Salzburg to Passau

Friday 15 July
In the morning we arrived at Linz and after breakfast set off for a day sightseeing, driving in a coach to Salzburg and from there to Passau in Germany where the ship was waiting for us.

On the way to Salzburg we stopped at the small town of Mondsee in the Austrian Lake District where we visited an ornate church where the wedding scene in the film, The Sound of Music, was shot.

We passed a number of lakes on the way to Salzburg and enjoyed the beautiful scenery.

At Salzburg we went for a walk around the old city, visited the cathedral.

The cathedral has five organs - one large one at the back and four smaller ones on the side of the church at the front. When they are all playing together we were told, the music is most impressive.

We also visited the farmers' market, Mozart's birthplace,

St Peter's Cemetery

and Residence Square.

We then had two hours to explore on our own during which time we climbed the steps to the bottom of the fortress from where we had a better view of the city.

On the drive back to the ship we crossed the border into Germany and stopped at Passau.

We walked to St Stephen's Cathedral - another impressive building with a huge organ -

and then back along the water front past the town hall.

I then went for a walk along the river bank to see where the three rivers, the Danube, the Inn and the Ilz meet.

After dinner we were entertained by the group La Strada - two violins and guitar - playing classical and gypsy music.