Passau, Bavaria is the turn around point on this river cruise. To get here we left Vienna on Sunday night with visits to Dürnstein, Melk and Linz; all in Austria, along the way.

Most of the cruising has taken place at night which means that the actual Danube river does not get much visibility so far on the trip. We have been going on the guided visits which, although not our usual style of travel does have the advantage of being informed by a knowledgeable local – usually a thin slice but a good introduction to an area we don’t know very well.

Dürnstein and Melk were pretty much whistle stops on the river. Dürnstein has a picturesque older town centre and an old castle. Melk has a magnificent Abbey which is well preserved and very much alive as an institution with an active school for several hundred, a museum and an amazing library.

Linz is a major industrial centre with several universities and steel making plants. Linz has also the dubious distinction of being Adolf Hitler’s home town and was to have been the cultural centre of the new German nation. In respect of this Linz was basically obliterated during the war and has been extensively rebuilt since that time. As a result Linz is a much more modern looking and feeling city than many others in Austria. We took a guided tour and took the tram to the high point of the city.

Passau is another ancient settlement dating back to the Celts and Romans. At the confluence of three rivers; the Danube, the Inn and the Ilz a strategic position from old times. A population of 50,000 and 50 churches along with many well preserved buildings makes an interesting place to visit. St Stephan’s Cathedral built in the Baroque style has what is billed as the world’s largest organ with 17,974 pipes.

Many of the towns along the Danube have been and still are subject to flooding and it is common to find buildings with the high water marks of several floods marked with signs on one of the walls.

Our last visit before departing Vienna was the Belvedere Museum. The houses and gardens were built as the summer residence of Prince Eugene of Savoy during the years 1712-1718. Two large palaces now filled with art make a fine museum. There is a Klimt Gallery which seems very popular as well as a good historical collection of Austrian painting.

This is the back door!

Klimt’s The Kiss

Now since you can’t really see the work without company – some more images of “people enjoying art”

 

 

Moving on to Dürnstein

It was quite cold (13C) and very windy. We were booked to ride e-bikes from Dürnstein to Melk but thought better of it. A few brave souls did the 30km ride and arrived cold and wet after riding into a 25km head wind and showers – about dinner time. Good call on our part!

Remains of the Castle

Main Street

Marg visits the pillory!

Water marks on the Passau town hall.