Day 13 Monday October 30

I could share 2 posts for today. Post one, our trip to Passau. Post two, our broken ship story. I am opting for post one and we will just have to share our broken ship story in person. A short note.. We went through at least 6 different options of how we were going to proceed as the day progressed.
Okay. We were bussed to Passau in the morning. Went on our usual walking historical tour with our cheery guide and ended at the St. Stephen's cathedral. Here we were treated to an organ concert played on the largest pipe organ in a cathedral ( not a church) in the world. It had 5 organs played by one console with close to 18,000 pipes. Spent the cold afternoon shopping and in the afternoon, a coffee house to get warm. Returning to our buses in order to return to the boat, we encountered another delay and we set out for dinner on our own. ( They had provided us with euros for lunch earlier and now for dinner) We finally made it back on our boat and in our rooms by 10:30. I was exhausted. Passau was a lovely place to hsang out though.

Day 12 Sunday October 29

Don't let the sun in the pictures below fool you. During the morning sail, it was cold, raining sidewise and very windy. The weather report said the rain would stop by the afternoon. It seemed doubtful, but indeed the sun came out and the drops ended. However the cold brisk wind remained. After lunch we arrived in Regensburg, a delightful place. It has some of the oldest restored buildings including some from the days of the Romans. During the war they  incurred little damage. Because it was Sunday, few shops were open, but again we enjoyed a historical , very cold, walk through town which included a church, the town hall and the oldest sausage kitchen in Europe. The picture of the cars in the garage. Our tour guide lives in Regensburg.  In her 4 apt.unit there is a rare garage which holds 4 cars. Upper deck and lower.

Day 11 Saturday October 28

After a long cruise, we ended up in Nuremberg today. We took a historical walking tour including the castle. ( We decided not to do the WW2 tour. ) We enjoyed some local ( finger size) sausages at a local cafe with pretzels. Yummmm. You were seated like at a Mo's. (seated with whomever had an open seat.) The old part of Nuremberg was 80% destroyed in 1945. Through the Marshall plan the buildings have been restored. Amazing. We really enjoyed one of the churches where inside they had pictures of the process along with thoughts/prayers for forgiveness, healing, etc. from the war. The pictures below are of the castle, the city and the food. The picture of Dennis by the statue....is a person dressed as a statue.

Day 10 Friday October 27

Today was a kick back day. We cruised the entire day and enjoyed watching the countryside and the various locks. We had a delightful dinner with some of our new  friends. We heard 2 marvelous lectures from visiting speakers on the building of the canals and German history (1945- present) We were able to see the galley and of course took naps. Very relaxing day. We will be ready to set out fresh tomorrow when we land in Nuremberg.

Day 9 Thursday October 26

Today was a day in Wurzburg. We started the day at the Resident building with a guided tour. Then we enjoyed strolling the gardens. They would not allow us to take pictures inside, but I am sending some of the outside. When we arrived it was still foggy so the pictures aren't the greatest. We also enjoyed a wine tasting event in their cellar. The rest of the morning we walked around the city and stopped for lunch at the " oldest" Italian restaurant in Germany. Luscious food. We returned to the ship, rested and then set out for a hike up the hill to the Marienburg fortress. After 183 steps plus inclines, in this mile walk we arrived. Whew. Burned off some calories with that endeavor. Tonight we are enjoying some German omppah band. The pictures include the residence gardens, the underground wine cellar, the city and the fortress (from the outside and the view of tbe city

plus the view of it at night)

Day 8 pictures

Day 8 Wednesday October 25

Today we an all day outing to Heidelberg. We toured the castle and rode the funicular down into town. Had a wonderful local lunch and wandered through the city. Heidelberg is also home to the oldest university in Germany and where Einstein was one of the professors. We did manage to avoid rain. Dennis and I explored several churches and cathedrals. In two of them a "teacher" was giving organ lessons. Didn't get to hear an entire piece, but we did get to enjoy the actual organ. Hmmmmm😊 The first picture is of the University's library and the other picture is of the castle. I can't seem to get my other pictures to load.😕