A Sunny Day in Passau

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It was an early start to our day when the alarm rang at 5 a.m. We had to pack our bags and walk to the train station to catch a train to Passau. We left early enough to get a quick breakfast in the train station. We arrived in Passau at 9:30 a.m. Unable to check in to the hotel yet we did make our way there to drop off our bags before touring the city.

Our first stop was at St. Stephen's Cathedral which is located at the Old Town's highest point. The Cathedral is home to the world's largest cathedral pipe organ with 17,974 pipes and 233 stops. The interior of the church was closed due to an upcoming organ concert. In many spots the city streets are constructed of cobblestone and are quite hilly. As we continued our walk through the city we came upon the Residenzplatz. It was a large square containing a water fountain and several benches for people to sit and enjoy their surroundings. In one corner of the plaza there was outdoor seating where some of the local restaurants could serve their patrons. People were enjoying snacks and beer. Since it had such an inviting atmosphere we decided to purchase some items to have and enjoy an outdoor picnic lunch which was quite relaxing. Another sight we took in was the Fortress "Veste Oberhausen" and Museum. It was built in 1219 in order to control commerce across the rivers. Exhibits telling the history and art history of Passau and its surroundings can be found there.

At this point in the day we were close to the location where we would be picking up our rental bikes tomorrow morning. We stopped in to be sure all was set and the owner of the shop told us to take them today so we could get an early start in the morning before his shop opens. That was good news! He gathered our bikes and panniers and we were on our way. We continued to explore the city of Passau by bike now until we arrived at the shopping area where we chose to do some walking around. We came upon a Woolworth's store where a pair of long pants were purchased in case the mornings are cool for riding. The clothing costs were quite inexpensive. Many customers were gathered around the jewelry counter purchasing costumes jewelry rings for 3 euros.

We stopped at the bank to get some cash since many of the shops, restaurants and hotels do not accept credit cards. Now we were ready to head back to our hotel and check in for the night and pack our panniers for the morning.

Today we saw many long distance cyclists loaded down with lots of gear. We saw quite a few cruise boats along the Danube. Tomorrow we begin our biking to the town of Schlogen and are hoping for warm weather and a tail wind.

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Photos

Train Station in Munich
This is where we catch the train to Passau

Home for the night with Danube Riverview
The room couldn't get much smaller. It's the width of the bed but it's not a tent and right on the river biking path.

German dinner
Lowenphandl which is pork cutlets on spaetzle, ham,cheese strips in a bernaise, scalloped with passuer weibe dunkel (beer) and hot tea.

Outside of tonight's dinner restaurant
Upon recommendation of hotel receptionist.