Danube - Germany Aug 24

Ahhhh, the next phase of my European adventure has begun.  The travel from Paris to Donaueschingen by train was very easy and smooth.  The trains were efficient and the connections easy.  It was amazing in concept that within a few kilometers when I crossed the border that the language and the culture changes so dramatically.  Moving from Strasbourg France to Offenburg Germany is like going from Illinois to Wisconsin.  Yet you get off the train from one to the other and the language changes not just a little but totally.  Europe is so intriguing how that happens and how they continue and thrive.  

We got the bikes at the hotel and I must say that this is the first time in a long time that I have not used my own bike.  The rental bikes are, how should I say this... not what I am used to at all.  This will be a very different ride.  They are big and heavy as well as cumbersome.  So the ride will be different...

We walked the town today and it is a very quaint town.  We found the spring that is said to be the origin of the Danube:

This is the spring that is between a church and a castle (more like a large chateau).  It percolates up fresh water and flows out the side to technically feed to Danube.  In actuality the Danube is the joining of two rivers/streams with the flow of the spring to create the river. 

This is a topographical depiction of the flow of the Danube from source (at the top of the picture) to the sea (at the bottom).  It flows some 2780 kilometers.

The starting point of our trip as marked by the sign.  These are the three amigos I am joined by for the trip... from the left,  Barry, Mike and Scott.

This is the brewery right near the start sign for the adventure where we had a stein of beer to inaugurate what will be a flowing trip.

This is the castle/chateau where the spring starts the flow of the Danube.

The quaint streets and town of Donaueschingen, very picturesque.

Tomorrow morning we start the first pedal strokes of our Danube adventure...

😊