Our overnight sailing brought us into the town of Passau, Germany.

Passau is located in the German state of Bavaria and is at the junction of three rivers – the Danube, the Inn and the Ilz. It is another charming and picturesque town.

We started off the day with a light tour to get acquainted with the town and a little history. It was a bit drizzly while we walked, but it was very tolerable with a rain jacket or umbrella.

Saint Stephen’s Cathedral was a Baroque masterpiece with intricate carvings and paintings. Our guide explained that the windows were deliberately clear glass to let in the ‘light of God’. It also contains Europe’s largest cathedral organ, which was being renovated when we visited.

Our guide shared many interesting stories of life over the centuries on the banks of the three rivers.

We had some free time before we had to return to the boat. Some folks stayed to do a little shopping. We opted to just head back and get out of the drizzle.

Just before lunch, we once again set sail to our final destination – Vilshofen an der Donau. It’s amazing to think our voyage is ending; it seems like we just started.

Lunch was incredible today. Soup and sandwiches? Not a chance.

How about roast suckling pig and pork belly with potatoes and sauerkraut, lentil soup and Käsespätzle (Bavarian Mac and cheese) ?Here comes that word again…it was scrumptious!

In the afternoon, Sue attended a presentation by Dr. Christian Poelle. He talked a bit about the history of Bavaria. It was an in-depth review of the past 2,500 years. Sue was happy there wasn’t a quiz afterwards.

When we arrived in Vilshofen, we docked across from a small airstrip. We enjoyed watching from our balcony as the small private planes were taking off.

We had a bit of time to relax before the evening’s activity and did so.

As this was our last evening on the ship, we started off the evening with an Octoberfest celebration. There were performers, a beer contest, pretzels, a band and beer. Lots and lots of beer! We also had the ‘Beer Queen’ there to lead the celebration.

The big contest was to hold a filled beer stein out at arms length. One of the competitors was our own Parm. We cheered and rooted him on in a contest that lasted over 1 min and 45 seconds. Alas, he was second best in the competition, but number one in our hearts!

We ended the evening with dinner, goodbyes, hugs and then retired for the evening as everyone has to be up early to disembark in the morning.