We sail out of the Danube/Main River/Canal today into the Danube itself. After  about 4 days, we will get the side rails, chairs, umbrella covers and wheel house raised back up again on the sun deck as we have finally gone through all of the low bridges on our trek. Also, I think I forgot to mention that we have been given the word that we will be able to go all the way to Budapest without having to change ships. This summer there have been several occasions when the water has been so low that the ships have not had enough water in the rivers to get up or down the river from certain points. When that happens, Viking docks one ship at one point, and a sister ship is docked at another point. The passengers pack their bags, are taken on a bus day trip, and then delivered to a sister (identical) ship where their luggage is waiting for them in their identical rooms, and they continue their journeys either upstream or downstream. Somewhat complicated but so clever…and we are thrilled we won’t  have to experience it!

Regensburg, having escaped major damage in WW II, this picturesque town is one of Europe’s best preserved medieval cities, the oldest city along the Danube and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The old town’s Neupfarrplatz square is a cross section of history—having served as an ancient Roman gathering place, a thriving Jewish quarter, a bustling marketplace, and the site of Nazi book burnings.

Mike…just got your question as we were exiting a lock as we were getting up. As you see, there is not much to see other than a wall out the window. We have passed through the majority of locks while we were asleep. You can Google Rhine-Main-Danube Canal and find all sorts of information on this stretch of our journey. It appears, without us looking it up, that the lift on the locks had been 20-30 feet which is amazing. Also, on this canal we are going through, there are 16 such locks in 106 miles. 

We sailed into Regensburg around noon. At 1:45 our tour group walked a couple of blocks into town—didn’t have to ride a bus today. Our guide today was OK but not as good as some others we have had, but she was a nice girl. The town itself was interesting but I still think Würzburg was the nicest we have visited so far. After the tour ended, several of us went into St. Peter’s Cathedral for a quick look around before heading back to the Skadi. We sail again at 5:45. As notes of interest—The Old Stone Bridge I have a picture of, was constructed in the 12th century and has 16 arches. St. Peter’s Cathedral is widely considered Bavaria’s best Gothic architectural work. The church has existed since 700AD. However, due to several devastating fires, the church was rebuilt and the current high Gothic-style building there now was completed in 1320 (just a baby!!)