Tuesday, November 11, 2008

On Tuesday, some passengers opted to take an all-day bus detour to Salzburg, but Mike and I chose to stay with the Amacello. In the morning, a local guide, Ingrid, took us on a walking tour of the town, talking about the history of the region and the importance of the salt trade along the Danube. Passau lies at the confluence of three rivers and therefore was a highly prized location from which royalty and the Church could collect fees from traders using the river. At midday, we left the dock and continued downriver for our evening rendezvous with the Salzburg group, whose bus caught up with us at our next stop, Linz.

Our enthusiastic guide to Passau, Ingrid	Swans were numerous all along the Danube	An old storehouse for salt
Narrow medieval lanes	Arches help hold up the buildings	The captain easing us away from the dock
Nice view from the sundeck even on a cloudy day	River Ilz (on right) entering the Danube	River Inn joining Danube from the left
Goodbye, Passau!	Captain at the helm, and Peter talking again	Looking ahead along the misty river