Rolling on the river...

Rolling down hill now as we've crossed the European watershed.  I tried to take a photo of the monument that marks the spot but I must have blinked and missed it.

Several more pleasant days have included all the staples of European holidays - castles, cathedrals and beer.  Our visit to Regensburg included a wander through the cobblestone streets and lanes and we also visited the gothic cathedral where the medieval stained glass windows were a highlight.  They were removed during the war years and stored elsewhere.

As you can see the photo belongs to A.N.Other.

 As we set sail I thought that Mr Strauss had clearly been at the absinthe or picking the "special" mushrooms in the forest!  The confluence of the Inn, Ilz, and the Danube Rivers shows how different the colours are.  None of them even remotely blue.

The brown water is the Danube, the greeny brown is the Inn.

We skipped the optional (ie give us all your money) Saltzburg day trip for what turned out to be a private tour to Engelszell Abbey - and we have now ticked off the only Austrian Trappist Brewery from Matt's To Do list. It would have been silly not to as we were moored in Passau, only 30 km away.  We were welcomed so warmly by Jenny (the brewery office manager) who showed us over the brewery and had a long discussion with Matt about their favourite Brews.  We also took time to visit the church which was incredibly ornate.  In glass coffins were the remains of four saints, dressed in gold and jewels.  Sadly we could see that some areas of the church were in desperate need of repair so I made sure I bought a candle for their restoration fund.  Matt made sure he bought some beer!  He said he'd drink it before we disembark so we didn't have to carry it.  A truly noble gesture.  Interior church photos stolen from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engelszell_Abbey  

Dead people wrapped up in gold and jewels

Matt contemplates Engelszell Abbey as we sail past, wondering why his beer with lunch wasn't as tasty as that made by monks.

The next stops were more medieval towns and abbeys - Melk and Dürnstein. We've seen a number of towns which were dominated by bishop-princes in the medieval era and several of us discussed over lunch how they were beautiful but enraged us at the same time.

Waiting to be admitted to Melk Abbey.

Despite the vulgar display of wealth I would quite like one of these rooms...

The conspicuous flaunting of obscene wealth while keeping the illiterate peasants firmly in their places (and hard at work) goes a long way to explaining why Lutheranism was a political as well as religious movement!  Our Vienna guide yesterday told us that still the Catholic Church in Austria demands all Catholics (not just regular church-goers) over 18 tithe a portion of their income - you actually have to resign from being a member of the church in order to be exempted.  Despite the hefty entrance fee we paid to tour Melk there were donation boxes everywhere.  Shame a few of those euros couldn't be shared with little Engelszell just down the river which had obvious programs in place to help the less privileged and really needed some restoration work!

We cruised on to Durnstein, a tiny and picturesque town famous for once hosting King Richard the Lionhearted.  Well, the castle dungeon did.

They've run out of space to bury local people at Durnstein so the bodies have been dug up (and the bones are stored in a crypt just out of shot) while new bodies are interred in the family plot

Up there on the hill is the castle Richard the Lionhearted was imprisoned in.  I'm ashamed at Matt forgetting his legends, he asked me why the inn was called The Blonde Singer.  See https://historyandsoon.wordpress.com/2015/10/25/music-for-a-captured-king-richard-the-lionheart-and-blondel/ for the details

Not a Blue Castle, but a Blue Tower.

A morning exploring Vienna meant a coach trip and a walk around the most famous sights of the old city.  The highlight was a visit (with food and wine tastings) to the naschmarket.

Two views of the stunning art nouveau Secession Building (aka The Golden Cabbage) where Klimt's Beethoven Frieze is on display.  Just another thing we need to come back for.

We also saw a blue rabbit.  The things that help you find your way...

We also took time out from being organised by others and did our own thing which meant a visit to the lovely castle at Kreuzenstein.  The area was easy enough to reach by train - but the castle is 2.7 km from the station and there is no public transport.  It's a quite pleasant walk but one way at least it's all uphill!

We missed the guided tour we'd planned to join and had to hang around for an hour.  Oh the hardship.

A real (restored from the ruin the Swedes left it in) medieval castle.  As usual, no photos were allowed inside but it was very cool.  

Tomorrow sees our last day, cruising in Budapest.  We've certainly had a fun and busy time (and to think we took a cruise because we thought they were EASY!) !  We've had a slight change of plans as the ferry we were booked on has been cancelled - so Monday will be a long travel day to Split in order to have a scant week on the Dalmation coast.  Unsure what sort of wifi we'll find there too! 

We are enjoying the responses from our friends and family who have read about our exploits - they arrive via email, on the blog and on facebook.  I just don't know how people who blog daily ever find the time!!!