Europe - Picturesque Passau
We cruised into Germany mooring at Passau - which sits at the confluence of 3 rivers - the Inn, Ilz and Danube. Once again, a pretty town of cobblestone streets filled with buildings painted in pastel shades.
In medieval times, the city was an important centre for trading white gold - salt transported from the alpine mines. Here caravans of up to 1,000 horses travelled through dense forests, facing the dangers of bears, wolves and robbers along the trade route known as the Golden Path to Bohemia - exchanging their salt and returning with grain.
The imposing Baroque St. Stephen's Cathedral, the mother church of St. Stephen's in Vienna boasts the largest cathedral organ in the world - over 17,000 organ pipes.
Five organs of various sizes can be played separately or all together from the one central keyboard. We attended a short organ recital, unfortunately 6,000 of the pipes were away being restored, so we only heard music from one of the smaller organs. Still, it was wonderful to sit quietly absorbing the music, admiring this beautiful church.
No cruise on the Danube is complete without a concert featuring a few famous arias and songs we associate with this romantic river, beautifully presented by a small group of performers from Salzburg.
Firstly, some well know arias from Mozart’s operas - The Magic Flute, Don Giovanni and the Marriage of Figaro. Then a few folk songs, finishing with our favourite songs from the Sound of Music - the hills were certainly alive with the sound of music that night. One of the singers dressed as the Mother Abbess, a complete surprise to her colleagues and much hilarity.
Our cruise along the Danube, the 2nd largest river in Europe, after the Volga has come to an end. As we floated gently along, we loved every town and city, so many highlights, wonderful concerts, beautiful churches, learning a little more history, enjoying fine wines and delicious meals, meeting plenty of lovely people along the way.
We remain in Europe though, joining a coach and train tour through the European Alps, from Munich to Zurich, marvelling at many magnificent mountains and visiting charming towns, which will feature in posts coming up soon.