Blogs from Passau, Bavaria, Germany, Europe

Rennes, the capitol city of the Brittany region of France was an amazing place to visit. We did a walking tour to its main areas of interest, winding through the old cobbled streets and it's half timbered mediaeval houses. We were fortunate to be there on Saturday when their huge farmers market, one of France's biggest, was on and what a display! The stalls were bursting with so many kinds of meat, cheeses, breads and seafood! We sampled the local speciality which is a sausage with cheese and onion wrapped in a buckwheat pancake and cooked in front of you. Delicious! During our walk, however, we were approached by beggars at least five times and all of them looked fit and healthy to us. We are just not used to it in NZ. There are literally ... read more

Woke today to most glorious sunrise. Sleep in then breakfast as mostly a cruising day on the Danube. Soon dropped of others doing the day trips which left just some on board to ourselves, much quieter on board now. Sat in our room watching the views go by, mostly forests down to the river, trees just starting to turn colour for Autumn. Moved to the sundeck after a strudel making exhibition by the chef. Just perfect on the sundeck watching the views. Lovely sunny day with little breeze. Lunch then arrived Passau. What an entrance to a most beautiful town with cathedrals and churches in amongst the cobbled streets and squares. Walked on our through the streets to St Stephen's cathedral, very baroque interior, very beautiful and interesting. Back on board for dinner. ... read more

Dag -3 Rondreis Roemenië Zaterdag 25/8/208 – Passau (D) Eerste etappe van onze Roemenië trip. 835 km tot Passau (D) aan de Donau aan de grens met Oostenrijk. Niets noemenswaardig, behalve vies weer gans de weg.... read more

We slept in an extra half hour and didn't take breakfast until 8:30. No need to explain how much I enjoyed it. There was only one other couple in the breakfast room. It's the custom in Germany to walk into the breakfast room and say “Guten Morgen” to the group in there. Everyone does it and no one even looks at you when you say it. A weird custom that I always forget to do when I enter the room. On our way to Passau for a day of sightseeing we saw a Viking Cruise boat docked on the Danube miles away from the main Passau docks. We could see crew members swabbing the decks and loading supplies. Across the street was a Lidl store. We made an unscheduled stop. We love shopping in Lidl. It's ... read more

Passau is a city (albeit small) with a population of just over 51,000 inhabitants. It is close to the Austrian border. As you would expect being on a Danube cruise, Passau lies on the Danube. However, not being content with one river, Passau has the unique position of also lying on the banks of the River Inn and River Ilz, for this special city sits on the confluence of where all three rivers meet. Therefore, not surprisingly Passau is known as the Three Rivers City. This is not the snappiest nickname ever thought of but you can’t argue with German logic; it does what it says on the tin!! Today all four of us ventured out and joined the inclusive walking tour. One of the optional tours was a visit to Salzburg - a ... read more