We walked along the river and saw the Veste Oberhaus on the opposite side up on the hill. Veste Oberhaus is a massive 13th-century fortress in Passau, Germany, founded in 1219 to serve as the stronghold and residence for the city's Prince-Bishops. Perched above the Danube, it is one of Europe’s largest surviving castle complexes, historically protecting the city, functioning as a prison, and now acting as a museum, restaurant, and panoramic viewpoint. The year "1499" on the Veste Oberhaus in Passau marks the completion of the Schachnerbau, a major building phase of the fortress. It commemorates the expansion of the stronghold into a Renaissance residence under Prince-Bishop Christoph von Schachner, who ruled from 1490–1500, and is displayed alongside his coat of arms.
This building is the Altes Rathaus (Old Town Hall). It is also located on the waterfront along the Danube, this historic building features markings from various high-water events throughout the centuries, including the devastating 1501 and 2013 floods.
We just chuckled over the name of this hotel.
It was difficult to really see much difference in the water color when we got to the red spot on the map because of the early morning sun, but we were there - where the Inn, Ilz and Danube all come together.
This was the scene across the Inn River - to the left of the red dot.
We headed back to the ship for a quick breakfast because we had an 8:30am departure for the optional tour of Salzburg.
We spotted a couple pheasants when we stopped for a bathroom stop.
A view of one of the dams on the Danube
After a two hour drive we arrived in Salzburg. This is a view from the "Locks Bridge".
The Locks Bridge
Mirabel Gardens was used as part of the film set for the 1965 movie, "The Sound of Music."
Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer played the main roles in this film and many of the memorable scenes were filmed in the picturesque gardens and Mirabell Palace. Since then, these places have attracted visitors from all over the world who want to follow in the footsteps of the von Trapp family. Our tour guide wanted us to sing the "Do, Re, Mi" song as we descended the steps into the garden. Tobey, Wendy, and I opted to move away from the group and not sing! Our guide was a bit on the eccentric side and I wasn't sure I would make it through the day.
The Mirabell Gardens were established around 1687 and heavily redesigned in the early 18th century, making them roughly 330–340 years old. While the associated palace was built earlier, in 1606, the Baroque layout of the gardens that exists today was largely shaped under Prince-Archbishop Johann Ernst von Thun around 1690.
After strolling through the gardens we went out to the shopping area and walked along some of the shops while she explained the area.
Shop signs in old Salzburg, particularly along the historic Getreidegasse, are ornate, wrought-iron, and often gilded [guild signs] that date back to the Middle Ages. Originally designed to identify businesses for a largely illiterate population, these elaborate symbols, such as pretzels for bakers or keys for locksmiths, remain a mandatory, charming feature of the Old Town.
We even went by where Mozart was born which is now a museum.
After our 1-1/2 our tour we had free time so we opted to tour Fortress Hohensalzburg. Hohensalzburg Fortress is a large medieval fortress in the city of Salzburg and sits atop the Festungsberg mountain at an altitude of 1600 feet. The fortress is 820 feet long and 493 feet wide making it one of the largest medieval castles in Europe.
In 1077, Archbishop Gebhard began the construction of the castle complex. In the following centuries, his successors significantly expanded Hohensalzburg and around 1500, the fortress attained its current appearance under Archbishop Leonhard von Keutschach. The original aim of the fortress was to protect the principality and the archbishops from enemy attacks. Throughout all these years, it was never captured by foreign troops.
The Fortress is the large building at the very top of the hill. Our tickets included the funicular ride up and down to save a VERY LONG walk up the hill!
We wound our way up several staircases to the top of the fortress. We had amazing views over the city and out to the Alps.
One area of the fortress also served as a prison at one time.
After our tour we headed back to meander the streets and enjoy a treat before heading back to the bus. We shared a nut pretzel and it was pretty yummy!
We headed back to the ship for a quick breakfast because we had an 8:30am departure for the optional tour of Salzburg.
We spotted a couple pheasants when we stopped for a bathroom stop.
A view of one of the dams on the Danube
After a two hour drive we arrived in Salzburg. This is a view from the "Locks Bridge".
The Locks Bridge
Mirabel Gardens was used as part of the film set for the 1965 movie, "The Sound of Music." Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer played the main roles in this film and many of the memorable scenes were filmed in the picturesque gardens and Mirabell Palace. Since then, these places have attracted visitors from all over the world who want to follow in the footsteps of the von Trapp family. Our tour guide wanted us to sing the "Do, Re, Mi" song as we descended the steps into the garden. Tobey, Wendy, and I opted to move away from the group and not sing! Our guide was a bit on the eccentric side and I wasn't sure I would make it through the day.
The Mirabell Gardens were established around 1687 and heavily redesigned in the early 18th century, making them roughly 330–340 years old. While the associated palace was built earlier, in 1606, the Baroque layout of the gardens that exists today was largely shaped under Prince-Archbishop Johann Ernst von Thun around 1690.
After strolling through the gardens we went out to the shopping area and walked along some of the shops while she explained the area.
Shop signs in old Salzburg, particularly along the historic Getreidegasse, are ornate, wrought-iron, and often gilded [guild signs] that date back to the Middle Ages. Originally designed to identify businesses for a largely illiterate population, these elaborate symbols, such as pretzels for bakers or keys for locksmiths, remain a mandatory, charming feature of the Old Town.
We even went by where Mozart was born which is now a museum.
After our 1-1/2 our tour we had free time so we opted to tour Fortress Hohensalzburg. Hohensalzburg Fortress is a large medieval fortress in the city of Salzburg and sits atop the Festungsberg mountain at an altitude of 1600 feet. The fortress is 820 feet long and 493 feet wide making it one of the largest medieval castles in Europe.
In 1077, Archbishop Gebhard began the construction of the castle complex. In the following centuries, his successors significantly expanded Hohensalzburg and around 1500, the fortress attained its current appearance under Archbishop Leonhard von Keutschach. The original aim of the fortress was to protect the principality and the archbishops from enemy attacks. Throughout all these years, it was never captured by foreign troops.
The Fortress is the large building at the very top of the hill. Our tickets included the funicular ride up and down to save a VERY LONG walk up the hill!
We wound our way up several staircases to the top of the fortress. We had amazing views over the city and out to the Alps.
One area of the fortress also served as a prison at one time.
After our tour we headed back to meander the streets and enjoy a treat before heading back to the bus. We shared a nut pretzel and it was pretty yummy!
You can rent horse-drawn carriages to tour through the Old Town area.
Just an interesting statue!
Tobey was a good sport and posed serving an original Sacher torte. We looked in their sales shop but $15 for one slice of cake was a bit pricey!
We were back on the bus around 3:30 for our two hour drive to get back to our ship which had sailed on to Melk. After another wonderful meal we are turning in early and hopefully having a better night's sleep. Tomorrow we tour Melk Abbey and then sail on to Dürnstein, Austria.
Tobey was a good sport and posed serving an original Sacher torte. We looked in their sales shop but $15 for one slice of cake was a bit pricey!
We were back on the bus around 3:30 for our two hour drive to get back to our ship which had sailed on to Melk. After another wonderful meal we are turning in early and hopefully having a better night's sleep. Tomorrow we tour Melk Abbey and then sail on to Dürnstein, Austria.
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