Franciscan on Sister Water

It’s been a fast dash through Germany and Austria on the Rhine, Main and now the Donau (or Danube).  WiFi has been a little sparse and so my additions may be further apart in time.

There has been so much we have seen.  The landscape has been beautiful, the people friendly and we’ve had enough interesting experiences to convince us that we did the right thing in planning this trip.

You all may have heard about the Blue Danube Waltz, however, you may not know that the Danube really is a brownish and sometimes greenish color in normal light.  At few times, however, I have caught those subtle changes and then the Danube does appear blue.

Subtle colors of the Danube

When the Danube is Blue

Not only are the colors of sister water beautiful but the landscape as well.

The Greenery on the Danube

Varied colors of the Danube

Since I like architecture and enjoy viewing different kinds, here are a few views of the mountain homes and countryside.

Alpine Homes in Austria

A typical Alpine town on the Danube

The church is usually the main feature in town and is almost always in the center.  I have seen many beautiful churches, some Gothic, Baroque and other Medieval styles.

Church in Deggendorf, Germany

Church in the mountains

As well as churches, there are many castles and forts of interest and in many forms.

Castle in Passau, Germany

Krempelstein Castle, "The Tailor's Castle, on the Donau

As well as viewing many interesting buildings and scenery along the way, we met many travelers along the way.  There were quite a few barges that we had to lock through with, however, there were others at times.  There were many canoeists on the Danube and kayaks.  A few of them went through locks with us.

Canoeists in the Lock

As well as people, we had insects and a particularly curious bird.

Visiting Bird

While visiting a hotel in Schlogen, Austria, I came into a room and encountered this bear.  It would have surprised anyone coming into the room.

Surprised by a bear

While in Schlogen, we also walked up a mountainside to see this beautiful view of the Danube.

Schlogen, Austria

We anchored our boat to the right of this picture, behind the trees.

One of my favorite towns is Regensberg, Germany.  Regensberg did not see a lot of destruction to it’s buildings during the two world wars, so many of their medieval buildings still exist and there are many stories about the town.

My favorite building in Regensberg, Germany

While we were in Regensberg we visited some friends and made some new ones.

Friendly People

Regensberg Jam Session

Some of the public art is very interesting in towns and some art can be viewed all along the way in different forms.

Picture on a house wall

Some of my favorite things to watch are nature passing by in it’s many forms.

Geese in flight

Early morning fog in the Alpines

There are so many pictures that I could show, but it would be better to get them off our flikr account to see what inspired us to take them.

Hope to report more on our travels and wishing you all many lovely life experiences and joys!