“Travels to a Different Time” : 17June2007: Discovering Passau Germany

Nothing like a good sleep to give a fresher perspective on life. Up at 07:30 feeling more like a human being. Jet lag is the bane of travellers. A bit slow but not half dead. Had showers all round and that felt so good! Breakfast in the hotel in a cute and comfortable country dining room. Full of low talkers. American style buffet with scrambled eggs and cold cuts galore, cheese, yogurt and even green tea. A delicious repast. Rearranged the car from its claustrophobic parking space so exiting tomorrow on our trip to Wurzburg would be stress reduced. After that arrangement met Andrew and Fotini in the lobby and off the happy tourists went to discover Passau which is a gorgeous little town full of small winding streets the town being nestled between the Donau and Inns Rivers. Started at St. Stephan Church a very lavish church with its bare pillars representing boring human life with angels and saints near the ceiling acting as intermediaries between God and humans. Many tour groups including elderly polyester suited Americans. Next was the Neue Bischofrsidendz, The New Bishops Residence with a spectacular staircase with engraved marble throughout. The Altes Rathaus was the townhall with meeting rooms with opulent wood and gilded ceilings. Then the Veste Oberhaus a former castle turned museum with the history of Passau once a fiefdom of bishops that saw their power gradually erode. Took a break at Café Burg outside the Oberhaus where I had a Weiss Bier (wheat beer) with notes of cinnamon and cloves. Not a fan. Fotini and Andrew had eiskafe. We crossed the bridge and walked along the Inn River to the Schaiblingstram Tower built in 1841. There were many men drinking beer in the park.