It was once again a beautiful morning, except for the very pesky bicycle problem we were still suffering.  Actually, we had originally planned on stopping at this bicycle store yesterday afternoon, but with everything closed for the holiday, we had to wait until the morning.  One more chance at a picture of Deggendorf. Luckily, the bike store we found opened at 8:30, problem solved by 9:15 and out the door……half a mile down the road we turned around and returned to the bike store for more repairs.  We finally got out of the door (hopefully) fixed at 10:30.
We actually made very good time ‘when’ we were riding, seeing the usual beautiful fields, villageschurches, these two churches photographed standing in the same spot and castles.Unfortunately, we had many stops trying to figure out what was the problem with the bike.  Shortly after noon, we pulled into yet another bike store to once again fix our problem.  I waited outside, guarding my bike and all the bags, while Jerry went inside to relate the problem.  Five minutes later, he emerges with a beer in one hand and sandwich in the other…..and I thought we were getting a bike fixed!!  Turns out our bike mechanic (Bikes ‘n More) in Windorf, also has a cafe serving coffee and beer and insisted we sit and relax while he tended to our bike malfunction.  Not a bad spot to relax.Only an hour ride longer from the ‘last’ bike fix, but it went without a hitch, hopefully we are at the end of our bike woes.

The ride into Passau is enchanting, with lovely buildings lining the waters’ edge and the green hills behind

Same is true in Austria, across the Inn River. Arriving in Passau was a very unexpected and pleasant surprise.  Though it took a few miles to get to the Old City, it did not have that huge, overwhelming, filled with tourists feel.  It is a large city, and there were plenty of people exploring the sights, but the city has a very comfortable feel.  Found a beautiful hotel overlooking the Donau,directly across the street from St. Paul’s Church 

and only a block away from St Steven’s Cathedral.  But first a few facts:  Passau, Old Town on Three Rivers, is the meeting point of the Donau, Inn and Ilz Rivers.  Or as our lunch companion explained, the confluence of the blue Donau, the green Inn that flows from Austria and the black Ilz that comes from Bavaria. The old city sits on top of a hill and any road you take in or out is straight up and down.All that traversing, deserves a beer! On a hill across the Donau is the Fortress “Veste Oberhaus” built in 1219 in order to control commerce across the rivers. And then there is The Cathedral, St. Steven’s.
The Cathedral burnt down almost completely in the devastating 1662 town fire, and rebuilt in true Baroque fashion.  Though the outside is almost completed covered with workers cloth, the restoration that has been completed on the outside shows magnificent white sandstone.  Even if you are not a fan of the Baroque period, you have to appreciate the  detail of the inside architecture,
ornateness,and frescos; it is truly jaw dropping.plus the largest pipe organ in the world, sorry for the fuzzy picture, tough to shoot without a flash but had to give you some idea
You could stroll for hours in this enchanting town, but we strolled past an ice cream shoppe then headed to bed.