Passau is a town in lower, Eastern Bavaria where the Danube is joined with the Inn River from the south and the Liz River coming out of the Bavarian forests in the north.
Just prior to our visit the Danube had broken its banks and flooded the town with the worst floods in 50 years. Some of the town was still under flood and many sand bags were still in place.
We were taken on a walking tour of the town and ended at St Stephen's Cathedral built in the Baroque style with some earlier Gothic elements of the original church kept for financial reasons when the church was rebuilt in the 17 th century. The cathedral contains a magnificent pipe organ which is the second largest pipe organ in the world. We arrived in time for the daily organ recital. We particularly enjoyed listening to Bach's Toccata und Fuge in d played on such a magnificent organ.
The town itself has much Gothic and Baroque architecture and is dominated by the Veste Oberhaus and the Bishop's fortress . We enjoyed coffee at a local coffee house watching the locals at their daily life and browsed the local shops.
We enjoyed dinner at the Portobello Restaurant when we returned to the Scenic Emerald. It consisted of a seven course degustation meal and wonderful service from our waiters.
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