captain's dinner and Nuremberg

Our tour guide today was fantastic. He took us to the sight were Hitler would practice what the tour guide described as a "propoganda mechanism" which was used to give The German people hope because they had suffered from WWI and their financial and political system had broken down. Not to mention unemployment being at 34%. This is what Hitler used to build his empire. The guide did not present it as an excuse but as a way to learn how that kind of thing can take place. They plan to keep this building as a reminder and a learning tool that this type of thing will not happen again.

 

We then moved onto Nuremberg Imperial Castle, churches and art history. Then we stopped for local sweets.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Regensburg

Is a city in Bavaria, Germany, located at the confluence of the Danube and Regen rivers, at the northernmost bend in the Danube. To the east lies the Regensburg Forest. There are buildings that date back to the Roman Empire. The streets are all cobble stone. Bike riding is a form of transportation and it is crazy how the cars and bikes compete for road space. The roads are narrow and there are no traffic lines or curbs.

 

Kelheim Germany to Monastery of Weltenburg via the Danube Gorge and of curse their beer garden.

 

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Passau Germany

Dad likes this town the best so far. Our tour guide was great sharing fun tidbits of information along with history that can sometimes be a bit much. Stopped and had lunch at a little cafe. The waitress spoke very little English and we of course couldn't read the menu and it had no pictures. So we all took a good guess and hoped for the best......turned out great. Back at the ship for a short rest.

Passau (previously Latin: Batavis or Batavia) is a town in Lower Bavaria, Germany. It is also known as the Dreiflüssestadt or "City of Three Rivers," because the Danube is joined at Passau by the Inn from the south and the Ilz from the north.

 

 

The organs at this cathedral have continually been added to over the years. The "organ" is really several separate organs of different tonal styles all accessible from one or more consoles. Likewise, the organs of the First Congregational Church of Los Angeles, California, USA have grown over the years and play from twin consoles; together, the two organs have 346 ranks and over 20,000 pipes. By contrast, the Cadet Chapel Organ of the United States Military Academy, West Point, New York is a single organ. It has also been added to continuously over the years and is larger still with more than 23,500 pipes. It plays from a single console

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Melk Austria

Toured the Melk Abby and the town of Melk. Melk (older spelling: Mölk) is a city of Austria, in the federal state of Lower Austria, next to the Wachau valley along the Danube. Melk has a population of 5,222 (as of 2001). It is best known as the site of a massive baroque Benedictine monastery named Melk Abbey. 

 

 

Here is our ship The Viking Legend

 

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Trip to Melk

This morning we travel to Melk. The pics below we're taken during our trip to Melk.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Vienna Austria

Vienna

 

Tour started at 9 am then we stayed in Vienna for a few more hours on our own and took the underground back to the ship. We stopped to have a chocolate torte which is a must when here. Pictures are below. Vienna is very metropolitan similar to New York city. Wonderful open air markets and cafe's. Many Many palaces that were the homes of the Hapsburg family which were the ruling family of the Austrian empire. The new and old architecture are all over the city.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We are learning a new perspective about WWII from Edith and Heinz. Edith's father was a policeman during that time that assisted the Jewish people. When Heinz speaks of that time, he tears up. They are just so cute together. I feel like I've known them for years.

 

 

 

 

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