Prague Prelude

This morning we were up bright and early to have a small breakfast in the ship prior to disembarking. We had chosen the Prague post cruise option, so we boarded a bus with a good number of fellow cruise  travelers to make our way to the capital of the Czech Republic.

But first, we stopped in Regensburg to break up the drive a bit.

This is a beautiful city, known as the City of Towers as it once had 60 towers. 20 still remain. 

Our guide escorted us along the cobblestone streets towards the old city. It is Saturday and the place was filled with bikers who seem to think they have the right of way. There were no designated biking lanes, making being a pedestrian rather dangerous as it seemed as if they came from every direction!  So there was some careful maneuvering as we followed our guide along the way. 

She pointed out this former hospital that now stands as a retirement home.  Everyone of the residents receives a Bishops's Beer each and every day.  There is apparently a long line of people waiting to be admitted. 

We crossed the bridge over the river that leads to the Old Town.

There was no missing the Cathedral with its Gothic Spire in the background. 

Along the one side of the bridge stands the Brickmandl (Brick Man).

He's been there since the 12th century. 

At the end of the bridge is the toll  tower.  One had to pay toll at the bridge in order to enter the city.

One could easily see the Medieval landscape of this side of the city.  It is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site designed to preserve its unique style. 

Regensburg was founded in 179 where remnants of the Porta Pretoria still stand. 

At one time 6000 Roman soldiers were living in a community here and one can still see the remnants of the large stones used to build the walls.  While the Romans inhabited this area, Germanic tribes were living across the river. 

In the 5th century, the great migration began and Regensburg became instrumental in the shipping of salt from the mines in the Swiss Alps to Passau.  If you recall from yesterday, salt was known as "white gold" due to its value.

The present day visitors center was once the holding chamber for the salt. Note the steeply pitched roof. 

Behind this building one can find the oldest sausage sandwich shop in the city having been erected in 1135.  We chose to pass on trying the delight but there was a long queu waiting to purchase their specialty. 

The sausage shop plaza offers an amazing view of the stone bridge that we had just crossed over. 

Regensburg at one time had 60 towers in the city.  They are reduced to 20.  We had seen one passing the bridge, and here is yet another that was built in the 13th century.

We enjoyed walking through the streets and admiring the ornate buildings. 

On a side street in the town is a plaque on the wall commemorating the fact that Emilie Shindler had lived in that place for a year following the end of World War II. He is credited with saving the lives of 1200 Jews during the Nazi occupation. 

We stopped for a brief respite, then headed back to the meeting place where our bus would be waiting.

The views going back were equally enchanting.

I failed to mention that this city is known for its beer.  There had been 200 churches in this city, each with its own bishop,  And each bishop had his own brewery by the 7th century.   So variety abounds!

We boarded the bus for the 4 hour trip to Prague, arriving just prior to 4:00 pm.  Marty and I had decided to attend mass since there was a church, Our Lady of the Snows, a short distance from the hotel. 

It was obviously a very old building and the altar background certainly had a LOT of adornment. 

I'm fairly certain that is St. Michael the Archangel overlooking the congregation, and above him, near the tip of the dome, is a crucifix.  One could probably sit there for hour attempting to study the symbolism in just that one piece. 

After dinner, we headed to a restaurant just around the corner that Veronica had recommended.  Marty had attempted to ask for a "booking" on our way to the church and the man at the desk just said no.  So, after mass, we headed back and I politely greeted him "Good evening" in Slovak, which is similar to the Czech language.  He gave me a funny look.  Then I asked him (in Slovak) if he spoke English.  He looked at me straight in the face and shouted, "WHAT DO YOU WANT?".  I was a bit startled, and asked if we could please have a table to for two.  He claimed they had none (although there were a lot of empty tables) and told me to talk to his colleague about sitting outside.  So, I politely asked the woman if she had a table outside. She said, No, all of the tables are inside.  She said on the ground floor, in the bar, on the second floor. I asked if I was just to seat myself, and she directed me back to Mr. Grumpy.  I decided that I'd had enough and we left. 

We walked a few hundred feet to another restaurant, and asked if they were serving dinner.  The waiter was delightful!  We set outside next to this lovely flower garden.

Marty ordered Czech beer 

And, much to our excitement, there was Bryndza Halusky!  Our favorite Slovak dish!

We both ordered it and enjoyed it immensely.

So, it appears that we certainly ended up with the MUCH better deal. Great food, great service, and a lovely evening to enjoy it!

Time for sleep.  We'll be heading out on a tour of this lovely city in the morning. 

I'll be sure to keep you posted!

Until next time...

Gallivanting in Passau

Today is officially our last full day on the river as tomorrow we have to be up bright and early to disembark the ship at 8:00 AM.  Our luggage must be outside our door by 5:45 AM.  Guess it will be an early morning for us!

But we were determined to enjoy our last day on this cruise, so we were ready to head out to Passau shortly after the ship had docked.  In the meantime, here is a photo taken from our cabin shortly after our arrival. 

Isn't that stunning? 

Our guide was Daniel, a local teacher, who was, once again, quite knowledgeable about the history of this city. 

The town of Passau stands at the congruence of 3 rivers, although one of them is just a small stream in comparison to the other two. Daniel explained that the rivers were the essential element in making this city successful throughout the years.  Celts had come to inhabit the area as early as 500 BC.  They were able to establish a trade commerce by navigating the rivers. 

The Celts were followed by Irish monks, and then by Germanic nomads who made their way to Passau and settled here. 

As we began our tour, Daniel pointed out a Catholic Church nestled in the streets.  It was used for everyday Mass, but was difficult to capture by photo due to being nestled among the houses which were tightly squeezed together.  But the top had been viewable as we disembarked from the ship.

We did not enter, but continued along the narrow streets, enjoying  the signs adorning the various shops enroute. 

We continued the tour to St. Stephen's Basilica.

St Stephen's had been officially constructed in the 1500's, but was damaged by a fire, which resulted in restoration in the 1600's.  The style is Baroque, which can be determined by looking at the roofs of the towers.  The fact that this particular church has round roofs over the towers is because at the time of the restoration, man had proven that the world was round, which resulted in the church symbolism. 

But the first thing we noted was the large statue of King Maximillian.

This was erected after 1803 when this part of Bavaria underwent separation of church and state.  In order to prove his dominance the king had a statue of himself placed directly in front of the church so that the bishop would realize that the church fell under the King's jurisdiction.   

The inside was amazing.  All of the frescoes were painted on the spot, and the statues were carved in place as well.  Italian artists had been brought in to adorn the interior because they had experience from the many churches that had been erected in Italy. 

The statues behind the altar represent the stoning of St. Stephen, and they were added in the 1800's, which explains why they appear to be from a different time period. 

One of the interesting features of this church is that it holds the largest organ in all of Europe.  But, presently, it is being renovated so all that we could see was some scaffolding. 

We continued our tour along the old town streets, fortunate to have such a lovely day to enjoy the views. 

Along the way we passed this carved wooden door.  It represents Jesus knocking at the door, and is over 250 years old, but no one seems to know its origin. I found it amazing that it continued to look so brilliant. 

As we walked long Daniel explained that the prosperity of this town in ages past was due to the nearby salt mines.  The salt was considered to be "white gold" and was the main reason why this town prospered,

Perched up on a hill on the opposite side of the Danube is a castle that was completed in 1440.  It is easy to imagine why it would be a strong fortification due to its location on the top of the cliff. 

Across from the castle stands the town hall.

From here we had some free time, so as suggested, we followed the street with the colored bricks. 

Should we be worried that the Hansel and Gretel is located here?

As you can see, there is delight around nearly every corner. 

Our time was soon up and we were back on the ship as it was sailing off by 11:30 to our final destination. 

We had a brilliant day to enjoy our final hours on deck. 

By late afternoon, we were in Vilshofen where Marty and I decided to get out and explore a bit. 

The village was cute, but it seemed somewhat empty when we were walking along the streets. 

We peeked in some windows

and were amusing by some of the business signs.

And we finally found ourselves on the main street.

On the opposite side stood a beautiful church that peeled the glorious sound of bells every 15 minutes.

This main street was extremely busy with traffic, but it was after 5:00, and I imagine that people were eager to get home.

We soon returned to the ship where an Octoberfest was planned just outside the ship.  The band was quite talented, 

and the beer queen was sure to keep us entertained. 

I'm not a beer drinker, so I can't attest to the taste of the beer, but those who did partake all seemed quite happy,

When the party was complete, we headed to the ship for dinner with the same crew as last evening. 

Once again, we had a delightful time.

We had to bid farewell to some of our new friends, but many will be traveling to Prague with us tomorrow by bus. 

We are all packed and ready to put our cases out bright and early.  So, for now, I bid you good night.

Thank you for following along.

Until nest time...

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