July 26 Sailing over night to Colgne, Germany

Arrived about 6.30 am.
Off on a short city tour about 9 for 1 hour. This city like so many others was almost all destroyed during the war and rebuilt since. Only a few buildings were rebuilt in the original style. The Colgne Cathedral suffered some damage but not that extensive. It is a huge complex that is the last resting place of the 3 Wise Men. They have a gold altar at the front of the church. Impossible to get close.

This is also the home of Eu de Cologne.

As it is Sunday, and the law in Germany only the bars, souvenir shops and restaurants are open. It is fairly quiet.

Back on the boat at noon and sailing on to Amsterdam, the last stop of the river cruise. It has been amazing. The boat and crew have been super. Lots of food and drink and plenty of sights as well. Nice that we stopped at many small villages along the way and not too many larger cities.


July 25 Sailing over night to Rudesheim, Germany

Arrived at the Rhine River at about 6.30 am. This is so much bigger than the other rivers!

Morning tour via a small train that runs through the city. Went to Sigmend's mechanical musical instrument museum. 2 full floors of everything related to music and not just player pianos. One was an 18 piece orchestra. Also violinas with 6 violins.

Then to the Torture museum. It was ok, just had a few pieces of equipment used for torture during the medieval times.

Then met up for a Rudesheim Koffee. 3 cubes of sugar in a cup. A special brandy is added and lit. Once it burns out, coffee is added and topped off with whipped cream and chocolate shavings.
Back on boat for the cruse to Koblenz.

This is the first day the sun deck has been open but the weather was very windy and rain showers going through. We past through the middle Rhine Valley which must have at least 30 castles along the banks with thousands of grape vines along the hillside. It was a very interesting afternoon.

After dinner we headed out to the fortress by a huge cable car. The cable car traveled over the river. A street performers festival was being held inside the fortress.

They were really more than street performers as there was 2 stages set up in 2 different parts of the moat. Great as you could not hear the other bands. And in other parts of the fortress there were performers. These were fairly long acts, 10 to 20 minutes long. One guy was doing his cooking show act in English with a bit of German thrown in. Inside a big room there were several acts of acrobatics and 1 contortionist. All very good. And what a venue!

July 24 Sailing over night to Miltenberg

On tour on bus then rejoin ship at Freudenberg.
Small little town that is supposed to be the best kept medieval village in Germany. Just a single street with lots of shops. Took a short walk up the hill to the castle.
Quiet afternoon on the boat, just watching the river life go by.

July 23 Sailing over night to Wurzburg, Germany

Lots of thunder and lightning last night. Got some rain so everything really fresh this morning.
Just past by some keel boats with the masts up. Not sure why, they can not really go anywhere due to the low bridges and the Main river is not that big!

Since leaving Bamberg we are now on the Main River. Difficult to tell except the river is a little wider, sometimes.

After a lazy morning on the boat we arrived in Wurzburg and on the bus for a tour to the Princes-Bishop Residence. A huge lavish palace. The entry way and the rooms were all very large and decorated. They used plaster to decorate the walls. At first I thought they had used some material to hang from the walls and ceiling but it is actually plaster. Amazing how they got it to look like flowing curtain material. Unfortunately we were not allowed to take pictures.

Then a short walk into the city. Then onto the stone bridge. Apparently this is the oldest one not the one in Bamberg! This one is great as everyone was standing around having a glass of white wine. This is the thing to do here. You could not find a better setting. I had to do the same but that was after walking up the hill to the Marienberg fortress. This is a huge fortress on the hill that dates back to the medieval times and building continued on for about 400 more years. A real mix of buildings and walls.

Met up with Frank and we stood on the bridge having wine. The bargain of the trip. An overflowing glass (more than 250 ml) for 3.50 euros! And the wine was pretty good.

Back on the boat for a quick swim and dinner. Dinner was a birthday celebration for Gillian. Champagne, birthday song, big candle and of course cake.


July 22 Sailing over night to Bamberg

Arriving much earlier than planned again since there is not much other boat traffic. Rumour has it that only 3 boats of 25 made it through the low water a few days ago. We are very lucky to make it. The trip would be much different if we had to bus it to all the ports.

Docked in another industrial area, but still only a 10 minute bus ride to the city centre. Short stop at the Green market set up in the main square. Short walk across the bridge and through the Old city hall. It is built on a bridge as the bishop at the time would not allow city hall to be built on land. This is a very nice city.

Mostly a university town with lots of breweries. Must be a connection there. Stopped at a local brewer that makes a smokey beer. Tried it. Looks dark but not dark beer tasting. You can really taste the smoke in the beer. Not sure if I like bacon flavoured beer!

Then to another church. Had some free time to wander around. Lots of little streets with lots of shops.
Some beer tasting last night at dinner. Frank bought 3 different beers from the Monks so he shared them with us. A couple were fairly dark and tasted that way but the first ale was really quite good.


July 21 Sailing over night to Nuremburg

We left the Danube at Regensburg yesterday afternoon and are now on the Rhine Main Danube canal. This joins the 3 rivers and allows travel between the 3. The canal was only finished in the 1990s at a cost of trillions of dollars. Very interesting as in places the water level is much higher than the land surrounding the canal.

First thing this morning we hit the highest lock, it is now all down hill for here to Amsterdam. About a 200 metre difference. The celebrate we were given champagne and orange juice on the top deck. The crew actually opened up a section just for this. And just through it, the road actually goes under the canal! A weird sight.
First stop was the Justice Building where the Nuremburg trials were held. We could not go in as it is still an active court house.

Then to the Imperial Castle. A medieval castle. Lots of renovations being done here as well.

Then to the Nazi Rally grounds. This is huge and can hold about 5000 people. The guide was excellent. He kept a very balanced but open view about WWII. Much of the site is in disrepair but it is still used for concerts and a car rally. Nearby is the Documentation Centre in the Congress building. The congress building was never finished. It is huge coliseum type building that now houses the Documentation Centre. The Documentation Centre is a historical time line leading up to and about the war. Very well done. We only had about an hour but you could spend 5 hours if you listened to all the parts.

July 20 Sailing over night to Regensburg

During the night there was a lot of noise coming from the bottom of the boat so not sure what it was. I am sure we were not scrapping the bottom of the river....As it turns out we were scrapping the bottom. The bottom is mostly sand. Apparently many boats were stuck in Passau and can not continue as they are too low in the water. This boat has a pool which they drained, lightening the load by 40 tons and raising the boat by 7 cm, enough for us to pass.

Clear sailing now except that the bridges are very low. So the pool is full again. Also this boat as ballast tanks and the Captain was filling different sides so cause the boat to lean to one side or the other to allow passing over some shallow spots. The boats that are not able to pass are busing people and putting them up in hotels to finish their tour. We are very lucky to be able to continue to cruise.

Did a 1 hour walking tour of Regensburg. This is a very nice city and one of the few that was never bombed during the war. There is a stone bridge across the Danube that dates back to the 12 century and was the only bridge for 800 years. It has withstood several floods which destroyed many of the wooden bridges that were put across the river. Unfortunately we could not get a good look at it as it is behind a lot of scaffolding.

Also visited another church! St Peter's Cathedral. This one originates in 800s but has been rebuilt since. The stained glass dates back to 1200s. There is a crypt in the basement dating back to the 800s. Interesting as the columns are external to the building itself.

Back on boat and off toward Kelhiem to pick up those that went on a tour and then cruising on to Nuremburg.


July 19 Sailing over night to Aschach, Austria for stop and then onto Passau Germany

Arrived about 7.30. Just a quick stop at Aschach for those heading off on an all day tour. We will catch up with them at dinner.

Cruising through several locks this morning, heading to Passau, Germany. Another country.

A city tour of Passau for about 1 hour. It is Sunday and all the shops are closed, so don't have to worry about too much shopping! St Stephen's church ( another one) is huge. This church has the largest pipe organ outside the US with over 17000 pipes. It is massive and has 5 different sections of pipes with the main part at the back of the church. Too bad we did not get to hear it.

Snowballs (cakes)

This town is located at the corner of Germany, Austria and Czech Republic as well as the meeting of the Danube river and Inn rivers. Here the Danube is fairly clear and the Inn has a greenish colour, similar to what is downstream.

Everyone had to catch a bus back to the boat as it was passing through some very shallow water. They even drained the pool to lighten the load.
Spent some time on the top deck watching the river as it has become very narrow and shallow.


July 18 Sailing over night to Durnstein Austria

The double americano in the morning is becoming a great habit!

Arrived about 8 am but when I got up, the top deck was closed as some of the bridges were too low. It opened shortly and then another bridge that was low. The Captain's Bridge actually got lowered a bit. I could have stood up straight but would have been able to touch the bottom of the bridge.

A short walk through the little village of Durnstein. There was a castle high on the hill. This is supposed to be where Richard the Lionheart was imprisoned. It is apricot season so everything is apricots. They are very good! You can get some strong alcohol, liqueur, roasted pit in salt (like peanuts) or in chocolate, jam, jelly and even BBQ sauce. The BBQ sauce is pretty good. Took a hike part way up to the castle. I needed to save my strength for a 30 km bike ride along the Danube River.

Only got to 38 degrees today so hot riding. The ride was great. Some small hills but nothing serious. We rode through several little villages. Stopped at an Austrian camp ground on the Danube for lunch.

Waiting for us on arrival at the boat was a cold drink and a wet cloth. The staff think of everything. It took 4 hours which is pretty slow but some people were slow on the bikes.

We arrived just in time to take the tour to the Melk Abby Austria. A functioning Augustine Abby. There are still about 15 monks in residence.
A late dinner tonight as we were watching the boat go through a lock. We have been through several but all the others have been at night. Amazing as the water levels are about 50 feet different. 2 cruise boats were in the lock together with only about 2 feet of clearance! Quite the sight to see the boat slide in between the wall and the other boat

Between the eating, drinking, talking and touring there has not been much time!


July 17 Vienna, Austria

Horses exercising

Arrived in morning after sailing all night. So nice to be having coffee on the top deck. No one around. Enjoying the quiet and the sun rise. Weather is perfect.

Off for a walking tour of the city. Beautiful! The city is much busier than any so far. The tour finished at St Stephen's Cathedral. We then mad a mad dash to the exercise time for the Lipizzaner horses. Some riders, carriages and some mares and fouls. Amazing horses.

Backstage Vienna Opera House

Then a walk around the city and a tour of the Opera house. Almost completely destroyed during the war, it has been rebuilt. Very nice but not as nice as the Budapest one. Not as fancy but does seat about 1700. The tour took us back stage. Huge! They have about 300 performances a year. A different performance each night of the week so the set management in a challenge.

Back on the boat for dinner. The waiters are hilarious. They have started to tease.

Concert - Vienna

Then to a private concert of some classic symphony music. Mozart and Beethoven. 8 piece orchestra. They were very entertaining as they added some comedy to the 1 hour program.
Part of a day in Vienna is nowhere near enough time for this city, even in the 35 degree heat.

1777 building

July 16 Woke up in Bratislava

Arrived in Bratislava, Slovakia about 7 am after leaving Budapest about 3 pm the day before.
Walking tour of Bratislava, Slovakia with a local guide. Great as city centre is very close to the dock. Only took 1 1/2 hours to tour. Most buildings are not that old, although the oldest is from 1777. Very nice city, but very quiet at 9 am. Lots of wide pedestrian streets.

Walked up to the castle that overlooks the city and river. The castle is now used as a gallery for artifacts and paintings. Most of the painting of people and were done in the 1700s.

Back to boat for lunch. All the food is something.

After lunch on a bus for a 30 minute trip outside of the city to a local home for coffee and cake. The lots are long and narrow. Very nice yard with potted flowers growing, which will be sold and many fruit trees. The lot next door has grapes growing. This is a wine producing area but apparently none gets exported, they drink it all!

Departed at 7 while having dinner. The group has grown. 2 Canadians from Edmonton, 2 Australians from WA, 1 cruise review journalist and the 3 of us. Too many laughs, and of course too much food and wine.




July 15 Budapest during day, sailing overnight

Bike ride around Margaret Island and past the Parliament Buildings and across the Chain Bridge. Left about 3 pm from dock. Very nice to sit on top deck and just watch the world go by. At time very close to the river banks. There is also a lot of boat traffic.

Up late again! Spent some time in the bridge house talking to Captain. Just checking out all the instrumentation.

Budapest Opera house

July 14 Budapest On the boat

Checked out of hotel and caught a taxi to boat. On arrival greeted very welcoming and invited to lunch. It is noon and check in is not until 2.

Very nice relaxing lunch on bow of boat and then off on metro to Opera house. Did a tour. An amazing building. Looks huge but holds about 1200 people. Lots of gold. Even got a bit of opera.

The boat is amazing! There is a 24 hour espresso machine! I am very happy! And it is very good coffee!
Dinner was a buffet. So much food and too much wine! Toughest part was having to put on long pants and shoes and socks too go for dinner, but I did survive. Dress is casual but sandals and shorts are not allowed!

Budapest Parliament Building

July 13 Budapest, Hungary


Up and gone by 9. I did a segway tour of the downtown area and then out to Hero Square. Lots of fun. Ankles a bit sore after 2 hours.

Then to Thermal Pool. We bought Budapest cards and 1 pool allowed free entry. Strange place. Almost like a hospital! They have treatment rooms for long stays. The place is like a maze. There are 4 pools, a cold one and 24, 32 and 40 degree pools. Also 2 outdoor pools. It was nice but did not take long to get cooked!

Hungarian Parliament

July 12 Budapest, Hungary

Nice to have breakfast in.

Off to Parliament Buildings for a tour. Amazing place, it is huge and ornate! Much bigger than any parliament buildings I have seen. They also have the royal crown on display, even though they do not have a royal family. The PM is elected by the public and a President the is appointed by the elected government.
The guards in front of the parliament also have a formal process for changing. I have no idea how they stand still in the sun and heat. At least they wear sunglasses.

Museum - Avita

Then toured through the Museum of Ethnography. This is the former Ministry of Justice building that apparently was used in the filming of Avita.
Then a to a temporary memorial to those who died during the protest against the government in 1956. This happen in front of the parliament buildings as well. Shocking what went on and also the similarity to other events.

Video of concert in St STephens

Then to St Stephen's Cathedral. For a short visit and then back later for the Duna String orchestra concert. 7 violins, cello and base. It was excellent, and you can not beat the venue!

Also enjoyed a great americano! You would think that I am only traveling for the coffee but not true, I just tend to take coffee breaks!

Chain (Lanchid)Bridge over Danube

July 11 Budapest, Hungary

Breakfast of peanut butter and banana. Great. It has been over a month since a breakfast like that. Tomatoes and cucumbers just were not doing it!

Off to the Castle hill today in the Buda, the other side of the river. The Buda Castle Hill area.

Caught the tram to the Lanchid Bridge and walk across it. Beautiful sights of river and buildings along the river.

Palace

 Then caught the funicular tram up the hill to the Castle (Palace) area. It sits high on a a hill over looking the river and the Pest side of the city. The buildings are really nice. Lots of stone and many are fairly recently rebuilt, at least since WWII. This is such a change from Asia and Istanbul.

Went into the Labyrinth. A series of natural caves under the Palace area.The caves go on for ever, about 10 km of known caves. The have been used since BC. Now a bit of a museum where apparently Dracula was imprisoned for a while. Eerie music and fake smoke added to effect. Quite interesting.

Labyrinth

There was also a pitch black tunnel. You could not see anything. Totally weird. One time my hand dropped down and the peak of my hat stopped me from running into a wall!
Then went to the Fisherman's bastion. Great views over the the Pest side across the river.

Below this was an underground church that was showing a 3D movie about the history of Hungry. They have a difficult past being conquered and control over several hundred years. The central position on the river makes it very strategic.

Remaining church window

Then took a tour of Magdelna Tower. An old temple that was destroyed during WWII and the bell tower has just been opened to the public a couple of years ago. Nice as I got a private tour from a young guy that has a law degree. Apparently it is difficult to find jobs.

Then took a hospital in the rock tour. This is a hospital built into the side of the rock and does meet up with the caves.

Fisherman's Bastion

It was built for civilians injured during the air raids, but ended up for soldiers as well. Recommissioned during the uprising in 1956 and then again during Cuban missile crisis as a nuclear safe zone.
Then a quick walk around the grounds of the former palace. A great area. Lots of tourists around. One of the top 10.

Out for dinner at a local place along the street. Doner, with spicy salad and potatoes. Great food, but way too much.

July 10 Budapest, Hungary

Off to Budapest, Hungry this morning. Only a 2 hour flight with a half full airplane. Turkish airlines does a great job of service.

Arrived in Budapest and found it cool.... it is 25 degrees..... it is all relative. Amazing the difference. Got checked in and talk about luxury! 2 bedrooms, small kitchen and 1 1/2 baths! We are a bit out of the main area but it is only a couple of metro stops away.

Relaxed a bit and then out to wander the neighbourhood. Such a drastic change in weather but also in culture. Old European now, with more churches! Just around the corner are a few small pubs and a few shops. There is a shopping mall across the street.

Went to a small pub recommended by front desk. In the basement, small and quiet. We were the only ones for a while. I had "gypsy roast", which is a thin slice of pork fried and covered in garlic. Tasted great! The roasted vegetables were great as well. Then into mall to the super market. Huge place, and civilized! Beer and wine, and even on sale! Beer....about 80 cents a can! Wine well you can get a bottle for a couple of dollars. We just picked up some breakfast stuff!
We did not do much but still relaxed a lot. But that is ok.

July 9 Istanbul Turkey

Another lazy day, life is tough!

Wandered around some of the streets outside the Grand Bazaar. Very narrow, long and seemingly endless. You can find anything you may want. Areas seem to be divided up into specialties. Men's shirts, dresses, underwear, suits, hardware. Each of them with several stores selling exactly the same thing. I do not know how they make a living although there was a lot of people around. Stopped for one last Turkish coffee before leaving. I forgot to say no sugar but it still tasted great.

Down street from rooftop.  Hotel on right

Went for dinner at a roof top restaurant. Amazing view of Aya Sophia, Blue Mosque and the Bosperous. Very nice as the sun went down. We had beef with tomato, onion and mushrooms cooked in a clay pot. The waiter makes a big process out of opening the pot at the table. It tasted great. Almost like a lightly spiced stew but without the gravy.

Although only here for 4 days this is an amazing city. Despite all the carpet salesmen giving you a bad time you have not bought a carpet. Add to that the restaurant guys trying to get you to sit down. The best was last night walking back to hotel with an ice cream one guy asked where his was! They do seem to have some fun with it.


July 8 Istanbul, Turkey

Up early but a lazy day. Lots of coffee and relaxing.

Exciting things today! Took some laundry in and got my hair cut.

Walked in a huge park near the palace. Very nice as what breezy and shaded.
The a short walk to the Grand Bazaar. Great time to go as the shops were closing so not that busy, but the shop keepers were still persistent! Ended up having dinner at a restaurant near the Aya Sophia. Once again the park is full as it is Ramadan and the fasting ends about 8.30. All the restaurants are getting ready to be

busy - tables set with appetizers and plates ready with rice, vegetables, and salad on them. All the need to do is put some meat on the plate. They need to feed a lot of people in a very short time.
Ice cream again, for desert!

It is getting worse! Yesterday I got told that my "train had left the station", today Gillian is my daughter! The traveling must be hard on me than I thought! lol Oh well, it does not really matter.

July 7 Istanbul, Turkey

A very lazy start to the day! No schedule is such a treat. Finally hit the pavement about 11!

Walked over to the Blue Mosque. Another amazing place. Wandered through the Mosque's bazaar and found a Mosaic Museum. The mosaics are so detailed. 40,000 squares to the square metre! Some of the colours and the detail is really something.

Spice Market

Had a very long relaxing lunch in a small restaurant near the bazaar. Had to be cheap as none of us had much money! Chicken doner (donair) was excellent and reasonably priced.
Back to the room for a rest - another treat!

And then to the Whirling Dervish show. These guys spin for about 20 or 30 minutes and enter into a trance. It is a religion which apparently still follows the Koran.

fountain with Blue Mosque in background

Dinner of kabob in a small place just out side of the theatre. As usual the food was excellent! We were there just
at the fast for Ramadan was being broken. Very interesting as the people ordered their food and had it sitting in front of them, just waiting for the call to prayers so they could eat.

Back to the main square for a look. 9.30 pm and still lots of people around. Huge fountain in front of the Blue Mosque. Amazing to see all the people and activity.