So, as I explained in my last posting, the digital camera is dead. Our schedule, however, precluded a trip to a store that sells cameras until after 12 PM. Now, Europe is largely secular and the United States has very strong religious values, right? So someone needs to explain to me why all retail businesses in America are open on Saturdays and Sundays (violating the Sabbath, as best I can tell) while European shops close at noon, and are decidedly not open on Sundays (keeping the Sabbath for the God to whom they feel no particular allegiance). Anyway, the camera stores were closed and I won't have a camera until Monday, at the earliest. We were able to find a disposable camera at a drug store, but I won't be able to get the pictures developed until later. My traveling companions have promised to e-mail pictures, but you will have to rely on my descriptions for now. (Added note: Pictures posted here are courtesy of Ann and Patty.)
Today was almost a day of rest. Well, rest and a 37 km bike loop along the Inn River (hence the pun in the title). The ride was almost due south, along the western bank of the Inn river, heading out (the rest of the pun) of Passau through two little towns and a flea market. As we prepared to bike for the day, we gathered by the bikes in a drizzle, and had a long debate about the merits of a picnic or a pub lunch. We voted for the pub, guaranteeing that the skies would clear by the lunch time. Passau is a city on a peninsula, with three rivers, the Danube, the Inn and the Ils coming together to form the Danube, which, contrary to song and story, is not blue. The Jesuits built a major college and cathedral in the city- the cathedral now has the largest organ in Europe, second only to the one at the Disney Music Hall in LA. And the city floods periodically in bad ways. So we biked up the Inn river to get out of the city, a largely flat journey that required no great effort, but involved a number of "up close and personal" views of this massive and churning river. Along the way, we made a number of nice stops. First was the obligatory stop at the gardens with the stature near to a really cool walking bridge.
The stature is of a man and a woman kissing, so the couples all posed for their picture. In Vornback, we met our van (and snacks) at a fire station (the old fire station featured a knight pouring water on a burning village) and walked to a really nice cathedral, that really made me understand Baroque style (raised to heaven, impress the peasants and make them focus on the heaven ahead rather than the painful existence of the present). The cathedrals are linear (raised to heaven), and the art is pastel (and ubiquitious) and the mood is joyful triumph. Kind of like Bach's music. Jan and I argued about whether Bach was a Baroque or Renaissance composer; I think my classification is more accurate. 
From there, we climbed one really steep hill (no pain, no gain) and went on to Neuhaus, Germany, past a lovely old monastery and by a Saturday flea market. It was fun to see what people sold, which included old Nazi war medals. We found a few souveniers to buy and Julie replaced her reading glasses. It was fun, and I practiced my rusty German. We then crossed the river into Austria, and stopped in the Austrian city of Scherding, just for a quick walk around. By now the weather was starting to clear. It was 12:45 when we found the camera store, which had closed at 12:30. So we bought a disposable camera, which I have kept busy since, collecting a few 
pictures for later use. Our route got a little hectic thereafter; they were shooting a film on one of the routes that we tried to take out of the city, and there was some construction on the bicycle path that we took south. Lunch was at an Inn in Wermstien am Inn, on the far side of the cool bridge (a single span suspension- hope the picture comes out). The meal was large and heavy, but tasty. The ride back was mellow- it is good when a 25 km ride seems so short.
They gave us the afternoon free to wander the city, so we did. There were shops, but the most interesting ones were closed at noon, and the “tourist” shops stayed open. Still, I found a bike map of South Bavarian Woods, and a recording of the massive organ in Passau, which we saw but didn't hear. That cathedral was much more Baroque, and really awe inspiring: I think I would come back to hear it played. We got tired about 6, and the sun was out, so we sat by the river and read in the sun for an hour. I listened to Dvorak on my i-pod. Dinner was Italian at a place called Da Vinci’s with Wayne and Ellen from Pennsylvania. We were impressed by the large group of Italian speakers nearby, until we realized that it was a party for a baptism: a really impressive three tier cake maked their celebration. Tomorrow we sail the Danube, for Schlogen, Aschach, Ottenscheim and Weissenkirchen in the wine country of Wachau. Overall, my impression of Bavaria is that it is a pleasant place, well recovered from the Second War, and much more affluent than the Czech Republic. Somehow, I like Czech Republic better; it seems a bit more wild and uncontrolled. I wonder what I will think of the wine country of Austria.
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