We started the day in the beautiful village of Passau in the heart of Bavaria. Passau was an ancient Roman colony of ancient Noricum called Batavis, Latin for "for the Batavi." During the second half of the 5th century, St. Severinus established a monastery here. The site was subject to repeated raids by the Alemanni. In 739, an English monk called Boniface founded the diocese of Passau, which for many years was the largest diocese of the German Kingdom/Holy Roman Empire, covering territory in southern Bavaria and most of what is now Upper and Lower Austria. From the 10th century the bishops of Passau also exercised secular authority as Prince-Bishops in the immediate area around Passau. In the Treaty of Passau (1552), Archduke Ferdinand I, representing Emperor Charles V, secured the agreement of the Protestant princes to submit the religious question to a diet. This led to the Peace of Augsburg in 1555. During the Renaissance and early modern period, Passau was one of the most prolific centres of sword and bladed weapon manufacture in Germany (after Solingen). Passau smiths stamped their blades with the Passau wolf, usually a rather simplified rendering of the wolf on the city's coat-of-arms.
The village is perfect for a quiet walk through its streets and to visit the Cathedral and Christmas market.
During our on board Bavarian lunch, we cast off the lines and headed for our final stop Vishofen. As a final send-off, nature gifted us a wonderful rainbow just as the sun set.
We arrived at Vilshofen an der Donau about 5:00pm. Upon docking we jumped on four buses and headed off to the Schweiklberg Abbey where we were treated to a "Decemberfest", hosted by the Vishofen Beer Queen. There was great beer, pretzels and entertainment. We returned to the ship, walking through the center of town and its Christmas market. A great way to end our adventure. Tomorrow we leave at 6:00am for the 2 hour bus ride to the Munich Airport and the flights home.
This featured blog entry was written by rpickett from the blog Rusty Pickett, ECC, VTA, LCS, MBA.
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