ‘slow roads’ gave us plenty of time to admire the Austrian towns and countryside.  As mentioned in our last post we reached the Mondsee by lunchtime; a beautiful place to swim and relax in the sun. Although we managed to find a small space to park for the night, places were very few and far between.  Over 90% of the lakeside is privately owned. There are ‘private lakeside gardens’ everywhere, plenty not even near a house.  Most parking places along the lake did not allow parking between 8pm and 8am and many said no motorhomes at all!  No camping or fires were allowed either!  However we were encouraged to see the Austrians happily ignoring the signs!

On Sunday after a morning swim, 2 paces from our front door! :), we followed the Sat Nav mystery tour through Austria, via the Altersee (with many more wonderful places to stop) and along the very quiet roads through an empty Wels (Sunday is very definitely a quiet, rest day in Austria!) to Mauthausen (just outside Linz) by the Danube for a lunch break.  The Danube has grown a lot bigger since we last saw it. We are now 2110km from the Danube Delta and 670km from its ‘source’ in Donaueschingen.

After a little siesta in the sun we drove the last 20km to Bauernhoff Ziermetzer near Tragwein to meet up with our friends Nick and Silvia, who were staying in a holiday let at the farm.  The farmer was happy for us to park for free and finally the weather behaved so we able to enjoy good food and good company outside well into the night.

The farm has a small dairy herd, chickens, and rabbits. The family makes apple juice and cider from their own apples as well as corn and pear schnapps.  The farm has been in the family for 250 years. The farmer gets up at 5.30am to milk the cows before going to work at a local timber yard where he works until 2pm and then it’s back to the farm!  The farmer and his wife were both friendly and hospitable. The farmer’s wife even took a picture of Heidi and asked for a tour – ‘kleine aber feine’ was her opinion of Heidi.

View across the field

Cows waiting to be milked – with a little Austrian moozic as they wait!

Boys will be boys!

Silvia, Nick, Me, Mrs Farmer, Lucas, Oliver

On Tuesday after a rainy Monday cycling along the Danube we headed to Linz with our local tour guides Nick and Silvia..

There’s a huge area of free parking overlooking the river at Linz – ideal for us!

view across the Danube to Linz from our parking spot

..and by night. Many of the art galleries are lit up with alternating colour lights ..and on warm summer evenings you can sit by the river and enjoy free music concerts (That’s when it’s not RAINING)

We wandered around Linz in the drizzly rain. This summer? really hasn’t been kind to us! Lots of impressive old buildings, most built around a ‘hof’ or courtyard in their centre. I wonder if this stems from the Ottoman’s traditional building style? although there doesn’t seem much need for shade here!

inside one of the more accessible ‘hofs’. Many are closed off / private and have been converted into flats

Linz is very ‘arty’. There are loads of galleries and craft shops. There’s also a major art college. After lunch in one of Silvia’s favourite student haunts, we opted for the ‘hoehenrausch’ http://www.hoehenrausch.at , a combination of various walkways, a tower high above the rooftops and various art installations. It was originally supposed to be a temporary thing, but has now been in place for several years. Unfortunately much of the walkway was closed off for repair – reopening 2015 – typical! We did get in cheaply though; courtesy of a friend of Silvia’s working on the desk – ‘student’ (of life) rate. Hehe! Great views over the rooftops (which would’ve looked much nicer in the sunshine!)

Elaine ‘experiencing the art’

this is ‘art’ too. “Giant Billiards”

The “no worries tower” towering above the rooftops. It’s supposed to be a replica of a lookout tower on the nearby Czech border ..sounds like an excuse to build a tower to me!

More ‘art’. The girl on the swing is only wearing a raincoat because it is actually raining! In the sunshine you can swing through this curtain of water and stay dry. It stops very briefly when the swing’s ropes are upright. Viewed from the left it looks like you’re swinging in the rain – clever!

and you can take part in the art too. When Elaine jumped up and headed the ball, she got her picture automatically taken and added to a revolving video along with all the other participants.

high above the rooftops of Linz

and look where the walkway used to go – through the church tower! This was the bit being repaired – shame

We said farewell to Nick, Silvia and the boys and lingered hoping for some sunshine and tried to plan a boat trip back up the Danube and a bike ride back …this never happened. Because of unuseful boat trip timetables, meaning we’d have to spend 2 nights away and the continuing rain and greyness not exactly inspiring us! We spent another day wandering around Linz in the drizzle, eating ice-creams and drinking coffee, trying to soak up the COLD summer vibe, before heading south and east in a desperate attempt to find some sunshine!

We travel through the flat, mainly agricultural, landscape, following the Danube, past Grein and through an attractive section where the valley narrows and becomes more wooded, as far as Ybbs a. d. Donau, where we cross the river above  huge locks. As soon as we are away from the busy east west corridor across the country (Innsbruck – Salzburg – Linz – Wien), it is  much quieter on the roads as we cross ‘lower Austria’ towards the Neusiedler See on the border with Hungary. We came down out of the hills and it was much drier and warmer with fields of sunflowers and grapevines. That’s better!

The Danube, just beyond Grein

 

quiet roads across ‘Lower Austria’

We spent several days just outside Morbisch am See enjoying the (mainly) sun, sun sun 🙂 . Unfortunately the lake is surrounded by reeds, miles deep in places, and the only access to the water is via artificial ‘beaches’ that are fenced off and demanding a fee to enter!  We took a boat trip  and then cycled all around the Austrian bit, which was most of it, ..and a whole lot further than anticipated at 80+ km! Tired legs and bums! Luckily it’s mainly flat and on dedicated tracks through the vines, the sunflowers and the corn fields. Almost back, we stopped for a drink in Rust. Rust is the centre of the wine industry around here and a real tourist draw. Every other place is a wine cellar / ‘hof’ offering a taste of their wares.

bikes loaded on the boat. It’s popular with bikers – there were often many more

cycling through the vines

The attractive old centre of Rust, busy with wine tasters

Silly birds! what a mess

Surprise surprise, the next day was a rest day. We spent much of the day ‘chillin” in the sunshine, reading and even doing some washing. There have not been many opportunities to hang washing out in the sun on this trip! We finished the day with a short bike into Morbisch, a nice little place, with plenty of cafe’s and more wine places, for an ice-cream. Well it was our Anniversary – 17 years! We even went and stuck our wheels (bike wheels) into Hungary – an adventure for tomorrow perhaps?…

looking out across the Neusiedler See and the reedbeds

 

The bike route to Hungary (the only way across the border at this point. It’s a long way round by car)

‘Alpenstrasse’ to Austria

On Saturday 2^nd August, we drove the 120km from Ulm to Fussen in the foothills of the Alps. Not exactly following the Danube? Well we fancied something a bit different (Peter wanted mountains!) …and to be fair, nearly all the rivers and lakes on this side of the Alps flow into the Danube. So we were just checking out more ‘sources’.

We managed our usual trick of finding a parking spot just outside of town and after lunch and a cuppa, cycled the 4km into Fussen old town centre. We then cycled along the River Llach (looking very full and fast! At this rate most of Hungary will be under water by the time we get there!).

We followed the signs to Schwangau, where, each on their own hilltops, two large Schlossen face each other. The first is the Schloss Neuschwanstein , built by king Ludwig II. The castle is world-famous as it is the model for Disney’s fairy-tale castle. Ludwig was obsessed with Wagner and medieval knights. It was designed with the help of a stage designer rather than an architect, making the palace like a giant stage on which he could recreate the world of German mythology and the operatic works of Wagner.

Schloss Neuschwanstein (not a PB original!)

The second castle is the Schloss Hohenschwangau where Ludwig grew up. They are amongst Germany’s top tourist attractions, so in high season you have to queue at 8 o’clock in the morning to be sure of getting a ticket to visit the castles. It was so busy we didn’t even attempt it!

The Original ‘Hohenschwangau’

So we headed back to Fussen where they were having a Jazz Festival, to enjoy some refreshments and music. Unfortunately the now ever so common cloud burst curtailed most of the music. We managed to find ourselves a table for hot chocolate and strudel just in time; just what was needed on this cold AUGUST summer festival! Once the rain eased we made our way back to Heidi, whereupon the sun came out just long enough to enjoy drinks on the ‘terrace’. Mad MAD weather!

Sunday was a total wash-out. I don’t think we even went outside! Rain, rain RAIN! Monday, after a Lidl shop, we headed off along the Alpenstrasse (The scenic route along this side of the Alps).

Our lunch stop was Oberammergau, which sits in a surrounded by the Ammergauer Alps. This village has plenty of traditional painted houses as well as’ Luftmalerei’, houses painted in an illusionist style with ornate pillars and window surrounds painted onto what is just a flat rendered wall. Very impressive work. Not sure Peter is up to being a ‘decorator’ around here. The village is most famous for its Passion Play that has been performed since the late 17^th century as a thanksgiving from the villagers for being spared from the plague. The Play is performed every ten years (next performance 2020). More than half the village takes part.

Little Red Riding Hood

Be Prepared time flies fast?

After a stroll round the village we continued along the stunning Alpenstrasse, passing through Garmisch-Partenkirchen at the foot of Germany’s highest Mountain Zugspitze (A very dramatic wall of rock rising above the town to 2962m). We continued along the River Isar to Fall, a little hamlet with allocated Motorhome parking a short walk from the Sylvensteinsee. It was a warm pleasant evening and so Peter went for a late swim in the surprisingly warm lake but was interrupted by ANOTHER thunderstorm that lasted much of the night!

River Isar

Sylvensteinsee

Tuesday morning we waited in vain for the sun to come out so we could enjoy a swim in the lake, but by late morning we gave up and continued our Alpine journey to the town of Tegernsee, which sits on the side of a lake of the same name. With the rain finally easing we took an early evening passeo along the lakeside (yes, umbrellas were needed!)

We spent the night in a quiet car park at the bottom of the Wallberg cable car a few miles away. Very quiet, apart from a loud ‘bump’ in the night. In the morning we discovered paw prints on the windscreen and that two out Heidi’s three windscreen washer hoses had been chewed through – what a cheek. The paw prints were quite big but we don’t know what creature they belong to (a polecat?)

Finally! we awoke to a beautiful sunny day and blue skies, ideal for going up a mountain. At just after 11o’clock we started the almost 1000m climb to the Panorama Restaurant, which is just below the peak of the Wallberg, and after we climbed above the tree line we were rewarded with fabulous views. We managed the assent in two and a half hours, although Peter would have been quicker if he hadn’t needed to wait for the slower members of the party! Of course the benefits of parking at the bottom of a cable car station is you can take the easy way down!

The ‘other’ quick route!

We tried again to find a spot to park by the lake for the night and although we could have parked in a side street we decided after a brief dip, to drive the couple of hours to Berchtesgaten. We stopped just short of our destination, waylaid by a lay-by with stunning views, and enjoyed pre-dinner drinks in our own Panorama Restaurant.

Thursdays 7^th August was another sunny morning so after enjoying our view over breakfast, we moved to the Koningsee, the highest lake in Germany with its beautifully clear, drinkable quality, waters. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C3%B6nigssee

We took an electric boat tour along the lake, which is really the only way to see it. With the pristine mountain scenery of this stunning national park forming almost vertical sides, there are very few paths. Those that exist are more often than not marked as ‘climbing routes’.

The Obersee – so clear it makes your eyes go funny

We stopped at St. Bartholoma, a monastery on the western shore, on the return trip. It is a stunning and very isolated spot. From here, you cannot see the end of the narrow lake and the only way in, other than by boat, is a pretty serious undertaking on foot.

Friday, and a beautifully clear day encouraged us to visit Obersalzburg and take the rather hair-raising bus ride up to the ‘Eagles Nest’ or Mt. Kehlstein (Hitler’s mountain ‘tea house’), specially designed for his 50^th birthday. Although, after WW2, much of Obersalzburg was levelled by the Royal Air Force, and subsequently all traces of the fortified Nazi headquarters in the valley below removed, this has remained. It now houses a restaurant donating its profits to local charities. We learnt that Hitler only visited the place 14 times (he was apparently scared of heights and reluctant to near the edge of the panoramic terrace). His supposedly secret girlfriend, Eva Braun and eventual very short-term wife (40 hours before they committed suicide together) however, used to regularly walk up there regularly for the afternoon and entertain friends. It’s a hell of a hike!

Italian Marble Fireplace – when the Allied Forces captured the Eagles Nest, Soldiers chipped lumps off it as a souvenir

Highly Polished Brass Elevator – the lift shaft is 124m, Hitler didn’t like small spaces either!

Back down the bottom, we visited the ‘Documentation Obersalzburg’, the incredibly in-depth museum of Hitler and the Nazi movement.

http://www.obersalzberg.de/obersalzberg-home.html?&L=1

There was an excellent English audio guide, but unfortunately far too much information for the 2 hours we had allowed before closing time. It is built above the hugely elaborate tunnel complex that was never finished to house the Nazi Headquarters underground (basically mirroring what was above ground) when they began to realise things weren’t going their way and they needed to take up a more defensive position.

We’re still finding the whole thing hard to comprehend. One of the things the ‘Documentation’ illustrated well was how easy it would have been, to have been ‘taken in’ by all the propaganda and offers of a better life.

Must do some more history reading. As we travel and ask ‘Why?’ it is constantly apparent how little we really know.

An exhausting day! Must try to do less in our busy lives!

Saturday 9th August brought more Sunshine so after an early morning visit to the laundrette in Berchesgarten, Heidi did a hop, skip and a yodel over a mountain pass into Austria. By lunchtime we parked up by the beautiful Mondsee and went for swim followed by a lie in the sun and then another swim – Bliss!

Austria!

 

 

 

 

 

Sourcing the Source (of the Danube)

Sat 26^th July – we arrived in Donaueschingen, the ‘supposed’ source of the Danube River. It rained ALL day, but by evening had reduced to a mere drizzle, so we walked into town across the park looking for ‘the source’. Apparently it’s a spring in the grounds of the palace / castle / schloss.

And here it is

Well, that’s what it was supposed to look like. For us, it looked like this!! (Under renovation – ready summer 2015).

It then flows underground through the palace gardens to here

and then into the Breg River, already quite some size, especially after all this rain!

 

Well that was a bit of a disappointment. What about the little bubbling stream? I can’t help thinking it’s all a con organised by whichever bigwig lived in the palace at the time?

A bit of further investigation led us to discover that the Breg River had already been flowing for 49km originating in Furtwangen in the Black Forrest at 1078m above sea level.

Now THAT looks like a PROPER source!

The Breg then joins the smaller Brigach River, which originated in St. Georgen, again in the Black Forrest, 43km away. The ‘official’ (according to most sources) source of the Danube begins at these two rivers’ confluence just outside Donaueschingen,

can you spot the real photo?

no,! not a ‘real’ photo either – far too much sun! The Danube is recorded as anything from 2840 – 2845km long (but where do you start?)

I’m sure Donaueschingen would look better in the sunshine. It has some impressive old buildings and, of course, impressive fountains, a feature of almost everywhere in Germany

St. Johns Church

The ‘musician’s fountain’, Donaueschingen

 

Next stop Immendingen where we’d been told the river ‘disappeared’. So, it doesn’t know where it starts from, and now it disappears?! In most summers, you’d expect to see a dry riverbed at the ‘Donauversinkung’, one of several places along this stretch where it sinks into its limestone bed and flows underground to a spring at Auch 12km away. So, as before, this is what it’s supposed to look like:

 

But this is what it looked like to us:

 

walk on the ‘riverbed’ at your own risk!

…perhaps not

 

Here’s the technical bit:

 

showing how the Danube links to the spring at Auch ..which links to the Bodensee ..and the Rhine

 

More info. on the ‘disapearing Danube’ here: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donauversinking

So is the source of the Rhine is actually the Danube; and is the source of the Danube actually the Breg??

It was actually a nice day for a change, so we thought we’d try out a stretch of the Danube Cycleway, which runs all the way to the Black Sea (the stretch across Austria and into Hungary to Budapest is one of the most popular in Europe).

 

The river continues into an attractive limestone gorge in the ‘Naturpark Obere Donau’. We stopped at Beuron dominated by a huge Benedictine Monastery with it’s richly decorated Baroque style church.

That night we had another big thunderstorm and more BIG RAIN. It continued virtually unstopped for the best part of 48hrs! We continued along the valley, just about seeing through the rain and cloud!

 

The Danube – a lot bigger and muddier than yesterday!

 

Stopping at Inzigkofen at another ancient monastery and what might have been an interesting Bavarian museum (not exactly aiming at passing visitors – open for 3 hrs alternate Sunday afternoons!), we continued through Sigmaringen, a modern, busy place with another huge schloss (revealing, yet again, the complicated history of various ‘dukedoms’ in these parts). We stopped for the night at Scheer, with it’s old (1700s) timber framed buidings, a very impressive Baroque church (St. Nicholas’) with an unbelievable amount of incredibly well done fake marble. It had me tapping and looking at the edges to check!

note the ‘fitted’ windows

not even convinced the main pillars are marble?

 

The river, of course, is very swollen

there was once a dry weir here, with most of the river flowing into the watermill channel on the far side!

MORE RAIN… we continued on via Munderkingen and Rottenacker attempting to educate ourselves about the differences between Baroque, Gothic, Catholic and Protestant architecture ….can you tell it’s been raining?!

We stopped at Blaubeuren, near Ulm, famous for yet another Benedictine Monastery (there’s a LOT round here) founded in 1085, and completed in 1510. St. Peter’s chapel was particularly impressive with much ornate wood and stone carving and a ‘world famous’ high altar. It is also the source of the River Blau where an enormous volume of blue water rises to the surface from an underground stream / cave system, falls over a dam and then continues as a remarkably blue coloured river. The blueness is a combination of minerals within the limestone rock and the fact that it rises to the surface here under pressure.

We followed the Blau to Blaustein where we stopped for a couple of days to visit Ulm, a short distance away by bike.

We enjoyed Ulm. We wandered around the streets in the Altstadt with its many timber-framed buildings dating from the 1500s (sadly now many are rendered over). We visited the excellent bread museum, privately run and giving donations and scholarships to research into improving the terrible statistics of world hunger. 1 in 7 of the world’s population is still categorised as malnourished or starving! They fund research into new crop strains, agricultural methods, animal husbandry etc. Very usefully, for us, they also provide an audio guide in English. We promenaded along the Danube, already wide and fast (if it continues at this rate!…).

The old streets of Ulm

 

The inside of the OLD building housing the Bread Museum. There are floors and floors like this!

a certain ‘Mr. Einstein’ originated from here too. As usual, commemorated in a fountain. Note the building behind, originally timber fame, now plastered over and elaborately painted to look like stone.

 

The Rathaus (townhall) was beautifully painted with historical scenes. The Rathaus restaurant serving ‘Flammkuchen’ (a local speciality similar to a pizza but with a base of crème fraiche and cheese rather than tomato) wasn’t bad either..

 

Stunning wall paintings, Ulm Rathaus

Yum..

 

Ulm cathedral has the highest church tower in the world at 161m / 528ft. If the 768 steps don’t put you off, you can climb up for stunning views. As usual it was rather a grey day so we didn’t bother. On a clear day you can see the Alps and Lake Constance / Bodensee in the distance.

More info. about Ulm and the ‘Minster’:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulm_Minster

 

it’s HUGE. A picture really can’t do it justice. Imagine a traveller happening upon this when it was first built ..it really would have seemed like the miraculous work of God!

 

the city from the top of the spire..sorry, cheated again

We liked the juxtaposition of the old and the new in Ulm. We could have happily spent many more days, wandering the streets, sitting in cafés soaking up the atmosphere and visiting more museums…