4/7/2024 Scharding, Austria Tour and boat ride. (Afternoon)

 In the Afternoon our tour group loaded into a bus and crossed from Germany over into Austria to visit the Baroque town of Scharding.  Located on the Inn river this was another important town on the salt trade route.  THis is also on the route that the crusaders took to the middle east. they would travel down the Danube or Inn river to here then on down theh Danube to the Black Sea and Constantinople (now Istanbul)

Throughout the town there were beautiful flowerbeds in bloom with tulips, daffodils and other flowers.

The houses throughout are brightly colored and because the town is a historic site, the people are not allowed to change the colors.  They can repaint, but have to use the same color of paint.

Historically, according to our guide, a Blue house indicated a baker, Red was a butcher, yellow was a brewery and broun was clothing or leather merchants.

Being a Sunday, everyone was out enjoying the weather.  The local cafes and beer gardens were packed and the ice cream shops were doing a great business. Their Ice Cream (Gelato) was wonderful.

The Rat Haus (town hall) here was rather small.

A short walk along the Inn river.

Looking across the river to the boat we are taking for a local cruise.

The local castle

They have restored the local town well to show what looked like and how it worked originally.

Our next stop was at a salt merchant where we learned to mix and grind salt and spices together to make seasoned salt. They even gave us a certificate for compleating the class.

Took me back to my Navy days as a Pharmacy tech compounding medicines.

We made a quick visit to the local church. Pretty but nothing like the Cathedral we visited in the morning.

The area still has about a 60 % Catholic population.

The area was also known for its metal workers who would make these metal crosses for cemetaries or homes.

We crossed back over to the German side of the river to board our boat for a ride on the Inn river. this river is the border line between Germany and Austria in this area.

On board we were treated to local soft pretzels and a variety of beers.

Cecile loved the Hefeweizen (Wheat Beer)

Since I don't drink, they also had apple cider which was very good.

Cheers

Looking out the back of the boat

Everyone enjoyed the ride, and even more enjoyed the beer and pretzles

The woodwork on the boat was beautiful

Looking at Scharding from the river.

Our tour guide Heike with Cecile

The round building was the Scharding Salt House where the salt was offloaded.

Back on the ship, it was "A Taste of Germany Night" everyone was in German Attire, even the Captain was in lederhosen

Our favorite servers in the dining room Sebastian and Jackie