Passau, Germany .. and onward to Vilshofen

We're in Bavaria!   Can you believe .. another beautiful medieval town with churches, a monster cathedral, fortress, Roman ruins, bishop's residence, and, of course - Christmas Market ?

Here we are arriving at Passau .. early in the morning, docking on the 'old town' side  (one of 52 churches in a town of 50,000, only 800 live on the old-town peninsula!)

Passau is located at the confluence of three rivers ;  DANUBE, INN, ILS.   It's sometimes known as the 'Venice of Bavaria'.    It has been inhabited for over 2000 years.   Here's a map of this area :

Here's our group with guide starting to wind our way up cobblestone streets :

looking across the Danube at the Fortress 'Veste Oberhaus' (circa 1219)

we turned back around to walk up more cobblestone narrow roads to get to the top of the town .. guide stopped us at the medieval executioner's building, yikes!

walking up towards .. St.Stephens Cathedral

re-built after a fire swept thru town, in 1668-1693 .. Italian architects

one of the largest pipe organs in the world!   17,774 pipes, 233 registers

and just outside its doors .. would you believe .. is another Christmas market!

we didn't have time to go to the world's first dachshund museum .. !!

time to get back to the ship  ..  hang on !

Time for a Bavarian lunch as we sail on to Vilshofen.  yummy .. sausages ++

look like a wizard ?   :)

We attended an interesting lecture, later in the afternoon, on Bavaria by a local college professor.

view from our deck .. of Vilshofen and a cute Christmas Market

We were bussed up to an abbey to enjoy some beer and pretzels at an Oktoberfest celebration.

Back down to the town.   Walked back through town to the ship.

good shot of the ship with its lights festooning the guard rails .. behind is a newer bridge over the Danube ..

Last dinner is over, now back to the room to pack up.   Tomorrow, Sunday, we get bused to Prague (Czech Republic) via Regensburg.

Sad to leave such a gorgeous new boat.  Lots and lots of amenities!   AmaWaterways really spoils you on these river cruises.   They employed great informative guides for all of the excursions.   Looking forward to another historical gem and grand European city!

Wonderful SALZBURG! Friday, Dec.29

I hope you had a festive Thanksgiving!   and some delicious fixings!
What an amazing and informative trip this has been.   To see and learn in person the many things I learned about European history has been extraordinarily exciting!  I was in Germany when the Army sent Dad and us to Schweinfurt between 1959-1965, so .. you see .. it's been a 'few' years!   It's been eye-opening!    If you want to see 1000 years of history up close and personal, travel the rivers of Europe .. like the Vikings did when they wanted to vacation and plunder and emigrate to warmer climates!

Here we are early Friday morning arriving in Linz, the 3rd largest city in Austria, population approx. 200,000, located in the north center of the country a mere 30km from the Czech border.   Adolf Hitler set-up Linz to be a major steel producer for the 3rd Reich.    And .. they are still a major industrial center.

Jan and I opted to travel to Salzburg with an excursion group, an all day journey.   It's about a 2-hour bus ride.   Heard and read a lot about it.   Our guide was educated in Salzburg, was an exchange student in the US (midwest), and now lives in Linz.   She gave us a lot of info. on the drive there.   Salzburg sits in the lake district.   There's 76 of these lakes .. many in beautiful settings surrounded by the Alps.   As many Austrian towns do, Salzburg used to be a Roman town called Juvavum, a settlement along one of the major military roads of the ancient world.   Centuries after the collapse of the Roman Empire, Bishop Rupert founded the city in 696 AD.

on the way to Salzburg

walking across the river to the 'old town'

Salzburg is home to over 100 churches, castles, and palaces!   Birthplace of Mozart,  where the movie 'Sound of Music' was filmed.   The fortress at the top of this picture is the fortress of Hohensalzburg, one of the largest in Europe, built in the 11th century.

Prince-Bishops became very important in the development of Salzburg.   They not only ruled from a religious (Roman Catholic) seat, they were also in charge of EVERYTHING!    They built most of the city.   This was a residence and gardens of one.

We walked through many alleys and thoroughfares.   Just like a medieval city!

If you followed my blog of my 8600 mile road trip to Florida and back in October of 2018, then you'll remember my fascination and collection of pictures of New Mexico and Texas ranch signs.   Well, ... get ready for some interesting store signs ..

Oh yeah .. they have the best setting for Christmas Markets so far ..

They also have the largest cathedral in Austria ..

started in 774, rebuilt in 1131, sustained bomb damage in WWII

Scenes from The Sound of Music were filmed in this old cemetery :

It was an interesting day in the city!   So much history.   On the way back to the bus I took some pics of another palace and its walls across the river ..

Back to the ship and the .. Farewell Gala Cocktail ceremony where the Captain re-introduces all of the staff to toast a successful voyage.   Afterwards we all went to the main dining area for the Captain's Dinner.

appetizer was .. grilled Atlantic scallop, lime risotto, tomato salsa, cress ..
yummy .. I ordered two of these!

soup was .. creamy porcini, thyme foam, parma ham cookie
Jan asked the chef for the recipe ..

main course :

slow roasted beef tenderloin, pate de canard,  truffle jus, glazed vegetables, ..

dessert .. rum-raisin ice cream, plum compote, chocolate crumbles, whip cream

What a historical adventure today!  Beautiful town.  Gazillions tourists!
Tonight we have 4-locks to navigate through on our way to the German town of Passau, the 'City of Three Rivers'.

Wachau Valley - Durnstein, and The Benedictine Abbey of MELK !!

H A P P Y    T H A N K S G I V I N G   !!

I'm running out of energy and adrenaline .. these daily excursion adventures are wearing me out.   Maybe it's the excitement of seeing these historical and beautiful places for the first time.   Maybe it's the excitement of being on a luxurious river cruise boat for the first time.   Another full day of adventures requires a good breakfast :

Part of today's 'Daily Cruiser' information sheet was an interesting map :

First adventure of the day was a walking tour of Durnstein.    The Wachau Valley has a picturesque landscape.    Lots of interesting history and a superb wine growing region.   Durnstein is known as the 'Pearl of the Wachau'.   A highlight is the unusual blue facade of its monastic church and the ruins of the castle fortress high above the town.  The church was built in 1721-25.

The ruins of Durnstein Castle, 520 ft. above the town, are intestingly linked to the Crusades.   It was here that Leopold V held Richard the Lionheart of England prisoner in 1193, when he was trying to get back home.   Apparentlt bad blood existed from their time in the Middle East.

It's a very neat, very old town.  Here are some pics :

At the church we were ushered into a neat room to do some tasting of new apricot brandy, apricot jam, and chocolate  ..  yummy!

On the way out of this medieval town I took a picture looking through a small gated window looking down into a 1100's room:

Another look at the Baroque Tower from the courtyard :

As we were touring Durnstein the ship was motoring upriver to Melk where we met it and had lunch.   Then it was time for the fantastic Melk Benedictine Abbey.    Originally built in 1089.    Today's architecture dates from 1702-1736.    We couldn't take pictures inside so here's a few exterior shots.

here's the map

this is one of their seven massive libraries

We toured the church and it's many altars.   Since we couldn't take any pics inside .. I found a good one on the internet to show how impressive it is :

gold leaf everywhere!

and the massive library :

Back to the ship afterwards for Thanksgiving dinner.   Appetizer was 'Pate de Provence' .. mimosa salad, apple confit, spicy cranberry dip.    Soup was 'Soupe a l'oignon'  .. clear onion soup, cheese crouton.   Main course .. ranch seasoned roast turkey breast, cranberry sauce, brussels sprouts, classic stuffing, sweet potato mash ..

Dessert was 'Granny's Pumpkin Tarte'  .. with cinnamon ice cream, maple syrup

H A P P Y     T H A N K S G I V I N G    !!

Now for some rest as we motor to .. Linz.    Big day.   We're bussed 2-hours for an all day adventure in SALZBURG !