"By boat from Passau to Würzburg" a Passau Travel Page by bianchis

The famous river Danube brings romantic visions to my mind and for the first time I was able to make this trip and I was really impressed travelling on the Swiss Crystal, a ship which holds about 120 passengers and offered first class services.
My trip started in Zürich to Munich by train and then a coach brought us to Passau where our ship was waiting. We were welcomed on board and and enjoyed our first cocktail on deck with a view of Passau on a bright and sunny day.
We were excited to see this important canal link from the Rhine to the Danube River which was completed 1992. The Main River opened up shipping between the North Sea and Black Sea (2176miles with 66 locks).

The canal connects 10 European countries, including those bordering the North Sea.

Arriving from Munich with a coach, there was just enough time to board the ship and start our journey from Passau. The view from our ship was fantastic you could see the
The castle "Veste Oberhaus" built 1219 by Passau's Prince-Bishops in order to control commerce across the rivers.
In the 19th century during the Napoleonic Wars the castle was one of the strongholds against the Austrians. With changes over the centuries today's castle consists of gothic, renaissance and baroque parts. we did not have time to visit the exhibits documenting history and art history of Passau and it's surroundings but will certainly return.

The Bavarian city of Passau, is the meeting-point of three rivers - the Danube, the Inn and the Ilz. As it was a clear day we were able to see the distinctive colours of the these rivers.