We took the leisurely tour of Passau, led by Andrew, who was a real hoot. Our tour covered the historical district and the cathedral. We also visited a local pharmacy, since we and many of our shipmates are plagued by a cold, which sapped our energy levels. There was quite a bit of walking on uneven cobblestone so we had to be careful. Many of our fellow travelers on the leisurely tour had walking sticks and walkers, which helped their journey.
Passau was noted for three things: flooding, the largest organ in the world and being at the confluence of three rivers. The Danube, the Inn and the Ilk. It is a university city and is located in the Neiderbayern region of Bavaria, in southern Germany.
Andrew took us to the Old Town, where the area recovered from the flooding, and the old historic buildings became new businesses again. The cobblestones were painted by children, deliniating the area.
On June 2, 2013, the Old Town suffered from severe flooding as a result of several days of rain and its three rivers location . Peak elevations of floods from the 1500s are displayed on the wall of the old City Hall. Ironically, with the years old drought we were not able to go beyond Passau on the ship because the water levels are now too low.
Andrew explained the traditional clothes and their meanings: boys should always wear their leiderhosen, which are very durable and will not wear out, though boys may grow out of a pair. Girls wear the dirndl, with its low neckline, a blouse worn under the bodice, a wide, high- waisted skirt and an apron. The apron is tied to represent the status of the woman wearing it. If it’s tied to the right side, she’s married, but if it’s tied on the left, she’s single. If it’s tied in the back, she’s available for anything! ( oh, my!).
Next stop: St Stephen’s Cathedral. This magnificent Baroque cathedral is known for having the largest Catholic Church organ in the world and the largest organ in Europe, with 17,974 pipes and 233 registers.
After our tour, we retraced our steps, stopped by the pharmacy for Ricola cough drops, then headed back to the ship. Our energy levels were dwindling!
It was fun to see how the two Viking ships were docked side by side.
We had to transfer to a second ship. We had to pack up our belongings, drive three and a half hours to Nuremberg, then join the Viking sister ship, the Edgir. Then we could continue our journey, ending in Amsterdam. We have the exact same room on the same ship. It was an inconvenience, but couldn’t be helped.
Yesterday was a very long day. We were up very early, bags out at 8:30, on the bus at 9:00, then got to the new ship at 12:30. At 1:30 we were allowed in our rooms, then did our tour of Nuremberg at 2:00. The tour that we chose was learning about the art that was hidden during World War II. By the time we returned, at 6:00, our bags were ready.
The tour was fascinating but exhausting. More about that in our next post!
My other friends almost collided with you two, in Vienna. They started in Amsterdam and ended in Budapest. Also had to change ships because of Danube’s low levels. Tis been interesting to read both daily travelogues, noticing what most impressed each twosome at each stop.
Would love to see their take on the trip. I know that passengers the week before, from Amsterdam to Budapest, had spectacular weather. We haven’t been as lucky.
Looks lovely and exhausting! Those cobbles would be a challenge for a mountain goat.
We managed but had to walk very, very carefully!