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Passau

 

Guten Abend!

It was a cloudy, but dry day, and a good day to make another excursion. This time I went to the southern Bavarian city of Passau, located on the confluence of three rivers and situated on the Austrian border. It took 1 1/2 hour by train to get there. 

I've been in German mode all day, having first spent 2 1/2 hours in German class, then walking straight to the Bahnhof to catch my train at 12:10. In Passau I spoke German whenever I needed directions or purchased some food, and all signage and all announcements on the train were in German, and now that I'm back home, I am having to translate my thoughts from German into English. I really do hope I can find a use for it once I'm back in the US. 

This trip included a transfer to another train, which I made flawlessly, with the help of a new app someone in German class told me about. I'm rather pleased with myself on that one, being otherwise 'navigationally challenged'. 

The main part of Passau is triangular-shaped, and the apex of the triangle is where 3 rivers unite--the Danube, the Inn, and the Itz Rivers. Usually there is a dramatic difference in the color of the waters at this point, and in this photo it is barely discernable. I think the lighting on this cloudy day obscured it for the most part, but it is still somewhat visible here. the water on the left is from the Danube, on which Regensburg lies at its most northern point. Passau is downstream from Regensburg. In the distance is Austria.

I lifted this photo from Wikipedia, and it shows the peninsula of Passau and the main two rivers. I really got in my steps today, with nearly 3 hours of walking. The Bahnhof is near the farthest bridge in the photo, and I walked from there and back again. 

Besides seeing the confluence of the three rivers at the end of the peninsula, I also wanted to see St. Stephen's Cathedral, a baroque church dating from 1688. Churches have been located on this site since 730, but this particular one is 'newer', being only 336 years old. It also boasts the largest pipe organ outside the US, but unfortunately, the part of the church it's in is being reconstructed. 

I am getting to see a lot of beautiful cathedrals on this trip to Germany, which is something I've always wanted to do, especially since taking art history in college. 

I didn't get to visit the Veste Oberhaus, which sits atop a hill across the Danube from the main city. It was a fortress, built in 1219 and served as a stronghold for the Bishop of Passau. Today it's a museum, youth hostel, and a restaurant. 

The trains were within minutes of their schedules today in both directions. Germans like to complain about their trains, and seem to think they all run late. So far, my experience has been good, and I have nothing to complain about. They have been having a day-long strike about every week, though. Their union is making some big demands, and I don't know whether they are justified or not. But I think all these strikes are beginning to get on commuters' nerves, since so many Germans depend on public transportation. 

Excursions are so much fun, and now that the weather is not so chilly, I will be doing some more. There are several locations just within an hour's train ride I plan to try to see. 

This is the upper level of a double-decker train that I transferred to partway though the trip to Passau. It filled up a bit more as we went along. I was lucky and managed to sit in the seats in the direction we were moving. These trains do a 'push-me/pull-you' job, in that at the end of the line, they just travel in the opposite direction. Unless you see the train actually pull in, you can't be certain which direction it's going to move in.

I'm thinking of another excursion for Friday, depending on the weather. Stay tuned...

Auf Wiedersehen



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