Austria into Germany
The route into Linz looked fiendins on the map, so we set the Sat Nav to find the TIC. It did. We drove into a pedestrian square with steps on one side. Interesting manouevres to get out, and weird looks from people enjoying their morning coffee at the many pavement cafes. We parked outside the TIC, abd were promptly told we couldn´t park there by the lady in the TIC, but she did give us the information we needed, including a suitable parking place.
Linz is a bustling city, with medieval origin, with many churches and yet again, we managed to get chucked out of a church, closing for lunch.
There are two cathedrals, the old, and the new (still quite old). The old cathedral looks in need of a bit of TLC, but organ practice was going on, and the organ sounded fine.
We crossed into Germany to get to our next aire at Wegshied Thalberg. If you had blinked you would not have realised you had crossed from one country to another. The aire was again on a farm, and we parked behind the barn under a cherry tree. The lady here was very chatty, but with strongly accented German.
We saw the farmer mow a row of meadow, then collect it up, and put it in the lower level of the barn. As we heard cows mooing- presumably they could smell the fresh grass, so being nosy, we went to investigate. The farmer invited us with gestures to come and look. -He has four adult cows in stalls, 4 calves of about 3 months being raised on a milk diet for veal, and four pigs. This year´s piglets have already gone to market. The animals are all kept inside because of the heat. Pig burn, and cows have no appetite, so do not produce milk. This probably explains the lack of livestock we have seen. The farmer also keeps two horses for harness to carriage or sled, depending on the weather.
Drove approx 22 km to our next stop, 3kn outside the centre of Passau. Cycled straight into town to get to the cathedral for the 12 0clock organ recital on the biggest organ in the worls. There are 17974 pipes, 229 stops, 5 manual keyboards and a pedal board. The sound is amazing, and the recital of half an hour consisted of pieces carefully chosen to demonstrate the organ´s capabilities, which included chiming bell sounds. We were astounded to see some people walking out of the recital !
When we came out it was very hot, so we had a paddle in the Danube, which is joined here by the river Inn, and the river Ilz, which double its flow. The Altstadt is a fascinating collection of steep and cobbled streets and alleys, painted houses, and interesting shops.
It is said the Dom stands so high because it is built on the reamins of so many previous buildings, going back to a Roman palace.
We went in the glass museum, which is fascinating, but too much to take in all in one visit. 36 rooms over 4 floors covering over 300 years of glass manufacture.
More iced coffee necessary, at a fairly swanky cafe, just to cool down.
The day ended with a nice refreshing shower of rain to cool us down for the evening.