The German Danube
My Donauradweg Bicycle Ride 2025
NAVIGATION
Introduction
I did my first solo Danube bike ride in 2008, flying from Denver, Colorado to Vienna, Austria. Travelling with only a medium backpack, I rode a rented bicycle along the Donauradweg (as the Danube Bike Trail is called in German) from Vienna to Passau, Germany. Riding upriver, I stayed at hotels in the towns along the Danube. My ride averaged about 50km (30 miles) per day. The ride was mostly in Austria with only a short section in Germany before reaching Passau. The Donauradweg is mostly flat and is one of the most popular bicycle trails in Europe. I picked the Danube for my first bike ride because I took 2 years of German in high school and have travelled in Austria and Germany many times.
My Bike and Backpack from My First Danube Ride
On subsequent bike rides, I flew from Denver to Munich. After a few days in Munich, I would take a train to Passau to begin my rides. I found a great bike shop in Passau, the Fahrrad Klinik, where I would rent one of their 14-speed bicycles and a set of paniers. My rides have included the following: Passau - Vienna, Passau - Bratislava, Passau - Salzburg - Krimml (Tauern Radweg), and Passau - Salzburg - Zell am See (Tauern Radweg). Although I would welcome some company, all my rides have been solo. I have not used any tour companies, choosing to book hotels day by day myself along the way. I plan my bike rides in May or September for cooler weather and less crowds due to kids still being in school.
For this ride, I chose the challenge of biking the 600 km (360 miles) length of the German section of the Donauradweg, following the Danube (Donau) from its start in the town of Donaueschingen to Passau, close to the Austrian border. My goal was to complete the ride by going 50 km (30 miles) a day with a couple of rest days along the way. At the end of a day's ride, I would assess how I felt and book a hotel room in a town 30 miles or so away. If I did not feel like riding the next day, I would book another night in the same hotel and rest for a day. As my smart-phone worked in Germany, I used a booking app to find my hotel rooms. I used the popular bicycle guide, Danube Bike Trail 1, by Esterbauer, as a reference for the trip and Google Maps, on my phone, when lost or to make sure I was still on the correct part of the trail.
Before the 2025 Ride
I live in Northern Colorado so I took advantage of Lufthansa's daily direct flight from Denver to Munich. Lufthansa was running their A380 for my September 3rd flight and September 30th return. This was my first opportunity to fly on the double deck A380. I chose a seat in the last row of the small (and more quiet) economy section on the plane's upper deck. I like to stay a few days in Munich before starting my bike rides. I try to stay in Erding, a small town just south of the Munich Airport. The hotels there have lower prices and there is a huge water park in Erding, which I discovered on an earlier bike trip.
DEN-MUC The View from My Seat
Before leaving on the trip, I purchased a Deutschland Ticket for the month of September. This is monthly pass, costing 58 Euro (about $67.50), that allows unlimited travel on regional trains, subways, and buses within Germany. DB Bahn, the German train line, did not sell the Deutschland Ticket directly to US customers but I was able to purchase the ticket through a third party, "Mopla." The ticket appears as a QR Code on your smart-phone in the Mopla app and can be read by the train conductors and bus drivers.
After landing in Munich Thursday morning, the 4th, I used my Deutschland Ticket to take the 512 Bus to Erding and the S2 train to the Alten Erding station. From there, it was about a 1 km walk to Therme Erding, the largest hot-spring spa in Europe. After enjoying the hot-springs for the afternoon, I took 2 buses to my hotel, the Ibis Budget, where I stayed for 3 nights. Friday and Saturday were spent having the hotel breakfast and resting in the morning with trips to the hot-springs in the afternoon and evening.
Almost all hotels in Germany have a breakfast room and offer a breakfast of cold cuts, cheeses, breads, sweets, and, for me especially, coffee. I always had a hearty breakfast at my hotel to fuel up before my rides. Breakfast (Frühstück in German) is often included in the room price or can be purchased for 13-19 Euro. I enjoy German food but my first lunch was at a Chinese buffet in the shopping center across the street from my hotel. Other meals were at the many restaurants within the Therme Erding spa complex.
On Sunday, September 7th, I took the 512 Bus back to the airport and transferred to the 635 Bus to Freising, a town just north of the airport. In Freising, I took the RE3 regional train to Passau. The train ride takes about 2 hours as it stops in 9 towns before reaching Passau. In Passau, I stayed the night at the MK Hotel, which is right across the street from the Passau train station. Most stores and restaurants in Germany, except those in the train stations, are closed on Sundays. There is a Döner cafe inside the Passau train station that I like so I had dinner there. Döner, is a Turkish version of the Greek gyro. Döner cafes and stands are in almost every German town and city. They were opened by Turks, who emigrated to Germany about 20 years ago and are now a German food staple.
MK Hotel in Passau |
Fahrrad Klinik in Passau |
On Monday, September 8th, it was time to rent my bicycle. I walked through the old center of Passau to the Fahrrad Klinik bicycle shop, where I have rented bicycles in the past. Their rental bikes are customized with sturdy frames, thorn-proof Schwalbe tires, and 14-speed Rohloff hubs. I highly recommend this shop. I'll be renting the bicycle for the next 16 days.
After getting my bike and unloading my backpack into a set of panniers, I rode back to the Passau Hauptbahnhof train station. Today, I would be travelling to the city of Ulm. I purchased a separate day-ticket for my bicycle for 7 Euro. I would need a separate ticket any time I took my bike on a train. Most regional trains have cars with areas to store bicycles. The cars are clearly marked with a bicycle symbol. The trip to Ulm was on 2 regional trains, the RE3 to Munich with a transfer to the RE9 at the Munich Hauptbahnhof. Due the many stops of these regional trains, the trip would take over 4 hours and arrive at the Ulm Hauptbahnhof at 6:14 pm. I stayed the night at the Me and All Hotel, which was directly across the street from the train station. After checking in, I walked around the old center of Ulm and the Ulm Minster cathedral, the tallest cathedral in Europe. I gabbed some dinner at a Nordsee restaurant. Nordsee is a chain of inexpensive seafood restaurants in Germany and Austria. I would start my first bike day in the morning. |
The Ulmer Münster Cathedral |
Videos
First time on the bike. A ride along the Danube River Promenade from the Fahrrad Klinik to the Passau Hauptbahnhof. (No Sound)