Travelled to Passsu by train, in fact three. It was painlessly efficient. Passsu is an interesting city on the border between Germany and Austria. It would have been more enjoyable to explore if the sun had been shinning! It’s ancient history includes yet another Baroque cathedral with, it is claimed, the world’s biggest pipe organ, in a church that is. It is also a university town.

The city sits at the confluence of 3 rivers. Strange but true, 12 months ago I was at the confluence of 3 rivers and 3 countries, in South America.

Passau also has a significant history in relation to the Second World War.

From 1892 until 1894, Adolf Hitler and his family lived in Passau. The city archives mention Hitler being in Passau on four different occasions in the 1920s for speeches. On November 3, 1902 Heinrich Himmler and his family arrived from Munich. Himmler maintained contact with locals until May 1945.

It was the site of a post World War II American sector displaced persons camp. Even now there are some sights pertaining to World War II in the city of Passau. I am not sure where these are! They are not in the usual tourist handouts.

On the 2nd of June 2013 the old town suffered from severe flooding as a result of several days of rain and its location at the confluence of three rivers – Danube, Inn and Ilz. I suspect more so than the towns along the Elbe, about which I wrote in the first few weeks if my ride.

This is a cycle friendly train!

St Stephens Cathedral Passau – the largest cathedral organ in all of Christendom! It has 17974 pipes, 4 carillons and 233 stops. I am not learning to play the organ, but all I want to know is how on earth can one “pull out all the stops”, without a significant intermission?

The interior of St Stephen’s Cathedral.

The exterior of the Cathedral.

The very ornate baroque staircase of the Bishop’s Residence!

The Bishop had a miniature organ in the library, he played with it regularly but abstained on Sundays.