Straubing & Passau, Germany

5 min readSep 28, 2019

Picturesque towns in Germany seem to be around every bend. I have a short list of my favorites: Esslingen, Bamberg, Mittenwald, Bad Wimpfen …and now add Straubing. I almost didn’t visit this town this morning but decided to add it at the last minute. It turned out to be a highlight.

Straubing sits on the Danube between Regensburg and Passau in eastern Bavaria. Towns on rivers just always seem to have more atmosphere and history. On Saturday morning, Straubing’s Marktplatz was full of shoppers for the weekend farmers market.

Straubing also had multiple brass bands set up at different points in its old town. The stages were surrounded by food and beer tents for the fall celebration. The music certainly created a festive atmosphere.

I grabbed some grilled Rotwurst with spicy mustard on a fresh roll and a tall Weißbier from the town’s Karmeliten brewery (always try the local brews). There was an open seat near the band so I asked if it was free and squeezed in. Germans tend to sit at long tables and benches outdoors and everyone sits together, whether you know each other or not.

I ended up exploring Straubing for the rest of the morning. I kept thinking, if I brought people to Germany for the first time, this would have been a perfect setting for them to experience.

I’m beginning to notice piles of pumpkins (Kürbis in German) along the side of the road as I drive in and out of towns. Farmers offer them for sale on the honor system. You pick what you want and leave your money in the Kasse. These pumpkins looked like they’d just come out of the field.

When I was here in Germany the 1990s, I didn’t remember much mention of Halloween. It’s more of an American holiday (with Irish roots). The first day of November is a religious holiday here so schools and banks are closed. Since everyone has the next day off, celebrating Halloween makes sense.

In the fall, Germans traditionally celebrate Oktoberfest and Erntedankfest (thanks for the harvest) which, in some ways, is similar to our Thanksgiving.

As I drove further along the Danube, I stopped in the town of Deggendorf. It was pretty enough but seemed too quiet for a Saturday. Straubing’s festive atmosphere had obviously raised my expectations. I continued down the road.

The town of Passau was strategically situated at the confluence of the Danube, Inn and Ilz rivers. I parked at a hilltop fortress called Veste Oberhaus and enjoyed the views as I hiked down into town. Of course, not so much enjoyment on the hike up later ha.

Clouds had rolled in by the afternoon. Passau was much bigger than I expected, more of a city than a town. I hiked along the river front.

I’ve looked inside so many European churches I’m a bit jaded. Plus in the architecture department, I lean Gothic but the interior of St. Stephen’s in Passau was truly a Baroque wonder.

All the churches in Bavaria seem to have onion domes. They’re different from the Russian or Czech style.