Day 31 -Donauwörth to Ingolstadt

65.6 km - Total so far 1,686.40 km - Route pedalled.      Relive Video (with pictures)

Video of the day:  Europe Day 31

We are safe and secure in Ingolstdat, Bavaria, Germany. 

We left around 9:00 AM after a lovely stay at Hotel Donau. The beds were comfortable, the room was well appointed, we each our own sitting chairs and they serve a very breakfast. We are a little disappointed with Donauwörth as there was practically nothing open and there was not much to see. Maybe things get better when tourist season is in full swing.

We had grey skies and about 10 degrees and a good head wind. We had some nice hills in the first 15 or so kilometers so that warmed us up. Below is a picture of the RideWithGPS application that clearly shows the features we had to climb. I can't keep up with Hélène going up but I am showing improvement. 

We were inland for the next 15 kms, going through fields and lovely Bavarian villages. We still do not see that many people. We spent some time on a dyke next to the Danube, cycling into a nice headwind. We found a nice spot to picnic right next to a man-made grotten (grotto in german).

Things started to get more exciting as we neared Neuburg. From a good distance we could see a castle and it got bigger as we neared the Danube. About 6 kms from Neuburg, we came across a number of re-enactors (people who dress in period clothing) heading to another castle built in 1555.

At kilometer 62, we were entering the City of Ingolstadt through the Kreuztor gate built in 1385. Our route took us directly through the old and very touristy part of town. There are many interesting museums but unfortunately Ingolstadt is only a quick stop over with no time to visit.

We got to our overnight accommodations at a very reasonable 3:50 PM. It's a comfortable and well organized hostel like facility. We have access to a large kitchen and nice common areas. See pictures below.

Tomorrow we are heading to the town of Bad Abbach. On that ride, we will benefit from sailing about 5 kms down the Danube on a river boat.

One of our avid followers wanted to know how we organize our time once we get to the daily destination. Specially, he wanted to know how much time is set aside to produce the blog, ReLive, edit videos and plan the days ahead. These items will be addressed in future daily blogs. 

How much time left to visit at end of day. There isn't much time left to 'visit' per say at the end of the day. We do our 'visiting' while we pedal and often have stopped to examine something that stood out. Problem is that often, what we find is off the official tourist route and explanations are in German only. As an example, when we stopped at an information stand in the middle of nowhere next to a small Danube and using Google Translate, discovered that the Danube splits and ends up in two different seas. Again today, we stopped at a small building, where we could see computer work stations and next to flood gates.

Today, as seen in ReLive, we stopped at a flood control dam called the Riedensheim Flutpolder (flood polder). I picked up a pamphlet in German only. 

We do plan visits but these are few and far between and we must include weather in our decisions. We had planned to see the Cathedral in Cologne, the Cathedral in Strasbourg and got a chance to explore the surrounding areas. We got a chance to do a good walkabout in Neuf-Brisach because on that day we had favorable winds and got there earlier than planned. Our next planned visit is the Mauthausen Memorial and the one after that Vienna but they are also weather dependent.