The rain hammered down last night, biblical in its ferocity and just so fantastic. I am absolutely loving the whole camping thing and the more elemental the weather, the more of a rush and get from it. It certainly makes a huge difference having such a top notch tent and I remained as dry as a bone throughout the deluge. It will mean a bit of a soppy wet start the next day, but so what.
One thing I now realise is that the key to keeping condensation and a drenched flysheet dry is to keep it open throughout the night which allows the air to flow. Simple, although given the downpour last night, everything was still pretty well drenched when I started to pack up. But I have a well oiled system now that allows me to keep all my other gear dry and separate from that which was soaked, so all good.
The campsite looked so lovely as I got up, I thought the evening light was unbeatable but there is nothing more wonderful than a hot sunny morning after a super wet night before, the smell of petrichor was a sheer joy. My neighbour, who was called Brum (definitely not the right spelling, but sounds about right) went for a quick dip in the lake although I was not tempted. Another cycle tourist, who appeared from nowhere late last night, was busy laying his tent out to dry and we got chatting. We were taking different routes and I never got his name, but he had terrific energy about him. Another thing I now realise, the cycle touring community is an energetic, lively, welcoming and wonderful one.
I have been neglecting my tyre pressure and even though I had my bike looked over in Stuttgart, I could sense that my tyres were in need of a pump. Maybe its an air pressure thing with hot weather and rain that requires additional pumping. There was a bike shop in town but it didn't open until 9.30, so I shot off into town and installed myself in a cafe and had a massive pretzel with coffee. The town of Donauworth was yet another pastel coloured, chocolate box extravaganza, not such a bad place to wait for the shop to open.
Tyres sorted, and I was off; next stop Ingolstadt. Flat and uneventful ride, endless fields of corn. As always, I got a little bit lost but as I was looking for directions a kindly, elderly man on a bike stopped to clarify that the river bifurcates and pointed me in the right direction. Tons of lagoons which of course meant a feast for mosquitos who have really taken a shine to my exotic English blood. You gotta move fast and once you stop, the plague descends. No amount of deet will do it.
As I shot along, I had some choice tunes on the speaker which kept me company. I followed the path along a dam and stopped to call home to Ingrid, just to share the moment with a friend, really.
And then as I followed a curve on the river, BOOM!, the magnificent Residenzschloss Palace came into view.
I had arrived at the town of Neuburg an der Donau and again, I was blown away by how damn pretty it all looked. I think my parents had actually visited this are on their honeymoon and it was breathtakingly beautiful. As it was lunchtime and I was peckish (I'm always peckish), it seemed like the perfect place to stop and have a beer and bite to eat. I stopped at a café square overlooking Hofkircde Church and as I was sitting there, Brum turned up which was just perfect timing.
A great lunch and then afterwards, we took a look around the church and lit a candle for missing loved ones, in my case my mum. Sadly we didn't get to see the stunning ceiling frescos of Schlosskapelle church as it was closed for works.
We parted company at that point as I was aiming for Ingolstadt, home of Audi (I feel like I am doing a tour of all the major car manufacturing plants in Germany) and he was aiming further south. Conditions were perfect as I cycled though sun dappled woodland, past the very Bavarian Grünau hunting lodge and lots of long, well paved tree lined paths.
I had a good friend Simon who lived in Munich, which was only a train ride away, so I sent him and an email, text message and another one to his sister in the UK to say I was in the hood and could I pop over. I haven't seen him for a couple of years and I realised it was very last minute, so wasn't holding out much hope but within about 20 minutes, he called me and said to come over. Fantastic! I love it when a last minute plan comes together.
A couple of hours or so later, there I was at Munich train station with Simon waiting to greet me. We went back to his place where I met his lovely girlfriend and we decided to crack off to a local bierkeller where we gorged on lots of meaty stuff with sauerkraut and massive beers served by the most buxom, blond haired and super lovely waitress complete with a richly coloured voluminous dirndl and a delicious twinkle in her bright blue eyes and blond platted hair.
You could not have asked for anything more perfect, and you just knew that she could quite easily have held 8 steiners in both hands without batting an eyelid. So happy to spend time with such a good old friend, so last minute, so utterly and completely wonderful. This trip really is turning into the trip of an absolute lifetime.
I notice that my post about Blenheim has gone down very well and I suddenly realise that I have mistakenly posted it to my regular Facebook account and very few people realised that I had embarked on this trip in the first place. I had rather enjoyed not letting everyone know, to be honest. If felt like a really positive thing, to disconnect with social media and life in general, but now the cat was out of the bag. No problemo.
Lots of bells ringing, but as a campanology afficionado, Simon explained that whilst it sounded great, it was nothing compared to the complexity of bell ringing in the UK. You live and learn, eh!
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