SHORE EXCURSIONS DOWN THE DANUBE...

NOTE: The Danube is the longest river in the European Union, and is the second-longest river in Europe after Russia's Volga. It begins in the Black Forest region of Germany and runs through 10 countries (Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova and Ukraine) on its way to the Black Sea.  Richard Strauss knew what he was doing when he named that lovely waltz.  The Beautiful, Blue Danube aptly describes the romantic river which winds its way from Germany to the sea.

     DAYS 4-10

It took about three hours to go by bus from Prague to Passau, Germany, where we boarded the boat Hermod in the Viking fleet.  Before the boat ever sailed, this is where we made our first shore excursion.

Passau is also the part of Bavarian Germany which has a lot of wood carving.  I saw German smokers in the stores (like the ones I bought for each of you while we were in Berlin) and lots of carved wooden Christmas stuff--only these weren't the wooden displays that were also painted with shiny paint.  These were more like plain white wood carvings and displays with burnished edges (like wood burning) .

In this city we also went to an organ concert at St. Stephen's which was built after a cathedral in Vienna of the same name.

St. Stephen's Cathedral on the bottom right

The concert was half an hour long and featured the biggest pipe organ in the world with 17,000 plus pipes and over 230 registers.  The organ loft was in the back of the church, and that brought back memories when I played the organ at the Catholic church in Rawlins for Ida West's wedding.  (What had I been thinking!?!?!  I had never played the organ before--always declined when my mother wanted to show me the rudiments--but when Ida West asked me to play, I accepted the invitation to do so without any hesitation.  It was a long summer of practicing in the dark and scary Catholic church, and I didn't even do a good job. But I finished what I promised I would do.)

Anyway, the benches were low, narrow seats with no backs on them and the kneeling board so close there was no place to put our legs.  Good thing the concert was good.  It was a crippling position to be in, and they had suggested we go 30-45 minutes early to make sure we sat in the middle where the acoustics were the best.

In all there were five pieces the organist performed.  Three were church music and the other two--the third and fourth selections--were just regular pieces, both of which I recognized. 

My mother didn't like Bach, but I have come to appreciate his music--especially that day in a Baroque-style church built during the time he composed music for the organ.  I did like the other pieces, too, and it was clear why the patrons of the arts had these pieces of music commissioned.  They were pleasant to listen to.

From Passau we sailed to Linz, Austria.

It was HOT in Linz!  My long sleeved shirts and knit hoodies were just too much!  And because I based my packing requirements on memory of when we lived in Europe and went on spring vacations, I brought only a couple of short sleeved shirts.  So, after our waking tour of the city center's squares and some history about it being a big Nazi stronghold, Louis and I went shopping.

C & A.  A store I recognized from living in Berlin that is mid-priced and affordable for me.  But we had to walk several blocks away from the glitz to get to that shopping area.  In every city we have been in, the shopping has been very, very upscale with all the "Toni" shops you see in all the exclusive shopping areas in the US, too.  So, I dragged Louis into C&A so I could purchase three short sleeved tees and not feel like I was suffocating.  Felt good to put on some capris and a t-shirt so I could sit comfortably up on the upper deck and see the sights while the boat was docked.  Such a pleasant afternoon.

The weather had been terrific until we got to Melk where it was overcast, cool, rainy, and very, very windy.  I was soooo glad I had the little quilted jacket my Primary secretary bought for me from Costco and gave me for Christmas.

This location also featured a walking tour of the village and a visit to the Benedictine Monastery there.  In all the Catholic churches and cathedrals we have seen, I am so impressed that the murals and gospel stories they depict tell gospel truths.   Now this is from centuries ago, principles and morals about living that most people now days don't have a clue about.  And this was BEFORE the gospel was restored!

I've often said the same thing about Christmas carols and hymns written in the 1600s and 1700s--some even earlier--that tell about the divinity of Christ, his resurrection and the Atonement.  True, some of the doctrine got left out or mistranslated or man-made ideas crept in--but people seemed to know the basics about Christ that are totally ignored today.

The rest of that day we sailed through a serene landscape of terraced vineyards, lots of hilly slopes, charming towns, and of course castle ruins.   This was in Austria's Wachau Valley.  I think this was the most scenic stretch of the cruise.

It was cloudy in Vienna, too.  AND a Sunday.  So, not only were the stores closed because of the Sabbath, we wouldn't have gone shopping anyway.  But we did go on the bus tour included with the trip because Louis had never been to Vienna before.  And I learned a lot, too.

It was a pleasant afternoon after we got back to the boat.  Quiet because there were also three other shore excursions people were going on, and most other passengers were gone.  By then the sun was out so while Louis took a nap, I walked--along with many locals--on the nearby pathway which bordered the Danube near where our boat was docked.

At midnight we cast off for Bratislava and awoke in time to see the boat dock about 6:30 a.m. before we had a tasty breakfast.

Once again I was in a "new" country to put on my list, but it was also a country I had been in before.  This is the Slovakia part of what we visited as Czechoslovakia, a union of the two from 1919.  But apparently, it depended too heavily on Germany to be really independent.  Then the Soviets tried to make it a communist country, which it was until the fall of communism in 1989.  The country struggled along for another four years together, then had what is known as the Velvet Divorce to make the two countries separate again.




I liked Bratislava a lot, even though we were there only long enough to take a tour by bus and a guided walk at Bratislava  Castle.  As we were getting back on the bus, a woman was hawking beautiful white cardigan sweaters--name your price.  Louis haggled her down to five Euros (a little more than $5) and I have a lovely sweater which I put into my temple bag to wear when it is cold when I play the organ there.

We were having lunch on the terrace when we departed for Budapest.  I missed the Hungarian teatime which was supposed to have delicious Hungarian pastries, (don't know how I forgot about that, eater of pastries that I am) but I did go to a very informative talk about Viking long ships.  I had always been kind of interested in them since we visited Norway.  If you remember, I even had that that metal replica of a Viking ship on display in our Secrest Court house for years.

It was another enjoyable afternoon sailing on the river looking at the shore and all the castles still there and the people about their business.  We joined many other passengers on the open deck about 10 p.m. for our sail into Budapest.  It was a spectacular array of lights.  I'm glad I didn't miss it.

Our last full day for our vacation in Eastern Europe was finally in the place I had been trying to get to since 1985.  After we drove through Prague that May day in 1985, we headed toward Budapest.  We had only a one-day visa to be in Hungary, but on the map it looked doable to drive from Prague to Budapest. After all, the speed limit was 100 km an hour--plenty enough time to get there, take a quick look, and get the heck over to Vienna by midnight.

Uh uh.  The road was a rutted, two lane affair--dirt in most stretches--where people herded their goats and sheep along with the Soviet soldiers on bicycles who had machine guns slung over their shoulders.  We finally got as far as Linz. 

At that point Ross broke the news to me that we had to turn around and head for Vienna "right now".  Budapest would have to be part of another trip.  I was sorely disappointed, to say the least.  But, back then, one didn't argue with the Soviet government.  So, we turned around and began the drive out of Hungary.

On this cruise, I found out that the drive between Prague and Budapest in just a mere four hours on their much newer highways.  Oh, I had been oh so, so close....and yet so far away!

Budapest is actually two cities across the river from each other:  Buda and Pest.  Here we visited highlights of both cities, including the National Opera House and Heroes' Square.  That afternoon we had the option of going on other excursions--or we could climb up the dock to the quay and explore the city by ourselves.  I actually did it by myself.  Louis opted to stay on the boat, so I walked and explored as much as I could in a two hour period before the rain began in earnest.  I had just stepped onto the boat when the heavens opened and the water came pouring down.

That night we had a special dinner, and if we chose, we could line up and tour the kitchen to see where all that delicious food had been prepared.  Since our departure time was 2:45 a.m. the following morning, we called it a night early on to pack and make sure all was ready for our bus ride to the airport outside Budapest.

EPILOGUE

I would go on another river cruise in a heartbeat if I had the chance--like this one where all the aspects including the financing were within reach.  And beautiful scenic places, not just ocean. More river cruising in Europe, maybe starting in Berlin.  And I'd love to go down the Mississippi.  Viking will be starting those cruises soon.  

I enjoyed so much being able to shop and poke around in the cities and in the smaller towns for the unusual, the native crafts, the special.  I just about shopped myself out.  And Louis is such a good sport when I want to shop.  He'll find a place to sit so he can "people watch" and just wait and wait and wait for me to get my fill.  Didn't buy so many things this time.  I still have a basement full of beautiful stuff from when we LIVED in Europe.  And what would I do with even more....?

All the food was special.  And I liked that the breakfasts and lunches could be a buffet, or one could order from the menu.  I did both.  Pretty much stayed away from the fish dishes, but the rest certainly made up for it in variety. And every dish was plated so attractively, too!  I couldn't believe the speed with which our meals arrived, all accompanied by smiling wait persons from all over the world. My favorites were a young man from the Philippines and another young man from Spain.  They told stories, joked with us, remembered what we liked to drink and generally made our eating experience very pleasant.

 But, Louis said he would prefer a "big boat" cruise like we went on before.  He liked that the food selections were unlimited on Royal Caribbean like Johnny Rockets for hamburgers any time of the day or night, the ice cream stores for shakes and cones, exercise facilities, and more people.

I liked this one because there were less people, less opportunity for eating ALL the time, and since neither Louis nor I took advantage of the exercise facilities on the big cruise ship, who needed it?  There was plenty of walking/exercise with all the shore excursions we went on during this cruise.

I also liked that there was no formal dressing for dinner.  They asked only that we dress up "a bit" and not wear shorts for dinner.  We could sit at whatever table we wanted.  There was NO Captain's Dinner, which I utterly loathed on the other cruise because of having to dress  in evening clothes.   I felt so out of place.  That is just not ME at all!  On this cruise I felt very comfortable with nice slacks and a dress or two for dinner.

We were not  assigned to eat with the same people.  Consequently, we had an opportunity to sit with many different passengers.  But after a couple of days, we gravitated to a couple from Dallas, another couple from Long Island, and a couple of older women who were widows.  And, I was pleased they also gravitated to us most of the time.  The others were nice companions for a meal here and there.  The ones I mentioned we ate with more often might turn into Christmas card correspondents, as we did exchange addresses--at their requests.  I was surprised they asked.

So, that was my vacation of the decade, plus some.  It was worth it.  I could have used the money to pay down the loan on my new car, but now I have some great memories, like roses in December, to cheer me as the years go by.

Oh, and the Danube isn't blue, it's really green!


  
PS   I'm having a love/hate relationship with my new phone.  I am struggling to find the best way to transfer pictures from my phone right to the blog.  Not happening!  So, the pictures I took of these postcards were NOT in a format to edit off the unsightly edges that weren't supposed to show. In my mind's eye I could see a nice attractive blog piece with pictures arranged a little bit more imaginatively.  It didn't turn out that way.  Sorry!