Passau

Stay on board today as not feeling well and very tired. I miss the morning tour of Passau but heidi goes and visits the church there with its huge organ. I stay and use the computer on board which has a different keyboard and has the a and u with an umlaut which I could do with at home. I do some genealogy and talk to Gunther about coat of arms and we look up Lubeck and he is impressed that it has a crown in it. I then sit sit in the lounge in the sun eating pastries and reading. What a hard life!  Horse drawn  carts all dressed up and men in lederhosen stroll past the window. There is a festival on today to celebrate the mighty Danube river. Locals wave as they pass our window. There is a relaxed friendly atmosphere. The sun is shining. Heidi will return from the tour soon and we will have some lunch before going up onto the sundeck and the boat leaves dock again. All of a sudden at eleven am people begin to line the streets for the big Danube parade. It started promptly with brass bands and people in local costumes from their area as they paraded through the streets. We went up on the sundeck and got the best vantage point as the parade came out of the street opposite the boat turning left in front of us.  What luck. The clydsedales pulling beer barrels on carts made the most enchanting noise as their harnesses laden with bells jingled as they walked along.   People were pulled along in fancy decorated carts. Dirndls of many different colours and the men looking sharp in their lederhosen with long socks and hats with plumage on the side. The parade went on and on. I have never seen so many people come out of a side street marching forth in unison. It was a sight that I will never forget.

 Heidi returned to the boat and she had witnessed the whole parade from the marktplatz. We both had plenty of footage.  We went down to the dining room for a lunch of soup, salad, wine and fruit. Next is the apfelstreudel demonstration. Just enough time for a quick lie down. So much for a quick lie down! I missed the streudel demo and the eating part. Woke up two hours later. Oh well! Dinner was tuna salad entree and spicy prawn soup Main of mushrooms coated in breadcrumbs with zucchini. Dessert of lemongrass creme brulee followed by cheese. Absolutely stuffed! Went to the lounge to listen to the entertainment but not a fan of Country and Western so decided to go to bed early. Melk Abby in the morning.