Schloss -4 Mai

Or ...

The Full Donau 

Or

Sink? What sink?

Or

Jesus, Mary and Joseph-Where's the bike ferry?

Or

How far up and up out of our way are we going to get to this berg?

Or

We knew we would end up at a youth hostel, but maybe not one with a capital Y... Oi! the screaming girls at 10pm

Or

The DonauRadWeg

The surprisingly full river after we left Donaueschingen (the proclaimed "source" /start of the river wasn't much to talk about. But the rest is formidable.) 

There were certainly a fair number of industrial sections of the route today, but also-- can't beat a 4-barn scene!

An eroding sentry of the river's fast spring flow.

And a more modern outpost.

We were eager to see the renowned 12km disappearance of the river, much talked about. The sink. We wondered how it would manifest itself, especially in light of how full the river was.

So,we were more surprised to find this flooding along the way.

And then a second, greater, area of flooding...

and then a third and even greater (note that Paul is carrying his bike (he had already ferried mine across for me--video to come!)

And then a fourth...

And a fifth (okay... Maybe there had been another few in between)--but this huge one we were able to take a train-track-side to detour around. Whew! 

In Tuttlingen

Dropping down from Mühlheim

Still on the river, with canyon like cliffs around us

And then after some significant climbing (getting to 2700 feet) we reached this plateau -- and sunshine!

And a vista of the alps to the south!

I love signs and often want to stop (but don't) to take photos... Street crossings, schools, playgrounds... This one, though-- what to say about these very chic hikers!?

We reached Berg Wildenstein (or castle, or schloss) a couple hours later than we'd hoped, but the time and effort was worth it for the setting and the views.

Tomorrow, we will carefully step our way down the trail from the schloss to the river valley (and hope for no more encounters with flooding!)