Passau, Germany

Burnout is beginning to happen. River cruising is a little more intense than ocean cruising. Everyday is a different port and there are excursions usually both morning and afternoon or evening. Unlike an ocean cruise where you get a sea day or two to rest, the most you can expect is a morning of cruising or an afternoon. When it came to Passau, we looked at the excursions and decided we wanted to go at our own pace and not have to follow a guide full of more information than we could ever retain.

My wonderful GPS My City app took us on a lovely walk through the old town. Many of the sites we had seen before when we did the Christmas Markets cruise several years ago. We picked out the must sees like St. Stephen's Cathedral. The site of the cathedral dates back to 730 AD with several churches established there before the cathedral was built in the late 1600s. 

The cathedral for many years claimed the largest church organ in the world but was more recently demoted by another in the USA. It still claims to be the largest organ outside the US. 

Passau sits uniquely on the confluence of three rivers, the Danube, the Inn and the Ilz. The Ilz is a little hard to see at first since it is just a small river kind of off to one side. They all meet at a point and there is a very nice walkway that goes all the way to the point. 

We strolled the walkway and admired the Schaibling Tower. Built in 1250, the tower was originally a defense structure. In the 15th century it was repurposed as a storage facility and eventually served as a place where boats dropped off their salt cargo. Over the years it has also had the distinction of serving as a residence for security guards and some theatrical performers.

Rounding the point we headed back on the Danube side to where our ship was docked. On the way we passed the old town hall and took note--a short note as our walk had been longer than we planned and I was ready to crash for a bit. 

Bob, on the other hand saw me to the ship and then headed for a Starbucks he had seen. We were both starved for a good cup of coffee. Most everything on the ship and on shore was espresso and Americano only goes so far in satisfaction. Starbucks often has brewed coffee, their light Pike Place blend. You know it's bad when we rely on Starbucks rather than McD's for decent coffee. 

The sunny day provided beautiful scenery for our cruise out of Passau and on to Regensburg.