July 20 /15

Yesterday we left Budapest and our ship and flew to Amsterdam. I was surprised at the amount of food and drink that was given to us for just a two hour flight (a sandwich, two cookies and two drinks). They even managed to round up some fruit for Michael, since he couldn't eat the meal. By the time we got to our airport hotel it was late afternoon, so there was only the evening left to get dinner and do something here. We took the train into town and had some good Indian food, and then caught a one hour sightseeing cruise along the canal (no, we aren't tired of being on a boat!) We passed by the Anne Frank house but didn't get much of a look at it, nor time to take a photo, so after the cruise we walked back to see it. By this time it was after 9 pm, and there was still a long line up to get in. I had heard that this attraction needed to be booked well in advance, and since we didn't know if we'd even be able to get to it, we weren't able to do that.

July 21/15

We are now at the airport waiting for our flight to Frankfurt, and then on to Calgary. It seems odd to be travelling east again before going west, but that's the way it's done. I didn't much care for the Frankfurt airport last time, but we won't be there too long. We get home around 3 pm Calgary time, but it will feel like 11 pm to us, so it's going to be a long day.

We didn't have much time to keep up with news at home, so I hope all is well with everyone. It's been a great trip, but I'm looking forward to being home again.

July 19 /15

Today is our only day in Budapest, and we started it out with a bus and walking tour on both sides of the Danube. Buda, the more historic part, is on one side, and Pest, the more cosmopolitan, on the other. Hungary today is only one third it's original size, as it lost the rest of its territory during and after the war. One memorial we saw was that of "The Shoes," a collection of bronzed shoes by the river. During the war, a number of Jews were shot here, so that their bodies would just fall into the river. But before they were shot, they were ordered to remove their shoes, as these were deemed to have more value than the people themselves. We drove past the "Great Synagogue," which is the largest one in Europe. During the war it was bombed and used as a stable, but it was restored during the 1990's after the fall of Communism. We also drove past a couple of places where Liszt and Beethoven once performed.

In the afternoon we rested, packed, and said goodbye to some friends, as we have to be off the ship after breakfast tomorrow. In the evening we listened to some Hungarian musicians sing, dance and play a mixture of American and Hungarian folk music. The fiddler was amazing!  This was a good way to finish off our visit to Hungary.

July 18 /15

This morning we had a bus and walking tour of Bratislava, Slovakia. This country used to be under Russian rule, but separated in 1989, hence The Czech Republic and Slovakia became two countries. Bratislava is the capital and the largest city. The town square is made up of the old style of buildings, but the homes nearby are modern and box shaped. From the castle, which overlooks the rest of the city, we saw boxy, Lego-syle buildings on the other side of the Danube. If you look past those structures you can see Hungary, and looking west is Austria. Our tour guide told us that although she could see Austria from her window, she was never allowed to go there until after the revolution in 1989. There was nothing about Bratislava that grabbed our attention, but we heard a trio of wonderful street musicians, playing hammered dulcimer, accordian and balalaika.

In the afternoon we sailed to Budapest, arriving at 10:30 pm. As we approached the city, we were treated to an amazing display of lights on the bridges, the parliament buildings, the university, and some castles and churches. I have rarely seen anything so beautiful! It'll be interesting to see how they look in daylight tomorrow.

We had a special dinner tonight to celebrate the end of the cruise. We still have one more full day, but everyone will be busy tomorrow evening packing, completing paperwork and making final departure arrangements, so this is why we celebrated tonight. We were served a six course meal of amazing food, which of course I couldn't finish. Even though Michael's a great cook, no one person at home could provide such a selection of great food three times a day that we've experienced here.

July 17 /15

Our day in Vienna started with a guided bus tour, followed by a walking tour and some free time. We walked in the downtown area of the old city, and among other things, saw the government buildings, Saint Stephen's Cathedral, the oldest ferris wheel in Europe, the opera house, a monument to Mozart, Freud's residence and favourite coffee house, as well as amazing architecture. The downtown area is full of expensive boutiques, and coffee shops with wonderful  pastries. They are known for their Sachertorte, a slightly dry chocolate cake, but I didn't have any today, as I had some on the ship last night. Michael enjoyed two cups of wonderful coffee, as Vienna is also known for its coffee culture. Who knows if he'll be able to sleep tonight, but he says it was worth it!

In the afternoon we went on a walk with our chef to an amazing open air food market. It sells everything imaginable, including large tables full of bags of spices, and some fruits we'd never seen before. At two different stalls we were offered food and drinks. The first one had stuffed tomatoes, olives, peppers, plus hummus and falafel, fermented garlic, and a delicious watermelon drink. The second station had wine and cheese plus pastries (poppyseed and apple). Despite the heat, this was a very interesting tour.

After dinner we attended a Mozart / Strauss concert, with music performed by a chamber orchestra. Some pieces also included either two opera singers or two ballet dancers. It was a good concert, and an appropriate thing to do in Vienna.

July 16 /15

Today our ship arrived in Emmersdorf, Austria, and we took a short bus trip to Melk, to see their 900 year old Abbey. It wasn't damaged during the war, and is very large and impressive. It has a spacious central courtyard, and is up high on a hilltop, with a great view of the town and river below. We had a bit of free time to stroll through the town before we set sail in the afternoon for Krems. We spent a very relaxing afternoon on the upper deck, watching the little towns and castles go by, the former being along the river, and the latter usually up high on a hill. The scenery is much more rolling here, with lots of trees. When we got to Krems, we could either do a wine tasting tour, or walk around the town, and we chose the latter. It's been getting quite hot these past few days, with temperatures in the mid 30's, and it might hit 40 degrees by the end of the weekend.

For dinner we had "A Taste of Austria." It was served buffet syle by the crew who were wearing traditional costumes. There was an accordian player and fiddler moving around the room, asking people where they were from, and attempting to play music from their counttry. They also played lots of German / Austrian folk music, all of which I knew, as my German father used to play that music when I was growing up. Funny how I hated it then, but can appreciate it, and even enjoy it now, especially with the right beverage!

July 15 / 15

Today was spent in Passau, Germany, which is our last stop in this country. In the morning we had another walking tour, followed by an organ concert in Saint Stephen's Cathedral, and then some free time. This city is situated by three rivers - the Danube, the Inn and the Ilz. As a result, flooding has been a big problem here, with the water sometimes rising as high as 30 feet! When this happened, people would turn on their taps and fill their homes with water, so that there was no way for the sewage to come in. This city is quite picturesque, with colourful rows of houses along the waterfront, large impressive structures high up on the hills, and cobblestone pedestrian walkways full of shops and restaurants. Our tour guide told us that since we were leaving Germany soon, this would be our last chance to get good beer!

At noon we were treated to a half hour organ concert in Saint Stephen's Cathedral. This organ has almost 18,000 pipes, making it the largest cathedral organ in Europe. At its loudest, the sound was magnificent!

In the evening, Marek (our program director) dressed up as Mozart, and told the story of his life in a humourous fashion. He even sang (he has quite a good voice) and entered the room as if he was a rock star, but at the same time he was able to tell us a lot about Mozart in a way that would be interesting even to those who are not fans of classical music. 

Luckily our ship was able to sail to it's destinations today, despite the river being very low. Had it not been able to do this, we would have had to pack up our belongings and move to another ship which is sailing in the opposite direction, and then this boat would have turned around and taken us to Budapest. We were warned of the potential problem, and last night we kept hearing grinding noises, which was a bit disconcerting, but apparently no damage was done to the ship.

July 14 /15

Today our ship docked in Kelheim, and we took a bus trip to Regensburg, were we had a walking tour. The boat arrived a bit late because of a traffic jam in the locks last night! From now on when we are in the locks we are going down instead of up as before, and we are headed towards the Baltic Sea. Because there has been so little rain in this area, they have had to rearrange our schedule for today, as there's the fear that the water may not be deep enough for the boat to sail through. From what I've seen on Facebook, it looks like Calgary has the opposite problem.

We decided to skip the afternoon bus trip back into Regensburg, as there wasn't much more that we wanted to see there. And it's good for Michael to have a chance to rest when possible, although his cold is on the mend. So many people here have the same cold that they arranged for a doctor to meet people on the ship yesterday, and apparently they were given a script for antibiotics, only to be filled if the cold continued to get worse.

Tonight we were treated to a short operatic performance on the ship, with the singers doing familiar songs from Mozart, Strauss, Puccini, The Sound of Music, and other well known pieces written by composers from the area. They had a fellow from the audience participate as well, and that part was quite amusing.

The sun deck is now finally open, after being closed for nearly a week because of low bridges. Michael and I had a stroll up there on the track after dark, and it was very pleasant.

 

July 13 /15

Today was our stop in Nuremberg, which I've been quite wanting to see. In a curious twist of fate, Nuremberg is remembered as both the place of the Nazi propaganda machine during WW 11 and also where they punished the Nazi war criminals.

On this tour we stood in the Zeppelin Field, where once 100,000 people saluted Hitler. The upper columns above the risers (which included swastikas) were torn down in the 1960's, as the people wanted to forget. This part of Germany's history wasn't even taught in schools until the 1970's for the same reason. By that time they felt it was important to teach the next generation, so that hopefully something like this would never happen again. Beginning in grade 8, an intensive program is taught, and it's mandatory for all students to visit a concentration camp.

It felt creepy to be standing in the Zeppelin Field, looking at the tower where Hitler once stood. And as we walked across the pavement, my headset (used to hear the tour guide) banged against my water bottle in regular beats, and it sounded like people marching, which was even more creepy.

Our next stop was Congress Hall, a building built in the style and massive scale of the Roman Colosseum. It's design was intended to make the people feel very small and unimportant. But despite all the work that went into it's construction, it was never used.

Next we saw the Documentation Museum, which recounted the story of the extent and consequences of the Nazi propaganda. There was so much here that one could easily spend an entire day, but we only had one hour.

This was followed by Courtroom 600, the venue for the prosecution of the Nazi war criminals. We were lucky to see it, as it is used today for court cases. It's now been reduced in size from the way it was in 1945, and the layout has changed slightly as well. There's a cross on the wall at the front, which hasn't been removed, but is covered up if requested. The three main war criminals (Hitler and two others) commited suicide, and thus avoided the trials. Twenty-one others were put on trial, and of those, three were aquitted, and the rest were either given lengthy prison sentences or were hung. We drove past the prison afterwords, as well as a Jewish cemetary, and another one with the stones lying down (to signify that everyone is equal) that were covered in lavish bouquets of flowers. Nuremberg was 90% destroyed during the war, but now it's a city of a half million people.

After the tour we had a short time in the Market Square, and we purchased some traditional (and even some gluten free) gingerbread. We could have stayed and walked around on our own, but chose to return to the ship, as we were both tired and Michael was still not feeling completely well.

Later in the afternoon there was a presentation on Bavaria, followed by a talk about other Viking Cruises. Then after dinner our program director Marek, who is from Slovakia, dressed in his native costume and gave a talk about what life was like growing up in a communist country. His costume was presented to him on his 18th birthday, and he is very proud of it. He said that he had a good childhood, but that they knew very little about what life was like on the other side. In l989 there was a revolution, and Slovakia was no longer under Russian rule. Marek now very much enjoys his freedom to live life as he chooses.

July 12 /15

This morning we sailed to Hassfurt - nice to be able to relax at the start of the day. We listened to a presentation about the canal system that we're travelling through. Until tomorrow we will be travelling upstream through the locks (67 in total) until we reach the highest point at the Rhine-Main-Danube  canal. This canal is man-made, and links the Rhine to the Danube. Here we'll be 1300 feet above sea level, then we'll be going downstream on the Danube as far as Budapest.

I tried one of Germany's staple food items - a soft pretzel. They look like the twisted hard pretzels (even have the salt on the outside) but these are baked and mostly soft and puffy. They're quite good, especially with a beer! Like many other treats here however, Michael couldn't try one.

The boat came ashore at Hassfurt, and after lunch we rode the bus to Bamberg, where we had a guided walk, follwed by some free time. Bamberg is a large city, and predominently Catholic, unlike many of the smaller places we've visited, which were largely Protestant. Unfortunately we were here on a Sunday and most things were closed, so there wasn't much to do during free time. Also, we needed to buy more tylenol for Michael, as he's not yet quite recovered, and we were unable to do so. However, a very kind tourist overheard me asking for it, and happened to have some in her bag. This was a stroke of luck, as Michael wants to be well enough for Nuremberg tomorrow.

Bamberg was fortunate in that it didn't sustain as much damage during the war as many places did. It treated the Jewish people badly even long before the war, as they were run out of town if people couldn't pay back their debts to them. And there was a certain amount of religious intolerance as well towards them. But now they have been welcomed back, and have a new synagogue to replace the destroyed one.

We really didn't get much out of this tour today, as there was little to see of interest, and too much free time without much to do. However, keep in mind that the ship was sailing to catch up to us, and needed a set amount of time for this. Also, we always have the option to sail with the ship and forego the tour if we wish. One thing that we did enjoy was some delicious ice cream from a shop that had unusual flavours such as rose and lavender.

But the most fun thing of all today was a game we played in the evening called the Liar's Club. A word was presented to us, and four staff members gave a definition of the word. Only one was telling the truth, and we had to decide who it was. They used words such as 'fullfart', 'titup', 'collywobble', 'cloop', and 'gardyloo', and as you can imagine it was pretty funny to hear their explanations of these words. It's even funnier because none of the staff speak English as their first language.

July 11 /15

Today we took a one hour bus ride to Rothenburg, where we had a walking tour, a German-style lunch (mashed potatoes, sausages, soup, saurkraut and apple strudel) and some free time to walk about town. It's a quaint Bavarian-style town, which still has a covered wall around it. We walked around a small part of the wall, and then strolled past the shops.This town is considered to be the best preserved Medieval  town in Germany. The wall has guard towers that date from the 13th - 16th centuries.  When I was in Germany with my parents as a child of 13 years, I think I was here. I have no recognition of the place, but I remember them talking at some length about Rothenburg, and the surrounding wall. Too bad I'll never know for sure, as mom is gone and dad has Alzheimer's. As an interesting aside, the fellow for whom this disease was named is from this part of Germany.

Later that afternoon the bus took us to the Wurzburg Residenz, a UNESCO site buitlt in the Baroque style between 1720-1744. It was commissioned by a prince-bishop, and it's opulence is breathtaking. It has the largest fresco ceiling in the world. This painting is amazing, and even has 3D sculptures on both ends, and a grand staircase below. One room was almost entirely white, while another contained many mirrors and gold leaf on the walls, which was vey elaborate and hard to look at for very long. Unfortunately Michael wasn't feeling well by this point and missed the palace, as well as the nautical presentation given by the chief engineer of the ship after dinner.

July 10 /15

Saw a fabulous glass blowing demo from a German craftsman from this area, who was a collaborator with Chihuly. His family had a factory in East Germany, but escaped to west Germany, leaving everything behind. If they had not done this, the communists would have taken over the factory anyway, so either way they lost it. He was very entertaining and he makes some unique items, including a double cruet that holds and keeps separate two different liquids. His secret for glass blowing is drinking Jaegermeister first and then carefully blowing the glass. This was incidentally also his remedy for colds!

By the afternoon we had arrived in Miltenberg, where we had a Culinary walk. Our humourous guide pointed out the highlights of this quaint Bavarian town, and on the way we were treated to berry cake, chocolates, beer and schnapps. Michael was hoping for a demonstration of how some of these things were made, but that didn't happen. After the tour we had some free time, so we walked up the hill to a castle, where we had a lovely view of the city. We then had a short bus ride to Wertheim, where the boat had caught up with us, and shortly afterwords it began it's sail for Wurtzburg.

July 9/15

This morning we took a short bus ride to Marksburg Castle. It's very high upon a hill, so it was never invaded, although it took lots of precautions just in case. It was very basic inside, and even had torure devices downstairs, although they are quite certain that no torture was ever done in that castle. Unlike Holland, the coastline is now quite hilly. Besides castles, we are now beginning to see Bavarian style towns. The boat moved while we were touring the castle, and our bus took us to Braubeck afterwards, where we resumed the cruise.

In the afternoon while we sailed, we were treated to views of more castles, Bavarian towns and vineyards all along the middle Rhine river. This was followed by German treats and a demo and tasting of Rudesheim coffee, which contains coffee, brandy, sugar, whipped cream and dark chocolate  - yum! Fortunately for me, the taste of coffee was minimal.

In the evening we formed groups and played a musical trivia game. We had to answer questions about the music that was played, and someone from the group had to dance each time, in order to get extra points. Our group tied for first place, and we won a bottle of wine! Afterwards we went out on the deck to watch the boat go through the locks. Apparently we'll be going through 67 locks altogether, and during that time the sundeck with the walking track has to be closed.

July 8/15

Had a walking tour in Cologne, where we saw the Old Town and St. Martin's Cathedral, among other things. It took over 600 years to complete the church, and although great efforts were made to protect it during WW 11, it was hit 18 times rather severely. Most of the stained glass windows survived, as they were removed and hidden in monestaries, but parts of the church had to be repaired. The outside is quite black from environmental damage, but it's too costly and time-consuming to clean it. The structure is extremely tall and quite impressive inside.

Also on the tour we saw a shop selling German pretzels, which were hanging on a rack by the street. This is one of their staples, along with Kolsh beer. We also saw an excavation site, where they have recently found Roman ruins, as well as remains of the Jewish Quarter. They plan to erect a museum on this site when the excavation is complete.

In the afternoon we took a 45 minute bus trip to the Bruhl Palaces, a UNESCO World Heritage site. The first palace was started by a 25 year old archbishop and was to be his summer home, but he never saw the completion of it. Although large and very grand (in the German Rococo style), apparently his winter home, which had over 400 rooms, was even more so. Today the latter structure is partly used for the university.

This evening we listened to a pleasant ensemble of cello, clarinet and piano, playing some classical music by composers of the region, as well as lighter music. The food continues to be amazing, and we're meeting more people each day, as well as spending some time with those that we met yesterday.  Several couples are from California, and although we tease them about coming here to find water, it's sad to hear their tales of forced water restrictions.

July 7 / 15

Took a walking tour of the 19 old windmills in Kinderdijk, a UNESCO World Heritage site. (There used to be 20, but one burned down).They were built in 1740, and were used to pump water into reserviors on two levels. Families as large as 15 could live inside, as the people slept in an upright positon. Some of the mills are still operating, as part of the area is below sea level.

The rest of the day was spent on the boat, as we had to travel that long to get to Cologne by tomorrow morning. There were talks about optioanl tours for the rest of the week that we could sign up for, as well as a presentation about the water management. This was followed by Dutch teatime, a safety drill and cocktail hour. Just prior to dinner was the daily briefing about the next days' events, and a special welcome toast from the captain. The dinner was extra special as well, followed by a presentation entitled "Going Dutch" where they talked about tulips, Gouda cheese and Schnapps, with samples given of the last two. We also had time to walk on the track during the afternoon, and I did my daily wrist, back and shoulder exercises too. Perhaps it was the jet lag, but we were very sleepy at the end of the day (the extra alcohol didn't help!)

July 5&6/ 15

Flew to Frankfurt (just over 9 hours) and then had a couple hours to wait for our connection to Amsterdam. Everything went well, although Michael had almost no sleep, and we got to the boat in time for lunch and a walking tour in Amesterdam.Bicyclists have their own lanes, and everyone rides, although only the tourists wear helmets. Sometimes they carry 2 kids (or another adult) on the back carrier or front handlebars. Large wooden buckets carry daycare kids. You must always look out for cyclists, as they have the right of way. Few people drive in the centre of town, and the roads are very narrow, looking just like sidewalks. People who live downtown are in old tall buildings with no elevators, so they move heavy items in through the windows. Families don't usually live here.

Before dinner we had a meeting to explain the routines. We ate with a couple from Australia and one from the US who were both around our age. Many of the passengers are about 10 - 20 years older than us, and a few have mobility issues. After dinner we walked to the red light district, with lots of sex shops, shows and scantily-clad ladies standing just inside doorways. It's a very busy area with both tourists and locals, some sitting along the canal or in small boats.

Our boat is great! The food so far has been good, and Michael should be able to find enough choices for his celiac diet. The rooms are small but there's enough storage and we have sliding french doors, giving us a nice view from our room. There isn't much room to sit there, so we'll probably be in one of the lounges or on the upper deck when travelling. The sun deck has a walking track around the perimeter, as well as shuffleboard and a very small mini golf area.

While we slept, the boat sailed to Kinderdijk.