Days 4 and 5 - Passau

Passau is a lovely city in Bavaria, right on the border with Austria.  There have been human settlements dating back 25,000 years and it was a Roman town 2,500 years ago. The ship docked a couple of miles out of Passau at a dock called Lindau.  There were shuttles into town running regularly throughout the day.  After a bit of a sleep-in and a quick breakfast we went into town to find a gym we had contacted from home.  Seldom are the gyms on ships suitable for Blake's full-on weight lifting workouts so we often find ourselves getting organized with one or two in port.   Some times it's fairly easy, some others not so much.  Last year we were on a Caribbean cruise and had to fly to another island for the "right gym".  It was a good adventure. 

 

 

Back to Passau.  After the morning workout we walked through the new and old parts of town and went back to the ship for lunch. Our big adventure of the day was a four hour, 48 km bike ride along the Danube.  We set off from Passau and followed a meandering trail through cornfields.  Very soon we crossed into Austria and rode to the cutest of towns where we rested for a bit.  Shortly after a huge thunderstorm caught us and we had to take shelter under a tunnel and wait till the worst of it passed. Then we crossed the river and were back in Germany.  The pastoral bike ride turned into BMX from hell (well, at least for about half an hour) but we finally made it back to Passau.  We really had a blast and the e-bikes provided by Crystal were very good, boosting our muscle power when needed.  Suffice it to say, we were exhausted and ended up cutting our post-dinner entertainment a bit short.  We spent the night in port.  

Dinner was great and we met the young German executive chef, Dirk. He told us he had spent some years in the Okanagan, in the Crystal Lodge in Vernon. He is really outstanding and his creations taste as good or even better than they look. Kudos to Dirk. Finally some music in the Cove.  

Day two  We had half a day in Passau and took a morning walking tour of the old town.  We went to St. Stephen's Cathedral which boasts the title of "World's Largest Pipe Organ" with 17,000 pipes and 230 registers.  Passau's an easily walkable city at the confluence of the Danube, the Inn and Ilz rivers.  We sailed away in the early afternoon through the most picturesque, bucolic Bavarian landscape, dotted with small villages and the odd castle.  Floppy hats and Bellinis in hand, what a great way to rest up and enjoy the beautiful scenery.   By the way, shoe and bag shopping in Passau were great!