Passau

• Passau was our next stop and our last in Germany. The town lies on the Danube just short of its entrance into Austria. Luckily, as we set off to begin our tour, rain clouds were breaking up:
  

  

  The prominent structure near the center of the photo above is the parish church of St. Paul. Just to its right, two of the domes on the Cathedral of St. Stephen peek above the rooftops. At the far left (almost off the picture) is the old Town Hall.
  
  The grand finale of our morning walk was to be an organ concert in St. Stephen. The size of this Cathedral is apparent in the photo below, taken later in the day:
  

  

  St. Stephen’s is more than 100 yards in length. A reader might wonder why this relatively small town has such a large church. The size of the Passau diocese when the Cathedral was built is the reason. In 1693, the diocese encompassed a far greater area than it does today, extending well into Austria.
  
  Entering the church, it was obvious word had spread of the organ concert. We were not alone:
  

  

  The view above looks toward the altar of the Cathedral and the two that follow toward the organ in back:
  

  

  

  We were told that this is the largest cathedral organ in the world. In fact, there are five organs here connected by miles of cable to allow one organist to play all five. Not surprisingly, the sound is impressive.
  
  The Baroque style reigns here. While some might think it overdone, there is no question the interior is richly decorated:
  

  

  

  

  
  After lunch onboard Freya, we did our own unguided walk around Passau. Soon enough, we encountered the Klostergarten, once part of a monastery called St. Nikola. The garden’s modern incarnation is captured by this Internet photo:

  

  A sharp-eyed reader might discern a seesaw in the middle of the picture where we pleasantly whiled away some minutes. There are actually two such seesaws and the ladies outsmarted us gents by being first onboard:
  

  

  Four can play this game, though, as well as two --- and we did:
  

  

  

  Of such foolishness are memories made.
  
  Recess ended, we headed downhill, past St. Nikola Church, to the river and its pedestrian crossing. This, however, was not the Danube but the Inn River. The two join, along with a third waterway called the Ilz River, to the right of the town buildings below. (Soon enough, we would arrive at that promontory and walk along the Danube back to the Freya.)

  

  
  Heading across the Inn, below, the fortress “Veste Oberhaus” (on the hill behind St. Stephen’s) is partially visible from mid-span:
  

  

  This upper fortress was built in 1219 by Passau’s Prince-Bishops to control commerce along the rivers.
  
  On the opposite shore, we encountered part of another Roman fortress and, memorably, made a wrong turn here:
  

  

  After struggling uphill, a local resident pointed out we were headed away from Passau into Austria.
  
  Backtracking after this excellent exercise, we eventually found ourselves on the auto bridge to Passau. From that bridge, we had this fine view of the Jesuit Church and a riverside remnant of the medieval town wall (with conical roof):
  

  

  The bridge headed straight for the towers of St. Stephen’s --- good for another photo shoot:
  

  

  

  The promenade along the Inn River is another convenient backdrop for photos, attracting folks from all over:
  

  

  
  Before reaching the promontory, we passed the Pilgrimage Church “Mariahilf” (which means “Help us, Mary”), directly across the Inn:
  

  

  The approach to the church for pilgrims is unique: a covered staircase of 321 steps, leads from the suburb below to the top of the hill. At each step, pilgrims kneel and pray, a few taking days to reach the top. The rallying cry “Mariahilf” was heard most frequently during the 30-Years War (1618-1648) and during the Ottoman attack on Vienna in 1683.
  
  Rounding the promontory, we are again on the Danube. The Ilz River enters the Danube behind Jan:
  

  

  As we headed back to the Freya, we had a much better look at “Veste Oberhaus” across the river ...
  

  

  ... and the old Town Hall on our side:
  

  

  
  To mark our imminent entry into Austria the next day, the staff set up an Austrian buffet for us. We had the interesting experience of circling through the kitchen to pick up our meal and then enjoyed the talented play of two local musicians while dining.