From Passau to Salzburg – European River Cruise

This morning we arrived in Passau, where the rivers Inn and Ilz join the Danube. You had a choice of staying back in Passau where you could do a walking tour of town, followed by a scenic cruise from Passau into Austria and on to Linz, Austria’s third largest city, or take an optional full-day tour to Salzburg. This tour takes you to the most popular Sound of Music sights including the Wedding Church, the exquisite Mirabell Gardens, the Great Salzburg Festival Hall and much more.

We chose to do the tour, not that we were keen fans of the Sound of Music, but more to do the photography.  Salzburg is also the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and this is a good enough reason to visit.  The coach trip from Passau to Salzburg takes you through lovely countryside. It was a change being on a coach again. 

Along the way, our guide pointed out the holiday homes of the rich and famous (Schumacher’s ranch was grand) and filled us in with lots of trivia, for example: Did you know that Bambi was written by an Austrian, Felix Salten, in 1923 ( “Bambi, ein Leben im Walde“) and the script was acquired by Walt Disney in late 1930s.  Joseph Mohr, the creator of ‘Silent Night! Holy Night’ (“Heilige Nacht“) was born on December 11, 1792 in Salzburg and many farmhouses brew their own beer and this is mostly done by women, etc. So, we were well entertained which made the road trip quite enjoyable.

Helen