# Germany by Tandem-Part 1



## MB1 (Jan 27, 2004)

About a year ago we got a Santana flyer in the mail. I worked for them oh so many years ago and have owned one of their tandems for the better part of 30 years and every so often Bill McCready likes to get in touch. For some reason both Miss M and I were struck by their description of a supported tandem tour down the Danube from the edge of Germany to Budapest.

We signed up. Of course we knew in advance that organized tours like this don't really include enough riding for us and way too much time being tourists.

We came up with a plan.......

Instead of meeting the group in Prague and taking a day long bus ride to the Danube we would fly into Frankfurt and ride to meet the tour. 

And that is just what we did.

Our first day in Frankfurt was mostly about getting the bike together, doing a bit of riding and a whole lot of walking and mostly trying to stay awake long enough to avoid the worst of jetlag.

Worked out just fine.


----------



## MB1 (Jan 27, 2004)

So after a day in Frankfurt eating, walking and drinking our way out of jetlag (and a good nights sleep) we headed up the Main River to explore Germany.

Well.....explore plus eat and drink a whole bunch more. :thumbsup:

Did we speak the language? Heck no!

Did we have a detailed route? Of course not!

Good maps? Don't be silly!

I sort of had a general idea of mostly following the general route of the Main river till it met the Romantic Strasse, following the Romantic Strasse until it hit the Danube then sort of following the Danube to Passau where we would meet the tour.

It worked out.


----------



## MB1 (Jan 27, 2004)

After overnighting in Wartzburg we left the Main River and started following the Romantic Strasse south. When we reached Dinkelsbuhl we found out that we weren't the only ones in Germany who like to eat and drink! Even with all the folks in town we didn't have any problem getting a room (or something to eat and drink).

(Those folks may look all regal in their fancy outfits but after a day of eating and drinking to excess they could barely stand up  ).


----------



## MB1 (Jan 27, 2004)

After a nice breakfast (and finding out that the party never stopped) we were on the road again.

About half way through our third day of riding we reached the Danube. For a second there it looked just like the Potomac and the C&O Canal Tow Path.  (But only for a second).


----------



## MB1 (Jan 27, 2004)

Even though we were generally following bike routes we aren't big fan of bike trails so we headed cross country on back roads. Made for some climbing but a lot better scenery.

Besides we like to climb.

We tried to find a room by 4pm every day and never had any problem at all even though we didn't have reservations. No one ever gave us a hard time about the tandem either. It just so happened that there were 2 TV channels showing the TdF live every day-cool even if I couldn't understand a word the commenters were saying.

Dinners were great and the breakfast buffets at the inns were fantastic!

We were liking Germany!


----------



## MB1 (Jan 27, 2004)

It only took us 5 days of riding (just less than 100 miles a day) to reach Passau and catch up with our bags. That left us the best part of a day to kill before meeting the tour a few miles upstream so we spent the morning walking around town and just playing tourists.

It was fun and we got a chance to check out our riverboat being loaded.

The tour was meeting the boat in Vilshofen about 20 miles upriver from our hotel in Passau then crusing down river to overnight in Passau. We road upstream to meet the boat and got there before the tour. We checked out our plush room and were all showered and cleaned up by the time the tour arrived late in the afternoon.

We relaxed and enjoyed crusing back down the river while everyone else was trying to recover from jetlag, a day long bus trip and get their bikes together while being entertained by the worlds worst umpah band. It was chaos.

We had a great time.

Next Report: Cruising the Danube with 70 tandems.


----------



## filtersweep (Feb 4, 2004)

That's awesome--- love that bike. It helps having a stroker who can take photos as you ride.


----------



## jupiterrn (Sep 22, 2006)

Wow, looks like you guys had a great trip. I am noticing the high vis jackets in the pictures. Was it cold or rainy or both on those days.


----------



## Jeff in Texas (Mar 17, 2006)

Mmmmm, bratwurst und bier! Been anticipating your pictures for the past few weeks, looking forward to reading about your experiences.


----------



## MB1 (Jan 27, 2004)

jupiterrn said:


> Wow, looks like you guys had a great trip. I am noticing the high vis jackets in the pictures. Was it cold or rainy or both on those days.


From Frankfurt to Passau it was about as cold as it gets that time of year-50's in the moring with a threat of rain all day. We started out each day wearing all of our clothes and we often didn't remove anything till we were in for the evening.

A real plus was (just like all my research suggested) we had a great tailwind the whole way from Frankfurt to Passau! :thumbsup:


----------



## sine (Mar 16, 2007)

Pics bring back lots of memories. 

My wife and I have been talking about getting a split tandem for such travels. I will show her your pics.

Thanks for sharing.


----------

