Day-5 Melk, Austria and the Wachau Valley

Melk Abbey

Abbey Chapel

Abbey Library

Abbey above the town of Melk

Aggstein Castle

Statue of Richard the Lionheart in Durstein

Durstein with fortress on hill

Gottsweig Abbey

Sunshine this morning! After breakfast this morning we were treated to a lecture on Maria Theresa, the daughter of the Habsburg King Charles VI. She ascended the throne at age 23 when her father died unexpectedly (from poisonous mushrooms that were inadvertently picked and served) without a male heir. The lecture clarified for me several confusing points of European history. Her arch enemy, Frederick (the Great) II of Prussia grudgingly complemented her by saying “For once, the Habsburgs have got a man on the throne. And he is a woman!” She reigned from 1740 to 1780 and presided over both the Austrian War of Succession and the 7 Years war. She also had 16 children whom she married to various royalty throughout Europe to cement allies and loyalties. Marie Antoinette (Louis VI's wife who was beheaded in the French Revolution) was one of her many progeny.

After the lecture we toured the Stift Melk (Melk Abbey). The abbey dominates the town high on a bluff at the entrance to the Wachau Valley. Originally belonging to the Babenberg family, in 1089 it was given to the Benedictine monks by Leopold III. The abbey was renown for its beautiful library containing over 80,000 volumes, its baroque Church, and its winemaking.

The rest of the day was spent traversing the beautiful Wachau Valley, and photographing numerous castles, churches and picturesque Austrian towns along the banks of the Danube on our way to our final destination, Vienna. One of the castle ruins that we saw was above the town of Dürstein. This is the fortress where Richard the Lionheart was held for ransom by Austrians during his return to England after the disastrous Crusade.

The weather held all day, giving us a beautiful cruise to Vienna. By 9 PM we began to see signs of a major city, and by 10pm we were docked. We are planning to see some of Vienna, and Brendan is going to join us on board for dinner tomorrow night. After that, we’ll be on our own in Vienna (with Brendan as our tour guide, of course)

Day 4-Passau

Arrival in Passau at night

Salt Tower on the flooded Inn River

St. Stephan's Cathedral

Passau Old Town
Passau Old Town-Clock Tower

Castle Oberhaus

River Countess at Dock in Passau

Passau Waterfront from across the Danube

River Countess from Castle Oberhaus

Castle Oberhaus Battlement

View of Passau from Castle Oberhaus Lookout

Jeri on the Battlements

Jeri on Zipline at Park Near Mooring

Leaving Passau- Three Rivers Confluence, Danube, Inn, and Ilz

Late last evening we arrived at our dock in Passau. We later learned that this was not an altogether easy feat. We were the last boat to clear the bridge across the Danube. Because of the unprecedented rains in the area, the Danube’s water level is at flood stage and many of the cruise boats could not pass the bridges without taking off the bridge. In fact, a few weeks ago a French captain ignored the harbormaster’s high water warning and decapitated his boat. You gotta love the French! He is now trying to get a job driving a garbage scow without much success. The high water prevented Jeri and me from cycling along the Inn River because parts of the path were under water.

Passau is located near the Austrian and Czech borders at the confluence of three rivers, the Danube, the Ilz, and the Inn rivers. Its skyline is dominated by the clock tower of the rathaus (city hall) and the spires of Dom St. Stephan (St. Stephan’s Cathedral). Towering above the city is the fortress “Veste Oberhaus”.

We met our local guide, Daniel, at the wharf. He was by far the best guide we’ve had. It helped that he was a PhD candidate in German Literature at Passau University. He was a wealth of information on all that was German, history, music, literature, politics, etc. We walked around the cobblestoned streets of Passau, getting a chance to see the Baroque style of architecture. Passau is extremely old, but burned to the ground in the 1600’s and was completely rebuilt in the Baroque style. Our final stop of the morning was St. Stephan’s Cathedral, one of the finest examples of Baroque cathedrals in the world. The cathedral also boasts the largest cathedral organ in the world with 17,974 organ pipes, 233 stops, and 4 carillons. Each day at noon, a concert is given for the public which we were fortunate to be able to attend. The program was extremely varied including works of Bach and others from the late 17^th and 18^th centuries through 20^th century artists. Though not a big fan of organ music, the sound of this enormous instrument in the cathedral was impressive.

After working up an appetite listening to the organ music, we decided to continue our quest for a pretzel. We had passed several bakeries on our walk and were certain a pretzel was in our future. We immediately found a bakery outside of the cathedral, and there they were. We ordered 2 pretzels (Betty, you would be very proud of me-“Zwei pretzel, bitte”) for ½ Euro each. I was astounded. You could buy 6 or more Bavarian pretzels for the cost of one NYC pretzel! Alas, the pretzel we had searched for did not live up to expectations. It was rather tasteless compared to NY pretzels. We decide that this had to be an anomaly, and we would try another bakery. This time we purchased only one, but a real good looking apple strudel was calling to me, so fro 3 euros, we got a pretzel and about a ½ lb of strudel. The pretzel was no better and we decided to wait for additional pretzels until our next trip to Manhattan. But, the strudel was amazing! We shared it with some shipboard friends since we couldn’t possibly finish it all. Ironically, that day on board ship we had both pretzels and strudel for lunch and dinner.

Since we had eaten all those carbs, we decided to hike to the Veste Oberhaus. The fortress was built in 1219 by Passau’s Prince-Bishops to control commerce across the rivers. In the early 19^th century during the Napoleonic Wars, it became one of the strongholds against the Austrians. Over the years it was expanded several times and today consists of gothic, renaissance, and baroque styles. Commanding a killer view of the Danube, Ilz, and Inn Rivers as well as the town of Passau, it is now a museum and lookout great for taking photos of the beautiful architecture of Passau.

Before we left Passau, Jeri wanted to walk to the point of land where the 3 rivers came together. There was a small park with a small zip line that she couldn’t resist. We were then off in the late afternoon for our next destination, Melk, Austria.

Day 3-Deggendorf

Ride Through Bohemian Woods

Horse Using Jer's Sleeve As a Handkerchief

Church in Bavarian Woods

Outdoor Bread Oven- Baking "Zelden"

Glassblowing

Countryside on Bike Excursion

Cycling

Cycling

Today started cool, wet and gray. Yucchh! We were headed for the Bohemian (aka Bavarian) Woods. The scenery was beautiful even with the gray day. Weather like this is pretty normal for Bavaria (southeast Germany)-Germans say there are 9 months of winter and 3 months of rain. We began our morning with an introduction to the countryside via horse-drawn carriage. Jeri was really introduced to our horse when he blew his nose on her jacket sleeve! I had encouraged her to get a bit closer for a photo just as the horse decided to sneeze and fire off about a quart of snot on her arm. It reminded me of a close encounter I had with an elephant seal in South Georgia.

We also visited the Theresiensthal Glassworks, sort of like Simon Pearce Glass for the tourists in Vermont. The glassworks has been in business since the Renaissance when the Bavarian king brought an Italian glassmaker to the area to produce fine glass to rival the famed Venetian and Bacarat glass. The glass was beautiful, but a bit ornate for our taste.

From the glassworks our final stop of the morning was a visit to a farm where we were treated to freshly baked flat bread (“zelden”, the leftover dough given to children as a treat) out of an outdoor brick oven. (Andy, eat your heart out.) The bread was baked by the grandmother and served to us by the daughter and grandchildren. We also had elderberry sparkling water and barivurz, a strong celery flavored liquor (at 11 AM- 5 o’clock somewhere).

We caught a little shut-eye in the bus back to the boat (thanks to the barivurz) and by the time we got back, we were ready for some exercise. We took out bikes again and went exploring. We, in the U.S., could learn a lot from the Germans about encouraging bike use. On main streets, they have dedicated bike lanes or very wide sidewalks that a lane of which is dedicated to bicycle riders. Walk signs also have bike lights, and bike paths well marked. Thee are also dedicated bike/walking trails that are well maintained and take you from one town to the next amongst beautiful scenery. Jeri and I rode well out of town along the Danube to a nature preserve. Getting back to the boat before it departed was the main reason for turning around. The trail was so flat that we could have gone all the way to Passau (our next stop) even with the dogs we were riding.

On to Passau tomorrow. We’ve stopped worrying about the weather since it truly changes hour to hour (but sun would be nice!).

Day 2-Regensburg

Stone Bridge-View of Regensburg

Stone Bridge

Regensburg Awaiting Triathletes

Regensburg

Regensburg-Cathedral of St. Peter

Regensburg-Cathedral of St. Peter

Wurstkuchl-Oldest Sausage Shop

Regensburg Triathalon

Castle of Thurn and Taxis

Castle of Thurn and Taxis

Castle of Thurn and Taxis

Castle of Thurn and Taxis-Burial Crypt

Craig and Jeri at the Biergarten

Unfortunately, the weather didn’t hold out today ranging from threatening, to drizzle to frank downpour. Regensburg has a long history, dating back around two thousand years when the Romans built a fort here to keep the Barbars from crossing the Danube. This lasted until the breakup of the Roman Empire, but then during the Middle Ages, it prospered based in part because of its strategic placement of a stone bridge (which still stands) allowing merchants to safely bring their goods to market. At one time, there were 60 millionaires in Regensburg each building a home with larger and larger towers to show off their wealth. Of the original 60 towers around 20 are still standing. After the Napoleonic Wars, Regensburg’s importance declined dramatically which became a blessing in disguise. During WW II, their was no strategic significance for the Allies and consequently, Regensburg was never bombed. Thus preserving the medieval city intact.

Our final destination in the old town was the Cathedral of St. Peter which dominates the skyline of the city. Mass was being held, and we were able to wander in and listen to their boys choir for a bit. Not the Viennese Boys Choir, but not bad for free. We made our way back to the boat, but not before passing the Historic Sausage Kitchen. This is purported to be the oldest sausage kitchen in the world, and started as fast food to serve the builders of the stone bridge (Steinerne Brücke). We haven’t quite gotten up the nerve to try the sausage (not big on anything but Hebrew National, and these are definitely “answering to a higher authority”).

The boat had bikes to use, so we decided to try to get a bit of exercise. The bikes were not quite up to my discerning tastes. Three speed, kickstand, upright handlebars, and a lard-ass seat. It even had a bell (which actually came in handy to shoo away pedestrians). As we got further from the boat, the rain that had started as a light mist was now a downpour. We had planned to travel down the bank of the Danube on the Regensburg side then cross and ride down the other side and back across the stone bridge. The Regensburg Iron Man Triathlon coincided with part of our cycling route which was pretty cool to watch, but streets we had planned to use were closed off. We got pretty lost thanks to poor English and wet maps, but we finally found our way back moderately drenched, but with an adventure under our belts.

After a quick lunch, we were back out for a tour of Thurn und Taxis Castle. This was originally a monastery dating from the 11^th century. In 1812 the Prince of Thurn and Taxis received the monastery buildings as compensation for losing the monopoly he had on the postal service. The family, originally from northern Italy, built the postal system in the 15^th century and from 1595 to 1806 (Napoleonic dismantling of the Holy Roman Empire) acted as the Imperial Postmaster General. Today, the princess and her 3 children are the largest landowners in Germany, and the young Prince Albert (26 y.o bachelor) is the youngest billionaire in Europe. The family branched out from carrying letters to packages, now known as DHL, a European rival to FedEx and UPS. As with most of these opulent homes, the size and appointments were over the top. Enormous dining room, ballroom with place fro a 42 piece orchestra, mirrors extending floor to 30 foot ceilings, you get the picture. There was also a burial crypt in a special chapel within the house with several family members spending eternity in the basement.

After the tour, we stopped at a biergarten for a cold one. The beer was pretty good but no pretzels! We’ve been here 2 days and not a pretzel in sight. I may have to go to NY or Philli when we get back to get one. I’m now on a quest for a German pretzel.

We continue down the Danube (Donau in German) tomorrow. We’re hoping for better weather.

Day 1-Nuremberg, Main-Danube Canal

The air itinerary over was long and drawn out with all our connections, but we finally made it to Nürnberg (the actual German for Nuremberg) at 7 last night. We decided to take a cab to the boat rather than being adventurous and try our hand at the train. We were just too bushed. Got to dinner on board the River Countess just a little late and joined two other couples who had been on board for the past week coming from Basel, Switzerland. Over dinner, they caught us up with what we had missed and gave us a few pointers for cruising. Our cabin is two doors down from the dining room which is great when you are completely exhausted. We flopped into bed and were out until the alarm interrupted our beauty sleep at 7 am. Time to start vacation!

This morning we had our choice of seeing the medieval walled city of Nürnberg or to take a special WW II tour of sites associated with the rise of the Nazi party and then the courtroom for the Nürnberg Trials. We opted for the latter, though we wished we could have done both. As we boarded our bus to start the tour, it was obvious to us that this was not going to be our usual active vacation.

Our first stop was the Zeppelin Field where Hitler held massive rallies for the Nazi Party between 1933 and 1938. The grandstand is still standing, though parts like the giant swastikas and eagles were demolished by conquering US troops on April 22, 1945. The city of Nürnberg also demolished sections that they felt were unsafe, but one can still climb to the top and stand on the podium where Hitler ranted to the masses. He was hopefully rolling over in his grave as the Cohens stood in his place. It was a bit unsettling imagining all the footage from newsreels and the History Channel we’ve seen that showed these torchlight rallies with thousands of rabid anti-Semites pledging their lives to Adolph Hitler.

From here we crossed a small man-made lake to see the Documentation Center, a museum dedicated to documenting the rise and fall of the Nazi Party so that the German people would not forget and allow it to happen again. The museum is housed in an enormous building that was never completed by the Nazis. It was to be able to hold 50,000 Nazi Party delegates for a convention to be held once a year (great use of resources). It was designed to be reminiscent of the Coliseum in Rome. The beginning of WWII halted work on the project. It remains as a decaying reminder of the Nazi presence in Nürnberg.

Our final stop was the site of the Nuremberg Trials during 1945 and 1946. On trial were the 21 remaining major Nazi leaders (Hitler, Goebbels, and Himmler all had committed suicide) charged with crimes against humanity. Included in this group were Herman Goering, Rudolf Hess, Martin Borman (in absentia), Albert Speer and others. Of the 21, 3 were aquitted, 14 sentenced to death (Goering committed suicide on the day of his hanging and Borman was never found but presumed dead in the bombing of Berlin) and the remaining 4 receiving sentences from 20yr to life. The courtroom is still used today, though it has reverted to its original size. It had been expanded for the trials to allow for press and spectators.

We were then back on the bus to catch the boat which had left Nürnberg earlier. We re-boarded in Roth, and began a beautiful, relaxing cruise down the Main (pronounced “mine”)-Danube canal, a canal connecting the Main River to the Danube River. The canal brought us up over the continental divide through a series of locks two of which were 82 feet high! The cruise boats are designed to just fit into these locks, and I mean JUST. There was about 18 inches between the side of the boat and the walls of the lock.

There were also several bridges that crossed the canal, most of which were low enough to take off heads if you happened to stand up on the sun deck at the right moment. In fact the bridge of the ship is actually designed to retract with the captain's head just poking out of a sun roof.

Tomorrow we arrive at Regensburg on the Danube. I guess we’ll find out if it’s really blue.