Although the forecast was for an 80% chance of rain, we decided to brave it and head down to Kelheim, Germany to see the famous Weltenberg Abbey and cruise along the Danube for the afternoon. The Danube River is the longest in Europe, at 1,785 miles. Many consider the Volga River in Russia to be the longest river in Europe, but since Russia isn't a part of the EU, most believe the Danube is the longest. Political versus geographical.
While it ACTUALLY stayed dry for once, you can see how much the recent rains have been raising the Danube. Here it's come out of it's banks and is almost crossing the road!
So this particular dock was certainly NOT in service.
Up on the hill, away from the floods is Liberation Hall. While there is a nice little tram service that can get you up there, we didn't have time to see it on this trip. It is a Memorial to victories over Napoleon in the Wars of Liberation, with allegories of Germanic tribes.
We needed to eat before we got on the boat, so we stopped at La Bella Vita in Kelheim and the food was really way better than we expected! Here is Natalie meditating over the pasta she had just eaten. These two were the absolute best of friends on this trip, but they were wildly loud and obnoxious!
The Organ Museum of Kelheim is located here in the former Franciscan monastery.
They laughed literally the entire day on this boat, at who knows what!
Naturally, they had to get a BIG SANDWICH!!!!
Cruising down the Danube. We found out when we bought the tickets that we *could* get off at the Weltenberg Abbey, but there was no guarantee that there would be another boat up to retrieve us because the water levels were so high and the current was so strong. So we decided to just take the boat, enjoy the scenery and enjoy some of Weltenberg Abbey's finest brews.
This is Germany, so of course, there's lots of beer and prosting on the boat.
Waving hello to the neighboring boat.
The Danube Gorge and it's high rock formations.
Looking back from whence we came toward Liberation Hall.
Sunny day selfie with my hubs.
The Jungfrau - a girl who lived in the area who was cursed by a local witch and turned to stone! The horror!
The most narrow part of the Danube Gorge is only about 350 feet wide and about 250 feet tall!
The Bailey family on the boat to Weltenburg Abbey.
Once we arrived at Weltenburg Abbey, this is what we saw looking back downstream.
Suddenly besties, telling secrets.
Weltenburg Abbey from the Danube. Since we were told we might not have a ride back, we opted to stay on the boat and have another drink!
Tall limestone rock formations that the Danube (or the Donau, as they call it in Germany) was carved into.
See these little green signs? These are posted all over and tell you how many kilometers away the mouth of the river is in the Black Sea!
The river was flowing mighty fast today, and it took us about half the time to get back to the docks as it did for us to get to the Abbey.
This is the Hermit's Cave and Chapel... also known as Hermitage Klösterl was built by hermits in honor of St. Nicholas in 1454 until it was dissolved in 1802. The chapel is still there and many say the caves are worth a visit. Naturally, there's also a biergarten!
The very beginning of the Ludwig Canal. This canal connected the Main River and the Danube, and therefore linked the North Sea with the Black Sea in the 1800s.
After we deboarded in Kelheim, we drove out to Weltenburg Abbey.
Why hello there. I didn't see you. I was busy mending fences, one of the many things I do here on the ranch.
Entering Weltenburg Abbey.
The outside of the church at Weltenburg Abbey, completed in 1751.
This was the reason we didn't stay very long. There were more mosquitoes here than I've ever seen in Maine, and that is saying something!
Behind the abbey is a "beach" area with a ton of small little rocks. The kids both learned how to skip rocks across the Danube, but none of us were as good as Todd!
Quiet beach at Weltenburg Abbey on the banks of the Danube.
Friends cooling their feet off in the Danube.
Ahhh! High water marks with Grant for scale. The Danube is to the right in this picture. Look at 1845 and 1999!
On our way out, we saw this really sad engraved stone commemorating fallen US soldiers. It reads, "In memory of three soldiers of the US Army who lost their lives at this spot in the Danube on September 16, 1975. They met their deaths on active service for our freedom. Dennis M. Relihan 5-2-1940 - Robert S. Adams 3-1-1954 - Lucky J. Cordle 16-8-1954."
Until next time, Weltenberg Abbey and Kelheim!
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