Passau and the Pep Band

We arrived at the dock in Passau, Germany about 9:00 AM. We could tell just from our views off the ship that it was going to be lovely and charming.   Our tour started shortly and we were treated to a very nice walking tour of the city.   The large cathedral at the right is another named after our friend St. Stephen.    It has that same Baroque architectural style that we have seen so much.    Here is another quiz for all of you.   The locals have a name for the top.   What do you think it is?  

 We were able to go inside and actually could have stayed for Mass, but decided we would not get much out of the German.  

It was very different on the inside from the cathedrals we had seen so far.   Much more light and not so much gold.   Quite impressive.

The building at the right is the town hall which is called the "Rathaus"  in German.   It was so lovely.   Cream color with green accents.   It is hard to see, but on the side there were five paintings depicting important in the history of Passau.
There have been people living here for centuries.   The first diocese was founded here in 739.    Passau has always been an important city as it lies at the confluence of three rivers.   It was also the medieval center for the salt trade.

As all of you who live in river communities know, the danger of flooding is always there.   Passau has been hit with many, many floods.   In fact our guide told us they plan on flooding several times each year.   At the left you can see Bob standing next to some flooding marks which are on the side of the Town Hall.   The second mark from the top was just last summer.   The water was up to the second story in most buildings in the old center city.   It was amazing that we saw very little evidence on most of the buildings.   There were a few areas where we could see the water marks, but most everything else had been totally cleaned up.   Apparently the locals have flood clean-up down to a science.

Clearly, one of the most beautiful buildings we saw today is the one at the right.   It is called the Veste Oberhaus.   It was a fortress built in the 13th century and overlooks the 3 rivers and the city of Passau.   We so hoped to be able to walk up to it, but were informed our ship had to leave port early because of low water levels further along on our cruise.   It was disappointing to us, but we were glad to get a nice picture of it anyway.

Got back to our room to find this fella waiting for us.

Just have to take a minute to brag a little about grandson Evan.   Hard for us to believe he will be a freshman at Preble High School this fall.   He is going to have a rocky start to his year as there was a bad fire at his school 3 weeks ago and the start of classes has been delayed until Sept. 15.   Guess it could have been worse, but it surely has complicated his registration and orientation.   Were very proud that he has hung in there with his drum and will be playing with the band.   They actually had their first football game last week and here he is strutting his stuff.   The team lost the football game, but way to go Evan.   We're very proud of you.

Tomorrow brings us to Regensburg, Germany.   Supposed to be one of the most beautifully preserved Medieval cities in Germany.

Love and hugs to all,

Herr and Frau Noll