Tuesday, April 2, 2024

Passau-Germany is Germany unless you are in Bavaria

I guess if I learned anything today, it’s that Germans are Germans, except if they are Bavarians. Then they are Bavarians first and Germans second. Passau is a lovely city on the banks of the Danube River. Passau is where 3 rivers meet: the Danube, the Inn and the Ilz. The city is another Roman city that eventually was left and became ruled by Prince-Bishops from 739 till 1555. The city is home to gothic and baroque architecture and St.Stephens church houses the largest pipe organ in Europe.



Arriving into the area

Getting off ship to tour. We were docked next to an older ship that didn’t match exactly so we tromped across the roofs to get off ship
Proof I actually own shoes besides sandals

Interesting wall art

Okay if you look close this is artwork disguised as a menu- top picture is rays, second chihuahua( maybe ) and bottom is grubs. 

The alley was home to many artists workshops 

A museum of glasses,drinking glasses
Fortress on the overlook where the 3 rivers meet

Not all is as it seems- some windows on the second and third floor are just painted on!

The town hall. Look close to see marks showing flood levels- 2013 was a banner year for water flooding. 

The town hall is decorated 
The executioner’s house in Medieval times- now a comedy club

Spring is here

A pharmacy- painted green since medicine was from plants. Easy code for medieval non readers


On our way to St. Stephen’s church- the pride of Passau. The church houses the largest pipe organ in Europe. Second largest in the world. It has 17,774 pipes and 233 registers 

All that is left of the original statue of St Stephen. Hung on a wall before you get to the church. Someone had drawn fangs in his teeth and boogers in his nose with magic marker… 


The church. It was Easter Sunday so we could only peek inside while mass was going on. The acoustics were marvelous and there was floor to ceiling plaster work of angels, statues- a visual overload. Unfortunately the organ is dismantled some for refurbishment so we missed hearing it. 
A doorway in an inside courtyard 

The courtyard from a different view
Alley to the art district 

Riverfront walk

In front of the museum of art

Riverside along the river walk in front of a restaurant there was this statue of a young girl accompanied by this plaque. I thought it was beautiful.as we walked back to the ship we decided to stop for a beer and a pretzel 
. We joined some new friends from Iowa/Florida to celebrate our day in Passau.

At the Ratskeller there was this fountain for beer. I was told it is unlocked for celebrations like weddings so passersby can have a beer! Think that would be great to have some places in the US! 
















Monday, April 1, 2024

My down day and Albert’s day to shine!

 I woke up after Vienna and just had no energy at all. Today is a cruising morning so I opted to stay in bed and rest and Albert took pictures for us. He tried to explain each picture and believe me he did it well but my memory has forgotten all of it so feel free to invite him over with his pictures for a glass of wine and he will be happy to share his memories!




Vineyards on steep hillsides 

A statue of Richard the Lionhearted 

More terraced vineyards . Our US wine growers are so lucky to have flat vineyards!

Yes, that’s a nose

And an eye

Nose in profile 
The rabbit church. There are small rabbits perched along the ridge of the building 

After a morning of river cruising there was an afternoon tour of the Melk Abby. I again stayed on board and you are seeing Albert’s pictures . 




               entering the Abby Grounds 






The view from the Abby






The Abby grounds include a large beautiful garden. Only the beginning spring flowers were starting to bloom. Albert said he would like to see it in the summer 




Albert enjoyed the day and made it back to the ship in time for the Explorers cocktail party. 
Viking always has an onboard cocktail get together for Explorer members( means you’ve sailed with them more than once) surprisingly we have passengers who are on their 14th cruise with Viking! Talk about Brand loyalty!!Dani holding the bottle of Aquavit for our toast ( Vikings always drink Aquavit for every happy occasion). The aquavit is put into barrels and sent around the world twice to age it and give it its flavor. Each bottle lists the date it was sent and date it returned. Needless to say… it was delightful but would give you a massive headache if you over indulged.

While we were toasting our travels,the ship left the dock bound for Passau. 









Saying good bye with class!

  This group of passengers have been together for 60 days. As was the custom, the farewell from the Captain was held the day before our last...