Welcome to the final blog of the Danube River Viking Cruise! We took this great 5 country, 10 day cruise in May 2019 and had an amazing time. In fact, we've filled 56 blogs about it, and hope they've inspired you to take the same river cruise. In addition to the amazing things we saw and experienced, and the wonderful crew and treatment on the Viking River Cruise ship, we met some really special people who we befriended. This final blog of the trip will introduce you to them!
1)
Debbie and Hans from Canada- We got to celebrate their 50th wedding
anniversary on the ship (I heard about it and tipped off the crew that
led to a special dessert and a crew serenade). We loved spending time
with them and so glad we're connected through Facebook!
Mary
Margaret and Don from Georgia
2)Chris and Linda from England - Chris has a wacky sense of humor and
Linda is wonderful (and patient!). They both brought us a lot of
laughs! One evening, Chris took a bunch of napkin rings and brought them to Don and Mary Margaret's cabin - knocked on the door and quickly dropped them in Mary's hand and he ran off laughing! Glad to be connected through Facebook, too.
Rob, Nikoli and Tom
3) Mary
Margaret and Don from Georgia- We spent a lot of time together and
enjoyed great conversations, laughs and toured some of the places. We also keep up through Facebook.
We can't wait to see all of our new friends again!
Rob, Tommy and Tom
4)
The CREW- There were 2 special waiters who totally spoiled us- Tommy
and Nikoli. We always sat in their section. They truly were the best of
the best.
As we near the end of our Danube River Cruise, we're still in the final city of the tour: Passau, Germany. One thing we noticed was businesses were color coded. We also visited the "deadly garden" and saw a bizarre face sculpture. Today you'll learn about all of those things in the blog>>>
THE GARDEN OF DEATH - As you walk up from one of the rivers to the elevated street level (where St. Stephen's is located), you'll find a beautiful garden. We were surprised to learn that this garden was planted over a mass grave of bubonic plague victims!
The bizarre face
WHAT WAS THE BUBONIC PLAGUE? - The Black Death was also called the bubonic plague, It was caused by Yersinia pestis, a flea-borne bacterial disease of rodents jumped to humans. After people vomited blood they died within three days.
THE BIZARRE FACE- To the left of St. Stephen's church (if you're facing it, pun intended) is a sculpture of a giant and ancient face. No one knows what happened to the rest of the sculpture, but the face was discovered intact, so it was preserved and propped up across from the church. The face is a remnant of what is believed to have been a full statue that dates to around 1400.
COLOR CODED BUILDINGS - In the old town, they were pretty organized in the middle ages. That holds true today, too, because different types of businesses are color coded. Here's how they break down: 1) Pink - breads or food stuffs 2) Red - butcher shop 3) Green - pharmacy or doctor's office 4) Yellow - supermarkets - It's really pretty clever when you think about it! Just like I always think Dunkin' Donuts whenever I see orange and pink - but alas, there were no Dunkin' Donuts in Passau. NEXT: A True Highlight: The Dachshund Museum!
In today's blog about Passau, Germany we're going to show you St. Stephen's big organ. Now, keep it clean. It's actually a pipe organ, and it's huge! In this blog we'll tell you who St. Stephen was, why he was stoned (with actual rocks), a brief concert and church "onions"! Read on! ABOUT ST. STEPHEN'S CHURCH- St. Stephen's Cathedral is a baroque church in Passau, Germany. Since 730, there have been many churches built on the site of the
current cathedral. The current church, a baroque building around 100
meters (328 ft) long, was built from 1668 to 1693 after a fire in 1662
destroyed its predecessor, of which only the late gothic eastern side remains. The cathedral's overall plan was made by Carlo Lurago, its interior decoration by Giovanni Battista Carlone, and its frescos by Carpoforo Tencalla.
St. Stephen's Cathedral- Stonig of St Stephen statue
door handles
WE BRIEFLY ATTENDED THE
ORGAN CONCERT - The organ concert is a big deal in the church, and it
seems that every tourist wants to hear it. So, we went along, too. Although Tom plays the piano, neither one of us are big fans of church organs, and after about 10 minutes we left. The organist was talented, but it sounded like a funeral dirge to us.
HOW BIG IS THE ORGAN? -According to the website AtlasObscura.com, the organ at St. Stephen’s took shape gradually over the course of
centuries. The contemporary version consists of five separate organs in
varying tonal styles amounting to 17,774 pipes, 223 registers, and four
chimes. Each portion of the organ was built separately, possesses its
own unique tone, and can be played as a standalone instrument by way of
its own console.
St Stephen's Nave
St. Stephen's Pulpit
WHO WAS ST. STEPHEN & WHY STONED TO DEATH? Accused of blasphemy at
his trial, he made a long speech denouncing the Jewish authorities who
were sitting in judgment on him and was then stoned to death. His
martyrdom was witnessed by Saul of Tarsus, a Pharisee who would later
become a follower of Jesus and known as Paul the Apostle. STATUE: STONING OF ST. STEPHEN - There's a statue in the church that depicts the stoning of St. Stephen. The martyrdom of Saint Stephen is recounted in Acts 7 of the bible. This young deacon in the Christian community of Jerusalem was sentenced to death by stoning.
THE 2 CHURCH ONION DOMES - An onion dome is a dome whose shape resembles an onion and is usually associated with Russian architectural style.
St Stephens from a distance
There are 2 of them on St. Stephen's Church.
HIGHEST POINT - The church was built on the highest point in the city of Passau, Germany, to ensure it would never be flooded (like a good portion of the town below).
ornate lockset on the doors
FAST FACT - "Holy Water" is the local name for German beer.
NEXT: Color-coded signs, and a deadly flower garden
In today's blog about Passau, Germany, we'll tell you about an ancient fortress atop a hill that overlooks the city of Passau. Although we didn't get to walk up to it, we did learn a little about it. In this blog, you'll learn about it an, the weird symbol on it and odd fact about the windows. WHAT IS THE VESTE OBERHAUS? -Veste Oberhaus is a fortress that was founded in 1219 and, for
most of its time, served as the stronghold of the Bishop of Passau,
Germany. It is currently the site of a museum, a youth hostel, and a
restaurant, as well as an open-air theatre dating to 1934.
WHAT'S INSIDE? - Archaeological finds from ancient times, medieval weapons and armor, and Gothic panel paintings.In the heart of the castle, the chapel of St. George has a unique series
of frescoes illustrating the legend of Saint George himself.
WHAT'S THE WEIRD NUMBER ON IT? - One of the things that struck us was the odd number on the outside of one of the towers. It looked like a 1, and omega symbol and 9 9. It turns out that weird "omega-looking symbol" means "one-half of the number 8, or 4." - Thus, the date on the castle is 1499.
WHAT'S ODD ABOUT THE WINDOWS? - Some of the windows on the castle are not really windows. They're painted on the stone to give the appearance of windows! The reason for that is because the architect wanted to ensure that everything was symmetrical, but at the time the castle was built, there was a "Window Tax." People were taxed for every window they had in their homes, so to reduce the tax and maintain symmetry, people painted windows on the walls.
OVERLOOKING RIVERS - From the
lookout point of Batterie Linde, you can see old town and the confluence of the Danube, the Inn and the Ilz rivers.
In today's blog about our May 2019 trip up the Danube River on a beautiful Viking Cruise ship, we'll tell you why we never got to the last stop and wound up in Engelhartszell, Austria! We'll also share some info about what this quaint little Austria town is about.
the Abbey
WHY DID WE DOCK THERE? The Danube was experiencing flooding from
constant heavy rains in western Europe. We were supposed to dock in
Passau, our final stop. However, because the river was so high and
swollen, the Viking River Cruise ship could not get under the bridge to
get to Passau! So, Englehartszell was a 30 minute bus ride to the city
of Passau, Germany - our last stop!
ABOUT ENGLEHARTSZELL-
In 1293 the market town of Engelhartszell, founded by the famous Bishop
Wernhard von Prabach from Passau ("Cella Angelorum" means angel´s
monastery). There are only 998 residents!! It's situated along the
Danube River, of course, which is why the ship docked there.
THINGS WE NOTICED - This was a very, very small town, and the first thing we noticed was a large dog park, but no dogs in it! As we walked around this town of 998 people, we noticed a LOT of fences around every property and wondered how such a small town could have privacy issues. There was also a church, gas station and one restaurant. We did notice that a lot of the homes seemed very expensive and thought wealthy people lived there.
Today's blog is the last in the series exploring the beautiful Czech Republic city of Cesky Krumlov as we stopped at what turned out to be a wonderful restaurant with a great view. We also learned about some flood history of this town, which is built along a river.
ONE THING TO IGNORE -
The tour guide kept touting that Ivanka Trump was from there.
Apparently they're insulated from the idiocy happening in the U.S. by
her ex.
Inside Papa's Restaurant
PAPA'S RESTAURANT - We stopped for lunch at a place called Papa's. It's located at Latrán 13, 381 01 Český Krumlov, Czechia. The
restaurant had a nice patio out back, which provided a beautiful
overlook of the Vlatava River. As we enjoyed a tasty lunch, the views
were spectacular, and included the Cesky Krumlov Castle and the old
town. The
food included international cuisine - steaks, home-made pasta, salads,
ribs, wings, the Finest Czech and European wines. The website if you
go: https://www.papas.cz/
VLTAVA RIVER FLOODING - We learned that the river some times flooded as high as 20 feet over it's banks, submerging part of the city.
HISTORIC FLOODING IN CESKY KRUMLOV OF VTLAVA RIVER: Here's
a video of flooding that occurred in 2013 (with a view of the castle we
saw from the restaurant): Shot from the main bridge in Cesky Krumlov,
Czech Republic, on June 2nd, 2013. The terraces on the left side have
been damaged. On the right side, the restaurant tables by the river's
edge are completely gone. Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ot0KdrYMb1k&feature=youtu.be
Bearkeeper Jan Černý with Hubert in the bear moat at Český Krumlov Castle
Today's blog continues to explore the city of Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic, and we'll tell you abour their Bear Mascot! This beautiful city was one of the stops along the Viking Cruise on the Danube River. The Bear became a royal symbol in the Cesky Krumlov Castle, and not only are bear images on many things, but there's also a live bear still living in the castle's former moat. Today we'll explain all of those things!
We did get a quick glimpse of one of the bears as we walked over a bridgespanning the dry moat (now bear haven) leading from the castle to the town.
Bears on shutters
ACTUAL BEARS AT THE CASTLE - When Wilhelm von
Rosenberg, lived in the castle in the latter half of the 16th
century, notes reveal he was the first to keep a bear. However, it's not
clear where the bear was kept until 1707 when records indicate 4 bears
were housed in the once-moat. Bears lived there to the 1790s. However,
from 1800 to about 1850 there's no record of bears at the castle. It
was not until 1857 that Karl zu Schwarzenberg of
the OrlÃk family line acquired a pair of bears from Transylvania. Of
course, they hired a "bear-keeper." WHY BEARS? - The Rosenberg family legend held that the Rosenbergs were
related to the noble Italian family of Orsini. "Orsa" means she-bear in
Italian, and it is this animal motif which especially the last Rosenberg
rulers used to demonstrate their relationship with the house of Orsini.
They used the motif in their coat-of-arms, in which two bears are shown
as shield-bearers.
BEAR IMAGES THROUGHOUT THE CASTLE - According to the Cesky Krumlov Castle Website, "In many places, the Český Krumlov Castle is decorated with ostentatious coats-of-arms of the lords of Rosenberg bearing the sign of the five-petalled rose in a silver field and bears as the shield-bearers."
THERE IS A BEAR FESTIVAL AT THE CASTLE EACH YEAR! - The bear festivals are held regularly, and as the bearkeeper Jan
ÄŒerný has put it, they are to contribute to people´s respect for
bears because these graceful animals deserve more attention all
year round and not only on the occasion of the festivals. For this
reason, the bearkeeper Jan Černý regularly gives talks in schools
and kindergartens about bearkeeping at the Český Krumlov
Castle. For information: http://www.castle.ckrumlov.cz/docs/en/zamek_1nadvori_moslav.xml
NEXT: Some Little Things We Heard About the Town, and aa Restaurant With a View
Picking up from yesterday's blog, after we docked in Linz, Austria, we took a 90 minute bus ride to the Czech Republic and headed to the beautiful city of Český Krumlov.Today, you'll learn about the Czech Republic and Cesky Krumlov! Read on
HISTORY - The Czech Republic used to be Czechloslovakia. Before 1918 the Czech Republic had been under the rule of the Habsburg family for 500 years and always part of the Hungarian kingdom. During that rule, the region consisted
of Bohemia and Moravia, often called the Czech Lands, in the west, and
Slovakia, a part of Hungary, in the east.
In 1918 it became Czechoslovakia at the end of World War I, following the collapse
of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
From 1928 and 1940, Czechoslovakia was divided into the four "lands" (Czech: "zemÄ›", Slovak: "krajiny"); Bohemia, Moravia-Silesia, Slovakia and Carpathian Ruthenia.
In 1992/1993 Czech and Slovakia separated and became 2 separate countries.
View of Cesky Krumlov
MONEY, LANGUAGE AND SPORTS: The Czech crown is the currency, Czech is the language and different from speaking Slovak, and the sport is Ice Hockey. ODD FACT - There are no highways from Austria that go into the Czech Republic. The only highway from Austria ended at the border and turned into a 1 lane road in the Czech Republic.
THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE ! On our ride from Linz, Austria to Cesky Krumlov, we passed by a vertical stone marker that identified the continental divide. We learned that rainfall north of the marker goes north and south of the marker flows into the Mediterranean Sea.
View of Cesky Krumlov
View of Cesky Krumlov
ABOUT THE CITY - Český Krumlov is a city in the South Bohemia region of the Czech
Republic. It’s bisected by the Vltava River, and dominated by its
13th-century castle. The castle has Gothic, Renaissance and baroque
elements, a 27 acre (11-hectare) garden and an original 17th-century baroque
theater. There are panoramic views of the old town and the river from
the top of its round bell tower.
NEXT: The Castle, Royalty and Inspiration for Dracula!
The next stop on our Viking River cruise was the Czech Republic, but in order to get there,we had to dock at Linz, Austria on the Danube River. Linz has quite an interesting history. It was Friday, May 24th when we docked in Linz and learned a lot about the city during the 90 minute bus ride to get to the beautiful little city of Český Krumlov. Today, we'll explore Linz, because there's a lot to know about its most famous resident and ties to World War 2! Read on!
Cruise ships on the Danube
ABOUT LINZ- Linz was the most important Roman harbor settlement in 1 AD. The city was founded by the Romans, who called it Lentia.The name Linz was first recorded in AD 799. It became an industrial city and is the home of a steel plant today. There are 271,000 residents, and 100,000 more come into town to work each day.
Johannes Kepler
MOST FAMOUS RESIDENT- Astronomer and mathematician Johannes Kepler. He taught mathematics in the city for several years. He discovered, on 15 May 1618, the distance-cubed-over-time-squared — or 'third' — law of planetary motion. The local public university, Johannes Kepler University Linz, is named after him.
KEPLER'S LAWS - In astronomy, Kepler's laws of planetary motion are three scientific laws describing the motion of planets around the Sun. The orbit of a planet is an ellipse with the Sun at one of the two foci. A line segment joining a planet and the Sun sweeps out equal areas during equal intervals of time. HITLER WAS HERE TWICE- Adolf Hitler was born in Braunau am Inn (Austrian town near the German border) and moved to Linz during his childhood. Hitler spent most of his youth in the Linz area, from 1898 until 1907, when he left for Vienna. Hitler considered Linz to be his hometown, and envisioned extensive architectural schemes for it – including a massive new Fuhrermuseum to house his collection of looted art – wanting it to become the main cultural centre of the Third Reich, and to eclipse Vienna, a city he hated. In order to make the city economically vibrant, Hitler initiated a major industrialization of Linz shortly before, and during, the Second World War. The city was badly damaged during World War II TODAY'S ATTRACTIONS - Baroque buildings, including Old Town Hall (Altes Rathaus) and the old cathedral or Alter Dom, ring Hauptplatz, the old town’s main square. The riverside Lentos Kunstmuseum Linz has a major modern art collection. Across the river, the striking Ars Electronica Center focuses on society, technology and life in the future. FAST FACTS - In 2009 Linz, together with the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, was chosen as the European Capital of Culture. Since 1 December 2014 Linz is a member of the UNESCO Creative Cities (UCCN) network as a City of Media Arts.
On the Viking Cruise, in every country's port, they have a standard American food menu and a menu of local favorites. It's really cool. In today's blog we'll tell you about an Austrian meal we enjoyed as we departed Austria for the next port.
pumpkin encrusted chicken
AUSTRIAN FOOD IS TASTY! The Austrian dinner consisted of bread dumplings, jumbo pretzels (Tom's favorite), pumpkin encrusted chicken, sauerkraut, and potato salad. Of course, the wine never stopped flowing either, so that helped. :) The meal was delicious !
A giant pretzel before dinner
WHAT IS PUMPKIN CHICKEN? - It's called "Backhendl" and it's one of the most important dishes of Styrian cuisine (Styria is an Austrian state). It’s chicken pieces coated in flour, dipped in beaten egg and coated in breadcrumbs and crushed pumpkin seeds and pumpkin seed oil to flavor. NEXT: Arrival in the Czech Republic!
steel support structure holding up the fresco over the monumental stair.
In this final blog Danube Cruise Blog about Krems, Austria's Gottweig Abbey, we'll climb into the attic and tell you about the architecture (well, because Tom is an architect). We'll tell you about the funny situation with the guide, Fresco support, show you ancient tiles and tell you what a Terracotta roof means. Read on!
FUNNY - After the tour guide finished giving the general tour of about 40 people, he asked (reluctantly) if anyone had purchased tickets for the attic tour. Of course, we did, and we convinced our friends Mary Margaret and Don to accompany us, so there were 4 of us. I could almost sense a heavy sigh from the tour guide.. FRESCO SUPPORT - In a previous blog we showed you the giant Fresco over a grand stair case. Well, in the attic we saw the steel support structure holding up that fresco ! It was really long and impressive. >terracotta roof tiles IN THE ATTIC - There was a narrow set of wooden planks that allowed people to walk the periphery of the attic, so we did. The number of beams in that attic holding up the ceiling below and keeping the roof on, was amazing.
UNESCO Steel beams
UNESCO COMMISSIONED STEEL - When the Abbey became a UNESCO world site, the organization paid for steel beams to better support the 300 year old (rebuilt) abbey attic. ANCIENT TILES - Terracotta can last a long time on a roof. In the attic, there was an easel displaing the original 300 year old terra cotta roof tiles!
A view from the attic
WHAT ARE TERRACOTTA ROOF TILES? - Terracotta, which literally means 'baked earth' in Italian, is a type of clay-based ceramic which is used to create roof tiles. Tiles made from terracotta are a very commonly used roofing material in Australia and around the world, and they've been widely used on roofs for a very long time.;
In the last blog about our May vacation Viking River Cruise on the Danube, we were in Vienna,
Austria. Once we saw the city we returned to the ship and cruised
overnight north on the Danube to the next stop, Krems, Austria. Today
we'll tell you about Krems and its famous wine making! We visited there
on Thursday, May 23, 2019 and the weather was awful! It was 47 degrees
Fahrenheit with a wind-swept rain, and wind chills in the upper 30s.
Not a nice day for seeing vineyards, so we went indoors, but we'll tell
you about that in the next blog. Now, on to the wine...
A view of the Wachau Valley and some vineyards
ABOUT KREMS - Krems, actually named "Krems an der Donau" is a town of 23,992 residents. It is located in the federal state of Lower Austria. It is the fifth-largest city of Lower Austria and is approximately 44 miles (70 km) west of Vienna. Krems is both a municipality and a district. It's a small university town at the eastern end of the Danube's Wachau Valley and surrounded by vineyards! MORE IMPORTANT THAN VIENNA IN 12th CENTURY- During the 12th century, Krems was the place for the iron, grain, salt and wine trade.
Driving through rainy Wachua Valley- Abbey in the distance
FAMOUS FOR WINE- Krems and the Wachau Valley are famous for the best Riesling and Veltliner wines in the world. In 2019, there were 306 known wineries in the Wachau Valley. You can learn about them and the wines from this website: NOT WORKING IN WINERIES COULD COST A BODY PART (in 11th century) - By the 11th and 12th centuries, Vienna and Krems were exporting wine all over Europe. Wine production was so important that the penalty for stealing grapes was having your ears lopped off. If you didn’t help out during the grape harvest, you risked having your hands chopped off too. History does not record how many ear-less and hand-less people were wandering around Austria during the early middle ages, according to an article in Thailand's Pattayamail newspaper:
Church in the Valley from atop a hill where the Abbey sat
WINERIES DATE BACK TO 5TH CENTURY - Remnants of wine vessels have been found that date back to the fifth century BC. Viticulture thrived under the Romans and amazingly they grew at least one grape variety that is still cultivated today – Grüner Veltliner. FAST FACT - the German word winzer means a vine grower.
LARGEST WINE MAKER IN AUSTRIA - Niederösterreich is the home of Winzer Krems (VINT-ser Kremz), Austria’s largest wine producer. It’s a cooperative made up of over 1,500 grape growers located in and around the town of Krems which has a winemaking history that dates back more than two thousand years. The entire Winzer Krems harvest is carried out by hand.
OUR WINE TASTING - The Abbey we visited had a "wine tasting" opportunity at the end of the tour and Tom tried the Reisling. He doesn't like sweet wine, so he wasn't big on it. I like the sweet stuff. :)
View of the Valley
NEXT: Visiting the Gottweig Benedictine Abbey on a Rainswept Hill
I'm a simple guy who enjoys the simple things in life, especially our dogs. I volunteer for dog rescues, enjoy exercising, blogging, politics, helping friends and neighbors, participating in ghost investigations, coffee, weather, superheroes, comic books, mystery novels, traveling, 70s and 80s music, classic country music,writing books on ghosts and spirits, cooking simply and keeping in shape. You'll find tidbits of all of these things on this blog and more. EMAIL me at Rgutro@gmail.com - Rob
In today's blog about Passau, Germany we're going to show you St. Stephen's big organ. Now, keep it clean. It's actually a pipe organ, and it's huge! 
ABOUT ENGLEHARTSZELL-
In 1293 the market town of Engelhartszell, founded by the famous Bishop
Wernhard von Prabach from Passau ("Cella Angelorum" means angel´s
monastery). There are only 998 residents!! It's situated along the
Danube River, of course, which is why the ship docked there.
WHY BEARS? - The Rosenberg family legend held that the Rosenbergs were
related to the noble Italian family of Orsini. "Orsa" means she-bear in
Italian, and it is this animal motif which especially the last Rosenberg
rulers used to demonstrate their relationship with the house of Orsini.
They used the motif in their coat-of-arms, in which two bears are shown
as shield-bearers.
BEAR IMAGES THROUGHOUT THE CASTLE - According to the Cesky Krumlov Castle Website, "In many places, the Český Krumlov Castle is decorated with ostentatious coats-of-arms of the lords of Rosenberg bearing the sign of the five-petalled rose in a silver field and bears as the shield-bearers." 
KEPLER'S LAWS - In astronomy, Kepler's laws of planetary motion are three scientific laws describing the motion of planets around the Sun. The orbit of a planet is an ellipse with the Sun at one of the two foci. A line segment joining a planet and the Sun sweeps out equal areas during equal intervals of time.
FUNNY - After the tour guide finished giving the general tour of about 40 people, he asked (reluctantly) if anyone had purchased tickets for the attic tour. Of course, we did, and we convinced our friends Mary Margaret and Don to accompany us, so there were 4 of us. I could almost sense a heavy sigh from the tour guide..
