Day 9: Cruise - Passau

The first full day on the cruise began with dense fog over the river and Passau Germany.  The excursion for today is a walking tour of Passau followed by an organ recital in the Passau cathedral.

Viking excursions have a unique way of broadcasting the audio portion of excursions.  Each cabin comes with 2 small wireless transmitters on a lanyard with a earpiece.  When you meet your tour guide they have a sign that you touch to calibrate your device to the correct channel.  Easy peasy!  

We met our guide Andrea on the shore for the walking tour.  As we walked we heard her description of the city and interesting facts about the city's history.  Passau was the bishop's location so it has the largest cathedral in the area.  It also controlled the salt shipped along the Danube so it became quite wealthy.  During the middle ages the plague was a serious problem so Doctors work a mask that resembles a bird's long beak.  It was filled with herbs to protest the doctor as they examined ill patients.

Tower used to store salt

View outside the cabin showing the fog over the river

Cobblestoned streets of Passau

Most European buildings have stucco exteriors

Marilyn admires the mini Smart car

Local gasthaus

Since Passau is a part of Bavaria, the women wear dirndls (aprons).  The location of the tied bow indicates the women's marital status.  If the bow is in the back, the woman is a widow.  If on the front right side, the woman is married.  If on the front left, the woman is available.  Finally, if the bow is on the middle of the front, the woman is a virgin.  Andrea said when she met her husband at an Oktoberfest, her dirndl's bow changed location.  She didn't specify how.

Floods on the Danube are a major problem in Passau.  On the side of the Rathaus (City Hall) are the high water marks and years for all the major floods.  The second worst ever took place in June 2013 where most buildings had the bottom floors completely submerged.  None of the buildings have apartments on the ground floor for this reason.

Passau Rathaus (City Hall)

Murals on the side of the Rathaus

Andrea shows the high water marks of floods

St Stephen's cathedral is on the hill in the old town.  It is a baroque style that has onion shaped domes like in Russia.  It features a pulpit covered in gold leaf and the largest pipe organ in any church in the world built in the 1920's.  It has 17934 pipes that range from a few inches to 17 feet long!  The concert showed the skill of the organist and the impressive level of sound the organ can produce.  It created goose bumps on many people.  The high altar is a recent addition (1950's) and shows the stoning of St Stephen.

Museum showing artifacts from Passau Cathedral history

St Stephen's bell tower

Gold leaf plated pulpit

The cupola of St Stephen's

The organ with 17000 pipes

We left Passau at 1:00 and cruised down the Danube through 3 locks to arrive at Linz, Austria just as the sun was setting.  It was a pleasant trip to see the rolling hills on either side and many small towns and villages.  Just think, as I was enjoying a drink on the sun deck, many of my friends in Canada were at work!

View of cruise along Danube

Going through a lock

Marilyn, Cheryl and Richard showing the Legend dinner jacket

Night view in Linz Austria

After dinner we had a concert on board featuring Austrian music from Mozart and the Sound of Music.  Very entertaining.

Day 7: Munich - Bus Trip to the Castles

Our last day in Munich was spent visiting the Royal Castles of Schloss Linderhof and Neuschwanstein south of Munich. We had to get up early to take the S-Bahn into Munich and meet the bus tour at the Hauptbanhof at 8:10.

We arrived in time to grab a quick coffee and pastry before the bus tour left. Busses, or motor coaches, as they are called in Europe, are very different than those in North America. First, many are double deckers and most importantly, you can buy and drink beer on them.

It took almost two hours to get to Schloss Linderhof, the home of Ludwig II of Bavaria. Ludwig was an admirer of King Louis of France and much of the design and decorating reminds me of Versailles. This house is quite small by castle standards. Ludwig only lived here for a few months before he died under mysterious circumstances in the late 1800's. Here are some of the views of the exterior since no photos were allowed inside.

The Alps add a magical air

Dwight outside Schloss Linderhof

The gardens behind Schloss Linderhoff

Marilyn impersonates the lady in the fountain

Dwight next to the majestic lions in the garden

Ceramic Urn in the garden

Next we visited the nearby village of Oberammergau to see the painted murals on the buildings and visit some souvenir shops. Maria, our tour guide, advised us that the souvenirs were much cheaper than in Neuschwanstein.

Town square in Oberammergau

On the drive to Neuschwanstein the bus was delayed by an accident between a motorcycle and car. The motorcyclist was airlifted out by helicopter. The delay turned our one hour lunch break into a 30 minute lunch break.  So, lunch in Neuschwanstein was a bratwurst or a piece of pizza.  Maria explained the origin of the name: Neu means "new", Schwan is "swan" the heraldic symbol of Bavarian royalty, and stein means "built on a hill".  So literally it means "new swan house built on a hill".  Visitors are given three options of getting to the castle: walking up, taking a bus, or horse drawn carriage.  Our daughter Rebecca, who has visited here, advised us not to walk up as the path is long and steep.  Cheryl and Warren walked, the rest of the group took the bus.  Before visiting the castle, Marilyn and I went to the foot bridge to get a view of the castle and the valley.   It was worth the climb!

Dwight on the bridge overlooking Neuschwanstein

The beuaty of the castle inspired Walt Disney to imitate it at Disney World in Florida

Castle Hohenschwangau across the valley

Marilyn enjoying the view from the bridge

The gates of Castle Neuschwanstein

Warren, Cheryl and Marilyn in the exterior corridor

A view of the valley and lakes below

Looking east across the valley

A waterfall next to the path down the hill

 The tour of the castle was a bit disappointing since the groups are large and the guide could not be heard. Visitors were also not allowed any photos. At the end of the tour are an endless array of gift shops. The walk down the hill was quite scenic.

A last view of the castle from the bottom of the hill

Finally, the bus ride home was very quiet as there were many tired hikers sleeping.  Arriving back in Munich we took the S-Bahn train back to Unterhaching and had dinner at an Italian restaurant. It was an early night for a tired but satisfied group of travelers.    

Day 6: Munich - Oktoberfest

Now that the whole team is in Europe, we set off to explore what Munich has to offer. The plan for the day is to visit the Duetsches Museum in the morning and then go to Oktoberfest!

 The first challenge for the group was to buy our Munich transit passes at one of the automated machines. Apparently, it takes 5 people to figure it out...

So, how do we purchase tickets?

Today we need only ride the S3 S-Bahn line.  Exiting at Isartor station we walked the short distance to the museum.   Like the museums in Berlin, this museum is also on an island. The Deutches Museum celebrates the achievements of Germans in technology and science.   I was surprised to see the wide variety of German inventions.  I was especially interested in the German mathematicians Leibniz and Gauss.  The German Enigma machine was the best cryptographic machine in the world of its time.  German mining plays a large role in its history and technological achievements.  The German people are very proud of their contributions.  This museum explains the German work ethic.

The Isar River near the museum

Main Entrance

A World War I German Fokker Triplane

German stained glass

The German Enigma Machine

A view from the rooftop

Auditorium has statues of famous German scientists and inventors

We next walked to the old city and visited Marienplatz.  After some shopping for souvenirs, we took the U3 to the Oktoberfest site and followed the crowds of men in lederhosen and women in dirndls. In fact, Warren got in the spirit and purchased some lederhosen!

A gate into the old town of Munich

Fountain in Gartnerplatz

Gasthaus beside fountain

Pedestrian streets in old town

The group in Marienplatz

Warren rocking the lederhosen

It is hard to describe the scope and atmosphere of Oktoberfest to people who have never been here. Marilyn and I, as graduates of the University of Waterloo, participated in Oktoberfest but that is a pale comparison to the original here in Munich.   Oktoberfest only allows beer brewed by breweries in Munich to be sold.  You buy 1 liter glasses that cost 11 euros.  Each beer company has large pavilions that hold about 5000 people.  There were at least 10 pavilions! We wandered around to get our bearings and it took tours of 2 pavilions before we found a seat in the beergarten outside Lowenbrau pavilion.  Getting a seat inside is nearly impossible so we settled for a table outside where we enjoyed the fine fall afternoon.  We met Klaus and Christine who were locals and a couple from Batavia NY.   It's easy to make friends at Oktoberfest!

One of the Oktoberfest pavilions

Carl and Marilyn trying not to get lost in the crowds

The pavilions are all decorated in the colours of the brewery

The group enjoys some Bavarian fare and beer

Pretzels are a staple of Bavarian fare

Pavilions have towers so people can find them

The Pschorr pavilion

Couldn't find a table in the Braurosl pavilion either

 We wanted to get inside a pavilion and it took many attempts before we got a table in the Spatan pavilion in the upper level. The band played continuously and EVERYONE signs along and dances on the benches. Many of the songs we did not know but we joined in for favourites like Ein Prosit and Sweet Caroline.

A view of the party atmosphere inside the Spatan pavilion

Marilyn has found "her people".

A view in the distance of the party on the main floor

Check out the sounds of Oktoberfest as we sing along to Sweet Caroline...

After dark Oktoberfest is like the CNE with lights and rides.

The weary, slightly drunk, group awaits their train back to Unterhaching

After it got dark we had had enough so we walked back to the Hauptbanhof to take the S3 back to Unterhaching. An incredible experience!  Everyone who has some German blood, and people like me who enjoy German culture, should visit Oktoberfest in Munich.