Month: October 2023

It was nice to sleep in! No wake up call! We had a leisurely morning in the fog, which cleared as the day went on. The picturesque villages and castles of the Middle Rhine loomed up to the right and to the left of us as we did our scenic river cruise.

It was pure indulgence to curl up in our duvets in our cozy beds as the scenes came to us!

We arrived in Koblenz in the mid afternoon. There was no organized walking tour and the optional tours seemed a bit too strenuous for ladies of our vintage, so we opted for a bus ride through the beautifully terraced vineyards of the Moselle Valley, followed by a wine tasting at a local family-run winery.

The pictures of the tour are flashed weekly on our TV screen during “Masterpiece Theater” and look so inviting. The reality was not as charming, though: dressed in layers, armed with umbrellas, we saw a fogged in view of the valley and got out of the bus for our scenic overlook.

Bundled up in my puffy jacket, the sister is more enthusiastic about the experience.

We arrived at a charming garage-made-into-a-tasting room with the young vintner offering us a choice of three rieslings, with miniscule servings. There was one small piece of bread and a carafe of water for our table of eight. We were joined on this tour by another Viking group, who was sailing from Basel to Amsterdam.

Happy wine tasters!

We had a nice evening enjoying the company of a delightful young Australian couple, then nipped up to the lounge to hear a singer and musician entertain us with some light classical music and standards.

Our remaining ports of call are Cologne and today we had a scenic sail through the old windmills at Kinderdijk. It was cold and windy so we stayed in to catch up, rest and nurse our colds. They are getting much better but travel is tiring.

We are now in Rotterdam, and will be in Amsterdam in the morning, when we fly back to SFO. I will include highlights of Cologne when I return to California. The sister will have one day of rest before she returns to home and hearth of Hawaii. It’s been a great trip, but there’s no place like home.

We signed up for the “Modern Aristocracy “ all day tour today, but our day in Wertheim has been cut in half because of river irregularities and scheduling. We will not be visiting the town of Mittleberg and having lunch there, as part of the all-day experience, but we will be able to visit both ancestral estates, with our return to lunch on the ship at 1:00 PM.

It’s important to be flexible with river cruises because Mother Nature can be fickle.

We dressed in layers on this cool, slightly rainy day.

Our first stop involved traveling through the Spessart forest to the charming Schloss Mespelbrunn, home to Countess Grafin Hedwig Margarete. Everyone gasped at this sight! Is this the quintessential fairy tale castle, or what?

The moat is filled with trout, which is eaten by the family.

We visited the Regal Knight’s Hall, filled with armor and geneological references to the family. The castle has belonged to the same family since 1412
There were family references in the outer courtyard as well.

We went into the salon for smoked trout and sparkling wine—very tasty!

We retraced our soggy steps to the bus and drove about forty minutes to the Schloss Lowenstein, the estate of the Prince of Lowenstein-Werthheim-Rosenberg and Princess Stephanie. Even though the estate is now used for corporate events, and we were unable to visit, we were able to visit the family’s private chapel, where Mass is conducted every Sunday.

After our visit to the medieval chapel, we were taken to the very modern wine tasting room, where we had a tasting of three varietals from the area, served with wild boar pâté from their land holdings, salami and bread. The nibbles were tasty and I wasn’t able to get a photo before they were all gone ! Sorry!

it was a twenty minute ride back to the ship, and we wended our way through the clouds as we set sail shortly thereafter.

The rest of the afternoon was spent relaxing and taking pictures of the small villages in the clouds. Very atmospheric!

After dinner, we participated in a trivia tune contest with a couple of other ladies, whose husbands were resting in their rooms. I asked Chris if I could take her picture, as she was wearing a lovely Bacharat heart.

Tomorrow will be a scenic sailing day, and we arrive at Koblenz in the late afternoon. We will view castles on the Middle Rhine today in the morning . We have been having quite a bit of morning fog so I hope we’ll be able to see them. We will visit more vineyards in the afternoon and are scheduled for (yes, yet another) wine tasting!

This morning’s walking tour took us to the Bishops’ Residenz.

For centuries the prince- bishops of Würburg yielded enormous wealth and power, and the city grew in opulence under its rule. Their crowning glory is this UNESCO-listed palace, one of Germany’s baroque treasures, built between 1720 and 1744. The palace was designed and built by architect Balthasar Neumann. The famous grand staircase features the largest ceiling fresco in the world, the four continents. This massive work by Venetian Giovanni Tiepolo shows the world as it was in his time.

The simplicity of the white room is deceiving once the visitor examines the detailled scroll work. This room evokes an air of quiet elegance, unlike the other rooms which can be classified as over the top.

This is classified as an office, but there’s no desk or much furniture of note in the room. Its purpose is to impress the visitor, and it does. There’s another Tiepolo ceiling here too.

Each room along the corridor was an example of opulence and power. Some were used as bedrooms. Others were used as public rooms.

Awe-struck!

Much of Würzburg was destroyed by Allied bombs during World War II, but the city was rebuilt and the palace gradually restored to its former glory.

The residenz is located in the middle of the historical center, so it was very easy to visit the neighborhood and check out shops in this charming university city. Our guide also showed us some of the important churches. She also told us where to find the best Apple strudel, and we stopped by Kohler’s for our treat in lieu of lunch.

After strolling through the city, our last stop was having a glass of white wine at the “wine bridge,” overlooking the Marienberg Fortress. It was a very popular pastime and the bridge was a great people watching location.

We extended the experience by strolling down the promenade to our waiting ship. A shipmate took this photo. There was even enough glare to necessitate my use of sun glasses.

We had a lovely day!

NOTE: click title above to access the kickass website.

We were totally tired after yesterday’s tour of Nuremberg, so we gave ourselves a day off and decided to enjoy viewing the river from our balcony. It was a beautiful warm and sunny day, quite unusual, given the drop in temperatures. It’s soooo nice to sail on an almost empty ship. The early risers spent the morning in Bamburg and enjoyed “smoked beer”. I didn’t mind missing out on the experience. We spent the whole day in relax mode, reading, taking pictures, eating, of course, and chatting with the fellow travelers who remained on board. The morning travelers met up with us for lunch and we cruised the rest of the day.

The sun slips down to end the day. We are preparing for our visit to Wurzburg, which has a special significance for me: our high school foreign exchange student Christa attended medical school here and met her husband, Karl-Heinz.

NOTE: click title above to see the kickass site, with photos and narration.

What do most people think when the city of Nuremberg is mentioned? Here most people said “ The war trials”. Perhaps the movie “Judgement at Nuremberg “ is one that many of us remember. The Germans get their come-uppence for the chaos that brought us World War II. and caused the death of millions and destruction of cities throughout Europe.

We learned a great deal about the city today. In Nuremberg , Nazis found the ideal setting in which to carry out their activities; it was here that the fanatical pary’s rallies were held, and the boycott of Jewish businesses and the infamous Neuremberg Laws outlawing Jewish citizenship were enacted. Later, the painful reconstruction—using the original stone—of almost all the main buildings including the castle and old churches, returned the city to some of its original glory. Although Neuremberg was nearly destroyed in 1945 by Allied bombers, the remaining medieval city walls stretch some three miles and feature original gateways and 80 original watchtowers.

Our tour of the art of Nuremberg began at the castle, as we climbed up for a view of the city.

At the top of the hill, we looked down for the view of the city.

You can see the city today, and how it was destroyed in 1945, below. Check out the four houses in the front.

Today’s tour took us down into one of the main squares where we entered what was originally a brewery, and went down into the underground tunnels that encircled the city. These tunnels turned out to be useful during the war as air raid shelters. At the beginning of the war, Hitler said that Germany didn’t need any protection since there was no doubt in his mind that Germany would easily win the war, as they marched through other countries, taking them over without much effort. However, as Allied forces gathered stronger m it became clear that this was not the case; it was then that Hitler started building air raid shelters for his people and, just as Londoners fled to the underground during the blitz, German citizens fled to the tunnels during Allied bombing raids.

Also during this time, the citizens of Nuremberg began worrying about their own artwork, and took pains to protect their cultural treasures in situ, by building barricades around them. Other art works were taken and stored in certain walled off areas of the tunnels, with guards guarding them 24/7. The photo above shows the guards’ office and sleeping quarters.

After having a tour of the tunnels, we visited St Sebaldus Church, a medieval church which was damaged heavily during the war. It was originally a Catholic cathedral but became Lutheran during the Reformation. The shrine of St Sebaldus, seen below, remained undamaged and the hidden stained glass windows were restored.

This is the shrine to St Sebaldus, which was not taken, but protected on site. Lots of lumber forming a box was placed around the structure.

We ended our tour at the market square, where we indulged in some gingerbread at one of the bakeries around the market square.

This was one of our most strenuous tours: four miles of walking, little sitting, and cold underground temperatures made this tour a challenge, but we didn’t regret doing it.

if you haven’t seen the movie “The Monuments Men”, check it out to see how Allied commanders after the war returned the works that the Nazis confiscated from Europeans. It’s a fascinating period of time.

Tomorrow we will spend the day cruising down the river. No tours! We’re good for every other day. It’s important to know ones’s pace.

We took the leisurely tour of Passau, led by Andrew, who was a real hoot. Our tour covered the historical district and the cathedral. We also visited a local pharmacy, since we and many of our shipmates are plagued by a cold, which sapped our energy levels. There was quite a bit of walking on uneven cobblestone so we had to be careful. Many of our fellow travelers on the leisurely tour had walking sticks and walkers, which helped their journey.

Passau was noted for three things: flooding, the largest organ in the world and being at the confluence of three rivers. The Danube, the Inn and the Ilk. It is a university city and is located in the Neiderbayern region of Bavaria, in southern Germany.

Andrew took us to the Old Town, where the area recovered from the flooding, and the old historic buildings became new businesses again. The cobblestones were painted by children, deliniating the area.

On June 2, 2013, the Old Town suffered from severe flooding as a result of several days of rain and its three rivers location . Peak elevations of floods from the 1500s are displayed on the wall of the old City Hall. Ironically, with the years old drought we were not able to go beyond Passau on the ship because the water levels are now too low.

Andrew explained the traditional clothes and their meanings: boys should always wear their leiderhosen, which are very durable and will not wear out, though boys may grow out of a pair. Girls wear the dirndl, with its low neckline, a blouse worn under the bodice, a wide, high- waisted skirt and an apron. The apron is tied to represent the status of the woman wearing it. If it’s tied to the right side, she’s married, but if it’s tied on the left, she’s single. If it’s tied in the back, she’s available for anything! ( oh, my!).

Next stop: St Stephen’s Cathedral. This magnificent Baroque cathedral is known for having the largest Catholic Church organ in the world and the largest organ in Europe, with 17,974 pipes and 233 registers.

After our tour, we retraced our steps, stopped by the pharmacy for Ricola cough drops, then headed back to the ship. Our energy levels were dwindling!

It was fun to see how the two Viking ships were docked side by side.

We had to transfer to a second ship. We had to pack up our belongings, drive three and a half hours to Nuremberg, then join the Viking sister ship, the Edgir. Then we could continue our journey, ending in Amsterdam. We have the exact same room on the same ship. It was an inconvenience, but couldn’t be helped.

Yesterday was a very long day. We were up very early, bags out at 8:30, on the bus at 9:00, then got to the new ship at 12:30. At 1:30 we were allowed in our rooms, then did our tour of Nuremberg at 2:00. The tour that we chose was learning about the art that was hidden during World War II. By the time we returned, at 6:00, our bags were ready.

The tour was fascinating but exhausting. More about that in our next post!

We began our day at sea with scenic cruising down the Wachau Valley, with commentary given by Sue, our cruise director. We had the advantage of seeing many of these lovely views from our veranda.

We visited Melk Abbey in the afternoon. I was intrigued by the ads that I’d seen on PBS and wondered if it really was as magnificent as it appeared on TV. It didn’t disappoint.

Melk Abbey was built between 1702 and 1765 by architect Jakob Prandtauer, and was originally a royal palace with ceremonial courts, guest apartments, grand halls and a library. In the 11th century, Leopold II of Babenberg presented the palace to the Benedictine monks, who turned it into a fortified abbey. The abbey church, a Baroque masterpiece with jaw-dropping exteriors, features magnificent frescos by Johann Michael Rottmayr.

The magnificent Melk library contains over 16,000 volumes, as well as 12 more rooms containing 12,000 volumes which are not open to the public. Some of these include 750 incunabula, printed prior to 1500. The library’s main hall features a frescoed ceiling by Paul Troger, whose content serves as an allegory of faith, with the main central figure surrounded by angels, reprsents the four Cardinal Virtues: Wisdom, Justice, Fortitude and Temperance.

We were not allowed to take pictures inside, so I got post cards so you can see the spectacular magnificence of these two structures. The library was my favorite!

At the end of our visit, we had just enough time to retrace our steps and stop for a decaf mélange — what we call a cappucino — and a special benedictine cake, before returning to the bus.

There were also lovely views from the top. Goodbye Melk Abbey!

After our tour, I headed off to bed for some much needed shut-eye. Afternoon naps have become very important after a strenuous day. We walked four miles, which never used to seem to be a big deal, but now that I’m a charter member of the bone-on-bone hip arthritis club, walking saps my energy.

Tomorrow we go to Passau, Germany, the city of three rivers. We will be doing the leisurely tour of the historic district and St Stephen’s cathedral.

This swan welcomed me to Vienna, as I was enjoying breakfast in the dining room..

Our first tour was Panoramic Vienna, a bus and 45 minute walking tour of the city. I was in the leisurely walking crowd, with those of us who needed extra time and care. We had a ten minute stroll on even city streets. It’s nice that Viking makes these tours available for the less able. The sister, who didn’t inherit arthritis from our Swedish relatives, was in the regular walking group. We met up at St Stephen’s Cathedral.

After our tour, we walked over to the Café Sluka, for sachertorte and coffee.

We returned to the ship for lunch and a two hour break from touring. Our next scheduled tour was the Palace of Schönbrunn. I decided to stay in and crash; fortunately, another lady bought my ticket so my sister had a nice new companion and I was able to get some rest. I’m still not sleeping well and I needed the catch up time. Two ibuprofen and an hour’s sleep usually do the job.

When Beatrice was on this tour, the guide told an interesting story. No one in Vienna knew about the movie “The Sound of Music,” but various people asked her about it so she rented it. She was surprised and amused by the inconsistencies and said that no one has schnitzel with noodles ( from the song “ My Favorite Things”) and that, contrary to popular belief, “ Edelweiss” is NOT the national anthem of Austria.

She said that the most important movie that shows Vienna as it was following the war is Orson Welles’ film noir masterpiece, “The Third Man,” with its dramatic climax inside the ferris wheel. We passed the ferris wheel coming in and out of the city and I kept wondering, “Is this THE ferris wheel?” It’s a great film. Check it out if you’ve never seen it.

Our third tour began at 6:30 with six other participants. We were driven out to the Vienna woods, where vineyards dominate the landscape. Vienna is the only capital in the world where wine grapes are grown within the city boundaries . The wine taverns, known as Heurigen, are very popular with locals and tourists alike and an evening there consists of enjoying local cuisine, tasting the various vintages, and singing with the resident accordion player. There’s even a very friendly, plump feline who greets the guests. It was a blast! We ate, we drank, we sang!

The evening passed quickly, and before we knew it, we were back on the bus, heading back to the ship. Our guide, Sylvia, shown here with the tavern cat, promised that the wonderful Austrian wines would not give us a hangover!

We tour Melk Abbey tomorrow. It’s an all day event!

NOTE: Please click the title above to see the post with photos.

CHEERS, DADDY!

October 16th was the birthday of our father, so it somehow seemed appropriate that we were sailing into Vienna on this day and would be attending a concert of the greatest hits of Strauss and Mozart this evening. He was a fan! Oh, do we remember those scratchy 78s. I remember attending a concert featuring the Vienna Boys’ Choir when I was a child. He taught us his love for the music we will be enjoying this evening.

Most of the day was spent in scenic cruising, as we enjoyed the sites along the river.

One required activity was the morning safety drill.

We had our safety briefing at 10.

We sailed through Bratislava and saw some beautiful architecture along the river.

We visited the wheel house on the top of the ship in the cool windy afternoon and watched as the captain sailed the ship and gave a commentary.

We had an early dinner after the captain’s welcome toast and watched as the ship docked in Vienna in the dark . We were about a half hour away from the city center, and saw many, many river cruisers stacked up with us. We tied up next to the Viking Thor.

We left the ship at 7:30 and met our bus. We were taken to the Shubert Theater, “where Leonard Bernstein once performed,” and climbed two sets of stairs to get to the event. This was a special concert for the Viking guests.

We were entertained by the Vienna Residence Orchestra, under the baton of Pierre Pichler. From the overture from “The Marriage of Figaro,” to the ending waltz ( with the audience clapping at the appropriate moments), and arias, duets, waltzes and polkas in between, we were delighted and captivated by the orchestra, the singers and the dancers. The concert was certainly a highlight of our trip.

Daddy would have loved it!

Tomorrow is busy with three events: Panoramic Vienna tour, tour of Schönbrunn Palace, and Heurigen harvest dinner in Grinzing. Stay tuned!

NOTE: if you’re reading this post on your phone, please clink on the title above to get the photos and narration.

This is the itinerary of the Grand European Voyage on the Viking Gymir

As the sun rises at our window, we say GOOD MORNING BUDAPEST, and goodbye for now. We have had amazing weather on this trip…so far.We left our hotel in Budapest just after 10:00, after the streets were cleared from the first event of the Budapest marathon. We were able to check out quickly and the taxi driver got to our hotel and helped with our luggage.

Our stay in the hotel was 137,879 HUF which is about $185 per night. Viking charged its participants in the pre- tour at $500 per person per night for their hotels. No thank you. We loved our charming Boutique Hotel Victoria. Taxi rides were also very reasonable.

We had the location of the meet up point for the bus marked on our map and we just waited a few minutes until we got on our luxurious bus with six other passengers and left at 11:00 , driving through the narrow roads of the Hungarian countryside to the hamlet of Nyergesújfalu, or as one of the crew members said, “ the middle of nowhere!”.

By 2:00, we were having lunch on the Aquavit Terrace.

Welcome to the Gymir!

We are very happy that we selected a cabin with a veranda, which greatly extends the feeling of having extra space. The cabins themselves are very well laid out, but they are quite small. The drawers are very convenient. It will take time to get organized. We’re still suffering from jet lag.

We started meeting people and enjoyed the company of two Canadian couples at dinner. I had salmon and Beatrice had rib eye steak, two main staples. I opted not to have chicken paprika because I had it the night before at the Fisherman’s Bastion in Budapest.

It is now Sunday and is much cooler. There was rain on our veranda. . We chatted with a couple and their son and daughter-in-law from New Orleans after the morning briefing , and joined them for lunch. Most of the people went on afternoon tour to see Budapest’s major attractions today , but it meant getting on the bus, driving an hour and a half back to Budapest, then returning to Komáron, two hours away, where the ship is now docked. We now have a steady internet connection- hooray! . The only site we didn’t see that was on the tour is Hero’s Square, and we did not want to spend 3 1/2 hours on the bus to see one landmark. We are enjoying this free time on our own. We were able to organize our room, watch a film, get our internet up and running and discuss plans for Vienna with one of the crew members.

Tomorrow is a sailing day. We arrive Monday night in Vienna, where we will see a Strauss/ Mozart concert. Tuesday we will be very busy in Vienna. Good news: my hip and knee are not bothering me. Fingers crossed this continues.

A popular spot: decaf cappuccino and cookies 24/7!