By By Terry R. Cassreino / assistant managing editor
June 20, 2002
After biking all morning to Passau, Germany, Andy and Eric Armstrong took a break Wednesday afternoon to tour the city with a longtime resident.
The Armstrongs and their guide, Stefan Bode, passed old buildings, a castle and a monastery. The Armstrongs met Bode when they stopped at a bike shop for a map of Passau.
The tour through Passau highlighted the 20th day of Andy and Eric's bicycle trip through Europe. Andy, 58, and his grandson, Eric, 15, are expected to finish their trip by the end of the month.
On Wednesday, the two began the day at a hotel in Seebach, Germany. From there, they biked under clear skies in temperatures that soared to the mid-90s.
Andy and Eric followed the Danube River on their way to Passau. They passed fields of fresh crops including tall rows of corn a scene that reminded Andy of the classic musical "Oklahoma!"
At one point, Andy spotted two swans sitting near a stream of water. When he pulled out his camera to take a picture, the swans became agitated because they were protecting three babies.
After a lunch Wednesday at a McDonald's in Passau, Andy and Eric stopped by the bike shop where they met Bode and took a tour of the city. Bode then followed the two to the Austrian border, five to six kilometers away.
Andy and Eric didn't see an official border crossing because "there is no border anymore. It's just a little sign. You don't have to show your passports. It's like going from Mississippi to Alabama."
The two then rode another 20 kilometers to Kasten, Austria, and found a room for the night at the Gasthaus Kaffenbock a small hotel above a restaurant with rooms that overlook the Danube.
Andy said he and Eric planned to eat dinner Wednesday night at the hotel. And, he said, he will probably have another apple juice drink juice with carbonated water.