Bavarian day trip: Kelheim and Kloster Weltenburg

The city of Kelheim

A few weeks ago, while my mom was here, we took a day trip to the Bavarian city of Kelheim and Weltenburg Abbey (known in German as Kloster Weltenburg).  It was possibly the most fun thing we did during my mom's trip and is something that I highly recommend doing if you ever find yourself in Bavaria.  

The city of Kelheim is ancient, quite literally--it's believed to be the site of the Celtic city of Alcimoennis, which was thought to be founded around 500 BCE.  The town itself if cute and sits on the confluence of the Danube and Altmühl rivers.  From there, you can take a riverboat (where they serve you beer if you want one!) up the Danube to Kloster Weltenburg, an abby founded 1,392 years ago by Irish or Scottish monks.  The boat ride is breathtakingly beautiful and incredibly relaxing--perfect for a lazy summer's day.  Additionally, you can hike the ca. 10K to the abby if you are feeling more sporty.  

Kloster Weltenburg is gorgeous--with buildings built in the 1700'--and is also a brewery.  It brews one of the oldest and most award winning beers around, which you can drink in its beautiful Biergarten.  The abby also makes its own cheese served on a "Käseplatte," or cheese plate with other delicious cheeses.  We adored every cheese we tasted and thought them especially delicious on the abby's remarkable bread.    

The abby church is stunning and there are some fun gift shops to visit, as well. Once you feel like you have seen the sights, you can hang out by the river and skip stones or take the boat back down river to go home.  Heck, order one more beer on the ride back if you want to!  

Suggested to me by someone I teach, Kelheim/Kloster Weltenburg is a really worthy day trip.  You can easily reach it from many different Bavarian cities and as soon as you get on the boat and sail off, you will be very thankful you went.  

In case you are interested in seeing, there are some pictures below.  We had excellent weather and a really wonderful day!

An old building (and not so old statue) in the city of Kelheim. 

Getting ready to go on the boat. 

Heading up river and through the narrows.  

A distant view of the abby, Kloster Weltenburg. 

This beer has been brewed since 1,050.  We really enjoyed it and the cheese, as you can see.  Talk about pure relaxation.

The abby church. 

Painted ceiling of the abby church.

In memory of lost family members.  

Before boarding the boat back, the beautiful Danube Gorge.  

Love these two!

An old bell tower back in Kelheim.