Day 43: Regensburg to Vohburg. 71km, 4:05.
The day started with Ian having to fix a puncture on my back tyre. I am hopeless at fixing punctures especially on the back tyre. He really battled to get the tyre seated evenly again as the tyres are thick, which meant I had a bumpy ride for 40 km to Kelheim where we found a bike shop. The grumpy mechanic fixed my wheel in no time, using a soapy solution to coax the tyre onto the rim smoothly. Now we know!
Ian has developed an adduction weakness of his little finger on his left hand. The bike shop had a selection of gloves padded with foam which should alleviate it. This is what happens when you have been cycling for 43 days.
We took a ferry from Kelheim to the Monastry of Weltenburg through the Danube gorge. There is no path along this 6 km stretch along the river as the river forges its way through the narrow Franconian Jura ridge, with impressive rocky limestone cliffs on either side. The river is less than 70 meters wide here and is 20 meters deep in places.
We got a good view looking back at the Hall of Liberation, on a bluff above the river, upstream from Kelheim. It was commissioned by Ludwig l and was built by the same architect as the Walhalla in Regensburg, in memory of those who contributed to Germany's liberation from Napoleon's rule.
The Monastry of Weltenburg is the oldest Benedictine Abbey in Bavaria. It was founded in 620AD and built between 1716 - 1751. This is also the oldest monastic brewery in the world. We decided not to stop here as there were hundreds of people and we were running late, still 40 km to go!
Today the signage for the Jakobsweg were posted next to those for the Donau radweg. There are many feeder routes heading west across Germany, that were used by thousands of pilgrims from Eastern Europe, to make their way to Santiago de Compostella in Spain. This route really follows the " followers".
We arrived in Vohburg, our overnight stop, at 15:45. It is a delightful little town and the Gasthaus Stoettnerbrau where we are staying is a typical family-run Bavarian country inn. The dinner was the best we have had in 6 weeks of traveling. We had a Schwabian Maultaschen with Gemuse. A large ravioli stuffed with spinach, cut up and served on a bed of stir fried baby vegetables, soo delicious.
Limestone hills and outcrops starting to appear along the river.
The Bavarian gardens are in full bloom.
The Weisses Brewery in Kelheim, the first brewery to make wheat (heffeweisen) beer.
The Hall of Liberation above Kelheim.
Looking back as we enter the Danube Gorge.
In the Danube Gorge - the deepest and narrowest part of the Danube.
Vohburg, our overnight stop.
Looks an interesting stretch of the river. Have you been cycling with gloves? I fing my 'cut-offs' really help with comfort, besides giving a bit of protection.
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