Passau, Germany is a city in Lower Bavaria with a population of around 50,000. A local university is catering to a significant portion of the population. The city is known as the City of Three Rivers (Dreiflüssenstadt). Its rich history, dating back to the second century BC, began as a Roman colony of Batavis. The building of a monastery in the sixth century, St. Severinus, also began defining the religious and secular landscape of the region. It went on further to became a center of production of swords and bladed weapons. There are many more significant associating historical events that led to the development of the city.

The broken river lock was probably Jochenstein Lock. It was the one closest downriver from Passau (we were cruising upriver). The river cruise hiccup that happened the night before was responsible to changing the day’s schedule. Instead of river cruising, we were filing into two separate buses with our umbrellas to take us to Passau, Germany. The rain was intermittent. It was making us feel wet and cold. The warmth of the bus gave us a bit of comfort as we took the forty-five minute drive.

The river dock scene was reminiscent of our first day in Vienna. We found ourselves looking out of the bus’ window at the wet pavement from the intermittent rain. Still, we needed to keep on going as we huddled around our local guide. We were listening intently as she was explaining the layout of the Old City. There were three popular tourist attractions that we were anticipating to see: the three-river confluence, St. Stephan’s Cathedral, and the Old City. There were a lot more attractions according to our walking guide, GPSMyCity.com. We wanted to explore all of them but the weather was not giving us much option.

The Three-River Confluence

The bus stopped around half a mile away before the confluence of the rivers Inn, Danube, and Ilz. We wanted so much to walk and stand at the tip of the peninsula. To witness the confluence of the three rivers. However, all we could see was a thick haze of drizzle and fog. We were thinking that it was a better idea to just go into the Old City and explore.

The Old City

The confluence of the three rivers, Inn, Danube, and Ilz, ended up creating a peninsula. In this peninsula, the Old City was flourishing. There were several catastrophic events though that destroyed parts of the Old City. It was rebuilt each time and, eventually, the Old City was gaining its character with Baroque architecture. We didn’t see much of the Baroque architecture as we were walking the wet cobblestones of the Old City. Most building were of newer architecture save for some of the older structures.

St. Paul Parish Church

There was this pinkish-looking structure at a distance. We were walking towards it. Its bell tower was towering above the surrounding buildings. It was St. Paul Parish Church. The oldest parish church in Passau, Germany.

The interior of the church was impressive! The black and gold design of the altar begins attracting full attention upon entry. The decorations were elaborate, the columns tall and commanding, and the ceiling arches were high. We were sitting at the front pews while appreciating the impressive Baroque design. It was a Sunday. A good time to visit a church despite not attending a full service.

Christmas Market at Domplatz

The way to Domplatz was by walking through a maze of alleyways and tunneled paths. One must be careful not to slip on the wet cobblestone. Drips of water was falling from overhangs and tunnel ceilings. The umbrella really came in handy that day!

Domplatz is a historic square in front of St. Stephen’s Cathedral. It has been part of the Old Town since 1150. Domplatz is the venue for weekly markets and the annual Christmas market.

Domplatz was a beehive of activity for the Christmas market. Vendor booths were lining on both sides of the square. There were drinks, food, crafts, and arts selling from each booth. People were checking out the booths and enjoying themselves. We gave in to the tempting sight of the mulled wine and some bratwurst.

St. Stephen’s Cathedral

Our last stop was St. Stephen’s Cathedral. A Baroque church that is the seat of the Catholic bishop and the main church of Passau, Germany. The construction of the church was completed in 1693 over the ruins of several other churches on this site. It holds the distinction of having eight large bells and a ninth bell by the sacristy. Each bell has its own purpose. The church also holds the distinction of previously having the biggest church organ. This has now been overshadowed by the church organ in the USA.

The Bus Trip to Linz

We started walking back to the river port by mid afternoon. It was back on the bus riding toward Linz to meet up with our stranded river boat. The last leg of the river cruise was to end in Regensburg, Germany. That was the conclusion of our river cruise.