Day 25 - Vilshofen an der Donau to Passau (16 miles)

Last night's accommodation was again a room in what was once part of a monastery and I was grateful for its luxury and comfort after arriving tired and late in the day. I lay down to relax and woke at nine, negating any chance of dinner. But with a short sixteen miles the following day, a hearty breakfast booked and a late, slow start in the morning I was not concerned.

Today's cycle to Passau made up for yesterday's rush and frustration: a relaxed pace on a riverside track; stops to sit in the warmth of the sun  and watch the Danube flow by; and an easy distance where I did not feel as if I were chasing the clock. I was in the city late morning, dropped off my bike and set out to explore Passau old town.

Passau is built on the confluence of three rivers, two major - the Danube and the Inn - and a smaller one - the Ilz. During the late 1600s two great fires led to a lot of rebuilding of the old medieval city. Today it is a place narrow winding streets and beautiful architecture. I could not help but compare it with Regensburg: it is smaller and the architecture largely of a later period but it is also far quieter, despite the fleet of Viking river cruise boats moored up along the quay, and for me there seems a greater sense of intimacy here than I found at Regensburg. I like it.

I wandered the maze of old streets, visited the cathedral - inside a case of Baroque style on steroids - and found a tiny cafe for coffee. I then headed to the small headland where the Danube and the Inn meet; you are supposed to be able to see the difference in colour between the two rivers but on this occasion one of those extremely long river cruise boats was negotiating a tight turn around the headland from the Danube into the river Inn. Maybe tomorrow.

Passau Cathedral

I headed back to my accommodation via the Passau glass museum: it just struck me as an unusual subject that might be interesting and despite most signage being in German, the design, colour and intricacy of this massive collection of glassware, dating from the late 1600s to the modern day, spoke for itself. Tomorrow I intend to do a boat trip and visit the 13th century castle high up on the opposite bank of the Danube. I also need to carry out a few route related tasks. But the beauty of a day off is that I can push these to the following day - a nice feeling of having time on my hands - so I did exactly that, went out to dinner and spent the evening reading.