[Annotated] 09.27.2017, Somewhere in Germany:

Spent 3 days in Asschafenburg/Bessenbach with friends, rented a car and headed down the "Romantic Road" (I hope) towards Munich yesterday.

Can't do justice to Passau, Regensberg, and Nurnenberg, the last 3 cities of the Danube itinerary. Great end to the boat ride.  So beautiful I forgot to take sufficient photos.

Regensberg:

Regensberg Dom interior

Carved Wooden Rosary

[This 10-ft. hanging rosary was carved by Tilman Riemenschneider of Wurzburg, the "Michelangelo" of wood carving, around 1500.  Today we saw a 35-ft. altar in Rothenburg (future post).]

Banksy Bike

[Wikipedia:  "Banksy is an anonymous England-based graffiti artist, political activist and film director of unverified identity. Their [sic] satirical street art and subversive epigrams combine dark humour with graffiti executed in a distinctive stenciling technique."]

Boat Amigos

Another Banksy 

Closeup

Schindler House - a mockery of trump in the window

 [Schindler and his wife lived here after the war.  If you don't remember the movie: https://www.google.nl/search?rls=aso&client=gmail&q=Schindler&authuser=0&gws_rd=cr&dcr=0&ei=uzfLWZS3CMj5wQK2oI8o]

Brass plates in front of home of Nazi victims

[These are all over Germany - we ran across them in Cologne 3 years ago.]

R'berg City Museum (in ancient bridge tower) - check out the oak beams

Don't ask me...

Nuremberg - wonderful walking city:

Old hospital built over canal

Other direction

Irate tourist

National Museum

Outside

Gilded silver 2-litre wine server!

Design Museum - 5 green beemers

Obligatory castle:

It really is impressive

And well-restored - 72% of Nurenberg was smashed in WW2

4.5 Kiwis at the castle

Look!  A bar!!

Ancient wine bottles

Zum

Niiiice Kitty

Hell in a handbasket

This hippie (German electoral candidate) is going there for sure

Left the Viking Tor two mornings ago, and gone thru VWS (Viking Withdrawal Syndrome).  Can't understand why I have to drag my own suitcases around, find trains and hotels, and pay for my beer.

(Although I don't miss feeling like a stuffed cabbage every day.)

Here are some photos of our long-lost barge, to provide a sense of life on board:

Walking track (the barge is 145 meters long)

This was fun!

Yoga studio, behind the plexiglass

Unfortunately, class was cancelled often, due to locks and bridges

Sinking into a lock

Leaving the lock - that empty hole in the back

More river scenes:

Anonymous castle

The other side

Beach

Stairs to lobby

Atrium

Bar

Buffet

More food

Amigos @ dinner

Library

Family barge, with family car parked on top

The Blue Danube

Male postscript:

Our trip ended in Nuremberg, half-way up the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal, which connects the Danube to the Rhine River, and makes it possible to float all the way to Amsterdam on the North Sea.

Here's more than you might want to know about it:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhine%E2%80%93Main%E2%80%93Danube_Canal

RMD Canal

It was first conceived by Charlemagne, and finished in 1992 (!), so it only took 1200 years to finish.

It's 106 miles long, and includes 16 locks that took the boat up and over a mountain range, for most of 24 hours.  Unfortunately the top deck was closed all that time, but reaching Nuremberg was worth the trouble.  More to come...