Floating Down the Danube from Passau to Budapest: German and Austrian Towns

We board our overnight flight to Munich with much excitement and anticipation. It’s a much quicker flight to Europe and before you know it, we are at the Munich Airport. We arrive in Munich on the last day of Octoberfest. Travelers abound in their Lederhosen! It’s fun already.  The airport is full of the celebration atmosphere. We board the transportation that will get us to the boat. We meander through the German country side alternating between quaint country roads and highways.

We arrive in Passau. The bus takes us down to the river but we turn into an inlet area. Right in front of us is our boat, The Viking Legend. As experienced Ocean Cruisers, we are not quite sure of what to make of this little boat in front of us. As we make our way onto the boat, it is via a small ramp. No long corridors of ramps and entryways. We are immediately greeted by members of the crew. This is going to be a much more intimate experience in cruising.

We head to our cabin. In a hot minute our bags arrive. Lunch is available so we head to the dining room and grab something to eat. The ship is very much unlike an ocean cruise. You feel immediately like you are home. Everything is in reach. Back to the room to unpack, we find plenty of space for our clothes. We have a French Balcony with floor to ceiling windows. This gets us up close to the river and affords great riverbank views.  We spend the afternoon getting acquainted with the boat and meeting the new passengers getting on board.

We are traveling with another couple, so as we settle in the dining room for dinner, the boat begins to move. It seems odd since we are scheduled to overnight in Passau. We ask our dining attendant why are we moving. In Passau, he explains, you cannot board the boat in the downtown dock. Too small for buses to maneuver. We are relocating to the dock for our overnight in the heart of Passau.

The sun has set as we dock. We are a stone’s throw from the historic center of Passau. It’s late, its rainy and its Sunday evening. All great reasons to take a walk around this great little German river port. The ramp on to shore is from the top sun deck. You walk down to the cobble stone road along the Danube.  We walk up alleys, down alleys, window shop at some unique hops and make our way back to boat just as the heavier rain arrives. Overnight on the boat.

Off the boat for our guided walking tour of Passau. It’s a chilly and rainy morning, so with our water repellent gear off we go.  Our tour guide is a resident of Passau but is originally from South Africa. She is a singer/actress/tour guide. More of this later. Passau is a historic Bavarian town is 1 ½ miles away from the Austrian border. This gives the town a unique blend of cultures. As we tour the town, we learn of it’s historical past and its strategic location on the Danube. It is at the point where the Danube, Inn, and Ilz rivers converge. This was key to trade but also key to devastating floods and muddy flood waters which can deluge the lower part of the town.  The most recent flooding was in 2013. As we view the point where the rivers meet, our tour guide breaks into song and treats us to a rendition of Edelweiss from the sound of music. She did promise a song!

We make our way up the hill to the highest point in the town where the Cathedral of St. Stephens is located. The church is of Baroque design. It’s decorated with beautifully ornate statues, paintings, gold leaf and woodwork.

 

After the tour of the cathedral, we are invited back for a 12-noon organ concert. We have some free time for additional sightseeing and shopping. Back to the church, we settle in the pews for the organ concert. The pipe organ in the church is the largest in Europe with over 17,000 pipes. The concert is all classical music and the acoustics of the church just enhanced the great experience. Back to the boat, we head to Linz, Austria this afternoon.

As we make our way to Linz, we pass through 4 sets of lochs. The deepest was 50 feet. Really cool experience to float in at one level, drop down and head out at another. The water empties from the lochs pretty quickly.

We arrive in Linz after dinner and dock in an industrial area of town. In the evening a small group of singers from Salzburg boards and entertains us with German, Austrian and of course Sound of Music songs. Tomorrow we explore.

On the bus to downtown to start our tour, we pass through an industrial area that has now been reclaimed by artists, designers, and technology start-ups. We cross over the Danube as we enter into town and do a circle to head back over the river and stop in the main square of Linz.  Here we board our little yellow mini-train for the first part of our tour. Linz was originally founded by the Romans. The train takes us around the shopping area, across the bridge to see the “new” part of town and then back over the bridge past museums and historic buildings. We are dropped off back in the square for the walking part of the tour. 

As we walk through the square and into the historic district, we learn of the both the bright and dark sides of Linz history. In a strategic location on the Danube and close to the Germany/Austria border, it was important for both sides to control the town. As a result, it was bombed repeatedly during WW II.

We head through the shopping district and up the hill to the Cathedral. It is the cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. The structure is Neo Gothic so the feel is like St. Patrick’s in New York.  We are told of a very unique opportunity that is available in this church. The church has a rather high and very isolated bell tower. Mid-way up the tower they have constructed a hermit’s room. You can sign-up to live the life of a hermit for a week.  In the room there is a monk’s bed and a bath area. A window looks out to the town and another out to the nave of the cathedral. For food, you walk down to the bottom of the stairs to pick-up and bring back to the room. You are provided a cell phone with only 5 numbers to call for emergencies. Interesting to say the least!

Back down through the town, we end at the square. We are on our own. Back into the historic district, we buy our Linzer torte. Back to the square we locate Keintzel for our Austrian lunch.  Of course, we order Weiner Schnitzel. We had the best apple beer and topped it off with apple strudel. Yummy!

Not to be missed was our tram ride to Postlingberg Hill. The views from the church steps are magnificent. You can see the town and the country side. Looking down the Danube you can see the next bend in the river. Such a peaceful spot.

 

Dinner and then we set off towards Krems.

We begin the morning sailing through the Wachau valley. This is the wine growing region of Austria. The slopes and terraces are filled with grape vines, hamlets, and castles. The day is misty so the fog rolling over the mountains just made views even more mystical.  The leaves are beginning to change color so the grays of the mist plus the reds, golds and yellows of the trees with the ever present green of the Danube make our morning “at sea” unforgettable.

 

We arrive in Krems and head off to our Gottweig Abbey tour. This is a working monastery with Benedictine Monks who work the land and produce wine. The monastery was originally constructed in the 11^th century. It has burnt down twice and rebuilt. There are 40 monks who live and work in the Abbey and in the nearby towns. They run local churches, hospitals, schools as well as the wine business. They have been making wine since 1083. They got this!

The structures are magnificent. The Royal Building was constructed for a planned visit by the Emperor who died before he saw it. The much touted but unavailable for public view is the monastery’s library which is said to be one of the most extensive in Europe.

At the end of the tour, we head down to the cellar for a wine tasting. Excellent whites and specialty wines like Apricot.

Later in the afternoon, we head out for our wine tasting tour at the Wachau Valley winery.  The winery is actually a collective of more than 1000 vineyards. Since most of these vineyards are family run, they do not have the ability to grow the grapes, produce, bottle and market wine. The Wachau leaves the grape growing to the families and does the rest. There are high standards for the grapes and the Wachau will reject the grapes if they do not meet the standards.

The tour is fun and very interactive. We sample the wine not at a tasting bar but are served samples as we make our way through the tour. There is even a multi-sensory presentation of sight, sound, taste and smell. The luggage is going to be heavy on the way home!

 

Austrian night on the boat. We enjoy local food, great wines and beers. Vienna waits for us.

Next up the cities of the Danube.