Passau

Next we head to Germany on our river cruise. Germany is 139,000 sq miles - just smaller than the state of Montana. Ther are 4 main geographic zones: broad lowlands in the north, central uplands, wide valley & gorge of the Rhine River in the southwest and the forested mountains and plateaus of the south. there are about 82.2 million people of Germany.

Our first stop in Germany is Passau- Dreiflussestadt - city on three rivers. it is situated at the confluience of the Danube, Ilz and Inn Rivers (our guide thinks this is the only place in the world this occurs - but someone on our group straightens him out). we arrive in the morning and head out for an early morning walking tour of the city. I have been surprised to learn that many of the places that we are visiting including those in Germany, were once part of the Roman Empire - and therefore, many of their early historical beginnings have their foundation from the Romans. The currents in the rivers are very strong and our guide warns us that the water can be very dangerousl. On our journey through town, we pass the Bishop's Residenz - an impressive structure. the castle Veste Oberhaus was built in 1219 by Passau's Prince-Bishop in order to control commerce across the rivers. over the centuries, the changes to the castle consist of gothic, renaissance and baroque parts. it sits high on the hill overlooking the city. This fortress was very important for the protection of the old part of the town against enemy attacks. The walls around Passau stand as proof of its 2000 year history - having seen the presence of roman armies, troops led by charlemagne against the avars, capaigns of the crusaddrs, turkish battles and napoleon's soldiers. i gather from our guide that the bishop had much power and wanted to show their strength and prestige so they built the largest and most impressive structures that they could. i am amazed at the size and beauty of these palace like structures. Someone was living very well.

Also on the walking tour is a stroll past the 14th century Town Hall and the town's magnificent 17th century St Stephan's Cathedral. St Stephans (i didnt know there was a st stephan) contains Europe's largest pipe organ. There are actually 5 organs in the church, but all can be controled and played from the main one. Included in our tour is an organ concert - the sound is incredible in this place.

We depart from our group and venture out on our own to explore the narrow cobble stone streets and alley ways, quaint shops and cafes. there are many bier garten - all over. the pedestrian shopping area is located on the Ludwigstrasse, the Grabengasse and the side streets. Bavarian souvenir shops are found along the Danube River prmenade. everyone drinks beer with almost every meal (it seems)! we stopped for lunch in a sidewalk cafe and have our first attempt to decifer the german language (menu). we did pretty good - everyone ended up with something they wanted. the boys sampled the local brew and i opted for a glass of white wine. what a delightful way to top off the afternoon walk. The children were successful finding a unique treasure to take back to remember their stop in Passau.

after lunch we headed back to the ship - preparing for dinner and our next day's adventure.