Overnight between August 31 and September 1, we crossed the border from Austria into Germany and entered the state of Bavaria. The latinized name of course stands in for the proud German Bayern, and as many readers will already know, this region is famous for its beer and its sausages (see title). But first we had to get there.
To say that the night of August 31--September 1 was memorable would be an understatement. For days, we'd all been concerned about the low water levels in the Danube River after a hot dry summer. For the majority of the passengers, there was the fear that their 1-week cruise would be cut short if the ship couldn't pass through the shallow sections before and after Passau, at the border of Austria and Germany.
For the 9 of us who booked a 3-week package, continuing on into the Danube-Main Canal, the Main River, the Rhine River, and finally the Moselle River to Luxembourg, there was the distinct possibility that our voyage would come to a grinding halt right here and the rest of the package would be offered as a coach tour -- according to the fine print.
At this point, I have to put this in: I simply cannot say enough about the excellence of the customer service at Avalon River Cruises, and in particular the hard work of our personable cruise director, Sabine. They have been working as a team, madly calculating and recalculating water levels, booking and rebooking tours and hotels, shifting docking locations and tour times, to try to offer as much as possible of the original package under circumstances which made it difficult to keep offering anything at all.
When it looked like we might be stuck with the coach as an alternative to the cruise ship, this is what they were prepared to offer us: the entire coach package, with deluxe 5-star hotel accommodations every night, and 3 meals a day, all for no charge. You read that right. They were prepared to refund every penny we paid in advance for those 8 nights of the cruise, while still giving us the entire experience as near as they could manage it, beds, meals, tours the whole nine yards -- all for free. Or, as an alternative, they would simply allow us to end the tour with a full refund for the remaining portions. Nothing in the terms of contract obliged them to go this far or offer either of those choices. Now, that's what I call "Customer Service."
Just sign me "officially mind blown," and both ready and willing to sail with Avalon again!
But anyway, back to that memorable night. There had been some rain, the river had come up somewhat, and even though there "officially" wasn't enough water, the company and captain together decided to give it a shot -- just in case the water levels started dropping again. Result: we cruised through the night and the morning, travelling from Aschach to Straubing, a distance which got us through all the difficult shallow parts of the Danube River. Of course, this posed certain hazards -- and as Sabine said last night before dinner, we had to be ready in particular for some noise as we would be "polishing the stones on the river bed" (her exact words) at many locations. Here's what one stone-polishing area looked like -- broad, shallow, and we were moving very, very slowly as we sailed through here.
We certainly polished a lot of stones. The noise was considerable, and sounded not unlike somebody scrubbing down the sides of the ship with a pressure washer, but -- WE GOT THROUGH!!!! And so, the rest of the 15-night cruise is now a go.
During the night, we by-passed Passau -- and Passau is a place that no one travelling in this part of the world should ever by-pass. So in the afternoon of September 1 we by-passed the by-pass by taking motor coaches back to Passau for our promised tour. It was about an hour's drive.
Passau occupies a unique spot on the map -- the point at which two tributary rivers, one big, one small, enter the Danube simultaneously. They are the Inn River, coming from Switzerland and Austria on the south side, and the Ilz River, flowing in from Bavaria on the north side. In fact, the Inn River actually carries more water than the Danube at this point, but is much shorter -- which is why it's considered the tributary. With the Inn (courtesy of the Swiss and Austrian Alps) also comes all of the sediment which colours the Danube to its characteristic grey-green hue for the rest of its journey to the Black Sea.
So one of the big sights in Passau is the Dreiflüsseeck, the park at the point of land where you can see all three rivers at once. I didn't mind hiking down there, even if it was raining, but I was severely enraged when I found the view blocked by a cruise ship on the Danube side moored right at that spot, beside the point of land. Grrr. So, in lieu of my own efforts, an aerial internet view to show the three streams all meeting at one point. If only it had been this sunny and clear when I was there. Those striking colours in the water were invisible -- it all just looked grey.
http://passauerland.de
It's still a beautiful park right at the confluence, and the shade trees even kept off some of the rain. I was able to get a couple of pictures once I walked upstream past that annoying cruise ship, of the upper and lower castles on the opposite bank of the Danube, and of the mouth of the Ilz River.
Also of interest -- the unique anchorage point of the suspension cables on the far end of the bridge across the Danube.
The town itself contains the usual assortment of houses, shops, churches, and the like dating from anywhere in the years since 1600. Passau has a much great-than-usual budget of pedestrian walking areas and several attractive squares.
We didn't go into St. Stephen's Cathedral (yup, another one!)...
...but we did detour into the bishop's palace where we saw on display the former console of the massive organ in the cathedral -- once rated as the largest church organ anywhere in the world (and now third-largest church organ).
If anything could bring me back to Passau, it would be the chance to hear one of the regular recitals given on that extraordinary instrument with its 17,774 pipes. Some day....
Well, that, and some sunny weather. I have to admit that the rain, as badly as the rivers and farms need it, really took the edge off the day.
After our time in Passau, we returned to the ship which then sailed on to Regensburg. I awoke to more cloudy skies and cool temperatures, but no rain. That made me want to get out and walk, and after a quick look over a map, I shot across the gangplank, bent on a good brisk walk. The Danube here actually splits into four channels, and we were moored in the one closest to the old town. All I had to do was follow the cobbled walkway along the stone quay until I came to the Gothic-era Stone Bridge. Built between 1135 and 1146, this bridge had the same effect on Regensburg as the Charles Bridge had on Prague: it turned the community into a major trade centre, a focal point of merchants travelling south to Italy or north to northern Europe, and the local merchants prospered exceedingly.
There'd be no chance for any ships today to squeeze in between those massive piers. Fortunately, the fourth or northernmost arm of the river is actually a canal with a lock. It's at the far end of the street in the photo above. I walked across the entire length of the bridge, enjoying views of old houses (now a hotel) spanning the second arm of the river...
… or the third arm dreaming beneath the overhanging trees.
After crossing the full length of the bridge, I came back over again, this time photographing the gatehouse tower at the city end.
I then walked a short distance up into the old town to the majestic Gothic cathedral or Dom towering over everything else.
In musical circles, this church is famous for the Regensburger Domspatzen (literally, "Regensburg Cathedral Sparrows"), the choir of boys and young men which is the oldest continuing choir in the world. It was founded in 975 by the then-bishop, has made numerous recordings, and has toured in many parts of the world.
The best part of going out for a morning walk? By the time the rain starts later in the day, you've had your exercise, seen the sights, and can crawl into bed for a nap with a clear conscience.
By the next morning we had sailed up the river, and entered the Main-Donau canal, which connects the Danube and the Main-Rhine river systems across the hilly height of land between them. Our ship docked at the small town of Dietfurt, and everyone left. The terminating passengers took coaches to be driven to Prague for a 3-day add-on package there, while our brave little group of 9 went south to Munich, the chief city of Bavaria, for a day visit.
Booting south along the autobahn reminded me of two truths. [1] It's not always true that the autobahn has no speed limits. Areas with risky curves, and heavily built-up areas are speed limited and the drivers respect those limits. Even when the limit is lifted for cars, it still applies to trucks and buses. [2] It works because everyone, and I do mean everyone, knows not to drive in the fast lane unless actually passing, and no one passes on the right like the insane lane dodgers in Canada. Amazing how well a highway works when all drivers, fast or slow, respect the rules and the other drivers.
Although I have been several times to Munich, I was looking forward to seeing it again. Unfortunately, I had a bit of a run-in with something that didn't agree with my digestion, so that kind of killed any idea of sampling beer and sausages. Pity. But I still had a good time, with a mixed driving-walking tour that hit some of the highlights of the city.
On the way into town we passed the 1972 Olympic Park and saw parts of the roof of the Olympic Stadium peeking over the hills along the road. The similarity of the design to the German pavilion at Montreal's Expo '67 five years earlier was unmistakable.
We then drove through a richie-rich suburban area to Schloss Nymphenburg, the former summer palace of the Bavarian monarchy. Like other ruling families across Europe, these royals didn't go on holiday to get away from it all; they brought it all with them. This picture shows only the central 25% of the huge, sprawling complex.
We then drove on into the centre of the city, and got out for our walking tour. One of our first sights was the world-famous Hofbräuhaus. Originally a royal brewery, this huge beer hall is now city-owned. Historic plaque should really be on the wall: I consumed my first mass (litre stein) of Bavarian beer on this site in 1979.
We then walked on into the Marienplatz (St. Mary's Square), the heart of Munich's historic and shopping district. Our guide timed things to perfection; we arrived at 2 minutes to noon, just in time to watch the famous Glockenspiel in the tower of the New Town Hall do its thing.
No, that is not a misprint. This really is the New Town Hall. It was built in the tail-end of the 1890s, in the then-fashionable neo-Gothic fantasy style.
The Glockenspiel is similarly misleading. It was built specially for this tower, and inaugurated in 1899. So the "medieval" look is just more romantic fantasy -- but it's fun to watch as the pages and knights circle past each other, and the dancers twirl around.
At the east end of the square, the 1400s-vintage Old Town Hall manages to look surprisingly modern by comparison.
The Marienplatz is definitely another one of those "people places" that European cities do so well, and the best proof of that is the presence of street entertainers -- such as this mime.
He was posing like a statue, but a statue that often winked at passers-by, tapped them on the shoulder with his cane, stuck out his tongue, waved coyly at little children, often successfully catching people by surprise and making them jump or shriek.
He was also posing for photographs with anyone who wanted one.
A split second after the camera took the picture he tried to tickle my chin, but I was expecting something of the kind after watching him doing his thing for 3/4 of an hour. Best street show I've seen in a long time!
On the way back to the bus, we detoured to the city palace of the Bavarian royal family, the Residenz, and the adjacent Munich Opera House. Like much of the city centre, this building was reduced to smoking ruins during the saturation bombings of German cities in World War Two, and then lovingly rebuilt after the war.
All the time this was going on, our ship was sailing north without us through the Main-Donau canal, trying to get caught up on all the time we lost earlier. We were taken by coach to Nurnberg for a hotel night, and then the next day we drove on north to Bamberg at the north end of the canal.
By the way, the cruise company did promise us each a refund for the unexpected one night in the hotel instead of on the ship.
The perils of river cruising in a low-water year, and some sightseeing adventures in Passau, Regensburg, and Munich.
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