We are tied up alongside near the downtown of Passau in southern Bavaria. The church bells calling the faithful to mass just finished ringing, the bell ringers got their exercise this morning.
This town offers the classic river cruising experience. We are literally within easy walking distance of downtown. Unfortunately nothing is open as it is Sunday. Germans aren’t so fussy about separating church and state as we are.
The weather continues cool, no surprise. Europe is farther north than Americans imagine it to be. Germany is roughly as far north as Nova Scotia. Passau, where we are now, is farther north than Halifax but not so far north as St. John’s, Newfoundland.
We are off the Main Canal and on the upper Danube River. I suppose we are finished with locks, of which the canal has aplenty.
The other DrC says she feels like she has a cold, she’s coughing. Bummer, as closely as we will be wedged together over the next week, it will be a miracle if I don’t catch it. Just this morning I notice face masks have started appearing on people who haven’t worn one for the past week, which probably means the dreaded “ship’s cold” is making the rounds.
When we leave here this evening it appears we transit almost immediately into Austria, of Sound of Music and Third Man fame. We are approximately 2/3 the way through this river cruise, If I’m correct we fly out of Budapest on Friday, change planes in Paris, and then fly nonstop to Salt Lake City. Chasing the sun around the planet, our Friday will last considerably longer than 24 hours.
