Passau, Germany

Today we started sailing through the beautiful Danube stretch heading to Passau. The city of Passau is located on the German border and is located just a few kilometers from Austria.

Passau is at the confluence of three great and important rivers. When we arrived, we saw how the rivers broaden almost into a lake between high banks and hills, and how this unique city seems to rise up out of it all like an island. The city is between the stately flow of the greenish waters of the Danube, the grey-yellow waters of the Inn rushing like a mountain stream, and the quiet black waters of the Ilz. After our lunch onboard the River Cloud, some of us went on a historical walk through the town where we saw the square buildings of the old part of the city. The buildings are enchanting and some of them are very old. We saw beautiful towers, houses, bridges, shores, trees, ruins, castles, and mystical streets and corners. Deep down below the middle part of the city and next to the river is the Town Hall, and just in the middle of the downtown is the magnificent church, St Stephan’s Cathedral.

Other activities during the afternoon were the visits to a local gingerbread shop, the Passau Glass Museum and the visit to the Convent Wallfahitskirche Maria Hilfe. At the end of the afternoon, everyone had free time to explore the town on their own before returning to the ship and sharing all our experiences in this marvelous city.