The next day was in Linz. We elected to take the excursion to Český Krumlov, a quaint mediaeval village back in the Czech Republic. This town was largely untouched by WWII, so the castle and town are like they have been for hundreds of years. After a walking tour of the town and castle grounds, we all sat down for a traditional Czech meal and then had some free time to spend money on stuff we didn’t need. We also climbed the tower of the castle and looked at the museum inside the castle tower during our free time. Despite the hour and fifteen minute drive in each direction, we arrived back in Linz in time to walk around the town a bit and get some Linzer tortes.
Our first glimpse at a portion of the castle.Our guide, Stephan, did a great job showing us around the town.Two movie stars we met during the tour. Viking provides a “Vox” device with an ear piece. This allows the guide to narrate the tour without yelling or bothering others not on the tour.Another view of the town.School is ending soon in the Czech Republic. There were many school groups in town. Here you can see one school group rafting down the river.The castle walls. Here you can see how different sections of the castle were built in different decades with different styles.The town was hosting a group of high wire enthusiasts. In many of these pictures you can see the lines high over the river or town.Approaching the castle.The castle was built over many decades. The castle, consisted of five courtyards, each built in a slightly different style. Many of the walls had frescos on them. This is the archway leading from the castle to the town.The town from the castle walls.The government is in the process of adding a military museum to the castle. Here are a couple of cannons on display.They claim that this is one of the first two breach-loading cannons ever built, but the guide was a little hazy on the specifics other than that it was produced by Krupp.Another of the courtyards. We later climbed to the top of that tower.Another courtyard picture.Many of the walls were painted to look like large bricks, but the walls were actually just flat plaster.Another view of the faux brickwork painted on the walls.Karen and JJA gingerbread shop in town. Cookies and booze seem like an unusual taste combination.We had a traditional Czech meal in several courses in a restaurant, called the Water Mill.The meal consisted of a very tasty soup. Then a tray of meats, including duck, chicken, beef, and pork, was brought out family style. This included red cabbage. Like most means over the past two weeks, vegetables other than cabbage were in short supply.Many of the buildings in town were decorated with these detailed frescoes.Another view of part of the town. The buildings were painted in a number of pastel colors.Český KrumlovAfter lunch we were released for some free time. We chose to climb to the tap of the castle tower.The tower from below.Candy in the tower with the town in the background.A view of the town from atop the tower. You can see some of the high-wire lines in this photo.
After a little shopping we boarded the bus and headed back to Linz. I don’t fee like we missed anything in Linz by spending the day in Český Krumlov. It is a largish German city with a handful of churches to see. We had a couple of hours to walk downtown and shop for Linzer tortes to bring home. The shopping area in Linz was just a city street and was not really unique or quaint.
After our time in Prague, we boarded a bus for along ride to Passau, Germany, where we boarded out boat. Arriving a little before dinner, we received out orientation and unpacked in our rooms. We stayed in Passau at the dock the first night. The next morning, Duncan, Dave, and I took the “Hiking the Hills of Passau” walking tour, while everyone else took the normal walking tour of town. Our tour covered the same downtown (Old Town) area of Passau, but we also saw a monastery / church overlooking Passau from one side of town and the castle on the other side of the river. The tour was billed as “strenuous,” but it really wasn’t too bad except for the climb up the hill to the castle.
JJ, Karen, Betty, Candy, Greg, and Nicole get ready for their walking tour of Old Town Passau.A picture of Passau. We started the “hiking the hills” tour pretty early.The altar in the church / abbey / monastery overlooking Passau that was the starting point of our our.The group preparing to hike the hills. Viking combined us with a group from another Viking ship traveling the opposite direction along the Danube.The church that was our first stop.The cemetery for many of the priests and monks who had lived at the abbey.A view of Passau from the abbey.We’re walking, we’re walking…Oh, how artistic…A fountain in the middle of Passau.This is my kind of garden. This is what I call the “riot of color” look.Walking along the Danube toward the bridge to the castle.A good view along the wall of the castle. You can see how the styles changed over the hundreds of years of construction.Another portion of the castle.Passau from the castle. You can barely see our boat behind the vegetation.A building along our hiking route.
A portion of the castle.Dave, me, Duncan at an overlook on the hill we walked up to get to the castle.A view of Passau from the castle. In the distance, on the hill, you can see the abbey where we started our perigrination. The white line coming down from it and then turning to the left of the picture is the covered pilgrim’s way with 300+ steps.A partial view of the interior of the castle.Sitting on the sun deck as we departed from Passau: Duncan, Betty, Karen.In the afternoon, there was a demonstration in the lounge of how to make strudel.
Overnight we docked in Linz for our tours the next day.
Well, it finally happened. After our Viking river cruise of the Rhine in 2019, we scheduled a cruise along the Danube in 2020, which was postponed to 2021, and then 2022. Along the way, we encouraged several other couples to participate: Greg and Nicole with whom we took the Rhine cruise, Duncan and Betty, Dave and Brenda, Eric and Vickey, and JJ and Karen. Our journeys began seven days ago with our flights into Prague for the “pre show,” three days in Prague.
Our first night in Prague Greg had identified a pretty neat restaurant called “the skewer.” All of the food had a skewer stuck in it. Some had two skewers. The food was self-serve, and at the end you paid for the number of skewers you had eaten.
JJ, Karen, Candy, Greg, and Nicole.Eric, Vickie, Brenda, Dave, Betty, and Duncan
After a stroll around downtown Prague (Praha), we all returned to the hotel to try to get some sleep despite the jet lag.
The next morning, we all took the included “Panoramic Prague” walking tour through the city. The guide, Radick, did a nice job of showing us the highlights of downtown Prague, despite some heavy rain.
The astronomical clock in the Old Town Square that chimes every hour. The 12 apostles process past the blue windows. The skeleton rings a bell to summon people, but the other statues shake their heads to stay on earth at least another hour.A street in PragueA view of Prague, including the castle on the hill.A building in the town square. Many of the buildings had these nice frescoes on them.Another building in the Old Town Square.Taking cover from the rain.This is a church in the Old Town Square. Note the mutliple spires. This seemed to be common among many of the churches in Prague. Also note the connector from the main spire to the corner spires. This too seemed to be common in Prague. I am not sure if this is decorative or structural or merely provides a covered walkway to the corner spires.By the time we reached the Charles bridge on our tour, the rain and clouds were fading.Crossing the bridge.A canal near the Charles Bridge.A paddle boat made to look like an old car on the river near the Charles Bridge.A long shot of the bridge.Another canal near the Charles bridge looking in the opposite direction toward an old water wheel.
The tour continued by taking us up to the castles, which includes a church and the President’s offices.
One of the many stained glass windows in the church within the Prague castle.Our guide provides information about the church.Looking down the long axis of the church toward the altar.Because the castle hold’s the president’s offices, there were both ceremonial and real guards on duty.Candy and me in front of the church within the Prague castle.The inner courtyard of our hotel looking down toward where we had an included breakfast each morning.
That night Duncan, Betty, Dave, Brenda, Candy, and I attended a traditional folk dinner in a rural area outside of Prague. This included dancers performing traditional folk dances and a three-piece band playing traditional music. The food included some kind of cheese spread on bread, soup, meat, cabbage, and potatoes. It was a fun evening.
The band playing at the Folk Dinner.Our servers.The entertainment.Dave and BrendaBetty, Duncan, some movie star, and Candy.
The next morning, on our own, we went to find the History of Communism. I don’t know how anyone can support Communism, Marxism, and Socialism after visiting this museum. The Czechs know first hand the evils of these philosophies, and they are not afraid to oppose them.
Some of the displays at the Museum of Communism.One of the boards next to some of the displays.I love this quote. Centralized, government control has never and will never work. The museum provided a number of examples of how a powerful and controlling central government created hardships and shortages for the people.Reassembling after the museum tour. Duncan, Betty, Brenda, Dave, and Candy.
We walked around the Old Town Square in much better weather than the previous morning.I saw this winged moose on a building in Prague and thought is was interesting. I need to add one of these to one of my games.Several of us took the optional Operation Anthropoid tour. Anthropoid was an OSS operation in WWII to assassinate Heydrich Reinhardt, the “Butcher of Prague,” who also designed the “final solution” resulting in the creation of the concentration and death camps throughout Europe. While the operation was a success, in that they killed Reinhardt, all of the Czech parachutists involved were killed.We took an evening tour of Prague. One of the stops was a monastery on one of the hills near the castle for a beer and a scenic overlook.Some of the gang waiting for their beers: Dave, Brenda, JJ, Karen, Candy, and Eric.The monasteryKaren and Candy with evening Prague behind them.
Our last morning we had to drop off our bags by 1000, but the bus wasn’t scheduled to depart of Passau until 1300. So, Karen, Candy, JJ, and I walked across the river and along it to the Charles Bridge. We stopped at a couple of shops to look at stuff we didn’t need, then we crossed the bridge and made one last trek through Old Town Square back to our hotel.
A local group performing on the Charles Bridge.Assembling for the trip to Passau: JJ, Betty, Duncan, Candy, Eric, Vickey, Dave, Brenda, and Karen. Where is Buck?The bus ride from Prague to Passau. Like any good paratrooper, Dave was asleep before the bus door closed.
We arrived at the boat in time to unpack our rooms and have dinner.
