Today was another good long ride – about 55 km (33 miles). The weather was nice for the ride (unlike right now, but more on that later). After the first 6 miles, we stopped at the ruins of a castle on a hill. The kind of hill you don’t take your bike up. Lots of stairs. It was quite large and there was a lovely view. Here are some photos.
From there we could see our next stop – Walhalla. The blocky white building.
So, we biked over there… and I thought there were a lot of stairs at the FIRST castle!
Walhalla was built under Ludwig I of Bavaria. It was named for the Norse Valhalla… but done in the Greek style, celebrating Germans. Totally makes sense, right?!? Sounds like Ludwig I lost some wars, and his ego was a bit damaged, so when things got better, he built this monument to himself and other Germans. It’s fabulous inside!
These are busts of noteworthy Germans (especially Bavarians). They add a few more every few years.
And here is Ludwig:
Oh, and there were 2 working sheepdogs herding sheep on the slope outside the monument.
I don’t think you can see them, but our bikes are down at the edge of trees just beyond the big green lawn. Beyond the trees is the Danube.
After that, it was lots of biking, almost all on nice, paved paths or roads with almost no cars. Here are some photos from the ride.
Here is one of our brief stops yesterday along the bike path – the bike wanderer oasis – a little stand – kind of lemonade stand style. Little menu, button to press, and a nice gentleman comes and takes your order. We got big glasses of apple cider. There were a couple of chairs to relax in while you drink.
We got to Straubing around 6, set up the tent, showered and walked to a Greek restaurant. Once there, the skies opened up! And it is still coming down in buckets full! A very nice waiter at the restaurant gave us a ride back to the campground. I retreated to the bathhouse, where the Wi-Fi is good so I could write these notes, and I can use the bathroom after all my fluid intake. (I’m not looking forward to my usual trips to the bathroom in the middle of the night with all this rain!) It’s supposed to stop sometime between 1 and 4 am. Tomorrow should be dry, but cool. As long as it’s dry, we’ll be fine!