Good Morning Passau!, Long Walk, Yummy Food X2 (Passau, Germany)

Passau view

Good Morning, my sweet Passau. 

I walked for many miles today…covered a huge chunk of this magnificent little corner of the World.  During my walk I did do a practical thing…. I found a long sleeve button up shirt that won’t show sweat for the Africa portion of my trip.  I know it sounds odd to hunt for a sweat hiding shirt but dude Africa be HOT!  Actually the heat in Europe right now is more intense than the Ghana temperatures I dealt with two months ago.  I also found a huge electronics store in the mall while trying to get to the train station.  A super helpful guy helped me find a SD card converter, a case that actually fits my dual Sim phone and a micro SD card for the dual Sim phone.  Quite successful housekeeping outing if I do say so.

Finally made it to the train station and scooped up a ticket to Vienna for tomorrow.  Hopefully I meet up with the family for a few minutes before I leave town.  I have no clue what time they dock in Passau so fingers crossed we can get some hugs and coffee in.

Tasty Salad

I ended up walking along the waterfront for quite a while to the University of Passau.  I discovered a lovely footbridge and decided it needed to be crossed but the smells wafting from a tiny café at the foot of the bridge lead me and my empty tummy inside to investigate.  Cappuccino to accompany my vegetable quiche and salad was a much-needed sidebar to my fantastic but hot day.  The quiche was absolutely amazing and the salad was picture perfect (8.80 Euro).

I took some great pictures as I crossed the bridge and a tiny nun with a beautiful smile said something wonderful to me in German.  No clue what she said but it made me very happy. 

Quiche Baby!

So, who knew, but the other side of Passau is just as picturesque as the main part of town but very few tourists cross over.  It always amazes me how quickly you can get out of the tourist mass even in the high season.  I managed to wander away two hours on the ‘other side’.   There are churches, a cemetery, gorgeous streets and a brilliant view of the main side of Passau. 

I headed back to the Wilder Mann to rest my toes after 4-5 hours of straight walking.  Rested up and hungry again I head back to the restaurant I visited on my first night here where Weiner Shnitzl.  Just to let you know Weiner Schnitzel is the national dish of Austria...I guess I had better eat some when I'm there eh?  Sat outside again to people watch and ordered a beer and Gulashsuppe (Hungarian Goulash).  I am almost certain it is illegal here to NOT have a beer with dinner and I like to follow the rules.  I often see people having beer with breakfast in Germany.  The soup was outstanding and I am quite certain that pretzel bread should be served at every meal.  Germany has made the short list as a top contender for favorite food destinations. 

Footbridge, Passau

I had the amazing

Passau In the Summer, St. Stephen's Cathedral, and a Lovely River Cruise (Passau, Germany)

July 29

Wilder Mann Hotel

Unless you stay in a higher end hotel it is unlikely that you will have air conditioning which during a normal European Summer is not big deal.  This summer is an absolute scorcher in Europe.  I am sleeping on top of the blankets and just praying for a breeze to run through the open window.  Thankfully at some point in the night it cooled off a bit.

The breakfast room at the Wilder Mann is on the top floor and a total maze to get to.  They even have signs pointing out the path to food.  The room itself is an old Victorian style set up with ceiling to floor windows covering two full walls which makes for spectacular views of the city.

The food was decent but not as good as the amazing setups I have gotten use to at the last two places.  That being said it was worth the 7 Euros I paid.  After a long breakfast and coffee I took advantage of the wrap around balcony on the breakfast floor and soaked up the views. 

I wandered the city’s narrow, cobblestone streets which are shadowed by the pastel washed building.  Passau is  on the top of my ‘beautiful cities’ list to be sure.  It is difficult to take a bad picture here. 

Walking Passau, Germany

I took my first walk break at St. Stephen’s Cathedral, which is said to have the world’s largest organ.  St. Stephen's Cathedral is a baroque church built in 1688.  The church is said to have the largest organ outside the United States.  got there 30 minutes before the afternoon concert. There are two organ concerts a day and it was packed out by the time it began.  Many river cruises stop here and St. Steven’s Cathedral is high on the tourist list.  I had plenty of time to take in the beautiful architecture and baroque paintings.   There is no need to worry about where you sit here; the acoustics are incredible throughout.    

St. Stephen's Cathedral

I only had a half hour before my 2-hour cruise of the Danube so I wiggle my way to the waterfront along whatever cobblestone path is heading down to the river.   Yesterday, when I arrived, it was insanely quiet in Passau.  Apparently it was due to the time I arrived and because it was Sunday.  Today, there are tourist groups everywhere with a flag holding tour guide at the head.  It appears that Passau gets a lot of its tourist from the river cruising that is so popular here. 

Decided to do the Kristallschiff River Cruise which last two hours.  Got my ticket (13.80 Euro) and boarded.  What the hell, this thing looks straight out of a movie.  It is the most opulent boat I have ever seen.  There are chandeliers everywhere and the floors are inlayed with crystals.  I decide to sit inside, as I really need a break from the heat.   The cruise will go from Passau to Kasten, Austria to Obernezell and back again. 

I had a beer and watch the view out the gigantic windows.  This mini cruise on the Danube was well worth it. 

Along the Danube on a river cruise

I spent the rest of the day wandering around and ended up coming back to the hotel a bit early, as the rains are a coming.  I plan to get an early start tomorrow to see more sights and grab a ticket to Vienna. 

Happy Homeless Beach Dogs, Eco-Tourism and Canoe to Stilt Village

After an amazing, leisurely breakfast I headed to the beach for a few hours.  The resort has about 10 short tables with thatched umbrellas and lounge chairs.  Unlike many resorts this places if well off the beaten track near the border of Côte d'Ivoire so only a few locals passed during my chill time. 

Saw a group of four dogs running on the beach. 

lounging at the beach

First thing I noticed is that their tails where up and wagging, which is not something I see often in the third world/developing world.  I assumed they must belong to someone but the owner never appeared.  As they got closer I realized they were a pack of homeless beach dogs and they were well fed and happy as hell.  This is a first for me; happy, homeless beach dogs.  Watched and took pictures as they frolicked and dug for crabs then chased the crabs.  I felt honored to have witnessed this. 

Happy, homeless beach dogs playing with crabs

Around 10 I headed over to the Nzuezo Tour guide area and the guy from the bus ride in was there.  He would be my guide to the village.  Ghana has embraced eco-tourism and works hard to find a balance between preservation and tourism.  The silt village can only be accessed by canoe and you are required to take a guide.   Again I am the only tourist in town so it’s just the two of us.

It is the dry season at the moment so we have to walk about a half an hour to where we get the canoe.  During a large portion of the year you walk a mere five minutes to the canoes.  The first bit of the walk is a huge grass field.  There were men working to repair fences but these fences were haphazardly placed.  My guide said these were fishing fences.  During the rainy season the area were are walking is a shallow lake and those fences capture fish.  In about a month the rains will start and this meadow will become a lake.

Really wish I could come back and check it out in the rainy season.  One of my favorite things is to see a place, especially a place with extremes, in different seasons.  The best one yet was Russia.  I was there for a month in July camping and then did the Trans-Siberian and a month between Moscow and St. Petersburg in the winter.  What a difference.  Really must write about that one someday.

The canoe ride down the small river was very cool.  The entire trip was covered in a canopy of foliage and dragonflies and other water lovin’ bugs were abundant.  The river opened up into Lake Amansuri and I could see Nzeuzo in the distance.  Nzeuzo was created over 500 years ago and around 450 people live on the stilt village.  The village consists of two churches and a school complete with football pitch in the dry season.  

football pitch and school

Would love to take pictures once on the village but they no longer allow photography, which is great actually.  Can you imagine having daily tourists arriving at your home and in your hood snapping pictures? 

We only spent a half hour or so on Nzeuzo but that was all one really needs.  I did see there is a guesthouse there are well...that would be a pretty cool experience.  Since it is the dry season there are chickens running around in the mud that is the ground on the parts of the village that are closer to land.  Turns out that during the rainy season the chickens are put in floating chicken houses.  I bet they enjoy these months of dry.  The trip out was 20 Cedi and I gave a donation as well then tipped my guide 7 Cedi.  Typically he would have to walk the extra 10-15 minutes back to the tourist center but since it was just me I told him to go one home as I am more than capable of getting myself back.

Nzeuzo Stilt Village

Ate a super tasty pizza served on a ceramic cooking dish…. covered in tomatoes, onions, capsicums and more)…and as is the Ghana way the electricity went out in the middle of the night.  Another night with the door open…. will wait and tell my mother that one later.

NEXT DAY

I did stay another day here but there is absolutely nothing to tell.  Ate good food, read a good book and sat on the beach.  Hells Yeah!

Out of the open lake

 

Pizza at Beyin Beach Resort