Salzburg, Austria, October 18, 2010

Our ship docked in the town of Passau, Germany.  We boarded a bus and had a 75-mile ride to Salzburg, Austria.  The countryside was beautiful, even in the rain.  We saw many farms, but no farm houses.  Our guide told us farmers do not live on their farms, they live in the villages.  Also, we thought it strange that they call hog houses, pig parlors!  The bus ride was fast and furious.  We finally figured out that our 2 buses were racing each other!  On the way home our bus driver was on the cell phone most of the time.  It was really frightening when he put on his glasses to dial numbers!

Arriving in Salzburg we were greeted by some young women telling us Americans to go home!  This is the only time we had this experience.

We visited a cathedral that is a replica of the one in Cologne and built in the 16th century.  We saw Hohensalzburg Castle in 1047 and expanded in the Middle Ages. We saw Mozart's birthplace and his baptismal fount in the cathedral.  We visited the cemetery and the fountain where scenes from the "Sound of Music" were filmed. 





Gardens where "Sound of Music" was filmed

 




the fountain in the movie

 



Mozart's birthplace

 



The city with Hohensalzburg Castle in the background

 



Government buildings

 



McDonald's in Austria!

 



Mozart lived here

 



Roasting chestnuts

 


We enjoyed wonderful fresh fruits and vegetables on the entire trip.





And pretzels

 


Even the horses were cold. 





The cathedral

 




Mozart was baptized here

 



Hohenslazburg Castle

 



Cemetery from "The Sound of Music"

 



The family hid behind these bars

 

Redensberg, Germany October 17, 2010

We are now cruising on the Danube, a river over 1700 miles long.  Looking into the wooded areas along shore we are told we are in Bavaria.  We docked in Regensberg at noon, a city that is over 2000 years old.  It was founded by the Roman Empire and very important because of the salt (white gold) mines near by.  Regensberg is on the western most point of the Rhine River, where the Rhine and Danube meet.  Reports say the weather can often be extremely raw and that was true today!

We had a delightful guide and we learned so much about this city. Even though it was so cold, we both really enjoyed our visit here. Its importance declined and therefore was virtually untouched during the war.  Regensberg is noted for its many Italian towers.

After our tour we found a coffeehouse and warmed up with coffee and apple strudel!  We stopped at a sausage house and bought some German mustard.




Bavarian countryside

 



entering Regensberg

 



Regensberg

 



a Roman tower

 



another Roman tower

 



and another

 



a home in Regensberg

 



spires of the cathederal

 



more homes

 




12th century bridge  Ken Follet's book "World Without End!"

 



the sausage house

 

Bamberg October 15, 2010

Bamberg is a beautiful medieval town that suffered little damage during the war.  This was the one time that we were disappointed in our tour guide.  So I just strolled along and took pictures.  Our tours had such a wonderful way of making sure everyone could hear.  We all wore ear pieces with transistors which hung around our neck.  Our guide would talk into his.  We would find the frequency he was on and we could hear him from a city block or so.  Bamberg is known for its smoked beer, but I don't think very many of us liked it.  It was a cloudy cold day.





Bamberg

  




House in Bamberg

  




German fellas drinking their beer

  




Clock on the 11th century cathedral

  




11th century cathedral

  




bishop seats in the front of the cathedral

  




the organ

  




gardens at the cathedral

  




a rose

  




Rog and Al Smith drinking smoked beer

  




scenes in Bamberg

  





modern art sculpture down town

  

Wurzburg, Germany October 14, 2010

The main attraction in Wurzburg is the tour of the city's impressive baroque Bishop's Residenz, one of Germany's largest and most ornate palaces.  It was built over a 70-year period and finished toward the end of the 1700's.  A huge building was built just to house the grand staircase!  A Venetian artist, Tiepolo has stunning frescos on the ceilings. Amazingly, the building housing the reception area and the grand stair case were not damaged during the war.  Other rooms were destroyed and restored.  Wurzburg was almost entirely destroyed.   Of course, we could not take pictures inside:-(

In the afternoon we took a bus to Rothenburg on the "Romantic Road" through scenic Franconia.Rothenburg is a very old walled medieval city.  We had a lunch consisting of brats and kraut! 





The town hall

  




3 o'clock--the doors open and then men toast each other

  




The walled city of Rothenburg

  




The streets of Rothenburg

  




Yours'truly