Degendorf to Durnstein

We sailed overnight to Degendorf where we were met by a glorious, albeit frosty, day.

This start was complemented by a trip up into the Bavarian mountains so we could be guaranteed snow. Our first visit was to Theresienthal glass works. (We were advised this was world famous but as Helen had not heard of them I question this claim.) The snow made for a picturesque setting.

Although we thought it cold it was warm enough for some thawing.

The glassworks has won many awards but is largely kept afloat by benefactors and those with a love of the trade. This display looks like porcelain but is in fact glass with some bone mixed in.

We were given a demonstration which was a wonderfully skilled although quite repetitive process. Here one of three “legs” is being shaped.

The finished article didn't last for long. As this was a quick demonstration there was not enough time for annealing and after a few minutes the glass work began to crack up which started with a piece falling off.

Our second stop was in a small village where we were given some bread, smoked ham and Stollen all washed down with eldeberry tea. This was fortification prior to us hopping up onto a horse and cart for a wonderful trip through the snow. There were three carts – the one I was on was towed by Rominic and Stellar who were remarkably playful for such big animals.

Our arrival the next day in Passau was even frostier.

We had met a young couple (Ian and Shanni) who had worked on cruise boats for some 10 years and now run their own travel agent business. Ian used to manage the photography section of the cruises and his talents for composition are clear. This is a great shot notwithstanding the dubious subject.

Passau is a lovely little town with a cathedral at the top of a small hill.

It houses an organ built in 1928 which, with 208 stops makes it the largest in the world. It comprises some 5 separate organs each with their own sound. We were fortunate to be walking by just as a recital was about to start. The music was carefully selected to show off the range of each organ. The setting was particularly colourful. 

The cruise days were nicely planned so that there was a morning and evening activity which allowed for an afternoon siesta enabling the batteries to be re-charged. Our evening meal was at “Rupert’s farm” which had a great atmosphere (helped by the compulsory Gluhvine on arrival).

Here are some of the starving hoard enjoying some unique Bavarian entertainment (banging nails into a log using a pickaxe, a table bowls game using a nail filled stein and some of the group giving a modelling display flaunting locally made Lederhausen.)

The evening moorings amongst the town lights helped to offset the downside of short days.

After Passau we stopped at Linz where the day’s activity was a trip to Salzburg. Our en-route comfort stop was considerably upmarket from those found in UK or Australia. Here we had mouth watering food set in a beautiful restaurant with magnificent views.

Our brief tour of Salzburg gave an insight to its history while the numerous stalls enabled an insight into the occupants diet. I have never seen such a range of pretzels.

There is also quite a mix of old and new – not surprising given the war's impact. However, some contrasts were a bit too much. This gold ball with its graffiti on the reachable underside did nothing to enhance the square and view of the castle.

By contrast the nearby pharmacy was like stepping back in time. Numerous little draws and cupboards made for a neat shop with everything in its place – now where are the Strepsils… (A sign on the door forbade photography but once a purchase had been made this rule was waived.)

The following day saw us in Durnstein on a beautiful clear and sunny morning. The (relatively) freshly painted church was a great contrast to the dilapidated fort at the top of the hill. 

The area is famous for white wine, apricots and more recently the re-introduction of saffron farming. In some cases these were combined such as “Drunken apricots” and “Saffron liqueur”. Helen could not pass up the idea of the former with some ice cream as a summer desert, hence a jar is in the suitcase.

Although the vines were all bare there were some flowers. This heather had an amazing array of colours

Inside the local church we were once more treated to an organ recital. The decoration once more flaunted the churches wealth. What was unusual was these balconies which enabled light from the high level windows to beam onto the floor level alcoves. A bit more suave than your average Muppet balcony.

The final visit of the day (and a major highlight for someone) was a visit to nobility to meet Princess Anita von Hohenberg. The castle with its snow white gardens and blue onion towers gave the feel of entering a fairy-tale.

However, once we had met the Princess that feeling quickly changed as she was well grounded, highly entertaining and quite definitely of nobility. After a fascinating outline of her family and the castle’s history she fielded a diverse range of questions from our mob. Only Ian floored her by wanting to know how many windows were in the castle.

So saying the real question on everyone’s lips was whether Helen would find nobility an easy mantle. You be the judge.

As we left the village, the enchanting lighting of the church, fort and adjoining path once more returned the mind to magical, spell binding times.

A Christmas cruise

An unusual alignment of the planets meant that most of our increasingly growing family were going to in-laws rather than descending on Canberra for the festivities. This meant we were free to do our own thing. Helen quickly decided that facing only me at Christmas dinner was not an option and that we should grab the opportunity for a cold Christmas and experience Northern Hemisphere Christmas Markets.

After a quick 30 hour or so flight we found ourselves in Nuremberg, Germany. Our hotel was a 5 minute walk from one of the largest Christmas markets in the world. All of which is within the walls of a beautiful city with some complex history.

The markets have everything for sale from beautifully colourful vegetables and fruit

to table lights and candles

and back-lit houses. Although it was cold the snow was limited to a backdrop sheet…

The variety was enormous. Ever seen a pencil being made by hand? Here is the Staedtler shop.

Everywhere the nostrils were treated to a range of mouth watering smells of which roasted chestnuts, gingerbread and the numerous Gluhwein stalls could not be resisted. Our pick of the Gluhwein stalls was this one with a warming glow. 

Pretty warming on the inside as well (and we now have some souvenir Nuremberg mugs).

Apart from eating (and you have to keep your energy levels up in such a cold climate) we did give our mind a workout as there is so much heritage. Albrecht Durer (1471 – 1528) was one of the few artists in the world who made a decent living from his profession. His house is now a small museum.

His self portraits were unusual for the period not least of all because of their Christ like qualities. There were a range of these in various formats including this enlarged print of his head. His income however initially came from illustrating books and printing presses.

Back outside the market lights were warming. The steps of the church in the background was a stage for various choirs that gave a great background atmosphere as we weaved our way through the alleys formed by some 200 stalls. 

The river frontage also had similarly attractive and enticing lighting.

The old city is bounded by a huge wall and gates which have been carefully refurbished following the destruction during WWII. The permanent lighting here is not so warming but is evocative.

This clock tower had a huge sculpture at its base entitled “Marriage Merry-Go- Round fountain”. Unusually it had contrasting white and black marble. Some of the sculptures were a little disturbing and close ups were not considered appropriate for this blog!

The top gate has a labyrinth like series of walls and buildings which were beautifully lit up.

After a couple of nights (planned to help overcome jet lag) we boarded the River Princess for a cruise to Budapest.  The cold evenings precipitated a bit of fog so the blue lights on the ship were a good beacon.  

Inside was definitely ship shape!

Outside is an interesting story. We were moored on the Main-Danube canal which enables barges to travel from Rotterdam on the North Sea all the way to Sulina on the Black Sea. The canal is 171 kms but results in a total distance between the North and Black Seas of 3500 kms. By comparison going by sea around Gibraltar is over 7300 kms.

The canal has some 16 locks with rises of up to 25 metres and tops out at 406 metres which is the highest of any commercial waterway in the world. The locks are huge and at 190 m long and 12 m wide somewhat dwarf our more familiar English locks of 70 ft by 7 ft!

Unlike the UK system which are largely operated by the boat's crew these locks are operated remotely by a couple of people in each of four locations. Big brother is definitely watching! Here is a map.

Some of the double length barges, once they leave a lock, take quite a bit of time to get up to speed so patience is required.

Our ship had external controls either side of the wheelhouse so you can see how close you are to the lock walls. The captain took one side while I took the other…..

The gates range from the conventional two doors to single flat gates that rise up so that you can sail under. Their drops are quite imposing especially when you think of the amount of water that is backed up behind the upper lock door.

Engineering marvels were not limited to the locks. Near Essing we went under this ludicrously profiled bridge. At 189 metres it is the longest timber bridge in Europe and has a 73 metre central span. Needless to say it is only for foot traffic.

We docked for 24 hours at Regensburg – right next to Villa Park. (For those not in the know this name is normally associated with Aston Villa’s football stadium in Birmingham.)

The town is where the canal meets the Danube. The river here runs at a staggering speed. I suspect the paddle steamer tugboat Ruthof / Érsekcsanád must have had some fun negotiating the river but is now a permanent mooring housing a nautical museum.

It makes a great foreground to the cathedral.

Regensburg was one of the few towns in Germany that did not suffer major damage in the war. Its Roman heritage is still apparent in several locations. The stone blocks used in the wall and gates were huge and would have needed Roman ingenuity (which is where the term engineer comes from!) to transport them to site as well as during construction.

The 12th C bridge was undergoing refurbishment when we visited. It remains a bit of a mystery how the piers were built in such fast flowing waters given the equipment that was available at the time.

The cathedral really does dominate the skyline.

Refurbishment of the North end of the bridge is complete and the result is particularly attractive as well as being safer.

Back in town we participated in a walking tour. The town has some wonderful Baroque architecture built in wealthy times. Fortunately, it also went through some very poor times and this meant there was not money to demolish and rebuild buildings so the original architecture largely remains in tact. The town has over 1500 heritage listed buildings.

A couple of interesting points were the standard measure of length next to the town hall in the merchant part of the city. The three vertical rods are the foot, yard (centre of the body to the fingertips) and fathom (distance spanned by outstretched arms). 

There is even a little lucky mouse that you can touch and it will ensure you return to the city!

We spent Christmas Eve here and attended an evening mass at the cathedral which was packed for the occasion. The choir did the right thing by walking through the crowd and presenting a couple of hymns amongst those of us at the rear before weaving their way to the front.

Wonderful voices, resounding organ and colourful well lit cathedral. Just a shame it was so ….. cold!!