Passau

Mon 29 Aug 16

Passau

Yes, the weather has changed. It rained overnight and there was even a clap of thunder this morning. The rain eased after breakfast and we went out in search of a laundromat (a change from trying to wash in the bathroom) but it turned out that what we thought would be a laundromat nearby is dry cleaner. So, we then had to walk to the other side of town with directions that weren't accurate as to the location. When we did find what we looking for we realised that we had forgotten the detergent so had to find a supermarket to buy some. Travelling with us is full of excitement and adventure!

We were in Passau in 2012 and both liked it so much that we decided we wanted to come back.

The city is situated on the junction of three rivers and the old part is like a small version of Regensburg, narrow cobblestoned streets lined with pastel shaded buildings.

The rain started up again in the middle of the morning so we decided to go up to the museum in the old fort overlooking the city. 

It consists of five smaller museums which appear to have been renovated (modernised) since we were last here. The item labels are all in German but the explanation panels are also in English. These (in our humble opinion) are the best small museums we have seen. One of the museums gives a detailed explanation of castles and castle life in the Middle Ages and another one has details of the Guilds of craftsmen and tradesmen and how they were organized. A must visit if you are ever in Passau!! Besides, the view over the city is terrific.

The rain cleared in the late afternoon so we are hopeful of fine weather for our next boat trip to Linz on Wednesday.

Dinner was in an old restaurant (recommended by the hotel receptionist) that had been a Bishop's house centuries ago. Very good food and a nice space in which to dine.

Tue 30 Aug 16

Passau

Passau is often affected by flooding and the one in 2013 was the second highest on record. The hotel we are staying at had enough warning to move things from the ground floor up to the first which was just above the flood level. The staff were able to clean up and re-open after two weeks but a restaurant in the street behind the hotel was closed for a year!

It is hard to imagine just how much water that is.

The DOM here has the largest church organ in Europe and there is a half hour concert each day. You don't just listen to the music, you feel it! 

We spent the day wandering around and enjoying ourselves.

The Danube Part 1

Sun 28 Aug 16

There were no church bells this morning to wake us, surprising for a Sunday. Anyway we made it to the wharf in time to board our cruise from Regensburg to our next stop at Passau. Nine and three quarter hours for €36 each - a bargain I think. The cheapest train ticket would cost about €20 and the journey take about one and a half hours.

Most of the passengers seem to be Germans on a day trip. There are no announcements in English but the waiters have enough to understand us and explain the menu. A good selection of food and drinks at reasonable prices.

It is still hot but there is a bit of high cloud and the air has turned hazy.

(I realise this blog is written in mixed tenses (for the retired English teachers reading this), because some of it is written in real time for a sense of immediacy - and so I don't forget things.)

A short distance down river from Regensburg is a very strange place, Walhalla, which I must find out more about. It looks as if it is in the middle of nowhere (at least that is how it appears from the river) but it is huge, a most imposing ediface.

Most of the Europeans are out soaking up the sunshine (and drinking beer) while we are moving around chasing the shade, what little of it there is. The upper deck is entirely open.

A lot of the river banks are lined with rocks and there are many breakwaters extending out to protect the banks from erosion caused by ships' wash.

 Most of the towns are behind levee banks. There are "sandy" patches and a lot of people wading in the shallows, fishing and camping. Quite a lot of leisure craft also. Being a Sunday, it must give people the chance to get out and enjoy themselves, especially as the weather is so good. It would probably be a completely different scene on weekdays.

Passengers were getting on and off at the various stops.

This has been a very pleasant journey, not fantastic scenery but enjoyable nonetheless and a chance to relax and give our feet a break from walking around all day on cobblestones. 

Germany puts Australia to shame with regard to the use of renewable energy. There are fields with arrays of thousands of solar panels, the houses don't have a few panels, they have the roof covered with them. Travelling down the Rhine valley there were lots of wind turbines visible. Surely Australia could and should be doing better.

There are signs of instability in the clouds on the hills to the North of us. Are we in for a change in the weather? (Relief from the heat?)

Back in the sixties, Stan Freberg wrote a song, "The Danube isn't Blue, it's Green". I can attest to that.

Regensburg Part 3

Sat 27 Aug 16 

Another early start, more church bells.

Walked over the old stone bridge, which is under renovation, to the Stadtamhof part of the city.

A church bell chimed and it gave me quite a start because it sounded exactly like an Amsterdam tram.

We spent the day just wandering around looking at the buildings, going into churches and taking photos. We had lunch at the cafeteria in the Galeria department store which had a good range of food and drinks at reasonable prices. There was also free WiFi, a view from the terrace and a nice change from the usual sort of eateries.

Australians,including us, tend to think of European skies as hazy and soft light. This certainly hasn't been the case the last few days! The skies have been bright blue and the air clear (and HOT).

We ate dinner at an Italian restaurant for dinner. Yes, I know we are in Germany but we have been eating our share of sausages, including currywurst (which I quite like - sausage with tomato sauce and curry flavouring - it's better than it sounds!), sauerkraut and potato dumplings (which have a rather unusual texture). The pizza was HUGE, what we at home would call a Family size, about 40 cm across (we shared one) and very tasty. The restaurant was crowded, noisy and hot. The waitress  said it was worse for her, running around serving.

Regensburg Part 2

Fri 26 Aug 16

Church bells at 6am! So we had an early start to the day in the cool of the morning before the heat of the day. We walked across the street into the DOM and could hear a voice singing/chanting. We thought it must have been a recording playing over the PA which happens in some churches. But it turned out to be a man sitting in one of the pews. The acoustics were marvellous!

Imposing? Awe inspiring?

The streets are narrow, lined with mostly pastel shaded buildings but some brightly coloured ones to provide a nice contrast.

There weren't many people about until after 9am and there seemed to be lots of people on walking tours, presumably people off coach tours or river cruises.

Regensburg doesn't have a Hop on - Hop off bus but it does have "CityTrain" which gives a very good tour of the city with an informative commentary. Well worth taking.

We had a look at the UNESCO display at the tower of the old bridge and then climbed to the top of the tower. We also visited a navigation museum on an old river boat which gave a history of shipping on the river. We also saw people, mainly young, dressed in traditional costume going out for the night.

Regensburg Part 1

Thu 24 Aug 16

So much for any ideas about German train efficiency! The train due on the platform before the one we were waiting for was 50 minutes late and although we were travelling first class (we can afford first class rail but not air) the air conditioning was not working. On a hot day, this made for a rather uncomfortable journey. Nevertheless, I still prefer trains to planes. Waiting at a train statin is a totally different experience to waiting in an airport terminal. Even though the announcements are very similar, the ones at stations have a different sound.

The journey from Koblenz is very scenic. We took a train from Köln to Passau four years ago over the same territory. The train line follows the Rhine valley to Mainz and then it crosses rolling farmland before reaching the Danube at Regensburg.

"The old town of  Regensburg with Stadtamhof was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2006 as an outstanding testimony to the history of mankind. It confirms the extraordinary universal value of this historic cityscape which deserves to be preserved for the benefit of mankind

as a whole.

Since 1945  Regensburg has remained the only large mediaeval city in Germany to be preserved in its entirety and to function continuously until this very day. Regensburg's Old Town is an exceptional testimony to cultural traditions during the Holy Roman Empire and an extraordinary example of a mediaeval centre of trade within Europe, the stages of development of which are still apparent today in its cityscape."

(Plaque near the old bridge)

It was hot when we arrived and dragging heavy suitcases over cobblestones was not fun. Fortunately the hotel (ACHAT Plaza) we had booked was not far away and is air conditioned. 

We had a short walk around before dinner just as the sun was setting and the sunlight was catching the tops of the towers and church spires.

Koblenz, Germany

Tue 23 Aug 16

We arrived at IJmuiden at about 7am and Holland America had a well organized disembarkation procedure. We had a coach transfer to Amsterdam railway station but had a couple of hours to fill in wandering around that part of the city.

"Left Luggage" is expensive for short term usage at Amsterdam station. €10 per locker for up to 24 hours. We needed three because they are not very big. I suggest if you are considering travelling by train in Europe don't take big suitcases. There is usually a height difference between the train and the platform so you need to be able to lift your cases up and down easily. Also there is not always somewhere to place large cases in the carriage. Small bags can be put on the overhead racks.

We took a train to Koblenz, Germany which is located on the junction of the Rhine and Moselle rivers. 

A scenic trip down the Rhine valley from Köln (Cologne). 

Just for interest, I had a look at how much tickets would cost if bought today compared to when we booked three months ago: €300 compared to €110 for two first class tickets. It pays to book early!!

Stayed at the Brenner Hotel which is clean and comfortable, located between the railway station and the old town centre.

Wed 24 Aug 16

Koblenz, Germany

Parts of the old city which dates back to the middle ages have been preserved and the style of many of the newer buildings have been influenced by the old architecture. 

The are many platz (with lots of restaurants) and a couple of old churches. Most of the old glass leadlight windows in the churches have been replaced by ones of stunning modern design.

We took the cable car up to the old fortress on the hill above the opposite bank of the river to the town. There are a few different museums up there and it is certainly worth a visit.

Advice to photographers: if you want good photos looking down on the town, go up in the morning because in the afternoon you will be looking directly into the sun!

The leaves on the plane trees were starting to change colour and the shop windows were full of winter clothes but it was 28 degrees C. Not the best conditions to be walking around in but a lovely city and I would recommend a visit for a day or two. It must be very popular with Europeans (Germans) because there is a large caravan park on the other side of the river which seemed to be quite full and hardly a non European accent was heard all day. It also seems to be a stopping point for the river cruises as there were a few of them in port.

Rosyth

Sat 20 Aug 16

At sea.

A word of advice to photographers travelling into cold areas. The cold shortens camera battery life, so take a spare battery or at least keep your camera in a carrying case to insulate it when not in use.

Sun 21 Aug 16

Due to a strong outgoing tide our arrival at Rosyth was delayed by about 3 hours. Rosyth is the location of the cruise terminal for Edinburgh but is on the opposite side of the firth and a fair way from the city. There was a shuttle bus from the ship to Inverkeithing railway station where we caught a train into Edinburgh, about a 30 minute trip.

The Edinburgh Fringe Festival was on at this time and the city was packed with people and not just along The Royal Mile where most of the outdoor Fringe activity was taking place. It was an almost continous line on both sides of the street of street performers and also people handing out leaflets advertising other shows.

Even over in the New Town area it was crowded.

It was good to revisit the city after having been here in 2010. We visited the National Gallery which has a small but excellent collection of art works and then spent the rest of the day just wandering around the town soaking up the atmosphere.

Mon 22 Aug 16

At sea.

A day for packing and saying goodbye.

We have met some very nice people on this cruise, people with whom we would like to keep in touch. They made what would have been an enjoyable cruise into one which also filled with fun and laughter. In fact, most of the people we met were very pleasant and easy to engage in conversation even if most of those conversations were about travel. We met one couple who had been on 70 (yes 70) cruises but we heard of others who had been on more than 100! We also met a few who if I saw coming, I would cross the street to avoid (including some Australians) but then again, these people would not recognise me anyway, they are that sort.

 Tomorrow we disembark at IJmuiden for a coach transfer into Amsterdam. From Amsterdam we embark on the next stage of our trip with a train journey to Koblenz, Germany.

We will be undertaking the train journeys on this holiday despite not having a copy of the 1913 Edition of Bradshaw's Guide to Continental Railways. Nor do I have a collection of sports coats to match Michael Portillo.*

*A reference to a BBC TV series Great Continental Railways.

Tue 23 Aug 16

We arrived at IJmuiden at about 7am and Holland America had a well organized disembarkation procedure. We had a coach transfer to Amsterdam railway station but had a couple of hours to fill in wandering around that part of the city.

"Left Luggage" is expensive for short term usage at Amsterdam station. €10 per locker for up to 24 hours. We needed three because they are not very big. I suggest if you are considering travelling by train in Europe don't take big suitcases. There is usually a height difference between the train and the platform so you need to be able to lift your cases up and down easily. Also there is often nowhere to place large cases in the carriage. Small bags can be put on the overhead racks.

We took a train to Koblenz, Germany which is located on the junction of the Rhine and Moselle rivers. Stayed at the Brenner Hotel which is clean and comfortable, located between the railway stain and the town centre.