Visiting Passau – Germany’s Postcard Peninsula, Passau, Germany

Of all the stops on my recent trip down the Danube with Viking Cruise Lines, visiting Passau was the one I wasn’t excited about. There are many online resources listing great destinations in Europe to explore . Passau, in my mind, wasn’t one of them. To be fair, I knew nothing of the town, so I prematurely wrote it off as a nothing more than a place for my river cruise ship to refuel. I would’ve missed out on visiting Passau and left with this thought if it wasn’t for the three days of cruise food in me. Yes, because of a little self-shame and a couple extra pounds, I decided to get off the boat for a day of visiting Passau. In the process I found my favorite stop on Danube. Here’s why:

Turns out Passau is a pretty big deal. With its strategic location where the Danube, Inn, and Ilz rivers meet, Passau has been historically significant for centuries. Although it established itself as an import trading post, it does come at a cost. As I strolled the narrow streets of Passau I started noticing markings on some of the buildings. Turns out, this town has seen a flood or two in it’s day, and significant ones at that. With the swelling of the three rivers, Passau has, at some points, been an incredible 40 feet under water! With such a risk of getting soggy, why would anyone want to live here? In short, it’s gorgeous. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).