Take a Risk Visit Linz

 

Basilica Maria Taferl

Day 2 (7/21/26) Linz, Austria

“Take a Risk Visit Linz”, the slogan from there tourist map and brochure about says it all. It has a different flavor than the rest of the places we visited. It is where old meets new. Adolf Hitler considered Linz his home town. Although he wasn’t born there he spent most of his childhood there and it held a special place in his heart. He had big plans for it after the war. In 1938 he used the balcony of the (Rathaus) Town Hall to declare the unification of Germany and Austria as the beginning of the “Greater German Empire”. He spent much of his time in Linz during the war. Linz also has the Nibelungen Bridge which served as the demarcation line between the Soviet Union and American occupation zones following World War 2. From 1945 to 1955 the bridge functioned as an international border checkpoint. The southern bank of Linz was controlled by the United States while the northern bank was controlled by the Soviet Union. The division lasted until Austria regained its independence in 1955. It was known as “The path from Moscow to Washington”. But not everything in Linz is about war and affairs of state. Linz is the home of the “Linzertort”, the oldest written cake recipe still in use. It is a heavy, spicy cake. We stopped by the oldest bakery in Linz to give it a try. It has a slight gingerbread flavor with nuts and jelly. It was well worth the walk to re-find it. There are several notable churches in Linz. The Basilica Maria Taferl sits on a hill overlooking the city on the southern side of the river with a tram that runs from town to the top. The Old Cathedral (Alter Dom), which we visited, was constructed by Jesuits between 1669 and 1683 in the Baroque style. The composer Anton Bruckner served as the cathedral organist from 1855 to 1868. Another notable building although modern in design is the Arts Electronica Center. The building features a specialized LED media façade designed for interactive light shows and artistic projections. The museum serves as a “Museum of the Future,” focusing on art, technology, and society. Linz is a city of bridges but the most important one bridges the gap between past and future.

Old Town Hall

Hitler's speach

Nielungen Bridge

Eating Linzertort

Oldest Linz Bakery

Old Cathedral

Interior (front)

Interior (back

)

Danube Cruise Passau, Germany

 

Artists Alley

Day 1 (7/19-20/26) Passau, Germany on the Danube

After a harrowing flight with a mechanical delay in Chicago which set us up for a sprint across the airport at Charlotte to catch our flight to Munich we have finally arrived to our boat in Passau on the Danube to start our cruise to Budapest, Hungary. It is flights like this that sometimes make you question if the journey is worth the flight. I will say this for American Airline that when we landed in Charlotte the flight attendant asked that everyone stay seated until we and a few others debarked the plane to catch our next flight. Some complied and some didn’t. After landing in Munich we had about an hour bus ride to our boat. Since by now it had been well over twenty-four hours with no sleep I remember little of the ride except how much it looked like home right down to the deer stands everywhere. Viking is very good about transitioning each step of the process so soon we were on board and in our room and it was still before noon. After a quick lunch, we joined a tour group that was going into Passau for a look around. Known as the city of rivers, Passau sits at the confluence of three rivers. The Inn, which flows from the Alps, has a distinct light green color while the Ilz, which flows from the south, is very dark. They both flow into the Danube, which a blue brown color, leaving very distinct lines until they mix together. In the evening the boat moved closer to the city as the sun went down giving some awesome views of the approach. On the approach to the city the first buildings that you notice are the Veste Niederhaus fortress and the St. Salvator pilgrimage church at the confluence of the Danube and Ilz rivers. Above them on the mountain crest overlooking the entire city sits the Veste Oberhaus fortress from the thirteenth century a massive structure dominating the landscape.

The next morning we had a walking tour around Passau. We found the guide very informative. Like most old European cities it was characterized by narrow alleys, cobblestones and court yards. Apparently the narrow alleys were there to limit the number of enemies who could enter the city. One of these alleys is referred to as Artists Alley and has painted cobblestones to direct you to different artists’ studios and homes. Like most old European Cities there are sculptures and fountains around every corner. Although there are many beautiful churches and buildings, St Stephan’s Cathedral stands out with its baroque architecture and world’s largest cathedral organ which they plan on even expanding by 2030. There is never enough time and energy to see everything you would like to and soon it was time to head back to the ship and prepare for the next leg of our journey.

Entering Passau

Building on the Mountain

Narrow Alley

Veste Oberhaus

Old Town Hall

Killer Comedy Stage

Random Sculpture

On the banks of the Danube

Another narrow Alley

Wittelsbach Fountain (Baroque Style)

St. Stephen's

Door to St. Stephan's

Interior of St. Stephan's

St. Stephan's

Another Interior shot

Modern Sculpture recognizing
 women abused by the church 

St. Stephan's

Vine Wall

Another local bier

Fly like an Eagle or Where's Waldo?

 

Eagles of Waldo Pond

Day 11 (9/15/25) 

We decided our goal for fall was try to get out kayaking at least once a week. This morning we got up and were going to head up to Gerber Lake, one of our favorite spots. One thing led to another and suddenly it was later than we had planned so we decided to go to Waldo which is about half the distance. Waldo Pond is an interesting place. The boat landing is very mucky and a little smelly but once you are on the water it is not bad. Depending on the season it can have a lot of muck floating on the surface.  Another thing about Waldo is that no matter how little wind there is elsewhere it is usually windy on the pond and blowing in your face on your way back. That being said, it also has many reasons to paddle it. Although every year it seems to get a little more developed, it is still fairly private and scenic especially up river. But the best part of Waldo is the Eagles. In the past we have usually seen one or two that would follow us around in case we might scare up a fish. They would literally fly from tree to tree in front of us, waiting for us to pass, and then flying ahead of us again. At first we joked that they just liked having their picture taken until we realized they were probably waiting for us to scare up fish. When we first started out today a mature eagle flew across the lake in front of us and disappeared. We were left wondering if we would see anymore. At first we didn’t but as we got closer to the river we scared up a few immature ones. They were very shy and hard to get any pictures of. The further we went the more young ones we saw. Finally at one point there were around a dozen immature eagles flying around. Our favorites were two young males, I think, practicing their in air combat. They would fly together almost touch talons and then pull away. We were never really able to get very close like other times with the adults but were impressed with the sheer number. Once we got to the river there were trees down across it so we were not able to go as far up as we used to. As I mentioned before, the trip back was of course against the wind. We did see a few immatures but with the wind it was hard to stop and photograph them. When we finally got back to the park we noticed a heron that was posing down river. It was a great way to end another day on Waldo Pond.   

Start of Fall Color

Our Favorite Tree

First Eagle

A few of the Immatures.

Young One

Up River

Poser

The Dam

Day 10 (9/2/25) It is not how far you go but what you see.

Floating on Clouds

Just about every time we kayak up the Milwaukee River at Mauthe Lake on our way back down the river we always meet somebody who inevitably asks, “how far did you make it?” We always laugh because how do you answer that? There are no road signs or mile markers. Beyond that the banks are pretty much all the same and although there are a few landmarks it is questionable if they would know what we were talking about. I realize that the reason some ask is that it gets quite weedy as you get further upstream and they want to know if it is passable. That being said, they should be asking “what did you see?” The river is full of surprises and that is what has kept us going back for over thirteen years. Today was a perfect example. We started out watching an Egret fishing along the shore who didn’t seem to mind. It was a beautiful day with little wind and a sky full of fluffy white clouds. It was a perfect day to mosey upstream. Occasionally we find little inlet streams that with a little work you can make your way up stream. Today we found a new one that had opened up. Although shallow we were able to go probably a half mile upstream until we got to the source which was a shallow pool with burbling springs lining the bottom. We have found these pools before but are always fascinated by the little percolating springs. Unfortunately we hadn’t brought our underwater cameras so had to settle for capturing them with phones. We were amazed by how many of the plants and trees were changing color. After our adventure in the inlet we did continue a little further up the river but decided we should probably head back. Being the middle of the day we didn’t see a lot of wildlife except birds of all types. It was then that we met the only other person on the river coming upstream. “How far did you make it?”

Getting Started

Relaxation

Egret

The Watcher

The Watched

Going upstream

Making our way up the inlet

A burbling spring