Germany (Lonely Planet, 6th Edition) - Andrea Schulte-Peevers [338]
Scharfrichter Haus ( 359 00; Milchgasse 2; mains €7.40-16.50; noon-2pm & 6pm-1am) Cafe, cellar restaurant and jazz club rolled into one, this Passau institution draws a sophisticated crowd who enjoy seasonal specials on crisp white linen, before retiring to the intimate cabaret theatre with a glass of Austrian wine.
Heilig-Geist-Stiftsschänke ( 2607; Heilig-Geist-Gasse 4; mains €10-19; closed Wed) Traditional food is prepared with panache, and served either in the classy walnut-panelled tangle of dining rooms or the leafy beer garden, where hedges create separate dining areas. The candlelit stone cellar is open from 6pm.
Other recommendations:
Café Duft ( 346 66; Theresienstrasse 22; mains €3.30-10) A vaulted chamber with low lights, dark wood and a good range of dishes.
KÖPA Schmankerlpassage (Ludwigstrasse 6) Fruit stalls, meat and fish counters to put together a full meal for under €6.
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Getting There & Away
TRAIN
Passau is on the main train line to Nuremberg (€32.90 to €43, two hours), Regensburg (€20.50 to €26, one hour) and Vienna (€43.20, three hours). There are also direct trains to Munich (€30.20, 2½ hours). The trip to Zwiesel (€19, 1½ hours) and other Bavarian Forest towns requires a change in Plattling.
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Getting Around
Central Passau is sufficiently compact to explore on foot. The CityBus links the Bahnhof with the Altstadt (€0.80) up to four times an hour. Longer trips within Passau cost €1.50; a day pass costs €3.50 (€5 for a family).
The walk up the hill to the Veste or the hostel, via Luitpoldbrücke and Ludwigsteig path, takes about 30 minutes. From April to October, a shuttle bus operates from Rathausplatz (€2/2.50 one-way/return).
There are several public car parks near the train station but only one in the Altstadt at Römerplatz (€1.10/€10 per hour/day).
Bikehaus ( 0800-460 8460; Hauptbahnhof platform 1; Apr-Oct) and Fahrradklinik ( 334 11; Bräugasse 10) both hire out bikes from €12 per day.
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MARKTL AM INN
08678 / pop 2700
On a gentle bend in the Inn, some 60km southwest of Passau, sits the drowsy village of Marktl am Inn. Few people outside of Germany (or indeed Bavaria) had heard of it before 19 April 2005, the day when its favourite son, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, was elected as Pope Benedict XVI. Literally overnight the community was inundated with reporters, devotees and the plain curious, all seeking clues about the pontiff’s life and times. Souvenirs like mitre-shaped cakes, ‘Papst-Bier’ (Pope’s Beer) and religious board games flooded the local shops.
The pope’s Geburtshaus (Birth House; 747 680; www.papsthaus.eu; Marktplatz 11; adult/child €3.50/free; 10am-noon & 2-6pm Tue-Fri, 10am-6pm Sat & Sun Apr-Oct) is the simple but pretty Bavarian home where Ratzinger was born in 1927 and lived for the first two years of his life before his family moved to Tittmoning, another tiny Burg (castle). The exhibition kicks off with a film (in English) tracing the pontiff’s early life, career and the symbols he selected for his papacy. You then head into the house proper where exhibits expand on these themes. The modest room where Ratzinger came into the world is on the upper floor.
The Heimatmuseum (Local History Museum; Marktplatz 2; adult/child €2/1; by prior arrangement) is in possession of a golden chalice and a skullcap that was used by Ratzinger in his private chapel in Rome, but is only open to groups of five or more. Visitors should call the tourist office ( 748 820; www.markt-marktl.de; Marktplatz 1) at least a day ahead to arrange entry. His baptismal font can be viewed at the Pfarrkirche St Oswald (Parish Church of St Oswald; Marktplatz 6), which is open for viewing except during church services.
With immaculate rooms and a superb restaurant, family-run Pension Hummel ( 282; www.gasthof-hummel.de; Hauptstrasse 34; s/d €41/59), a few steps from the train station,