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DAY NINE ~ REGENSBURG

Having passed through the Main-Danube canal, we are now on the Danube, the longest river in the European Union at 2,872 km (1,785 miles) and the European continent's second longest (after the Volga). It passes through four Central European capitals before emptying into the Black Sea. Once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire, the river passes through or touches the borders of 10 countries: Romania, Hungary, Serbia, Austria, Germany, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Croatia, Ukraine and Moldova.

Cruising down the river, we pass several castles along the way. I don't know the name of this one,
but it is typical. It strangely appears as though the earth pushed that huge stone tower up from its
depths just so man could build this castle upon it.

We approach a lock slowly, as there is very little space on each side of the boat, so the captain must aim very carefully.

This will be a deep drop. The gate at the end, once the water reaches the level of the river beyond,
will swing open to allow us to pass under that bridge you see at the far end of the lock.

On the bow there are tables and chairs set up so it makes a nice place to sit and enjoy the ride through the lock.

Pete is wearing his vacation necklace. You will notice it on all our trips, because this is
the only time he wears it. He's had it for years now, and it is a symbol of a fun time. ;o)

We've reached the bottom in this lock. It's one of the big ones. I'm still amazed by the concept.
To think that when we left Amsterdam we were actually below sea level. Now we are sailing
over the continental divide, the equivalent of a 133 story building, assuming 10 feet per story.

The lock gate is now open and we are about to pass through to the next level of the river.

From Nuremberg to Regensburg it is approx. 115 km (71.46 miles). Regensburg is located at the confluence of the Danube and Regen rivers, at one of the northernmost points of the Danube.

The first settlements in Regensburg date to the Stone Age. Around AD 90, the Romans build a fort there. In 179, the Roman fort Casta Regina ("fortress by the river Regen") was built for Legio III Italica during the reign of Emperor Marcus Aurelius. It was an important camp on the most northern point of the Danube.

The Viking Var arrives in Regensburg at 1:00 PM and we leave shortly after that on a walking tour of Regensburg. It's a beautiful and historic old town.

The ancient Roman buildings still show through, as current day building structures use those time worn
yet most durable structures as their foundations. The architecture is quite beautiful, as the photos show.

One of the buildings had this enormous mural of David and Goliath painted on it.

This is Regensburg's Gothic cathedral, Dom St. Peter. It is among the greatest in Bavaria.
Construction was completed in 1525. It is as photogenic on the inside as it is on the outside.

I wonder, what do little kids think when they first see Jesus nailed to the cross, or some sword wielding woman?

This stone bridge, built 1135-1146, is a masterpiece of medieval bridge building. For more than 800 years it
remained the only solid crossing along the Danube. The knights of the 2nd and 3rd crusade used this very
bridge to cross the Danube on their way to the Holy Land.

Our walking tour of Regensburg ended at 3:00 PM and we were once again onboard and enjoying the evening with a special event presented by our Program Director Dawn, OPERA in the Viking Lounge.

This trio sang well together, and the gentleman did a solo where he would sing directly to one of the ladies in the audience.

I think this passenger was rather enjoying the attention. But you know how performers are. Opera singers
are ok, but a comedian like Buddy Hackett can really embarrass an unsuspecting mark in the audience.

Dinner tonight was really good. I don't remember why Pat put the rose in her mouth, unless they were playing a flamenco.

At 10:30 PM we cast off and leave Regensburg for Passau. We cruised through the night, and probably went through a couple of more locks. Who knows? In any case, we were told at our nightly briefing that we must have our luggage in the hall outside our cabins by 7:00 AM, and that after breakfast we would need to settle our accounts and vacate our staterooms. The staff had to prepare them for the passengers from the Viking Freya who would be occupying them from this point on, as the Var would turn around and be heading back to Amsterdam with them on board. The same activity was going on with the Viking Freya. We would be boarding the Viking Freya at around 5:00 PM and would find our luggage in our identical cabins on the Freya, as they are sister ships, and the only difference between them is the name on the bow and stern, AND, the chef. We quickly learned just how fortunate we were to have had such a great chef on the Var. It's not that the meals on the Freya were bad by any means, but we could definitely tell that there was a difference, in presentation and excellence. This is one thing we've learned over the years, that a chef can make or break an establishment. A restaurant we enjoyed immensely in the past, having changed their chef, has definitely changed the level of our satisfaction, and all too often in the negative direction. We've come to simply enjoy those special moments of excellence when they come along, and to not expect an identical experience in the future. Change is one of the few thing that are truly inevitable, like death, and taxes.

In the next part I will take you on our walking tour of Passau, a fascinating city that today is home to some 50,000 inhabitants, and a city of considerable historical importance.