A Day in Passau

After a glorious night's sleep in the Hotel Weisser Hase, we woke to a crystal blue sky over Passau. We enjoyed a continental breakfast, stored our bags, and set out to explore the city of Passau.

Passau sets at the confluence of three major rivers, the Danube, the Inn, and the Ilz. We crossed the Danube and headed up the hill on the north bank to Veste Oberhaus or West Overhouse a castle dating from 1219. By up the hill, I mean over 200 steps and as many long inclines to reach the top of the hill. We were rewarded with views of Passau and the three rivers. The castle and grounds have been preserved and are open to the public as a museum. The history of the region, from Roman times through the 19 century are presented as we walked the many rooms of the castle. Passau has been rebuilt many times after floods and major fires, each time rising as an important trading hub for salt, grain and wine.

Perhaps we did our journey backwards as we decided to take the shuttle bus back down the hill to Passau. We were in time for the 12:00pm organ recital at St Stephen's Cathedral, home to the worlds largest pipe organ. The cathedral was packed. At 4 euros per person, twice a day, I think the church can afford the upkeep of the cathedral. The organist, Christian Muller, pulled out all the stops. The reverberations went on for over seven seconds. The "no photographs" policy is seriously addressed, as Mari was reminded, twice.

Lunch was a hunt for spargle, or white asparagus. In season for a short time each spring and early summer, spargle is highly prized by the locals and tourist alike. We found a local restaurant that had a list of spargle dishes to choose from.

There was time for shopping the cobblestone streets before making our way to our ship, the Normandie. The evening went quickly with introductions to the crew, orientation, briefing for tomorrow's bike ride, reserving additional outing, and dinner.

We were assigned seats for the cruise with a couple from Michigan and a couple from Antwerpen, Belgium. Jos and Gherd are 79 and 80, and bicycle every day. I think I will be eating their dust for the next six days. I may be able to keep up with Kim and Roger, but no promises.

Tomorrow we bike 35 km to Linz, with three ferry crossings, passing through an area where the Danube makes a hairpin loop at Schogen. We are looking forward to meeting new friends and seeing the Danube from our bikes.

Photos from the day are on Flickr, https://flickr.com/photos/22583315@N08/sets/72157684523277186