Day 2 - Vilshofen, Germany to Passau, Germany - Adventures by Disney Danube River Cruise 2016

It always seems to take a day or 2 or 3 to get used to a new sleeping environment.  We had turned the AC up to cool the room to 68 as we like it but the fluffy comforters on the bed were still a little too heavy and I woke up in the middle of the night several times a little too warm under the covers and also as the boat set sail at 4 am.  I woke up before 6 am and just couldn't fall back asleep so decided to just get up and check out the boat going through the lock.  I took a shower, got dressed and went up to the top deck and we had already pulled into the lock and were just waiting.  Finally just before 6:30 am, another boat pulled up right next to us.  I had wondered why we were pulled off to the left in the lock.  After the other boat got situated, the water started to drain from the lock and in the span of another half hour or so, the ship was brought down a good 30 feet before the lock doors in front of us were opened.  It was nice to enjoy a cup of coffee from the 24/7 coffee machine as we watched the lock drain and the doors open.  There were also pastries in the lounge for the "early riser breakfast".  The weather was overcast and during the draining process there was a period of time that it was actually raining quite heavily but by the time we got off the ship, it had stopped.

We left the lock and I was amazed just how narrowly we were able to pass under the bridge.  There were literally inches between the top of the navigation bridge to the bottom of the bridge we passed under.  There were a few railings around the pool that were folded down during our pass through the lock as they would have surely hit the bottom of the bridge - it was that close.

Today's Daily Navigator:

We headed to the dining room for breakfast which was buffet style of typical breakfast foods, fruit, and also an omelet/egg station.  While we were eating breakfast, Tomi that Maitre 'd gave Lisa and Tim a copy of the menus for the day so that they could make their choices ahead of time to accommodate their tree nut (Lisa) and peanut (Tim) allergies.

I think this was one of the most impressive things we saw while on the boat - the attention they paid to making sure it was safe for them to eat in the dining room.  We've traveled a lot with them and have seen all degrees of concern about their nut allergies ranging from uneducated disregard to false platitudes to intense concern.  Just like our trip to Disneyworld last year, Disney came through in fabulous pro-consumer style not only making notes in the menu about every conceivable allergen but also taking an extra step to work with people who have allergies.  This was the only thing about our trip that I was a little worried about.

After breakfast, we went to pick up our "safety card" that they had told us about at the orientation - this was a card with our stateroom number on it that we would pick up each morning before leaving on an excursion and then return to the front desk when we arrived back just to make sure we weren't missing any passengers.  In addition to our safety card, we also got a blue tour card which meant we were in the blue group for our walking tour of Passau this morning.  When we got off the ship, we were docked next to another river cruise boat and so we had to go across to the other boat, upstairs to the top deck and then down the other side to the pier.  I had wondered how that worked when the boats were parked right next to each other.  There was no opportunity for us to enter the ship as we went up and around it instead.  Unfortunately, we picked up our tour card after our friends and we were assigned to a different group than they were.  We conferred with Daniel and he got us into the yellow tour group with Birdi and Veronika.  Take home point:  pick up your safety cards and group color assignments at the same time as the rest of your group to make sure you get on the same colored tour.

We each met with our respective groups and tour guides who were dressed in period costumes.  A cool piece of technology from the boat is our QuietVox units which were charging in our rooms when we checked in.   These cool devices are about the size of a large pen and, depending on the colored tour group you were in, they could be "programmed" to receive narrative from the tour guide on that particular color - you just had to turn your QuietVox on and program it by touching it to a color coded card.  You can either use the single earbud that comes with the QuietVox or you can use your own headphones but the guides recommend only putting one ear bud in your ear and leaving the other open.  It was very easy to hear our tour guide through the whole tour.

 Our tour was led by Baron Philip who was funny and entertaining as he explained some of the history of the region and used the children in our group to demonstrate the funny stories he had about the Prince Archbishop, the Mayor, and the other important historical figures in Passau.

Baron Philip

A Junior Adventurer (JA) with the yellow paddle of power

flood levels

more flood levels

store selling horse meat

store selling horse meat

Prince Archbishop's fort

We next visited St Stephan's Cathedral in Passau which boasted the largest organ in Europe with over 17,000 pipes.

Our next activity was a marzipan making activity.  After a group photo in the square, we made our way to the Brauerei Gastatte.  We were each given our own lump of marzipan as well as a wooden stick.  The candymaker showed us some simple techniques to try and make a face with the marzipan but it was easier said than done.  We had fun, though, trying.

We then had a little time to roam around Passau so we did a little shopping, picked up a magnet for our collection, and then made our way back to the AMA Viola.

Physalis - a fruit I'd never seen before

We had lunch on the boat and then met up for the next portion of our tour - to the Tree Path in Kopfing, Austria.  It took about an hour to drive out.

After we took the tree path, there were also other things to do like a giant swing, gift shop, and other play areas.  During our orientation, the owner of the facility mentioned an Austrian meat filled dumpling which I really wanted to try.  When everyone finished the tree top path, ABD paid for us all to have whatever we wanted at the cafe.  It was fun for us to share the "Innvertier" dumplings which were filled with pork and bacon.

They let some adventurers take a bus back to the ship while the rest of us boarded the other 2 buses to go out to the beer brewery - Aldersbach.  After a potty stop, we were given a short tour of the brewery, did a little shopping in their store, and then we were taken into a large hall where we were offered large steins of beer, a bunch of different bottled drinks (including Katerina's favorite the "Sports soda" which was a mix of Coke and Orange Fanta) and a large pretzel.  Both Tim and Seth thought the beer was good.

We had learned from Daniel at the Oktoberfest that instead of "cheers", the Germans said "prost" and clinked the bottom of their glasses instead of the tops of the glasses.

We returned back to the AMA Viola for dinner at 7:30.  I have to say that I have been very impressed with the meals on the boat.

tomato caprese with goat cheese

ice cream with cherries and meringue

Lisa's chocolate cake dessert

After dinner, we returned to our stateroom where I finished up 2 days' worth of blogs and then went to bed.  My legs were kinda sore as we had walked over 6 miles today.

Next post:

Day 3 - Passau, Germany to Linz, Austria