Passau and then Vilshofen, Germany

This is the last full day of this leg of the trip.  All good things must come to an end.  We got up and dressed for breakfast.  Sat with Bob and Brenda.  I had one eggs Benedict.  Now working on the blog. We were here before so not sure what Bob has in mind this time.

My back was giving me issues so Bob decided to do his own tour.  I was in the lounge with Trink and decided I would give it a try with the gentle walkers.

I now know this is the castle the Bishop built up on the hill.  The date is written on the side of the center building.  It is 1499.  The middle ages they made the 4 to look like an open 8.

And the old town hall which I posted last time.

Just another view of this area.

 We walked up the alley to get to Cathedral Square.  They were having mass so we could not go in as a group but we were able to step inside if we behaved ourselves.  So I stepped inside and the place was packed.  And all of a sudden, the organ started playing.  Beautiful.  As I mentioned before, it  is the largest organ in Germany.  There are 17,974 pipes, 233 stops and 4 carillons.  It was a treat to hear it played.

Some of the 17,974 pipes.

We then continued our walk around the square and glanced at the Inn River.  The Inn River is larger than the Danube so when they come together, it is said that the rest should be called the Inn.  But the Danube won out, as it is longer.

We learned about the University system.  Free tuition for anyone, even USA residents.  Wow.  But here in Passau, the courses are all in German.  Not so for the rest of the country.  The larger cities do have English speaking schools.

We did get to look into another Jesuit church but it no longer has mass.  You can get married in the church but need to bring a priest.  Too many churches and not enough people.  In Germany, the people pay a 2% tax to maintain the churches in the country.

Then we returned to the boat and Bob was already back from his walk.

We are leaving here at noon and heading to Vilshofen.  Lunch was a Bavarian affair.  I ate too much but it all was so good.  So then we had to take a nap to recover from lunch.

When we woke we were already here in Vilshofen.  But the sky now is gray and it is starting to sprinkle.  I hope it does not rain tomorrow as it is disembarkation day.

Tonight is the Captain's farewell party.  Then they are having a beer garden affair on the dock and then dinner on the boat.  I think they are trying to do too much.  We might just skip the beer thing.  Beer after champagne and then wine might be too much even for me.