Rain to Augsburg, then on to Landsberg am Lech

Our day from Rain to Augsburg was eventful.  We set off early under sunny skies.  Just outside of town, only a little over 2 km out, the drive chain (the one through the derailleurs, not the timing chain which connects the cranks) separated.  And there we were.  I called the hotel where we'd stayed to ask about a taxi to a bike shop.  She said the nearest taxi service was in Donauworth, and it would probably be 50 euros for someone to come for us.  We changed out of our bike shoes and started walking back toward Rain.

The hotel was very kind.  They gave us a key so we could enter, leave our panniers, and use the facilities there, and gave us directions to a bike shop in the town.  We walked the bike over there, but couldn't find the shop.  After looking around for quite a while, and making some more phone calls, we learned that the shop had closed.  Walked back to the hotel.  The tourist info office was right next door to the hotel, so we went in there to ask them for help.  The very helpful person there found a bike shop in a  town about 10 km away, called them, and the owner said he might be able to send one of his people over later in the afternoon.  After a little more calling around, the tourist office found someone who would drive us and bike to the shop.  Of course I had to split the bike into its two halves to fit it into the vehicle, but that takes only a few minutes.  Our ride came by about a half hour later and we were at the bike shop in Munster a little after 12.  Even though they ordinarily close down for lunch, they stuck around to repair the chain and check things over: so kind.  Even checked our tire pressures, made sure the shifting was smooth, and gave me a repair link in case we run into trouble again.

Munster is nowhere near the route we'd been following (opposite side of the River Lech, which has few bridges), but they gave us directions to get back on the path.  We had about 8 km riding along the side of a fast road with no bike lane, but then we were back on smaller roads and eventually back on our route.  The last 20 km or so to Augsburg is on an unpaved bike path following the River Lech, and very pleasant riding.  But as we approached Augsburg we somehow lost our route.  This is easy to do because there are many marked bike routes, and they all use the same sign.  After some riding through the suburbs of Augsburg we realized things weren't right; Google maps allowed us to figure out where we were and what direction we needed to ride.  We had several km of somewhat terrifying riding on city streets as we worked out way toward the old center of Augsburg.  The roads are full of cyclists, but even more full of cars and traffic, and not knowing our way it was not fun at all.  At one point, while stopped at the edge of a bike path, a young man stopped to offer help and point us in the right direction.  Eventually we re-found our correct route into the old center of the city; unbelievably it was on a very busy street with trolley tracks.  There was a very narrow space between the trolleys and the sidewalk, and I was nervous about riding close alongside, and parallel to, tracks.  The sidewalks (which are generally open to bikes here) were crowded with pedestrians.  The last couple of km to our hotel was not pleasant riding, but we survived and rolled in around 4.  With all the excitement we'd missed stopping for any more than an energy bar along the way, so after a quick shower we were out for some good German food and beer.

We had planned a layover day in Augsurg because there is much to see.  The city was a Roman outpost over 2000 years ago.  Highlights of our exploration were the Fuggerei and the Puppet Museum.  The Fuggerei is a small city-within-a-city (with its own walls and gates) that was set up in the early 1500s by a wealthy family (the Fuggers) to provide decent housing for people of limited means.  It has operated continuously on the same principles ever since.  The rent has not gone up over the intervening centuries, and is now less than one euro per year for an apartment (there is a small additional charge for utilities).  The Fuggerei is now mostly a residential community, but also partly a museum.

entrance to the Fuggerei

backyard gardens

One of the apartments is set up as it would have been centuries ago.  One room is a combination living and dining room, and was also typically used as the resident's workshop.  Separate kitchen (with a bucket in the corner for toilet), and a single bedroom (most of the apartments had families with parents and children).









Another highlight of our walking around Augsburg was the Puppet Museum.  It celebrates the life work of a family who produced marionettes (and some life-size puppets) and much puppet theater.  The workmanship, and videos of performances, were amazing.

Romeo and Juliet

Don Quixote

Hunchback of Notre Dame

We were in Augsburg on a Saturday evening, and the town was jumping.  There are universities in the city so it's full of young people.  Bars were packed, and there was music and dancing on some of the public squares.  At one point a trolley went by (chartered, we presume): several cars absolutely jammed with a live band and people drinking and dancing.

Riding out of Augsburg on a Sunday morning was a piece of cake compared with our arrival.  The streets were relatively empty, and we found the path out of town without a lot of trouble.  We were quickly on bike paths through a very large city park and then in the country.  A couple of missed signs (the signage here is not as complete as on other routes we've followed) added some kilometers, but the riding was very pleasant on (mostly unpaved) bike paths.  A bit after noon we stopped for a snack at a village's public pool (kind of like the Meyer Pool in Ashland).  This being Germany, in addition to the pool there were extensive snacks and of course beer available.  As we rode we watched thunderheads building and felt the wind increasing.  By good fortune we were by a building with large overhang just as the rain hit, so we had a great place to wait out the twenty minutes of downpour.  The rest of our ride was mostly on unpaved paths, so we were pretty mud-spattered by the time we reached Landsberg am Lech in the early afternoon.  Fortunately the hotel we'd reserved is part of the Bett und Bike network, so there is not only a great place to store the bike but also a hose for washing it off.

Landsberg is a very pleasant town, and we enjoyed walking around and then a fine German dinner.