Day 5 Passau
The day started with a 9:00am walking tour of Passau. Once again we were docked just a few feet from the town. Our guide was a young lady who was born and raised in Passau. She explained that the 50,000 residents of the town are mostly Roman Catholic, in fact they have 50 Catholic churches! Her background made the tour more ‘authentic’ and less historical. She talked in detail about her own family Christmas traditions. Our tour included a stop at a local chocolatier / baker who has been in business for 4 generations. They gave a talk on gingerbread making and let us sample three types of gingerbread and a hot mulled wine punch. We concluded the tour at St Stephan’s church where we saw what is Europe’s largest pipe organ and a fantastic example of Baroque architecture – and to this point, the most beautiful church we have seen.
At 3:30 our ship departed and we bid farewell to Germany as we crossed into Austria. The late afternoon departure allowed for a glimpse of the Bavarian mountains that line the Danube river. Small towns which were blanketed with a dusting of white snow made for an idyllic setting. Our German experience left us with a new appreciation of the tradition and passion these people hold for Christmas. There is no “Happy Holidays”, no “Holiday Tree”, no piped-in Christmas carols played in endless repetition, no plastic Santa, and no reindeer. They do have a real respect for the true meaning of Christmas.
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