Regensburg to Kastl

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Today the first few miles were on the Danube and we passed the Ibis hotel where we stayed on our trip to Vienna. After about five miles we left the Danube and started to head north on the Naab river. As we did so we saw some people learning how to row a Dragon boat on the river. The path was of really good quality meandering through trees and along the river. When we reached the old town of Kallmünz we saw that others had stopped for a coffee so we stopped too. Apparently the cafe had not been open when they arrived but Oscar had persuaded them to open. They only seemed to sell coffee and cakes but everyone was telling us which cake to buy. Kallmünz was a very old looking town with some beautiful buildings, tiny bridges and cobbled streets

When we were leaving the cafe it started to rain a little so we wore rain jackets for the first time this trip. It only rained a little for about half and hour and was actually quite refreshing after yesterday's heat. We were now on the River Vils and the River Lauterach as we reached Kastl.

For a long part of the journey we were going round the edge of a military area that had big warning signs up about 'Danger of life'. Paul commented that it should be 'Danger to life' and then some of the signs changed to that!

We stopped for lunch in Allersburg and sat in a wooden structure that had a picnic bench and seats at the bottom and a bat nesting box above. There were information boards up about the area and the bats but most was written in German. As we were eating Dave and Bob came by and stopped for a few minutes. They were going into the town itself to find food.

As we approached Kastl we couid see the Monastery up on top of the hill, looking very impressive.

After booking into the hotel and showers we wandered up the hill to look inside the church attached to the Monastery. It was beautiful inside and it was lovely to kneel in front of the main alter for a while and reflect on life. In the centre of the village was a very ornate fountain that showed the Monastery at the top and then lots of the village occupations round the side,

When we got back to the hotel Dave and Bob were sat outside so we joined them for a beer/ coffee and before long nearly all the group were sat with us. Everyone agreed that today's ride had been the most scenic of the trip and a lovely route with lots of variety and very little gravel.

We all ate together in the hotel. Many of the group, including Paul, had gained lots of insects bites in the last couple of days so they preferred to dine in rather than out.



44 miles

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