Day 8: Train to Passau & Board Cruise

Today is a travel day.  It begins with packing, a quick breakfast of coffee and a pastry and checking out of the Hotel Demas-Garni in Unterhaching.  On our final Munich S-Bahn trip we only had one wrinkle - all the escalators at the Hauptbanhof station S-Bahn platform were coming down, none we going up.  A frantic search found an elevator but it wouldn't operate.  So, we had to lug heavy suitcases up.  We needed to ask directions to the street level where all the trains were but our train was right at the top of the escalator.  Some good luck after the bad luck downstairs.

The group on the S-Ban train downtown

We found an area for our luggage and seats nearby that faced each other.  German trains are punctual and the train left exactly on time but no announcement was made on the PA.  The journey took us through mostly farmland with only a few stops at small towns.  The final part of the journey followed the Danube river and we saw a variety of vessels: both commercial and pleasure.

Arriving at the Passau station we had to wait for a cab to take us to the pier.  A short ride later we boarded the Viking Legend.  A porter took our luggage.  The receptionist gave us our keys and another porter took us to our cabin and showed us the features.  The luggage arrived and we unpacked.  This whole process took only 10 minutes!

A light lunch was available in the lounge, including free beer.  Germans and Czechs have one of the highest per capita beer consumption in the world.  On this trip, our group - especially Richard- has been helping keep those consumption figures up!

Marilyn relaxes in the cabin on the Viking Legend

A view outside the cabin

The late afternoon was spent exploring the ship and sunning on the sun deck.  An orientation session was held just before dinner.  In the dining room, we met some of the waiters and waitresses who seemed eager to please (or eager for good tips a the end of the cruise). The dinner has three courses with many options for each course.  Free local wines are served as well and Mary Jane seemed to top up my glass after every sip I took.  Great service!

The sun deck

An after dinner reception was held in the lounge allowing us to meet our fellow passengers who are about 90% American.  (Oh well).  I think I will like the slower pace the cruise will offer this next week.