After arriving in Passau, we had a choice of three tours - a walking tour of Passau; a full day tour of Salzburg; or a full day tour of Cesky Krumlov. I had heard that Cesky Krumlov was very interesting and as Salzburg was mainly a tour of 'The Sound of Music' and Mozart, we opted for this one.

Cesky Krumlov is a UNESCO World Heritage city (or small town) that is located in the Czech Republic - approximately an hour and a half drive from Passau. Today we were leaving Germany behind as after our tour we would meet back at the boat at Linz which is in Austria.

It was interesting the contrast between Germany and Czech Republic. At the border crossing, the checkpoints which were once a hub of activity, were now desolate and falling to pieces. Factories along the way in Czech were also abandoned and looked quite sad.

Cesky Krumlov however, was a tourist hub. The town and castle were built in the 13th century and was an important trade route in Bohemia. The old structures are mostly Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque style (although don't necessarily ask me what the differences are between these styles) and the main town is withing horseshoe bend of the river overlooked by the castle.

Our tour took us to the top of the castle to overlook the city, after which we had free time to explore. There were many interesting craft and souvenir shops. A couple of things caught my eye - mainly a shop with hand painted handbags and purses/wallets. I am not one for the usual assortment of touristy T-shirts so I selected a striking wallet (at 3000 Kronor or approx $150 Aussie dollars). The handbags were lovely too but at 7000 Kronor they were just too expensive. I'm glad I bought it there because for the rest of the trip I did not see them again.

We had a lovely meal at the central square and sampled a Czech pastry which is a sweet dough wrapped around a heated roller and baked on street corners. We left Cesky Krumlov around 4pm and headed to Linz in Austria where our ship had sailed to.

Once again, there was a huge difference in the two countries with Austria appearing to be organised farming land and very attractive. The Germans and Austrians are also big on solar power with entire rooflines covered in solar panels.

We did not really see anything in Linz except the Town Hall. The entire floor of the main area was an aerial photograph of the town / area - Google Earth I suppose - but was very interesting.

Tomorrow we arrive in Melk.