Straubing

Sunday September 18
In Which we Arrive in Straubing at Market Time

After the deluge we endured the previous, day it was something of a miracle that we could even consider getting back on the bikes again. Fortunately due to very efficient heated towel rails (and a huge electricity bill for the hotel) we all managed to wash and dry our saturated clothes and shoes.

Since the ride to Straubing was only around 50 km and since we are all now getting fitter (and probably fatter) every day, that distance did not constitute a challenge. We decided that we could spend some more time exploring Regensburg, since most of us were too wet to have any chance of doing any sightseeing the previous day.

The breakfast at the Munchner Hof was certainly in a league of its own. Not only was it served in a beautiful timber panelled room with a decorated glass ceiling, but the array of food options was easily the best we have had so far on this trip.

There were even about 8 different types of juice to select from. I spent some time looking at the long line of bottles before making my final choice - orange juice. I have never laid any claim to being an adventurous diner.

The hotel also offered to make us lunch boxes for only 5 Euro each. This saved us the trouble of wandering the town looking for a supermarket.

I was pleased to see that the rain had temporarily stopped and so we were able to spend some time wandering the impressive city. Apparently Regensburg was never severely damaged during the war and so much of the ancient medieval city has remained intact. It is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Since it was a Sunday morning, it was initially very quiet and we were able to walk the streets alone, however this did not last for long.

By 10 am the streets were starting to fill with numerous groups of tourists from the dreaded tour buses. There was a proliferation of flag carrying guides spouting off their own versions of history. A huge crowd of bored looking individuals had obviously been part of some "Viking Tour" and were slowly shuffling down the narrow streets of the old city.

Our lovely solitude was gone for ever. Since I am a bit of a mischief I even gave some thought to gathering our small group into a mock tour group so that I could start making up some fantastical stories to yell at them.

My dialogue would have gone something like this:
"This thing is a church, it's a pretty big one, probably old or maybe it just needs a clean. On the top you can see some big pointy things.It's got a bell with a giant donger inside. It's called a brown church. Down there is a big river with lots of water going downstream. It's got a big bridge over it. There's probably lots of other stuff here as well, but we don't have time for any of that, the bus is leaving in 5 minutes".

I reckon it could have been quite a hoot, but we decided to get on our bikes again and seek the solitude of the bike paths instead. My two basic travel principles are (a) never take a "selfie" and (b) never, ever join a tour group and I wasn't going to change now.

We returned to the hotel, mounted our bikes and rode out of the city.

Very soon we were back in the countryside, briskly riding on lovely smooth bitumen. Our first (and only) stop was to be the huge (and incredibly hideous) monument called "Walhalla". This huge structure was modelled on the Greek Parthenon, however it lacks all the beauty of the original and instead just stands as a sad monument to German aggrandisement. The structure is situated on a prominent location and commands a panoramic view of the surrounding countryside. To get there you can either ride up the road, walk up a back path, or a combination of the two. Several of us rode as far as we could up the gravel path and then climbed the hundreds of stairs to the memorial itself.

The interior of the structure is filled with statues to commemorate famous, high achieving German citizens, however the selection seems to be rather biased with many deserving candidates having been overlooked for recognition. We decided not to pay the entry fee but to spend our money on a coffee instead.

The ride was then resumed until we stopped about 20 km further on for lunch outside a village church. We opened our boxed lunches, enjoying the rolls, but quickly deciding that the apples were far too tart to eat. We then only had another hour or so of easy cycling till we reached the lovely town of Straubing

Although there were many nearby black clouds we managed to avoid the deluge and arrive at the hotel still dry.

Due to an incredible dose of good fortune we arrived just in time for the Oktoberfest Market in the centre of town. The whole main street precinct was filled with dozens of stalls and groups of talented singers kept us entertained for ages. A large Bavarian "oom pa pa" band, decked out in national costume, was obviously the main attraction. Thousands of people wandered the streets or sat in the open sipping at huge glasses of frothy beer. We were so fortunate to have arrived at precisely the right time and it gave us a unique insight into this facet of German life.

Just as the market was being dismantled late in the afternoon, the sky blackened and the rain came flooding down again. By this time we were safely in our hotel room and were able to watch the entire spectacle through our window. We are now being told by the weather forecasters that this wet weather could continue tomorrow. Bring it on.Read more