A fine day

Day 15 - 30 May
The day started well with another outstanding breakfast, and I eagerly checked the weather app on my reasonably smart phone to see what the temperature would be.  Hooray!  No rain in the morning and a mild temperature.  Short-sleeve weather.
In the morning we were booked on a tour through the scenic Danube Gorge to visit Weltenburg Abbey.  We set out by bus to get to the boat that would take us through the gorge, and almost immediately ran into trouble.  Our bus stopped on a railway line.  Robin was slightly concerned because he was sitting over the railway line, as you can see from the photo below.

Robin becoming a bit concerned in case a train should come and hit him

Thankfully we soon started moving again and boarded the boat for our trip through the Danube Gorge.  By now I was doubting the accuracy of my weather app and also the sanity of my decision to wear a short-sleeved shirt.  Up on deck the temperature was a bit cool.

Showing Joanne and Robin a photograph of me dressed warmly - the good old days

Robin, convinced that the weather could only get better, unfastened his jacket and persuaded Joanne to unfasten hers.

Joanne somewhat dubious about Robin's weather forecasting abilities 

We soon started on our journey and the additional wind caused by our movement sent the already frigid temperature plunging.

John and Lea dressed sensibly, if a little frumpishly - not the usual standard of 'chic'

It was about then that I thought I heard somebody say: "smile, things could be worse".  So I smiled, and it started to rain.

Raindrops on the window

In case you're wondering, the brochure shows perfect weather for the gorge, as you can see in the picture below.

Brochure picture of the gorge

It's times like this that a degree or two of global warming don't seem like such a bad thing (only kidding - I'm totally committed to saving the planet).  Almost the moment our boat docked at the Abbey the rain stopped, and off we went for the visit.

Weltenburg Abbey, built on a bit of a slope

We visited the chapel at the Abbey and were amazed at how ornate the decorations were.  The pictures below hardly do it justice.

The chapel at Weltenburg Abbey

A little closer to the detail

After the chapel we went to the restaurant for a well-earned pretzel and beer (local delicacies). Rhonda and I chose diet coke instead of beer but the pretzels were delicious, and as big as our faces.

Robin not enjoying his beer as much as the others

Lyn doing her famous Pretzel Face impression

Just outside the Abbey we found some Roman pillars - more-probably found by archaeologists well before we came upon them.

John stopping a Roman-era pillar from falling over

The visit to the Abbey being over, we returned to the warmth of the bus, and, truth be told, I felt quite happy being out of the cold.

Note to self: don't trust weather app - silly Richard.

The afternoon saw us off to the pretty town of Regensburg for a walking tour and some free time. The city was founded by the Romans in the second century AD,when a legion of 6,000 soldiers had been based there.  As you can see from the portion of the plaque in the picture below, the Third Italic Legion was based at Regensburg.

Portion of a plaque giving details of the early Roman settlement

The picture below shows some soldiers (apparently a set of identical octuplets) from the Third Italic Legion on parade.

It's probable that the soldiers developed back problems as a result of having to stand for prolonged periods while leaning to their left.

Part of the original Roman gate constructed in 179AD

The rest of the town was quite scenic,with many lovely buildings and streets.

Some lovely old buildings

More lovely buildings

The last of the lovely buildings that we saw - I'm confident that there were more lovely buildings in areas we didn't explore

There is a particularly beautiful stone bridge over the river at Regensburg.  Unfortunately it was covered with scaffolding for repairs, but the poster stuck to it looked like this.

The beautiful stone bridge over the river at Regensburg

After walking around Regensburg, stopping off for tea and coffee, and then waddling back to the ship, we visited Lea in her and John's cabin to check out how her flowers were going - quite well as you can see.

Lea, looking better in a flat cap than most people would

The entertainment for the evening was provided by 'Hm pa pa' Hansi, who played (or might have mimed to - it was hard to tell) the piano accordion and various other instruments.

'Hm pa pa' Hansi - the one-man-band entertainment for the evening

After the show it was up on deck for a short view of the sunset.

Sunset

Tomorrow we're moving on to Austria with a side visit to the Czech Republic to visit the birthplace of a famous actor.