Ozbrecht 2017 - Europe's Rhine & Danube Rivers
Passau, Germany &
Schärding, Austria
Day 13 - July 5
Our next stop - Passau, Germany. It is known as “The City of Three Rivers”: there is a confluence of the Danube, Inn and Ilz Rivers here
St. Paul’s Church
A particularly narrow street and tunnel. Larger trucks often get stuck in here
St. Stephen’s Cathedral. This baroque-style cathedral is located on the highest hill of the town
Cathedral and statue in front. Not sure who is depicted on the statue
Sign of the Masons on St. Stephen’s
St. Stephen’s clock
St. Stephen’s Cathedral has the most beautiful ceilings of all cathedrals we saw. Wonderful frescoes
Ceiling & organ pipes
Sundial in St. Stephen’s Cathedral's courtyard
We returned to the cathedral to hear a short organ concert.
The St. Stephen’s Cathedral has what was at one time the largest cathedral-based organ in the world. Only the First Congregational Church in Los Angeles, which expanded theirs in 1994, is larger.
This organ has 17,974 pipes, 233 stops and 4 carillons. All five parts of the organ can be played from the main keyboard, which sits in front of these pipes.
St. Stephen’s Cathedral is known for its acoustical excellence. The concert is a true highlight. Feel those bass notes!
Funny fella
Narrow street from St. Stephen’s down to the river
Color brick road
This building is near the waterfront. Passau floods almost every year. On this wall are flood marks from the worst floods recorded; you can see they can occur at any time during the year. Note the 2013 mark - the second highest in recorded history.
The multi-floored buildings in the lower portions of town only use the bottom floor as a reception area. When they know a flood is coming, they relocate what little furniture is there to an upper floor. Our guide told us they are very adept at dealing with the flooding. It is merely a part of life in this marvelous town
Passau and the Danube
The countryside between Passau and Schärding. Passau is in Germany, right on the Austrian border. Schärding is in Austria
Congress Hall aerial. Front right is the Documentation Center (more on that coming up) [Internt picture]
We board this small riverboat and sail down the Inn River
Sheila and Andy on the riverboat
Hi, Sheila!
Beer & pretzels on the riverboat
An Austrian village along the Inn River
This stretch of the Inn River serves as the Germany-Austria border. This is a beautiful monastery on the German side
Just floating down the river
The Inn River originates high in the Swiss Alps. Notice the glacial color of the water
We began our riverboat trip upstream from Schärding. Here is Schärding, the end of our boat trip, which was a real highlight
We got off the boat on the German side of the river, and took this footbridge across to Schärding, Austria. No border control here
A statue in the cute little village of Schärding
A panorama in the market square of Schärding. Love the colors
Schärding and the Inn River
Back to the Modi, we left Passau and Germany, and entered Austria
This is the confluence of the Danube (left), Inn (right) and Ilz (on the left, out of the picture) Rivers. The Inn River is larger by volume than the Danube when they meet
The green of the Danube meets the glacial gray of the Inn
This was a highlight of the trip.
Dawn Vago was our Program Director on the Modi, responsible for all activities. She is English, and was excellent; such a sweetheart, so upbeat, even with demanding travelers. Before she became a program director, she worked for Viking as a musical entertainer.
As we pulled out of Passau and entered into Austria, Dawn gave us a concert of showtunes. What an incredible voice and stage presence!!
She weaved her life story in with her songs. When she was a child, she had an illness, and doctors told her she needed to have a hysterectomy. So, at a young age, she knew she would not be able to have children. Later, as a teenager, she discovered from another doctor that the hysterectomy had been unnecessary.
She is married now, and she and her husband have been trying for a few years to adopt. The week before she was to begin the cruise with us, they heard that they would take home a little boy - on the Tuesday after our trip concluded. “I’m going to be a mum!”
And so, she announced, this would be her last cruise. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house.
Day 13 - July 5
Passau, Germany & Schärding, Austria
Our last day in Germany.
Passau is located in Lower Bavaria at the border of Germany and Austria, and also at the confluence of three rivers: Danube, Inn and Ilz. Its population of 50,000 includes a university which is known for its studies in economics, law, theology, computer science and cultural studies. An interesting side note or two: during the Renaissance period, Passau was the center for sword and bladed weapon manufacturing in Germany. And - there is a cycling path that starts here and follows the Danube 175 miles to Vienna. Andy and I will ride a small portion of it tomorrow.
Our walking tour took us up the hill where St. Stephen’s Cathedral is. Ok, here it is: my favorite cathedral (hate to rank them, but I’m a ranking kinda guy.) It was almost destroyed by fire in 1662, and rebuilt using beautiful stucco and turquoise domes. The clock on the outside is blue, yellow and green – so colorful! There is also a sundial in the square. Inside, St. Stephen’s has wonderful fresco-painted ceilings. It is world-renowned for its acoustical excellence. Until 1994, when a church in Los Angeles expanded theirs, St. Stephens’ was known to have the largest cathedral organ in the world. There is much less of the ornateness at St. Stephen’s than at other cathedrals. Mere incredible artistic excellence.
We are treated to a 45-minute organ concert! Wow! The textures and tones from this organ are unforgettable. And those are some looow notes! Thank you, Viking, for making this a part of our tour.
From the cathedral, we are taken back down the hill, through narrow-tunneled lanes to the riverfront. The Town Hall shows a unique characteristic of Passau: because it is located at the confluence of three rivers, it floods often. Here on the Town Hall wall is a watermark measure, showing the most significant floods over the last 500 years. As you see from the picture, 2013 was a biggee.
Our afternoon treated us to a ride down the Inn River on a small Bavarian riverboat. The Inn River serves as a portion of the German-Austrian border. The river trip came with beer and a plate of pretzels. And the best part – some of the most beautiful country in God’s creation: a glacial gray-colored river, rolling hills, small villages, monasteries sitting at river’s edge. Captivating, dreamlike.
The riverboat dropped us off at the small Austrian village of Schärding, whose market square is lined with pastel-colored buildings.
We returned to the Modi. Before dinner, we departed Passau, and at the rivers’ confluence entered Austria. In the evening, Program Director Dawn treated us to a concert of show tunes. Make sure you see the picture and her life’s story.
This was probably my favorite day.