Passau, Germany
Passing from Austria into Germany, our first stop is the intriguing town of Passau, and a great introduction to Bavaria. It is also the sight of the one of the most important diocese along the historic Danube, the green-colored River Inn flows in from the Austrian alps in the south while the tannin-colored River Ilz joins from the Bayerischer Wald to the north. The meeting of the waters is obvious, and gives the city an island-like feeling. The best way to see the confluence is from the overview of the Veste Oberhaus that a few ambitious hikers climbed after a delicious lunch buffet, and saw first hand the three waterways as well as the layout of the town with some obvious landmarks. The beauty of the pastel houses in Italian style, re-built after two fires in the 1600’s against the backdrop of green pastures and forests behind the farthest bank of the Inn river is rather stunning.
Other options for the afternoon included guided tours with in the town with local guides, or a visit to the Passau Glass museum inside the Wilder Mann hotel. Truly an impressive collection, housing over 30,000 pieces of glass from all ages, it also highlights Bohemian glass from the nearby forest. Ducking into St. Stephen’s Cathedral, we were fortunate to catch a beautiful local choir singing hymns, accompanied by a brass section and the largest organ in the world with more than 17,000 pipes!
The skies turned brighter as we strolled around this charming city, enjoying the early autumn foliage of the turning trees and vines of all shades of orange and sienna against ancient walls and buildings. People watching, savoring a local Bavarian beer in a café, shopping for chocolates and other local specialties and was all part of our excursion today.
An evening re-cap in our lounge complete with local vils beer, sausages and cheeses made here in this charming city along with the history of these by our staff, left us very satisfied to know this area more intimately now. One of our guests, Rick Diffenderffer, surprised us with a song passed down from his family about the history of the sausage-making machine adding to the fun of this very memorable day in Passau!
Passing from Austria into Germany, our first stop is the intriguing town of Passau, and a great introduction to Bavaria. It is also the sight of the one of the most important diocese along the historic Danube, the green-colored River Inn flows in from the Austrian alps in the south while the tannin-colored River Ilz joins from the Bayerischer Wald to the north. The meeting of the waters is obvious, and gives the city an island-like feeling. The best way to see the confluence is from the overview of the Veste Oberhaus that a few ambitious hikers climbed after a delicious lunch buffet, and saw first hand the three waterways as well as the layout of the town with some obvious landmarks. The beauty of the pastel houses in Italian style, re-built after two fires in the 1600’s against the backdrop of green pastures and forests behind the farthest bank of the Inn river is rather stunning.
Other options for the afternoon included guided tours with in the town with local guides, or a visit to the Passau Glass museum inside the Wilder Mann hotel. Truly an impressive collection, housing over 30,000 pieces of glass from all ages, it also highlights Bohemian glass from the nearby forest. Ducking into St. Stephen’s Cathedral, we were fortunate to catch a beautiful local choir singing hymns, accompanied by a brass section and the largest organ in the world with more than 17,000 pipes!
The skies turned brighter as we strolled around this charming city, enjoying the early autumn foliage of the turning trees and vines of all shades of orange and sienna against ancient walls and buildings. People watching, savoring a local Bavarian beer in a café, shopping for chocolates and other local specialties and was all part of our excursion today.
An evening re-cap in our lounge complete with local vils beer, sausages and cheeses made here in this charming city along with the history of these by our staff, left us very satisfied to know this area more intimately now. One of our guests, Rick Diffenderffer, surprised us with a song passed down from his family about the history of the sausage-making machine adding to the fun of this very memorable day in Passau!
