4. Danube River Cruise - Passau (12/17/09)

Thursday, December 17, 2009
This morning, 79-year old Yuriko was one of two people to take advantage of "Morning Exercise!" We continued upriver on the Danube, being lifted through locks. In Jochenstein, we took photos.

We are in the lock

Water is filling up the lock

The retaining wall is lowered

And we sail out into Germany!

Time for some cabin photos:

Standard double cabin

We were in the lowest level. so our window peeks out just above water level. A small table can be lifted off the wall between the beds. Looking in the other direction:

Looking towards the cabin door

There is a small wardrobe (with slippers provided!), the door to the bathroom, the cabin door, and a small desk.

Cabin bathroom

The toilet was a noisy vacuum-assisted one. The shower was to the left.

View from our cabin window!

Our next event was a lecture on Wolfgang Mozart (1756-1791),

"Mozart" tells us about himself

followed by a special Bavarian snack of Bratwurst with spicy and sweet mustard,

A plate with a bratwurst and mustards

pretzels in traditional shapes and knots,

Pretzels

and free beer!

Bitburger Bier

Randy, in his Lederhosen, provided appropriate drinking-song music!

Randy

As we approached the town of Passau, you could see that it was a "City of Three Rivers." The Inn River came in on the left and the Danube on the right.

Passau between two rivers

The Ilz River sneaks in farther to the right.

Where the Ilz River joins

That massive white building on the river in the photo above, once part of a castle complex, is a private residence that just sold for $3 million dollars! The old lady who lived there couldn't manage the stairs anymore!

After lunch, we stepped off the boat to begin our guided tour. We were already in the old town!

Three generations of travelers (Photo by Viking Staff)

Passau is well-preserved, having escaped being bombed during World War II. The Waisenhaus (Orphanage, 1758) had an ornate chapel doorway and a statue of St. Johannes Nepomuk (protector against floods) stood in front.

St Johannes Nepomuk

We walked along the Inn River towards the Schaiblingsturm (Schaiblings Tower, 1250),

Schaiblings Tower

which was built out into the river to block the current to allow boats to land here.

Again we passed through narrow, crooked alleys, and arrived at the Danube side of town, in front of the Rathaus (City Hall, 1398, with a 1893 clock tower).

City Hall

Frescoes of historic figures covered one side of the building.

City Hall frescoes

Levels of floods over the years 1501 to 2002 are marked on the corner of City Hall.

Flood levels

Our guide was able to get us inside City Hall to see the council halls with stained glass windows and two large wall murals painted in 1893.

The Hotel Wilder Mann (Wild Man Hotel, 1225) was across the street,

Hotel Wilder Mann

originally a courthouse, it has been a hotel since 1844.

Our tour seemed to zigzag across the small peninsula where Passau is located. Next stop was the Residenzplatz (Residence Square)

Residenzplatz Advent Wreath

with the imposing Bishop's residence (1772) and a fountain decorated with an Advent wreath that had 24 candles. When Advent wreaths were first made, they had 24 red candles to count down the days to Christmas Eve.

We entered the Bishop's Residence through an ornate portal with carved wooden doors,

Doors of the Bishop's Residence

and looked up at the marble staircase with Rococo decoration and a ceiling fresco.

We had to hurry for our appointment at Café Simon, a Konditorei (confectionary, as in bakery and chocolatier). The elder and junior Mr. Simons gave a Lebkuchen-making demonstration in a tent behind their shop.

Her Simon und Herr Simon

They had antique molds, and told us the history of Lebkuchen - first sweetened with honey, later with molasses, and finally with sugar. We sampled all three types, and had a sample of Glühwein (mulled wine) as well. A woman also demonstrated how to make an Advent wreath.

After exploring their shop with its pastries

Café Simon goodies

and chocolate truffles, we continued our guided tour.

Just up the street, we entered the Pfarrkirche St. Paul (Parish Church of St. Paul, 1678) which sat right on the city wall.

Parish Church of St Paul

The interior was Rococo with an intricately carved ebony pulpit and altar with gold-leaf accents.

From there we went to the less ornate Stephansdom (St. Stephen's Cathedral, 1673), the largest Baroque basilica north of the Alps. It is known for its organ, the second largest assembly in the world (beat out in 1995 by a church in Los Angeles). A grand total of 17,774 pipes and 229 stops.

Our guided tour ended, and we were free to check out the Christmas market.

Christmas market

Interesting beeswax candles

We returned to the boat for dinner.

After dinner, we had a "Musical Murder Mystery Quiz," with the program directors acting out a story,

Musical Murder Mystery Quiz

and we had to guess the names of 24 musical interludes, and who the murderer was. Usually the name of the song fit the story. For instance when Lady Elizabeth was complaining about her husband’s, Sir Percival's, pipe smoking, Randy played “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes.” (No, we didn't win!)
Next: 5. Regensburg.