8/17 - At 6 am the ship left for Regensburg. After breakfast, I went up on the sun deck. It was a beautiful, cool, breezy day.I was in a sleeveless top but some had on jackets. We passed the first locks on the Danube. I sat talking with Kathy, Lianne Katz's daughter-in-law. I walked on some tours with Lianne & also sat sometimes on deck with her. She's verify bright & has travelled everywhere for years. She was a buyer for Macy's after she finished college - which was about when we finished high school. Her husband died last year. Then she got Menaires? which left her very unsteady, deaf in one ear & almost in the other. Through working hard on rehabilitation, she was able to walk fine with us. She did have to stay near guides to hear what was said. When she gets back, she's going in for an operation to have a device put in her ear so she'll be able to hear better.
Kathy & I watched as we passed through locks. One of them opened on both sides to let us through. She told me in confidence that her father-in-law committed suicide. I can't imagine why as he was well, wealthy & had a long-term marriage. Later on I left her & went down to the lounge. I sat there while listening to classical music, mainly waltzes by our keyboard player. Meanwhile I watched the scenery slowly go by & also read. We were cruising the final stretch of the Main-Danube canal & then entered the Danube.
We arrived in Regensburg at about 1. Many ships & boats were docked & the buildings were close to the river's edge. It looked so peaceful & scenic I couldn't help but take some pictures. At 2 we took a guided walking tour through this medieval town. Nowadays Regensburg is the economic & the cultural hub of Eastern Bavaria. We had to use up all our marx & coins as we were entering Austria tomorrow. I kept a few coins for my photo album. They won't be used much longer because the Euro will be used instead. The tour returned at 4.

We then showered, etc. & got ready for a formal evening. The men were asked to wear jackets. I wore my Indian dress bought in Key West 4 years ago. At 6:30 we were invited into the lounge for a glass of champagne. The Captain & Purser were in full dress uniform & shook all our hands. The cocktail party was noisy as we all milled around talking to the people we knew. Waiters walked around with trays of tiny egg rolls, etc.

As we walked into the dining room at 7, the Captain handed each woman an artificial long-stemmed rose. When we went back to our rooms, we found a long plastic cylinder for it so it wouldn't crush when we packed it into our suitcases. Our dessert was Baked Alaska.

There was dancing in the lounge for the couples. Carol took the 6 of us & a few others on a walk into town. She wanted to show us Regensburg at night when the Dome of St. Peter & other special buildings are brightly lit. We stood on the Stone Bridge built between 1135 & 1146, 1,017 feet long & looked back at the town. From the middle, there is a fine view of the old town, its medieval roofs dominated by the cathedral's spires. I took a few pictures. In the foreground is the 14th century Brukenturm gateway, flanked, on the left, by the huge roof of the Salzstadel (early 17th century salt loft). Beside this building, on the quayside, is the Historische WurstKuche, the oldest sausage kitchen in Germany

Preparing to go through a lock as people watch from bridge	Another lock Some more pictures taken from the sun deck
Postcard of Regensburg	One of the locks on the Danube River
A scene I took while the ship was sailing	A street in Regensburg
Organ Grinder	Maureen talking with Lianne Katz
June holding an artificial rose the Captain gave each woman at a formal dinner

8/18 - The River Queen departed for Passau at 3 am. At 8 I had 2 croissants, coffee, & good talk with Lianne, Jane & Angela while eating. A passenger took a picture of Erna & me in front of the wheelhouse. I took pictures of just the wheelhouse & some of the scenery on the Danube.

After brunch, I sat in the lunge listening to the keyboard player & reading but Carol spied me. Some of the passengers were playing a Human Chess Game on the sun deck. Carol wanted me to take her place. I told her I only take pictures & went up with her & took some. It was very hot & I found Erna sunning herself. I sat with others in the shade.

We arrived in Passau at 1:30 & left for a guided walking/bus tour, including some free time. Our tour began with a coach ride across the Danube to a nearby hilltop for a spectacular view of Passau & the surrounding countryside. We stood at a high spot & I was able to take a picture. It was an overview of Passau, called the Venice of Bavaria, with Austria in the background. I also took a picture of our guide, Sonja. Holy Cross Church as 2 crosses where a Bishop once headed it from the 11th century.

At this point I hit my glasses with my camera & knocked off one plastic nose pad. That side of my nose was sore & red till a few days after I got back home. Then I went & had another put on. We walked in Town Residence Square where I saw the Town Hall & a fountain built in 1903. The Square is bordered on the south by the bishops' New Residence, which dates from the beginning of the neo-Classical period. The surrounding streets are still lined with many old houses above arcades.

We visited St. Stephan's Cathedral, housing the largest pipe organ in the world. The organ was rebuilt in 1938 with 17,388 pipes & 231 stops. Apart from the east chancels & the transept, the original late Gothic cathedral was destroyed by fire in the 17th century. Once rebuilt, the greater part of it was in Baroque style. The huge interior is overloaded with frescoes & stuccowork.

The arrival of the Inn waters at Passau almost doubles the flow volume of the Danube; from there it becomes a really big river. From the middle ages, river trade played an important role in the town's prosperity, including such essentials as cereals, wine & salt, for which the Passau merchants enjoyed the "right of storage".

At 6:30 we left Passau for Melk. Tonight's dinner was Austrian Night & the waiters were dressed in Austrian garb. I had one of them take a picture of me with two of them. While eating dessert, we passed the Austrian border. We were told to be sure to throw a small coin at the statue of the sailor's saint at the border. It is said to bring you luck for life. Most of us went up to the sun deck & threw a coin. Me as well. It didn't hit the statue so I guess I won't have luck for life. At this point, one side of the Danube is Germany; the other Austria.

Erna & myself in front of Wheelhouse	Scenery on the Danube
More scenery taken aboard ship while sailing on the Danube	Keyboard player in Lounge of the River Queen
Postcard of Passau	Passau - Taken from an overlook high up in the mountains
A fountain in a Passau Square
Dom St. Stephan	Dom St. Stephan
Austrian Night Dinner - Two of the waiters & me

8/19 - 8/20

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