monday, 14th of july - 72 km by bike, 10 km by car

i woke up early, like every day, looked out of the window and couldn't even see across the danube. so misty.  i turn over and sleep another round, almost a routine now.

an hour later the world looked a lot friendlier and not so scary anymore. i got up, got organized and suddenly it occured to me  that there might be a different person working at the reception now....and i might have better luck now- bingo! 

as i asked her for breakfast, she immediately called the person who could serve me. and she searched the internet for my route. i was reconciled with passau.

just before i left i got a text from my friend calimero. he told me that his siter in law lives near passau, on my way to berlin, and would host me in the evening. i was glad. not searching for a place to stay in the evening is bliss! only one handycap - the area she lives in is hilly. never mind!

i left passau on the donauradweg, after a few kilometers i met a german professor from zimbabwe, who cycles across europe every year. she told me, that she was heading to berlin as well. so we cycled together for a while, time flew while we chatted.

but, since i wanted to go to carla, i had to go a different way. i didnt know how to get to rinchnach (thats where she and her family lives), so i asked google maps. it has a beta-tool that shows cycling routes.......if i had had a closer look, i would have seen, that it says 'not every way accessable for bikes'.......

i was prepared for hills, but this was more than i had expected. every road was so steep, even had to walk and push sometimes. and then the road ended suddenly on a lawn i had to cross for a km..... and so on and so forth..... this time cycling took everything out of me! i had three bananas to eat (from a supermarket manager, who feared to be fired for giving them to me) - but that wasn't enough by far. after 30 km of uneven terrain, i was finished.

i stopped at a gas station and asked for foodl. it turned out that the owner was very interested, and knew a lot about cycling. he really saved my life (i think) by giving me sugar and quickly absorbed food.

somehow everything was different today. i hardly asked for food (knowing that carla would provide some) and i knew i had a place to stay. the physical challenge was much harder than the mental one.

the ride through the 'bayrischer wald' was exhausting, but beautiful. what a scenery!

in the end i had to pay for not having eaten more, i had to give up and call ralph, carla's husband, who was nice enough to fetch me from the next village, so i rode 10 km by car this time.

now i'm sitting here like a king - showered, dined, all fine. only downer - i have to leave again tomorrow!