Regensburg & Passau, Germany

After a little bit of overnight sailing from Vilshofen to Passau, we woke up with a full schedule planned.

We almost opted out of the bus ride to Regensburg, knowing we would have many more, but I'm so glad we decided to go last minute! It might have been my favorite stop on the whole trip!

After an hour and half bus ride, we arrived in Regensburg for a walking tour & time to explore on our own!

I LOVED this stop, with all the quaint pastel colored buildings lining the river.

I suppose only in Germany, the land of beer, will you find a riverside beer garden attached to a hospital!

We were taken to the David & Goliath mural on the Goliathhaus: The mural is said to symbolize Regensburg’s own defiance against greater powers, echoing the city’s independent spirit within the Holy Roman Empire.

When we passed by the Old Town Hall, we saw a traditional small wedding reception outside!

 

We went to the main square, called Haidplatz, which is a popular place for festivals and celebrations in the town.

The Gothic church of St. Petersburg Cathedral was built in the 1300's and is an iconic landmark in Regensburg with rich history as well.

We found ourselves going inside of one of the MANY churches on this trip... All which were beautiful!

Brian looked up the highest rated places to eat in everywhere we went, and Stella Eiscafe came up as the best spot for a sweet treat in Regensburg. We had the most amazing nutella & strawberry crepe that ended up being my all-time favorite treat on this trip!

One more view of the streets before we left to bus back to Passau for some more exploring!

Since we spent the morning in Regensburg, and the ship was going to be leaving the dock that evening, we took some time that afternoon to head right out and see a few sights in Passau. We walked by the Glass Museum in the Old Town square, and saw the Old Town Hall which showed historical flood level markings etched into its wall.

Our city tour would not be complete without seeing another church, and this one is St Stephen's Cathedral, from the 1600s. It was absolutely beautiful inside!

Shopping along the way was so much fun, especially when we passed by shops selling the traditional lederhosen outfits worn in Germany!

I also wanted to act like a local and check out a grocery store. It was pretty tiny, but things were beautifully displayed, with some foods we've never seen. Brian said it just looked like a grocery store, but he indulged my curiosity.

Passau is known as "the city where three rivers meet", with water coming together from 3 different directions, but never mixing together. Before heading back to the ship, we went down to the furthest lookout point to see the famous spot, and it was so interesting to see the clear lines it creates! 

The views across the Inn river with water flowing from the Alps were beautiful!

One more view of the quaint town of Passau before boarding the ship and "sailing" down the river to reposition the boat. 

Everyone grabbed a cocktail and went up to the sky deck to mingle and enjoy our 10 minutes of "sailing" (which was really just BACKING UP the boat to reposition it at another dock). With the limited amount of sailing we were doing on this trip, no one wanted to miss a minute of it!

After the thrilling "backing up ride", we headed in for dinner, and decided to turn in for an early night, as we had a busy day planned starting bright and early!