Well, if yesterday was wet, today was soaking! It has now rained almost non stop for 72 hours, getting steadily more intense throughout. We are now holed up in a hotel in Passau, where the Danube and the Inn join, and the lobby is currently about 15 feet above the water level. Next door they are putting up the flood shutters, and they are about 10 feet above the water. I think there is every chance we may be wading out (if at all), in the morning. Good job it’s a nice hotel!

This morning our host at Plank’s guesthouse in Waltendorf (Helen calls him Frank Plank – my suggestion of Wank was overuled – firmly) made us an excellent breakfast and commiserated as we kitted up for another 48 miles in the wet.

The first sign of trouble was when we saw a camper van, parked overnight in a layby beside the river, where they had woken up to fnd themselves (in the immortal words of Pooh) entirely surrounded by water.

A few miles further on we heard the flood warning sirens. Then our cycle path decided to head into the swollen river. We ended up cycling across a grass field, then a stubble field to avoid a swim. Extreme off-road cycling with full kit, and I didn’t even put a foot down – Dan should be proud of me.

This was getting silly. So we sang a happy song or two and pressed on for Passau. Just short of the town the route crossed onto the south bank, via a flood control/hydroelectric barrage. I mention it because first it gave great views of the boat locks.

And second because the small, pedestrian walkway was suspended right over the series of huge weirs. On our right the water was roaring over the falls, level with our feet and only a few meters away, it then shot underneath us and on our left it was churning out under the footbridge in a rage of white water. It was quite scary and I turned round to find Helen doing at least 20 mph in a bid to get off the bridge fast!

Luckily we got into town about 2 pm because, as we stood dripping in the Tourist Office asking for a bed for the night we suddenly had that deja vue all over again, because (as in Lucerne) there is a jazz festival this weekend and all the hotels are almost full. We got the last room in the 4th hotel we tried. Walking around town later in the afternoon there are small groups of cyclists still trying to find somewhere to stay. If they find somewhere above the rising flood they may have the last laugh yet!

Helen’s track of the day: Thin Lizzy, Whiskey in the Jar, which kept my spirits up in the rain, with a bit of improvised handlebar guitar playing.