We are off! Yesterday we set off from Passau and made it to the Jockenstein lock. Straight out of a James Bond set, the last German lock came complete with henchmen in uniforms riding trollies. Today we crossed the border into Austria passing some amazing scenery.

Today we are finally leaving Ulm after unexpectedly staying here for a week. We didn’t expect to be stranded here due to the flooding but we could not have asked for a better place to be than Ulm. Everyone here has been so welcoming and generous. In the short time we have been here we have learnt about Ulm and […]

‘In Ulm, um Ulm, un Ulm herum’ is a tongue twister meaning ‘in Ulm, around Ulm, all around Ulm’ and that is pretty much what we have been up to. The Danube is still suffering from the worst flooding in 500 years of German records and the worst flooding ever in Hungary so we have been waiting for the water […]

English press release. See the German version here. Two Brits will tomorrow depart on a mission to row the entire length of the Danube for charity as the European river returns to normal levels after the worst flooding for 500 years. Jon Cowie, 31, from London and Mark Hughes, 32 from Edinburgh, are the first rowers ever to attempt the […]

German press release/ Pressemitteilung auf Deutsch Der Schotte Jon Cowie und der Waliser Mark Hughes wollen als erste Ruderer die gesamte Donau bewältigen. Im Gepäck: 10 Liter Sonnencreme, 150 Porridge-Riegel und eine Liste skurriler Herausforderungen. Ein deutsches Wort haben Jon Cowie, 31, und Mark Hughes, 31, schon gelernt: “Katastrophenalarm”. Eigentlich sollten die beiden Hobby-Ruderer nämlich seit einer Woche in ihrem […]

We’re still stuck! The river in Ulm is row-able but downstream it’s still massively flooded, particularly in Deggendorf. So, we must wait. On the meanwhile, we have met a local newspaper journalist: http://m.swp.de/ulm/lokales/ulm_neu_ulm/Zwei-Briten-rudern-von-Ulm-nach-Istanbul;art1158544,2037253

The Danube is still too high to set off safely so we find ourselves enjoying another day in the fine city of Ulm. The locks are still closed because of the high water but we walked down the river to check the route anyway. We’ve taken advantage of the opportunity to see a bit of Ulm including climbing the minster […]

The boat has safely arrived thanks to Gary from Aquila Logistics so we are good to go… Except for the record flooding – the worst in 500 years. We learnt a new German word; Katastrophonalarumn. The good news is the water levels are dropping quite markedly in Ulm so fingers crossed we can set off soon. This is unlikely to […]

It’s an overcast but dry day in Ulm, Germany. The Danube is still high so it looks like we are staying here for a while when the boat arrives this afternoon. We had a brilliant night last night with everyone at Ulmer Ruderclub. They seem to think it’ll take a few days for the water to drop enough.