Month: August 2014

Monday, August 18, 2014

Before I write about our trip home, I want to add one humorous picture I forgot from yesterday.   We came across this statue near Freedom Square.  We had Terry and Frank pose with the statue.   Thought you might enjoy seeing it.

My phone went off at 6:00 am since we needed to be in our hotel lobby by 7:30 for our transfer to the Budapest airport. After I was ready, I heated a cup of coffee and ate the bun I had purchased the day before.

When Frank was ready, he sat down with  a cup of coffee.   First he ate his croissant, saving his strudel for last.   Then I heard him exclaim,  “Oh, this is horrible!” as he spit out his first bite of the alleged “strudel”.   “Look, there’s a hot dog in here.” he said, showing me the offending brown circle within the dough.  Heading straight for the trash can, he added “I’m not eating this.”  Obviously, he had made a poor selection.  I learned later that a similar scene had taken place in Malcolm and Sharon’s room.   She, too, had chosen a plain roll.

After we checked out, Terry, Joyce, Sharon, Malcolm, Frank, and I waited a few minutes for our driver for our transfer to the airport.  Here is Terry, our designated team leader, holding up the sign our driver had displayed  as the driver and a bell boy  loaded our suitcases into the van.

The rest of the day was long, but went smoothly.   We flew to Paris and had a three-hour and forty minute layover before  boarding  our second flight to Philadelphia.

All went as scheduled.   The flight from Paris to Philadelphia took about 8 hours.   It was a long time to sit.   I watched two movies and started a new book.  We were served a dinner, several snacks, and even a Dixie cup of ice cream.    This sure is different from domestic flights which only serve drinks and  offer meals and  snacks for purchase.

Our plane landed at 6:30 pm and we were home by 9:15.  Since we lost six hours coming home, our bodies could feel the Budapest time of 3:15 am.   It was a very long day!

While Frank and I were both happy to be home,  we  saw and did so many interesting things and made some wonderful memories with our friends.  Who knows where we’ll be headed next?   I still have lots of ideas and places to go on my bucket list.  But I’ll wait a little while before I suggest them to Frank!

Thanks for following along.  I hope you enjoyed my first attempt at blogging.    And yes, I went a whole twelve days without a mishap or trip to an emergency room.   I’d say that was a sign of a terrific trip!

 

Sadly, this morning we had to leave the Viking Prestige.   Since we had done our own arrangements for our added on days, we had to get ourselves  to  our hotel, the InterContinental Budapest.   It was very close to our ship so we walked with our suitcases in tow.  Leaving our luggage at the hotel, we were ready to see a bit more of the city.

Sharon, Terry and I consulted our Budapest map to make our plan of attack.    The St. Stephen’s Basilica was our first stop.  This church was built  from about 1875 to 1905.  It was beautifully done in marble with lots of gold trim.   There is a domed tower that you can go up, so Sharon, Malcolm, Frank, and I paid our 500 Ft. ($2.50 US), and up we went.  The vIew overlooking the city was fantastic.

 

We we were surprised later to read in my tour book that the right hand of St. Stephan’s is in a case to the left of the alter.  Evidently you can take a picture of it.   We decided to forgo the opportunity.

Our next find was Freedom Square which has a memorial to all those who died in the Holocaust.   There was a neat fountain of water.  When you walked up to it, it would stop and you could enter the center.  It was fun to try it out.   There were also a lot of signs,  flowers and items all around.   It was in protest that not enough was being done to commemorate these victims.

We also saw a big memorial to commemorate the Soviets who liberated Budapest from the Nazi Regime.   Right across the street was the American Embassy.   There was also a statue of  Ronald Reagan who was involved with the negotiations that brought  an end to the communist rule of Hungary in 1989.

After a morning of exploring we headed to  a nearby shopping area whose streets were pedestrian walkways.   It always gives your mind a mental workout when previewing menus.   One of our dollars is equal to 200 florint.  When you see 2,000 Ft. it equals $10.00, so that means a lot of dividing mentally. At first glance looking at 3,000 ft.  for a hamburger and French fries can seem outlandish!

Sharon, Malcolm, Frank and I walked across the well known Chain Bridge which was right near our hotel.  On the Buda side, we spied a deli and went in to search for breakfast the next morning before heading off to the airport.  I got a plain bun, while Frank choose a chocolate croissant and a filled strudel.   When coming back again, there were some great views of our ship.

After our dinner we headed back to our hotel.  It was the end of our trip and my body knew it!  No bogging for me that night.    I laid my head down on my pillow at 9:30 and slept soundly until my phone chimed at 6:00.    An exhausting day indeed!

 

 

Yet another city tour. Off on our Viking bus with our tour guide Otto.   Our first stop was Heros Square where Otto explained Hungary’s history.  For much of  the time, their country has been ruled by others, from invaders, monarchies, to Austria and the Communists.  As traveling so often does, it reminded me how lucky we are in the US.

After lunch, we went on an option excursion to a horse farm about a half hour from the city.
I think all of us were expecting some sort of rodeo. In reality it was more of a walk back in time to yesteryear in Hungary. Horseman were dressed in costumes of old and showed their skills with whips, archery, and racing. The emerald green fields were quite a contrast to the scenes of Budapest in the morning.

When we got back to our boat, we walked along the Danube to the Holocaust Shoe Memorial along the river walk.  This was to remember all of the Jews  who were shot  and fell into the Danube.   A  very poignant reminder.

We ended our cruise with our final supper.  Judy and Lauren  would be leaving early the next morning.  We have one more day in Budapest before our fight home.   An ending to a fun filled and adventuresome week.

Friday, August 15th, 2014

Slavia?  Before this trip, I didn’t know there was a country called Slavia.  In 1993′ they agreed to break away from the Czech Republic.   Bratislavia is the capital city of this republic. Of course this small town had a castle. From the castle you could see three countries- Hungary, Austria and Slavakia.

There was a fountain in the town square dating from 1572.  It had peeing boys, but when the town folks complained, the sculptor changed it to the boys holding fish whose mouths spewed water!

 

We set sail by noon on our way to Budapest.   We sat on the Aquavit Lounge, which Is an open terrace on the front of the ship. It has a glass wall that feels like you are on the sun deck, but breaks the wind.   It was fascinating to watch the ship go through a lock.  The drop in water level was 60 some feet.

Also in the afternoon the chef gave a demonstration on how to make apple strudel.  The key seemed to be getting the crust very thin and slicing the apples thin with a peeler.  Of course we all got to sample the strudel.   It was yummy, but who really needed more food?   But what could we do?   We didn’t want to disappoint the chef for all of his efforts!

Tonight was our Captain’s Dinner.   All of our meals have been delicious with lots of choices.   Our waiter Jonathan is really on top of everything right down to knowing what drinks to bring to each of us.  It will be hard to go home again, as I will have to be both Chef Eric,Jonathan, and Lilliana our housekeeper all in one.    Frank will be back filling the dishwasher too. We have been spoiled!

Tonight we spent time in the lounge listing to music from the piano player Angel. Joyce and I did the twist and I even got Frank to hit the dance floor on some slow ones!   It has been so much fun to be with our group of eight.

Arriving at Budapest was one of the neatest experiences of our cruise.  The buildings and bridges were all lite up.  Almost all the passengers were on the sun deck snapping pictures.  Our Program Director Daniel gave a running commentary as we went by the buildings and landmarks.   The castle looked a little like Disney World’s.   What a cool way to get our first glimpse of Budapest.

 

How do you see a city like Vienna in one day?  I must say we did our best and I had no trouble falling asleep last night.

Today Wien, the German word for Vienna, is a modern city with about 1.7 million inhabitants.   On our city tour in the morning, our guide pointed out many buildings of importance.  The old moat to the  town is now a street called the Ringstrasse and the old town is within that area. Here we saw the ornate buildings of the Imperial Palace, Hofurg Palace, which was home to the Hapsburgs from 1273 to 1918 when the royal family system was abolished.  The president of Austria has his offices here.

 

In the afternoon we went to Schonbrunn Palace which was the summer palace of the Maria Theresa and the royal family. It was huge and we learned a lot about Empress Maria Theresa who ruled this area from 1740-1780. She had 16 children, which was a real feat in the 1700’s.  Her youngest child. was Marie Antoinette who wound up at the guillotine in the French Revolution.

 

In the evening we went to a classical concert at the Hofburg Palace. It was
the Wien Hofburg Orchestra. I was worried that I would fall asleep but they made it light and humorous. The one percussionist whistled like a bird during one selection and even shot off blanks from a rifle and a pistol at just the right times. What a neat way to end our day in Vienna!

 

 

Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Melk? Monastery?  Not another church? That what I was thinking as we started out on our tour to Melk this morning.   But, I can only say, I did a  360 as soon as we arrived at the Abbey.

Melk is a small town along the Danube of about 5,000.  It’s name of fame is its 900+ years old abbey which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

At first Melk Abbey was a royal palace but in 1089 in became a Benedictine monastery.  After a fire destroyed the original one,the present abbey was rebuilt in the early 1700s in baroque style.  It was beautiful, very big, and very ornate.  Some of the rooms we visited were for visiting royalty like Emperess  Maria Teresa.   Today it is also a prestigious school with over 700 students as well as continuing as an abbey with black-robed Benedictine monks.

The Abbey Church was even more impressive then the abbey itself.   There was so much gold in it with lots of windows  near the dome which made the gold stand out even more.

There was also a garden next to the Abbey Church with a pavilion that was beautifully decorated in baroque style. It was a cafe.

This afternoon we cruised through the Wachau Valley from Melk to Durnstein which is noted for its picturesque  ruined castles, medieval towns and terraced vineyards.   

 

Everyone in our group was busy taking pictures and enjoying the sights except for Frank.

At  four we arrived a Durnstein which is a small town of about 900 with beautiful old houses dating from the 1400 and 1500s. On top of the hill was the ruins of a castle in which Richard the Lionhearted was imprisoned in 1192. With Lauren leading the pack, Sharon, Malcolm, Judy, Frank and I treked to the top. The Danube takes a bend and it was neat to see it from this viewpoint. By the time I was done my fit bit showed over 13,700 steps. I was an over achiever today!

Tonight we were treated to an Austrian themed dinner with a three piece Austrian polka band providing the proper atmosphere. The meal was a huge buffet with all kinds if Bavarian dishes. My favorites were the Austrian beer and a freshly baked soft pretzels.

 

Tuesday, August 12, 2014

I hear the hills calling–off to Salzburg we go! This by far was one of the biggest reasons I wanted to go on the Danube Waltz and why we picked August.  At 8:30 we boarded our  bus for our  hour and a half trip to Salzburg, Austria.  Unfortunately it was raining again when we left.   Figures!

In spite of the rain we saw so beautiful emerald green hills and mountains,just as I had imagined.

Salzburg is the fourth largest city in Austria.  It is known for Mozart’s birthplace and the area where  The Sound of Music was filmed.   Our guide pointed out places throughout the town were scenes were filmed.

salzburg got its name because salt is mined in the hills around the town.  Salzburg means salt town.   It the Middle Ages salt was worth its weight in gold.   Salt is still mined here today and is used in many industries.

With our Austrian guide, electronic earphones in place , and umbrellas over our heads we trumped all over the old town fighting the crowds and umbrellas as we went.   There was a musical festival going on and together with our tour groups, getting around was a bit tricky.

 

We saw Mozart birthplace.  There was a neat castle on top of steep cliffs.  Built somehow on the sides of the cliff were cave like houses.  Monks would go there for meditations and prayers.

 

How often do you get to have lunch in a restaurant that was built in 141o?   And to order my first taste if the famous Sacher torte to boot.  What a heavenly culinary delight!

Tonight a classical singing group came on board to perform for us with a “Taste of Austria”. They were great and performed many songs from The Sound of Music.  Leading selected members of the audience, these performers danced with folks from the audience.  Lauren and Judy danced like pros.  Sure was glad I did not have to put my dancing skills to such a test!

Great scenery, delicious Sacher torte, a superb classical performance-wow!  In spite of the rain, the day was filled with a lot of firsts!

August 11, 2014

Today was the first day of touring with our cruise.   It was raining and so all we departed for our tour of the town we were surrounded with a sea of red umbrellas.

Passau is located where threes rivers converge- the Danube, Inn, and Ilk. The old part of the city gets flooded often, the last time was just a year ago. You could see the very high water marks in some of the buildings. It is amazing that they keep restoring the buildings. A lot of their art shops and student housing for their university is in this area.

St. Stephen’s is a 17th century cathedral in which we got to listen to an organ concert after our tour. They have the largest pipe organ in Europe

In the afternoon, Sharon, Judy, Lauren, and I went back to the Old Town to do some exploring on our own. We walked along the Danube to the point where it joins with the Ilk and then the Inn. The currents in the rivers were very rapid. I can only image how destructive the rivers must be during the floods.

We explored a grocery store. It is fascinating to see all the different items they have to offer, even in their fresh produce. There were peaches in the shapes of short, squat tomatoes and huge green grapes. Sharon and I also drooled over the yummy looking pastries, pretzels, and breads at the bakery, but had the will power to resist buying any. Sharon was sure Malcolm would have had to sample a pretzel.

Our tour guide shared that the important buildings in the Old Town are always painted the same colors so that everyone would know which was the bakery, pharmacy and grocery store no matter what language the spoke.

Our day ended with another delicious meal and pleasant conversation amongst our group. Tomorrow we had to Linz and then Salzburg, Austria. I can just picture Julie Andrews singing on the mountain top “The hills are alive with the sound of music…” Rain, rain go away!

Left Prague this morning.  Our driver took us two hours south to a town called Cresky Krumlov. It is in the Czech Republic close to the Austrian border.   It was a walled castle town which has been very well preserved.   The town had a combination of baroque and renaissance buildings.   Many of the foundations of the buildings were from the 12th century.

 

The Krumlov Castle is the second largest in the Czech Republic.  It even has a bears den and a baroque theatre inside.   We saw the bear’s den but no bears.  Probably too hot for them in the sun!  The town and castle are a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  I could have spent a whole day here.  it was like being at a Renaissance Fair on steroids!

The Vltava River makes and s turn here.  It starts here in the south and is  much smaller than it is in Prague.  You could rent kayaks  and rafts to go around the town.   I so wanted to do this but could not find an accomplice.  Could have used daughter Kate at a time like this.

We left the town around 2 and headed west along the river to get to our ship in Passau, Germany.

After settling in our cabin on the Viking Prestige, we found Judy and Lauren who were joining our group for the cruise.  We had a fantastic dinner.  I had mushroom dishes galore.  It is mushroom season in Germany.

To my surprise while we were enjoying coffee, the wait staff brought my a flaming birthday cake.  While I was talking to Malcolm, she whispered to our waiter about my birthday.   Of course by then I had a some wine and beer, so the deed was pretty easy to accomplish. Thank you, Joyce!  Fortunately it only had one candle so my age still remains a secret to the others.

All in all, we had another great day with lots of new experiences!

 

 

 

 

 

This morning we were off to see Terezin which is a Nazi concentration camp about an hour north west of Prague.  The Nazi’s took over Terezin which is  a town made up of two fortresses.  In the bigger one they housed Jews and made them work, gave them little food and separated families.  They put the children in a children’s barracks, and the adults in men’s  and women’s barracks .    There were not gas chambers here.  Many got transported to other camps  to be exterminated.   While they were in this camp, a lot of artwork, drama and poetry  went on.  It was so moving to go through a museum that displayed the artwork and  the poetry.  The opera Bundebar was written and performed by the children in the camp 53 times.

The smaller fortress was a prison before the Nazi invasion.   We got to tour this prison. Some Jews  from the concentration camp were sent here if the Nazi didn’t like something they did like finding the paintings of their life at Terezin which was deemed “horrifying propaganda”.   In fact, the Nazis themselves glorified the camp to use for a Red Cross inspection in 1944, showing the official how wonderful everyone was treated!

This just was not what I was expecting. It was a whole town.  Today people do live and work here.   We toured three museums.  This tour was unforgettable.

This evening we took a river dinner cruise.  It was a beautiful summer evening with incredible scenes of Prague from the Vltava River.  The cruise ended with fireworks in front of the castle.  What can I say?  This was indeed was a very memorable way to celebrate my birthday!