Passau

Another river town, another cathedral to visit. Passau sports an ample supply of religious buildings, including another St. Stephen’s (Stephen was very popular guy in this part of the world!), home of what is purported to be the world’s largest pipe organ. The town itself sits at the confluence of three rivers (although it is much more attractive than Pittsburgh), and as a result it floods more often than the locals would like. Just two years ago the Danube rose about 50 feet above the banks, damaging many buildings up to the second story windows. Scaffoldings and construction is a pretty common site in town.

One of the side streets in town housed a collection of art boutiques, and a sponsored display of imaginatively designed umbrellas, suspended thirty feet above the narrow street. Unfortunately, this became a metaphor for our afternoon stroll, as the clouds rolled in and we were forced to retreat to the ship to shelter from the rain. We managed to leave town before the next flood occurred.