Events in this article happened on the 30th of May, 2019, which was also Ascension day. We paddled in our inflatable canoe from Günzburg to Dillingen an der Donau, a distance of about 24 kilometers. Both towns lie in Bavaria in Germany. In Germany, Ascension day is a public holiday and they celebrate father’s day on this same day. Father’s day is actually more generally ‘men’s day’, which means that a lot of groups of men go outside to drink and revel in shitty activities like fishing. In Dillingen an der Donau, we finally went camping for the first timeContinue reading
Danube Trip
Ahhh, the mighty Danube!
I’ve had an obsession with the idea of kayaking the second-longest river in Europe – after the Volga – since 2013. In 2019, that dream came half-way true.
Jonas and I began paddling at the source in Donaueschingen, Germany. From there we continued downstream to the border with Austria, which we crossed. Then we paddled a short distance in Slovakia, followed by a lengthy stretch in Hungary. The original plan was to end in Budapest, but we had enough summer days left to continue another 200 kilometers. We came to a stop in the last Hungarian town on the Danube: Mohács.
We planned to continue this trip in 2021 after 18 months of traveling in Asia, but then 2020 happened. One day, the trip will continue into Croatia, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, a touch of Moldova, and Ukraine.
To the Black Sea. That’s where this river ends.
I wrote about each and every kayak day, which resulted in some 50 Danube-themed articles. I recommend you to start at Day Zero in Donaueschingen. If you’re searching for the statistics of our trip, look no further than the interactive Danube kayak map page with our spreadsheet. We did this entire trip while also working online on our non-paddle days, hence the name Kayak+Work.
The first half of the Danube trip was a literal dream come true. I can’t wait to continue this journey once the world opens up a little more again.
Kayak Trip Day 8: Neu-Ulm to Günzburg
The events of this story happened on Monday the 27th of May 2019. We paddled our inflatable canoe from Neu-Ulm just across the border in Bavaria to Günzburg. This was a trip of 23.9 kilometers, I think. If you’re lost as to what these blog posts are about and why they’re not about hitchhiking, I suggest starting at Day Zero in Donaueschingen. Packing Up Our stay at the Brickstone hostel in Neu-Ulm had been very pleasant. They had a funny map of the entire Danube River, which also happened to be incredibly biased towards the upper two countries: Germany andContinue reading
Kayak Trip Day 7: Dettingen to Neu-Ulm
This is about our paddle day from Dettingen to Neu-Ulm on the 24th of May, 2019. We paddled a total distance of about 25 kilometers. It was our first state border crossing from Baden-Württemberg to Bavaria. Letting the Hochwasser Pass We stayed in Dettingen for two nights and work a little. On Thursday, the flood we’d experienced its humble beginnings of would reach its peak. After that, it would go down again slowly to safer water levels and speeds. Dettingen/Berg has a Pegel (water level monitoring station), which remained in the green the whole time. But the one at Neu-Ulm (ourContinue reading
Kayak Trip Day 6: Munderkingen to Dettingen
Events narrated in this story happened on Wednesday 22nd of May, 2019. We paddled our inflatable kayak from Munderkingen to Dettingen in Baden-Württemberg in South Germany. This was only a trip of 8.9 kilometers. We are paddling a stretch of the Danube river this year. If you want more information on our trip, you can read about the idea aka ‘Day Zero’, or read previous entries of our paddle days. Booking Accommodation for The Days Ahead We tried booking another hotel somewhere between Munderkingen and Ulm – a total distance of about 35 kilometers by the river. We think paddlingContinue reading
Kayak Trip Day 5: Sigmaringen to Mengen + Munderkingen
This story is about us when paddling our inflatable canoe from Sigmaringen to Mengen on the 20th of May, 2019. The total distance was 16.1 kilometers. Our original plan was to kayak to Hundersingen, some 4.8 kilometers after Mengen – a total distance of 20.9 kilometers – followed by a train ride to Munderkingen. We had a permit to go from Sigmaringen to Hundersingen, after which the river becomes a natural protected area until Munderkingen. Click here for information on how to get a permit to paddle this stretch of the Danube. The Second Permit Jonas learned that we neededContinue reading
Kayak Trip Day 4: Hausen im Tal to Sigmaringen
This article is about our paddle day from Hausen im Tal to Sigmaringen on the Danube river on Monday 13th of May, 2019. We’re trying to paddle this 2850 kilometer long European river. If you’re wondering what this article series is about, read the article about Donaueschingen, the source of the Danube. To see previous entries, visit paddle Day 1, Day 2, or Day 3. We’re still quite early in this trip! If you want to kayak here yourself, click here to get all the necessary information and steps to get your own permit. The Forbidden Stretch Between Mühlheim andContinue reading
Kayak Trip Day 3: Immendingen to Mühlheim via the Donauversickerung
Our Events chronicled happened on the 8th and 9th of May 2019. Jonas and I paddled our canoe/kayak over the young Danube from a small town called Immendingen to another small town called Mühlheim over 20.1 kilometers. On the way, we passed the ‘Donauversickerung’ – where the Danube river sinks or goes underground for 155 days a year. The water levels were high enough for us to paddle it. If you want to know what this kayak trip is about, I wrote a detailed article about how we came up with this trip idea. You can also read about Day 1Continue reading
Kayak Trip Day 2: Geisingen to Immendingen, Hiking the Donauversinkung
Events described happened on the 6th and 7th of May 2019. We paddled 9.7 kilometers on the Danube (Donau) river from Geisingen to Immendingen in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. This was the second day of our kayak/canoe trip. Click here if you’d rather read about the planning of kayaking the Danube, or read about Day 1. The Off-Day at the Arena Gästehaus On Monday the 6th we had an off-day. No paddling, just recovering from our muscle aches. It’s always difficult to start a very physical trip like this out of nowhere. Our tired arms felt awkward and our backs hurt aContinue reading
Kayak Trip Day 1: Donaueschingen to Geisingen
We started our kayak trip on the 5th of May 2019. Our first day, we hoped to paddle our brand-new inflatable canoe/kayak from Donaueschingen (the origin of the Danube river) to Geisingen. Geisingen is just a small village about 15 kilometers away. This article narrates the events of that day. Read how we came up with the idea to kayak the Danube river. Morning in Donaueschingen We got up at around 8 to eat breakfast at Wyndham Garden hotel. I over scooped my plate and Jonas didn’t have a big appetite. That affected my appetite, so I made a sandwichContinue reading