Author: Karen

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!

I read this declaration in a travel guide and it’s true.
I felt it the minute we drove into the center of the city.

A river runs through it

The architecture is grand and imposing

The Seine or the Danube?
The tree-lined Chemps-Elysées or Andràssy Street?

Fisherman’s Basion, Castle Hill Complex.

Opera performance

I’m having problems placing pictures today, so the photos will be out of sequence with the text. My apologies!

Back to reality! We had things to do, places to go.

First priority: how to get on the ship tomorrow!

We needed to know how to get on the bus to join the ship, since it is docked in a village forty miles from here because of the low water.

An astute Viking agent mentioned on the phone last week that there was a Viking service desk at the Hotel Intercontinental, so we taxied over to find out what to do. We had gotten misinformation earlier in the day with an email from Viking, giving us the phone number to call the ship; when I called, the representative there said we would have to pay for our own fare since we did not use the Viking hotel. This didn’t seem right. Thank goodness for Maria, the agent on the phone last week.

We got to the hotel and found a very long Viking service desk with competent people! What a relief! We spoke to a charming fellow who marked the location on the map and gave us the times the buses would be driving to the village where our ship, the Gymir, will be waiting for us. Sound complicated ? Yes. Traveling is not for sissies

We had a tour of the Hungarian State Opera House at 1:30, so we strolled over, stopping at several places along the way. We checked out a grocery store and enjoyed seeing what people eat. I’ve never seen Hello Kitty cereal before!

We stopped for a decaf cappuccino – the sisters’ coffee of choice – at the elegant café Callas, across from the opera house ( thanks to neighbor Rich for giving me the card) and got involved in a chat with a delightful English man and his wife, who also bought tickets for the tour.

The tour was fantastic! We even were given a short performance at the end with selections from Opera’s Greatest Hits, including “ La Bohème” and “Rigoletto.” Delightful! See photos above and below.

After the tour, we taxied home to rest my weary bone-on-bone hip joint and catch up on some long- neglected sleep.

A couple of hours later, we taxied over to the Fisherman’s Bastian area of the Castle Hill complex for views of the city. We did some souvenir shopping and ended the evening with a delicious chicken paprika with dumplings dish accompanied with a refreshing cucumber salad. My drink of choice was a Kir Royale; the sister had a Coke zero. The photo will be below because I can’t figure out how to put it here!

I was surpringly pain free so we strolled the Danube and saw more views before heading back to pack and get ready for life on the ship.

Fisherman’s Bastion

Chain bridge by night

Dinner at the top of Fisherman’s Bastion

Time for breakfast! We will join the ship today. Fingers crossed!

I don’t remember it being so difficult before.

it’s Friday October 13 at 1:48 AM. Budapest time. I’m wide awake. Yes, we’re here. Everything was smooth sailing, so to speak: car to the airport, an almost eleven hour flight to Munich in Premium Economy section . We had a five hour wait until our flight to Budapest. Lack of sleep and a loss of memory (“where-did-I -put it” syndrome) don’t help.

it’s old age. Old bones. Stairs hurt my bum knee. Have to rest.

We opted not to stay at the hotel chosen by Viking because of costs and are instead at a charming small hotel called the Boutique Hotel Victoria, on the Pest side of the riber. We’re in a room with a view of Patliament and the bridges from our 7th floor perch. We had goulash soup at a cute Belgian brasserie next door.

. Unfortunately, the ship isn’t here because of low water levels, so we have to go to the dock Saturday to catch a bus to get to our vessel. There is a contact number. We saw a Viking representative at the airport who told us to take a taxi to the dock between 10-11 AM. I will try calling to verify.

Even though I’m struggling, things don’t seem so bad when I look out the window.

I’ll try to get back to sleep now. As Scarlet once said, “ Tomorrow is another day!”

The sister and I are about to set sail on the beautiful blue Danube this week. Today is packing day. Tomorrow we fly to Munich, then change planes to land in Budapest, where we’ll spend two nights before embarking on a two week Viking cruise, completing our journey in Amsterdam.

Our ship will not be awaiting us on the beautiful blue Danube because of low water levels so we will be bussed to another city about sixty miles away for boarding .

if you watch Masterpiece Theater on PBS, you’ll be familiar with all those beautiful ads. Marketing works! I’m looking forward to time in Budapest and Vienna. We already have tickets for the tour of the Budapest opera house. I long to see Melk Abbey.

We will be in veranda stateroom #203, which is the number of my classroom many years ago. Is this an omen? Will reality be as good as those gorgeous scenes we see on TV?

We’ll find out.

Here is the group photo, taken at our Farewell Dinner

From l- r: Dave and Karen, Robert and Joy, ( going on post trip);Andrea and her husband, ( going home) Linda from Florida ( post trip) , Karen ( moi, going home) Linda from CA, ( going home) husband and Norma, Ann from England (going home) , Ann and Dave,( post trip) Mark ( flying to Egypt on a new adventure via Casablanca) and Mostafa, who will be taking the homebound group to Casablanca and the airport.

I had to take one final shot from my room before leaving – such a gorgeous place!

We had our final breakfast on the rooftop terrace, then walked through the Old Town to two buses. The new van, driver and tour leader took the seven travelers to the Atlantic and we got on our sturdy bus number 30 with our driver Mohammed and Mostafa to Casablanca.

We drove the national highway and arrived in Casablanca in time for lunch.

The lunch location is a place that takes care of single mothers. It is a horrible social stigma if a woman becomes pregnant out of wedlock and this association helps the women with job training and child care needs. The woman pictured is the founder of the Association Sodidarité Féminine, Alcha Ech Channa, who has been the defendent and spokesperson for this organization for over thirty years.

We were served a sumptuous meal. The main course is served at weddings, which I thought added a touch of irony. The food was delicious. A social worker spoke to us about the ramifications of single motherhood after our meal.

I also had some close encounters with a couple of felines under the table during the meal.

The outside of the home is very beautiful, with the famous Moroccan blue accents.

Next stop: the beach! we also got views of the lighthouse and the Hassan II mosque, which we would be touring.

Mosafa drove us to the mosque and picked up our tickets for us. We had time to walk around the area and explore before going inside for the tour. My first overall impression: MASSIVE.

it has been said that during Ramadan this entire outdoor area is packed with worshippers. The inside consists of two stories: the prayer room and the ablutions room, for washing.

More facts, according to Wikipedia: Hassan II mosque, or la Grande Mosquée Hassan II is the second largest functioning mosque in Africa and the seventh in the world. Its minaret is the second largest, at 689 feet. Construction began in 1986. Completed in 1993, it was designed by Michel Pinseau under the guidance of King Hassan II and built by Moroccan artisans from all over the kingdom. The minaret is sixty stories high, topped by a laser directed toward Mecca. The walls are of hand crafted marble and the cedar roof is retractable. A maximum of 105,000 worshippers can gather together for prayer: 2,500 inside the mosque hall and another 80,000 outside.

We took our shoes off to explore the prayer room but put them back on to go downstairs.

I forgot to mention that women pray in a separate area in the prayer room. There are two ablution rooms downstairs. We were in the men’s section, which is green; the women’s section is pink. The tile work is magnificent.

After our tour, we checked into the hotel and discussed dinner plans. We decided to eat at a local Morrocan restaurant which was a ten minute walk from from the hotel. Ann and I got together before the dinner to drink our last bottle of wine which we’d gotten at the super market at the beginning of the trip! We would have a pre- dinner drink and a post – dinner drink!

I met the last cat from the trip as we were walking back to the hotel. Was he saying goodbye?

We said our good byes at the hotel lobby. Norma and Andrea and their husbands were leaving at 4:00 am; Linda and I were leaving at 5:00 am and Ann and Mark didn’t have to leave until 9:30 am. Poor Mostafa had to be awake most of the night. He will return to his family up north and will have a bit of time off before he leads his next group in October.

Ann and I met Mark on the rooftop for our final libation of the trip.

Hope you enjoyed the adventure.

I may post once more – lessons learned. You can learn from my mistakes!