Passau & Linz, Germany

April 16, 2011 - Our ship arrived Passau early this morning.  Passau is a border city and is the last city on the Danube before crossing into Austria.  Last night I had to watch "The Sound of Music" all the way through to get the feel and excitement of Austria (Charlie's note - four times).

We did a walking tour of Passau this morning through the cobblestone streets.  Our guide took us through alleyways and along some of the back streets.  We saw the Dom of St. Stephen, a beautiful Catholic church with the largest cathedral pipe organ in the world with over 17,000 pipes and 231 registers.  We saw a monastery across the Inn River with 321 steps leading up to this Baroque pilgrimage church.  The old city of Passau was destroyed by fires in the 16th and 17th centuries.  Today, Passau is a modern town and a historical city all rolled into one.

Passau is a city on three rivers - The Danube, the Inn and the Ilz - very much like Pittsburgh without the crying towels.  The Inn River is more brownish, the Ilz River is green from the minerals scraped by glaciers and the snow melt from the Alps, and the Danube is supposed to be blue, but is actually olive drab. 

We sailed mid-morning from this beautiful city to Linz in Austria.  Linz is the home of the Linzer Torte, one of Charlie's all-time favorite desserts.  Both Mozart and Beethoven composed symphonies while staying in this city.  Both of these composers were known to have had a sweet tooth, and perhaps it was the delicious linzer torte than gave them their inspiration.

Prague to Passau

April 13, 2011 - Left Prague at noon today for a 3.5 hour motorcoach trip to Passau.  We were scheduled to go to Nuremberg, but one of the locks we needed to go through is closed for repairs and won't open until tomorrow.  So, Plan B is now in effect. 

We had an uneventful trip through the mountains except for one little thing.  We ran into snow, and I don't mean a little snow, I mean a 3" snow going up a mountain on a two-lane road in a big ole motorcoach.  But, we made it just fine.

We are on the Avalon Tapestry, and this ship is wonderful - 160 passengers, a crew that is incredible, and a captain that kept us in stitches during his talk at our welcome reception.

Dinner tonight was like dinner on cruise ships 20 years ago - all elegance, six courses, wait staff all over us, incredible wine (included in the cruise fare), beautiful table settings.  Absolutely wonderful!!!

Tomorrow morning, we are off to Nuremberg and will cruise back to Passau in the afternoon.

 One thing I forgot to mention about Prague and the Czech Republic. Garnets are native to the area, and my hubby gave me the most beautiful garnet pendant in celebration of our 30th anniversary (which is actually July 4)!!! I think he may be a keeper.