Passau


After lunch we had our walking tour of Passau. The weather isn't much warmer, about 8C with a wind off the rivers. Passau is at the confluence of 3 rivers, the Danube, the Inn and the Ilz. The Inn River, coming from the Alps is the one the causes flooding in Passau quite frequently. When we were standing beside the Inn River we could see hundreds of swallows swooping over the river. I walked down to the point where the Danube and the Inn meet, and the swallows were only flying over the Inn!
Passau has always been a wealthy town, first from trading in salt, then pilgrims coming to Mariahilf Church. It's a very pretty town, with ornate buildings in Italian style. It's dominated by the castle above the Danube. There are lots of small winding streets, including one called Hollgasse or Hell. St Stephens Cathedral in the center of town has fantastic baroque frescoes, and the worlds largest cathedral organ.
Luckily we had a great guide. Even the man wearing shorts, and the lady wearing sandals stayed till the end of the tour!
Back at the River Princess Diane and I treated ourselves to an Irish coffee.





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