Danube River Cruise #45: Arrival in Engelhartszell, Austria

Rob and Tom walking Engelhartszell, Germany

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.  

a big house in Englehartszell, Germany

 
NEXT: Finally, Passau, Germany!