Keyswench After BLUE MAX ADVENTURES: 2013-7-18 - 7-19 - Li nz - Schlogen

This is when the trip turned weird & didn't follow the planned schedule so I've tried using my pictures to piece together the next 3 days.
Every afternoon they reminded us that the strike was still on then told of changes in the planned schedule...where we'd dock & that buses would take the tours to the various towns instead of docking in the town for walking tours etc. A few days before this, the staff advised us of the strike & claimed these strikes only last 24 hours. Yea...right! we discovered the strike started July 7th, the day after we boarded the Aegir in Romania & now we're just being told.
According to the boat's daily paper, we were to dock in Passau on the 18th & do a guided walking tour of the city & on the 19th, dock in Regensburg with another walking tour. This schedule was very agreeable for everyone.
But here's what happened; We docked in Linz, "is the third-largest city of Austria and capital of the state of Upper Austria ...It is located in the north centre of Austria, approximately 30 kilometres (19 miles) south of the Czech border, on both sides of the river Danube. This where buses picked up the group to tour Passau. We chose not to go but, instead, wander around the city. Supplies of fresh fruit & veggies were delivered to the boat. All staff & crew are involved in this process.

Linz

City square - there must have been hundreds of small cafes & restaurants on either side of the main street

"In the middle of the main square the high "Pestsäule" - "plague column", also known as "Dreifaltigkeitssäule" (Dreifaltigkeit means Holy Trinity)) was built to remember the people who died in the plague epidemics." (copied from a web site)

The yummy smell of fresh-baked bread & cheese called me into this natural food store

The people were amazing

When you wander around by yourself you find the neatest & most unique places. (Wayne stayed on-board for some odd reason) Around the corner from this food store (I bought wine & potato chips for Wayne) was a second-hand clothing shop - right up my alley. The owner was charming & helped me pick out several items - I spent several hours picking through the clothes. The rest of the day is a blur to me (now) except for having another tasty dinner. I have no idea when we left Linz.

7/19 We arrived in a small & quaint area called Schlogen to let passengers board buses to Regensburg. If I recall, the ride to Regensburg was something like 2 hours - not for us, we stayed on the boat...& quite frankly, we're glad we did as the cruise to Lindau was very interesting & fun. Wayne, Dick & Chuck were feeling the effects of a recent cold so we all stayed aboard - Judy & Kathy went on the tour...I really should have gone as a 'girls only' day out.

Small & quaint hotel & restaurant at the dock

Tour group leaving Schlogen

Small ferry boat takes pedestrians & bikers across the river

Nice marina near the docks - can you see BLUE MAX in there?

We casted off shortly after the buses left & continued the cruise down the river to pick up the tour group late afternoon in Lindau. Nice stretch of the river.

Pretty...pretty...pretty - we saw her several more times

So...now the fun begins. We approached another lock but just before entering the lock there was a rock formation with some sort of religious monument. ??

We found it curious & wondered its' significance then our captain threw coins at it - you're kidding-right? Now we wondered what dangers lie. We found out a few minutes later...the tiny lock with 2 boats already tied up.

Now the trip is getting really interesting especially from a navagation standpoint. Would we take BLUE MAX into that lock? Not only is it skinny, check out the over-head walk-way at the end of the lock....now, look on the sea-wall how high the water will go up.

YIKES !!! Our Captain's good

We fit with only inches to spare & I'm not kidding.

DUCK WAYNE!! -

(notice the pilot house behind Wayne was lowered)

The school kids thought this was great fun

The next day, they closed this deck. They told us it would be closed maybe 1-2 days - wrong - it was closed until we left the boat on 10/25! (I'll explain later why we left the boat 2 days early) It was horrible not being able to be outside on deck - especially for those who didn't have a veranda.

This all had to be done manually

Sun cover electronically controlled from the bridge

We docked in a place called Lindau-about 5km from Passau. While waiting for the tour to return from Regensburg, we had time to wander around this little village but it was very hot-a bit too hot to climb up the hill. Instead, I went into their version of Walgreens & a grocery store. Very, very clean, neat & orderly.

Check out the fuel prices

Wayne was reading & waiting for my return

We (not literally) took on more stores - wine, beer, liquor- you know, the good stuff. Again, all hands helped.

We continued the cruise past Passau - boy am I sorry I didn't join the tour...beautiful town.

"Passau, known as the City of Three Rivers, it lies at the confluence of the Inn, the Danube & the Ilz rivers. It is the last major German city on the Danube at the border of Austria. Originally a seettlement of the Boii Celtic tribe called Boiourum, it was later the site of the Roman camp CastrBatava. In 739, an English Cltic monk namd Boniface found the diocese of Passau, the largest see of the Holy Roman Empire for many years".

"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. Superstitious warriors believed that the Passau wolf conferred invulnerability on the blade's bearer, and thus Passau swords acquired a great premium".

"In 1892, a three-year-old named Adolf Hitler moved to Passau with his family. It was in Passau that the toddler acquired the distinctive lower Bavarian dialect that marked his speech his entire life...The city archives mention Hitler being in Passau on four different occasions in the 1920s for speeches. On November 3, 1902 Heinrich Himmler & his family arrived from Munich. They lived... there until September 2, 1904. Himmler maintained contact with locals until May 1945...During WWII, Passau was home to three Nazi concentration camps".