Hotel Konig Passau

Well, it's been a lonnngggg while.....here is a rundown of what I've been doing since London-

Took a weekend trip to visit girlfriends in Dublin. I love Ireland! Had a great time with my friends and their friends.

Flew from London to Berlin, stayed one night then went to Dresden to meet with my Great Grandmother's Niece's Granddaughter (got that?!?!?!). She was so good to me! Stayed with her in Dresden then went to Zwickau to stay with family and see some places where ...

We docked at Hofkirchen, not a planned stop but upriver from Passau. This was so the ship could get through the critical low water section quicker. We took buses back to Passau for the regular planned tours for the day while the ship went on ahead. Since the tour today was all walking Muriel stayed on board the ship. I joined up with our friends from Pittsburgh, Jack and Suzanne, so I would have company during the tour and four hours of free time we had in the ...

... Gewicht über 50 Pfund zu zahlen wären. Unser Koffer hatte 65 Pfund! Wir durften noch umpacken. Der Koffer mit den Souveniers und Schuhen hatten nämlich witzigerweise nur 33 Pfund. Ja, ich konnte es auch kaum glauben.

Wir haben dann also neben den Menschenmassen, die einchecken wollten angefangen, das Gepäck umzuräumen. Im Endeffekt musste ich mich doch noch auf einen Koffer drauf setzten, damit wir ihn zumachen konnten. Die nette Dame hat dann nicht mhr ...

... between 17,000 and 18,000 pipes.  What a great sound, Mac was able to put some of it on video although it wasn't allowed and he was tapped on the shoulder but managed to get most of it.  Back to the boat for lunch and then much to the amusement of Mac and Kevin, Lois and I decided to go on a 3 hour bike ride along the river Inn (no we don't have any photos to upload but Mac has 45 seconds of Video at the start ...........).  We rode all the way to ...

A noticeably warmer night which I overdressed for. No need for the sleeping bag hood although the ground is remarkably hard. Like there's solid stone underneath; its a strange site being just a grassy patch in front of the bar. The end of the patch is where the fields start and on the other side of the plain a range of the hills to the skyline. As it was an early night I was in bed about 9 so woke about 3am and didn't sleep properly again. Its a hazard of living by daylight. Lots of ...

... next morning (2nd) down the Danube, stunning scenery through narrow valley with steep ( vertical sides) for almost whole day. Lunch stop reminiscant of Hawkesbury river. (fresh water) Lots of Barges both people and freight. Second night at Aschach.

... castles palaces, evidence of the power of the bishops. The city is dominated by the Hohensalzburg fortress high above, and many structures are actually built into the cliffs below. Mozart was born in this city 1756, and the buildings record this. We went through the Mirabell Gardens, very pretty, this is where the fountain from the film is. You know Doh Ray Me ...

... where there is an runway alongside the river. Amazing. I filmed a military plane practising landings when some chap hopped out of this car (literally - he left the engine running) and then proceeded to practice his English on me. At length. He was very friendly, but by the time we got into the details of his second failed marriage (and there were no aircraft left on any horizon) I decided it was time to hit the road.

... and people. We had dinner at the local brewery and had my first beer with my Dad. The tour was a self guided tour but they pre-book all the hotel rooms and provided a map, and every morning they would pick up our luggage and take it to the next hotel. The ride was great because they had a bike path that followed the river the majority of the time and it was relatively ...

... that they would have me riding ride on mowers, chopping wood with a machine l was highly likely to kills myself with and stocking the cellar with the winters wood supply! Something my brother never had to do in the 3 months he was there! It was fun though, l will never forget nearly running Konrad over with the ride on mower (which l was learning to use) and nearly cutting my arm off with the ...