Friday, February 2, 2018

Day 9-10 of Magnificent Europe river cruise on AmaPrima: Regensburg, Passau, Linz - May 26-27, 2017



Trip Index
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day 9 Daily Cruiser page 1
day 9 Daily Cruiser page 2
day 9 Daily Cruiser page 3
day 9 Daily Cruiser page 4

We had a light breakfast before AmaPrima arrived in Regensburg.

day 9 breakfast menu
those little donuts were tasty

Our excursion choice today was the active walking tour. Many medieval structures are preserved in this town. Regensburg is also home to Wurstkuchl, the oldest restaurant in Germany.

gate tower
oldest restaurant in Germany
view of Old Stone Bridge
Porta Praetoria
Regensburg Cathedral
cathedral interior

After the tour, we returned to the ship for light lunch in the lounge, followed by a 20 km roundtrip bike tour to Walhalla.

day 9 lunch menu
light lunch buffet in the lounge
vegetable broth
farfalle, salads
Black Forest Gateau
enjoying amarena ice cream in the room

I thought the Walhalla bike excursion was the most challenging of the ones we did. There was a section of a metal bridge where it was only wide enough for one bicycle, making it interesting when someone was coming the other way (fortunately that didn't happen often). Plus, it required good balance to keep the bike in the narrow space since you had to go slow. As someone got scratched up from losing balance and colliding with the fence, a few people decided to walk their bikes across. Once we reached the memorial, we needed to climb approximately 420 stairs to enter the building. It was an exhilarating ride and the cool breeze inside the memorial refreshed us as we perused the busts of great Germans.

coming off the narrow bridge
the way is mostly flat
break time
almost there
now we need to walk up
1st set of stairs
2nd set of stairs
3rd set of stairs
4th set of stairs
last set of stairs
hello Beethoven!
the exterior is also impressive

After the bike ride, we visited the oldest restaurant in Germany for some sausages and beer, then returned to the ship to get cleaned up for dinner.

Wurstkuchl menu
sausages and beer
day 9 dinner menu
tomato carpaccio
cherry cocktail
creamy potato soup
ham wrapped pork tenderloin
hazelnut chocolate cake a la mode

The next morning, AmaPrima arrived in Passau, our last stop in Germany.

day 10 Daily Cruiser page 1
day 10 Daily Cruiser page 2
day 10 Daily Cruiser page 3
day 10 Daily Cruiser page 4
day 10 breakfast menu
healthier choices

Many guests opted to do the Salzburg excursion (where some of The Sound of Music was filmed). Kaleb and I decided to do the Passau Castle hike. It was just the two of us and Norm, whom we got to know from earlier excursions. Having just the three of us on the hike was terrific.

view of Passau Castle from the river
building marked with flood levels
stairs up towards the castle
steady climb up
entering the castle
example of medieval tools in the courtyard
castle chapel dedicated to St. George
frescoes restored
"fake" windows
view of town from atop
the Danube and Ilz rivers meet
"1499" (old way of writing 4)

After the castle tour, we headed back down to walk around town.

close up view of the flood levels
colorful path leading to artists' galleries
cute Bavarian childrens' outfits

We returned to AmaPrima for lunch, then departed for Linz, Austria. The guests on the Salzburg excursion would rejoin the boat there in the evening. On the way to Linz, we were in a double-wide lock with another ship. As the water lowered, the two ships would bump into each other constantly.

day 10 lunch menu
interesting water concept
spinach soup and penne pasta
enjoying ice cream in our room
kept bumping into this boat in the lock

Tonight was the Chaine des Rotisseurs dinner. AmaWaterways is the only river cruise line to be inducted into this organization.

Chaine des Rotissseurs
day 10 dinner menu
pate de foie gras
pear cocktail
French onion soup
I had a bit of wine for the occasion
rack of lamb
trio of desserts

After dinner, Kaleb and I walked along the riverbank in Linz, which had a park-like setting. There were groups of people here and there enjoying each others' company, listening to music emanating from a nearby outdoor concert venue. It was very peaceful.

AmaPrima docked in Linz
Ars Electronica Center lit up in bright colors

Tomorrow, AmaPrima sails to Melk, Austria...stay tuned!

Missed any of the previous entries? Refer to the Trip Index at the top of this post to navigate.


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