Venice, Italy

Farewelled Budapest and after a wasted 3/4 of a day travelling we arrived in Venice.  We had a water taxi from the airport to our hotel and as it was a beautiful sunny day we enjoyed the ride.

We arrived at our 'hotel' to discover that it is a historic house which has been converted to a B&B style establishment.  Not what we were expecting but as we were happy to experience Venice we entered with an open mind.  The open mind quickly disappeared when we discovered we had a rather small room at the back of the hotel overlooking multiple clotheslines and 2 very small and narrow single beds and a fridge that didn't work.   This style of place did present us with some problems as there were no staff around and no lobby etc to hang around after we had to check out.

The next morning we were further disappointed to find that breakfast consisted of stale bread and croissants.  The day was very wet but as we only had 2 days we decided to brave the weather and ventured off to Murano Island (as I wanted to buy some venetian glass jewelry).  We soon discovered that our rain jackets were not waterproofed and after 3 hours of walking around (slightly lost) in the pouring rain and lashing wind we eventually found the Vaporetto stop and headed cold and wet back to the hotel.  After a nice hot shower we took advantage of a break in the rain to run to the nearest cafe for lunch.  Unfortunately our experience of Italian food in Venice left a lot to be desired but with full tummies, even if it wasn't the tastiest meal, we spent the rest of the afternoon in our room.

Friday being our last day we pottered around in the morning, still trying to dry out our wet clothes and shoes (with the hairdryer) from the previous day so we could pack.  We left all our luggage in the stairwell (as directed) and checked out.  Luckily the weather had improved to showers and no wind so we ventured to Murano again where I finally found the jewelry I wanted. We had a very nice lunch in a little cafe on the island which we stretched out for a few hours to fill in time and then spent the rest of the day cruising the canals and walking the alleyways between showers.

Eventually back to the hotel to collect the luggage and made our way to the airport for the 9.30pm flight home.  We were looking forward to our time in Venice after being there last year but the horrid weather and bad accommodation left us feeling very 'over Italy'.

Budapest Pt2

13 May

Up reasonably early to drop our laundry off.  Unfortunately its cold today and the only clean clothes are summer ones so I have to wear a slightly smelly tracksuit again.  It will be nice to get some clean clothes back.  The weather forecast for the rest of our trip is cool winds/rain etc so the coat has to come out again.

Today we have booked a Wine Tasting and Lunch so wandered to the meeting point - the main market - to make sure we knew where to go and how long it would take us to get there.  Wandered back to the hotel via as many side streets and alleys as we could then chilled out for an hour or so.

Back to the Market Hall for our tour.  It was interesting to see the many bits of animals that they eat (in fact nothing goes to waste), bit offputting at times.  The fruit and veges were the same as us and there were lots of paprika stores.  From here we caught a tram to a restaurant for lunch.

Again a bit disappointing as it seemed to be a 'special tourist' lunch of broth with carrots and dumplings (our guide couldn't even tell us what the dumplings were made of), a goulash with pasta (all meat and no veges) and a nice cake for desert.  From here we walked the streets and ended up at the same place we did the segway tour from (their office) where we would have our wine tasting.

Down into the cellar we went where there were a few bottles of wine to taste with a little spiel on each one.  They may think they have nice wines but I couldn' handle any of them - tasted like petrol to me.

All in all it was a very expensive tour and certainly not worth even half of what we paid.  Big disappointment.

We walked back to the hotel, again just strolling along and taking in the scenery and collecting the laundry.  Spent a couple of hours reading whilst Alan caught up on his photos and had a nap.  We wern't too hungry so wandered down the street and found an Irish pub where Alan had a wonderful meal of rabbit (he enjoyed it as the only rabbit allowed in our house has been the live fluffy pet kind).  Walked off  bit of the dinner back to the hotel and then watched some Hungarian TV - well it was about 50% ads which were rather funny.

Tuesday 14 May

Nothing planned for today so had a lazy start as nothing opens before 10am.  We found a metro station and caught the metro to the House of Terror.  The metro was a little more difficult than other European countries as Hungarian is a stand alone language, it doesn't have any similarities with other languages, therefore very difficult to understand.  We could always manage to read the French and German stuff on our travels but Hungarian is a world unto itself and there were no English translations anywhere in the Metro.  We eventually worked out where we were going and got onto the right line and right train and got off at the right station.

We paid to get into the House of Terror, which was the headqarters of the Hungarian Nazis.  Then between 1945 and 1956 the notorious communist terror organisaations the AVO and its successor, the AVH, took up residence here.  The museum commemorates the victims of terror and hundreds were tortured and killed in the basement of this building.

Unfortunately nothing was in English so it was very hard to follow the movies and pictures etc on the walls.  There were notes in English in each room with told the story of those years but didn't necessarily relate to the room you were in.  Became very frustrating after a while but we continued through the building looking at the office of the head badguy and down into the basement where the torture room, execution room and cells were.  Altogether a very depressing place but would be very powerful if you understood what was going on.

From here we decided not to get the metro back but to walk and explore some more of the city.  We stopped for lunch at a cafe where we ate bad things again then walked some more (I think I will have to spend the next month on the treadmill to even make a start on shifting the extra weight).

Alan has gone off for a massage as the hotel beds are like sleeping on lumpy concrete and I'm updating the blog, then going to spend some time sorting the suitcases before dinner tonight.

Update post-dinner. We walked down to the riverfront to get our dinner cruise.  This is another excursion which will get a very bad review in Trip Adviser.  It was shocking.  The boat was basic, the seats uncomfortable (mind you I don't think Hungarians understand the concept of cushions on seats) the food was dreadful.  It was cold and tasteless.  Needless to say it was a long 1.5hrs.  We had booked it in Australia as we wanted to see the lights of budapest, unfortunately we didn't do our homework very well as the cruise ended at 8.30 and the sun doesn't set till 9pm.  So no lights.
Less said about this trip the better.

Now all packed and we are off to Venice in the morning.

Bratislava, Slovakia

Second last day of the cruise and again it promises to be a beautiful day.

Slovakia is the other half of the former Czechoslovakia and Bratislava is the Capital City.  It is located 6kms from Austria and 11klms from Hungry. Slovakia was little more than a battlefield for the ambitions of Hungary, Austria and the Turkish Empire for many centuries, and as its largest city it was frequently at the interface of conflicting interests.  A phase of posperity as the capital of Hungary is reflected in the lovely Baroque and Rococo houses in the Old City.  In 1918 Slovakia became part of Czechoslovakia with Prague as the Capital.  The communist rule post WWII was not kind to the area and like most communist countries it was left to slowly crumble.  After the fall of the Iron Curtain, in 1993 Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia.  Czech Republic had all the industry and it has taken some time for Slovakia to find its feet.  It now has 5 major car manufacturers here and is starting to tap into the tourism market.

Today we started with a bus tour around the city and followed this with a long walk thru the Old City.  Bit over churches now so can't rave about Cathedral of St Martin.  Its a bit of a hodge podge of eras, starting out as the coronation church of the kings of Hungary and has bits added in all sorts of styles.

Unfortunately under communism a lot of monuments etc were destroyed as they considered putting a bridge in or widening a street more imporant than preserving the old city.  The former Jewish Quarter was a casualty of this time with nothing left now.

Today is the last day of high school and the local tradition is for the children to walk thru the streets making as much noise as possible and you donate money to them to shut them up.  The money is used to get very drunk tonight.  Glad that hasn't caught on is Aust.

After a quick lunch stop we boarded the bus to Schlosshof Palace which is located back in Austria.  Fortunately the border crossing is no longer a problem, all fences etc having been pulled down and you only know you have crossed when you spot the signs at the old guard post.'

Schlosshof Palace is one of the greatest castles of Austria.  It is a fully functioning and largely self-sustainable Baroque castle of monumental proportions.

I was quite blown away by this place.  I was not looking forward to it as we have become quite 'Palaced Out'.  But this place was incredible, it was smaller than previous palaces but has been partially restored to its original condition.  The fabrics on the walls and furniture have been manufactured to exactly match the originals and the rooms are set up as they were whcn used as a Palace. The art work, mainly portraits of the Royal family really added to the tour - it was nice to put faces to the names and the rooms they occupied.  There were a lot of interesting bits and pieces like the height of the bed - apparently it was an honour to have an audience with the Queen if she was still in her bed so the bed was built very high as everyone had to be below her.  It was even a bigger honour to be granted an audience with her if she was using the chamberpot (yuk) but Marie Christine didn't like this and had an extra little room built next to her bedchamber for her chamberpot.  It is considered to be the first seperate toilet in existence in a palace.  The ladies of the time used a chamberpot in the shape of a gravy boat which could be placed under the dress so they didn't even have to leave the room.  Never using my gravy boat again!.

Stepping outside the Palace and I was blown away by the grounds.  This Palace was and still is a working farm so besides the manicured garden beds and trees and lawn areas there is the stable block full of horses, goats, chickens, donkeys etc.  The walled kitchen garden was an absolute delight and I could have sat in there all day.  The herb garden was magnificent and you wouldn't think that herbs and veges could look so good!  The orangery was magnificent and the range of plants was incredible.  We eventually tired and sat under a lovely arbor of trees with a fountain in the middle and soaked up the beautiful gardens before having to return to the ship.

Altogther a lovely day

Budapest, Hungary

Our last full day on the ship and we sailed into Budapest just before breakfast, and what a beautiful sight it was.

Budapest is the Hungarian capital and is on both sides on the Danube.  One side is ancient Buda with its magnificent hill setting topped by an enormous palace complex which is now the National Gallery and nearby is the magnificent Matthias Church and Fisherman's Bastion.  We visited the church and Bastion on our morning bus/walking tour and were suitably impressed.  The whole complex/fort type town ws very pretty but we didn't have too much time to linger.  The only down side was the very poorly maintained cobblestones.  At times they were quite difficult to walk over.

Rest of our tour was on the Pest side which has grandiose public buildings and Parisian-style boulevards.  Since the fall of the Iron Curtain, Budapest has emerged as one of the most desirable destinations of Eastern Europe.  We were surprised at how beautiful the city is and how Paris like the buildings are, although they are built much closer together.  The most spectacular is the Parliament House which is huge (more like a grand castle/palace) and ornate, and they have just finished cleaning it so its very beautiful.  A lot of the buildings are black from the exhaust fumes and acid raid so seeing one cleaned to its rightful colour was a real treat.

After our tour it was back to the ship for our last lunch and then we were off on a tour of the countryside and the little village of St Andrews.  Unfortunately must have eaten too much so slept all the way to St Andrews.  Was very disappointed as it wasn't what we were expecting.  Yes it was a quaint village but every building has been turned into a souvenier shop.  Most of the shops had the beautiful embroidered tablecloths etc but nothing that I was interested in so I didn't do any damage to the credit card.

Started to feel a bit off, a bit too much sun I think and our bus trip back was a nightmare for me as I had an hour of trying not to throw up.  Managed to get back to the ship before I let loose and there I stayed for the night.  Was sorry I missed to last dinner and a chance to say goodbye to every one but at least whatever bug I got it waited till the last day.

Day 2

Woke up feeling quiet lethargic and lots of aches and pains but no vomiting so that was a bonus.  We had to be out of our cabins by 8.30 so we packed the bags - I really don't understand why I couldn't fit everything as I haven't really bought anything.  Anyway we made it to the hotel and thankfully they had a room ready so we could dump everything.  Our first job was to find a laundromat which we accomplished within a couple of streets, unfortunately they were not open today but thats the first job tomorrow as neither of us has anything clean.

We spent the moring walking around and getting our bearings and after a lunch stop of goulash soup I needed a little rest.  Post rest we had a bit of a hike to find our Segway tour.  I was a bit anxious about being able to do the Segway as I have really bad balance and not feeling 100% really wasn't too enthused.

We had a 5 minute practice and I wasn't too bad except going up and down gutters, I found them a bit freaky.  Alan of course just took off like a hoon.  We eventually all set off, 2 Irish chaps, and a young Russian mum and her early teens son (who was a pain in the butt and they were obviously rich as he has his own Segway).  We set  off around the monuments with a guide and had an absolute blast, the further we went the more confidence I got and was soon flying along quite happily and even managing the gutters and people.  I only had one little accident where I stopped too suddenly and stepped off the back and right onto a car, this of course happened right outside the 4 seasons hotel and the doorman was very quick to come and inspect the very expensive car I hit.  Luckily there was no damage to the car, the segway or me.  We covered a lot of the same territory we did the previous day but didn't matter as we were just having a ball hooning around on the segways.  They are usually speed locked but becuase of the Russians being so good on them they took the locks off so we really got some speed up.  Definitely will be doing them in any city we can, the most fun in 2 hours we have had.

Finished the day with dinner in a building dating to 1725 which has been a continuous restaurant, minus times of war, since then.   The meal was a delicious selection of hungarian food starting with a chicken crepe with a wonderful sauce, I then had porkmedallions with bacon and veges in a coloured pepper sauce, Alan had steak hungarian style (minus the goose liver) and dessert was a hazelnut cream crepe with dark chocolate sauce.  We did share entree and desert and even then we were stuffed.

Now very tired and off to bed

Vienna, Austria

Vienna, Austria

Another glorious day with a promise of 27 degrees.

Vienna is one of the great cultural and historic capitals of Europe and was once the home of Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert.

We started our day with a visit to Schloss Schonbrunn (Schonbrunn Palace) which was completed in 1749 under the Empress Maria Tereasa as her summer palace.  This palace has 1,140 rooms in the main structure and lord only knows how many outbuildings.  The whole outer wall has been converted to modern apartments.  I didn’t even see where this block started and finished.

We didn’t find out how large the gardens were but they have a zoo etc and we walked for ½ hr and didn’t even reach the first level of multiple levels we could see.  The gardens did not have any flowers out but were the typical sculptured greenery with lots of paths/roads leading everywhere.  There were also extensive woodlands and we had a brief walk up one trail to check out the squirrels.

It was then time to do the tour of the Palace.  This Palace has been partially restored/preserved (it only had one bomb in the war, which was a dud so escaped major damage) and we walked thru one opulent room after another.  The difference here was that they were furnished and had the original artworks and tapestries so you could see how each room was used.  Marie Tereasa had 16 children so they needed a big space to keep them and one room was decorated solely with the paintings done by her daughters.  They were very talented!  It was also interesting to see massive wall sized paintings done of special events, one showed that  people paid to have their faces painted into the crowd.  Also interesting was at a banquet the royal family (and maybe one or two special guests) would sit down to a 14 course dinner and everyone else (ie hundreds) would pay to be invited to the banquet but they could not eat, they paid for the privilege of standing and watching the royals eat.

I really enjoyed the visit and could have spent a lot more time there.  Alan is not good at looking at interiors of buildings.

After a ‘grill’ (BBQ) on the sundeck for lunch we set off on a walking tour of Vienna City.  We went past losts of museums, cathedrals etc but had really had enough so just ventured off on our own up and down the many streets and alleyways.  Unfortunately it was a public holiday today so no shops were open (good thing as I couldn’t even afford to window shop in this place).  We eventually stopped at a coffee house and decided to have a hot chocolate as we had been told they were a local speciality.  This was a real treat as it arrived on a silver tray with a large mug with 2 bars of real chocolate in the mug, a jug of hot frothy milk, some cream and a whisk.  You pour the milk over the chocolate and whisk till its melted then add the side dish of whipped cream and a strawberry.  Decidedly wicked and delicious.

We continued wandering the streets until time to return to the ship.  We had an early buffet dinner tonight as there was a Mozart concert on offer (which we opted out of) and 75% of the ship drifted off around 7pm.  We did a stroll up the boardwalk and decided we had done enough for the day.

Tomorrow we have a full program in Bratislava in the Slovak Republic. 

The blog won’t be updated until we reach Budapest as the ship cannot get internet connections in Bratislava.

Melk, Wachau Valley & Durnstein, Austria

We had another early start today and woke up a little weary from yesterday’s tours.

Today we had 2 stops the first was Melk in Austria.  The first sight of Melk from the river is of this awesome Melk Abbey.  It is vast and monumental and it’s hard to believe that this was designed as a retreat for Benedictine monks who were sworn to poverty and a simple life.  The Abbey epitomizes the ebullient confidence and extravagance of the Baroque style. 

We were starting to get the ABC syndrome (not Another Bloody Church) but on arrival at the Abbey we were completely awestruck.  The sheer size of the place is unbelievable and as we toured thru the royal visitors chambers which had been converted to a museum we were very impressed with the renovations/restorations.  The marble room which was used as a dining room for VIPs was absolutely incredible – the frescoes giving the 3D effect to the vaulted ceiling, the marble and the most interesting the fancy irongrate in the middle of the floor where a stove was underneath to send up warm air for Royal who sat at the table.  Fascinating!!!

The Library is still a functioning library and I was even more awestruck by the thousands and thousands of leatherbound ancient books, covering all science and history of the times.  They are all beautifully preserved in a magnificent setting and historians and scholars can apply to come to the library to study the books.

From the Library it was onto the Church itself.  Once again I thought I had seen it all but every one seems to offer something different.  This one was spectacular without being OTT as some others have been.

The whole complex is huge and now houses the monastery, a primary school for 900 students, a museum and admin offices and many other buildings which I have no idea what they are used for.

From the Abbey we walked down to the town (naturally all the Abbey and Palaces etc are on top of huge hills) and wandered the streets where I managed to do a little retail therapy again.  From the small town we wandered over the bridge, thru the forest and back to the ship.

The ship sailed just before lunch and we sailed the Wachau-Paradise Valley.  This is the highlight of the Danube cruise with a valley 30 miles long and is known for its unique combination of rugged wildness and more homely features.  It’s a landscape where vineyards and orchards are picturesquely set below steep, craggy hillsides jutting out above verdant forests.  Add a few adroitly placed ruined castles, romantic chapels and quaint villages, and the picture becomes irrestibly charming.

After cruising and another huge lunch we stopped at Durnstein.  Durnstein is a picturesque village at the foot of craggy mountain with castle ruins (Kuenringerburg)at the top. The castle was built in the late 12th century and was seriously damaged by Swedish troops in 1645 during the Thirty Years’ War and then allowed to crumble into complete disrepair. This castle was where Richard the Lionheart was imprisoned in 1192-93 after being captured during his return from the Third Crusade.

Alan walked/climbed to the castle and I elected to wander the cobblestoned streets and visited the many little stores where they sell apricot schnapps, apricot liquer and everything you could possibly make out of apricots, with lots of samples.   I arrived back at the boat feeling rather mellow after all that alcohol and Alan arrived back all hot and sweaty but said the view was worth it and the walk back had lots of markers with the historical data on them so we both enjoyed our time in Durnstein. Magnificent views from the castle of the town and the valley with the Danube meandering through it.

A nice hot shower and a cold wine and Alan was fully recovered.

Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic

We woke to rain this morning but with the promise of 20degrees so it was  a bit of a problem deciding what to wear as we were on an all day excursion to Cesky Krumlov in the Czech Republic (former part of Czechoslovakia). Happy to report the sun came out and it was a glorious day.

We boarded the bus and had a quick tour of Passau (our docking port and last port in Germany). We bussed up the hill to the Castle and enjoyed a spectacular view of the city.  This would have been a lovely town to explore but we were only stopped for a couple of hours and then the boat was cruising to Linz in Austria.  Therefore we were offered a choice of 3 day trips – one to the Sound of Music sights (which Alan flatly refused to even think about), one bus tour of Austria landscapes (but it was a bus only tour)  and the one we chose to Cesky Krumlov, which promised (and delivered) fantastic sights and plenty of exercise.

Cesky Krumlov offers authentic insights to the Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque culture during the 14 – 17 centuries.  This is an old town with a great deal of history of founding families, Prince Bishops, wars etc but the most recent history is what I’ll talk about.

This city was lived in by Germans and Austrians who of course supported Hitler in WWII.  After the war all the Germans and Austrians were expelled from the then Czechoslovakia and the country became a communist state.  During this time, and the Russian occupation, there was no money or interest from the government in the upkeep of this town.  The occupants were to poor to do anything and by all accounts it was a pretty miserable place to live, with building falling apart and no modernisation.  In the 70’s UNESCO moved in to try and save this important historical site and with the decline in communism it was decided to allow the Germans and Austrians to return to their homes.  Other homes were offered for sale at a very cheap rate (like $100) on the condition that renovations must be started within 5 years and completed in 15 years.  This wasn’t as easy as it sounds as the houses had to be restored to their exact original condition.  Unfortunately I can’t put a photo up to show what was required but this unique town had 3D frescoes painted on the outside of each building, which had to be exactly matched, but most were missing roofs and in such a condition you think they needed to be bulldozed.

The renovations were a massive undertaking but today all 1300 buildings have been restored.  The most outstanding is the Castle with 300 rooms gathered around 5 courtyards.  It is a truly incredible building and like nothing we have seen before.

We had an fascinating walking tour around this town with lots of information.  After the tour we stopped at a little café and had a great meal then spent the afternoon exploring the Castle, its gardens and the fabulous alleyways and streets of Cesky Krumlov.  I did some retail therapy in one of the many jewelry stores and thoroughtly enjoyed all the quirky little shops and alleyways.

20mins before we were due to depart it poured with rain but didn’t really mind as we made our foot weary back to the bus.  The trip back thru Czech Republic had the requisite fabulous scenery (I will admit I may have dozed off for a little bit) and we crossed the border into Austria, with more spectacular scenery and eventually arrived happy but tired in Linz, Austria.

It was a bit of speed tourism thru 3 countries in one day but well worth the effort.

Regensburg, Bavaria, Germany

Awoke to a brilliant blue sunny sky with the promise of 19degrees and docked right in town.

Regensburg has 1300 listed buildings of historic interest and the whole of the old city has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  The city's richest family the Thurn und Taxis have the obligatory palace and it is believed that the word 'Taxi' comes from this family as they charged 'taxes' entering the city etc (well thats the short version of the story).

We set out on our tour, past Roman city walls (circa 500AD) and heading to the Cathedral which is the centre point of the Old City and a great navigational point as it can be seen from just about everywhere.  We stopped first at an 'old church' and we were absolutely stunned when we stepped inside with the magnificant frescoes and gold gilt everywhere.  It would be the most sun filled church I have ever been in and quite spectacular.   We wandered with the guide up and down cobblestone alleys thoroughly enjoying the buildings. 

After the walking tour we went to a cuckoo clock demonstration.  How anyone could stand the constant noise of them is beyond me so there was noway I would part with the many hundreds of dollars needed to buy one of these original masterpieces.

From the clocks we wandered over a medieval stone bridge (1135 - 46), the oldest of its kind in Germany and wandered around the newer part of the city.  When I say new I still mean hundreds of years old and very much a residential area.  The buildings are beautiful and well maintained and each 'house' (now some are converted to apartments) is painted a different colour.  Makes a very pretty streetscape.

We had a voucher for sausages at the oldest fried sausage kitchen in Germany.  You get 6 little finger size snags with sauerkraut and homemade mustard and yummy homemade bread.  You just find a spot on any of the picnic type tables and eat away.   I was plesantly surpirsed and actually liked the sausages, the sauerkraut went well with the mustard and snag but was not so good on its own. Alan says the beer wasn't too bad.

After filling up on snags we walked them off, just aimlessly wandering around the Old City.  When we tired we stopped for some absolutely wicked icecream deserts and by the time we finished these the sun had started to disappear behind the clouds and it was becoming chilly.  We decided that we had walked enough and so slowly wandered back to the boat.

Regensburg is a beautiful, quaint city and with the sun shining it has been a lovely stopover.

Wurzburg & Bamberg

Decided to turn off the aircon and sleep with the window open to see if that helped the chesty cough/cold.  It worked wonders and I’m starting to feel somewhat human again.

Today we are in Wurzburg on the River Main, just about bang in the middle of Germany.  Most of Wurzburg was destroyed in WWII.  This being an important centre of the Franconian wine region there has been a massive program of restoring and recreating the architectural treasures.

Today we visited the Residenz, a lavish palace in which the city’s bishop pulled out all the stops to ensure that’s its decoration would attract the wonder and envy of his contemporaries.  It was completed in 1744 and has 342 rooms.  We entered thru the coach entrance and up the grand staircase with the most magnificent 3D painted/plastered mural ceiling I have ever seen, with scenes from every continent of that time.  From here into the ‘white room’ which is very hard to describe as its completely decorated with lavish plaster sculptures on the ceiling and walls and was all done freehand.  Next room was the Bishop’s Dining Room which was more like a ballroom with pink marble and goldleaf everywhere.  From here there was room after lavish room – bedrooms, mirror rooms (a room all done in painted mirrors and gold leaf), cardrooms (with huge tapestries), waiting rooms etc – each one more lavish than the previous one.  The gardens were just as spectacular with the avenues of Japanese cherry blossoms in full bloom and the manicured topiary and flowed beds were a riot of colour.

After this visual overload we wandered down the streets with our guide looking from the outside at many more churches and wonderful buildings including the Marienberg Fortress, which is huge and also very lavish.  The afternoon turned quite cool so we wandered back to the boat for a lazy afternoon, reading and napping and followed by a different dinner – a tapas style meal in the lounge, which was very pleasant.

Bamberg, Bavarian

Bamberg is built on seven hills flanking the River Regnitz and is compared to Rome for this reason.  The whole of Bamberg’s Old City dating from 12^th to 18^th century has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  This is also Germany’s Beer Capital and our guide has warned us not to try this town’s local brew as it tastes like bacon and is revolting.

Our day in Bamberg started with the usual full breakfast followed by a very interesting talk on the European Union.  Yeah sounds boring but in fact it was a good presentation.  After another delicious lunch we set off on the bus on our guided tour.  We started the tour in the marketsquare and walked up one of the hills to the Cathedral, which we couldn’t enter as there was a wedding taking place.  From here we went to the Bishops Palace.  These Bishops did themselves proud with their palaces!  This one is under renovation so we only walked the outside and the garden.

Back to the Cathedral now the wedding was over and once he had a quick look we decided to ditch the guide as she was longwinded and boring.

We followed the map and walked all the sights of the fishing village, knows as little Venice. Next stop was the old City Hall, which is built in the middle of a bridge, then we just wandered the streets admiring the buildings and finding little treasures like Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann – a prolific writer and composer.

Back on the board the boat and Alan has gone off to a beer tasting event before dinner.

I’m trying to update the blog but are satellite connection was been down for nearly two days but hopefully something will come back soon.  Till then I will use Microsoft word.

Thanks to all for the birthday wishes which I managed to see before we lost internet.

Miltenberg Germany

This morning was scenic cruising as we were not expected to reach Miltenberg until 2pm, where we would have a 2 hr walking tour of the town.  This suited me fine as the sore throat had gone but the runny nose and chesty cough has not so a morning in bed watching the scenery was much appreciated.

Miltenberg is notable for the many beautifully preserved half-timbered houses that line its streets.  The buildings span the 15 and 17 centuries and naturally is overlooked by an impressive castle and town walls.

We arrived early (this is always a possibility as timings depend on how long you spend in the locks) and after printing off legal documents that had to be posted back to Australia we set off to find the postoffice with the hope that we could be back in time for the 2pm walk.  We did find the post office but unfortunately it was closed from 12 - 2pm (these Europeans like their long lunches).  We walked around some of the newer and less interesting parts of the town until the post office opened, by which time we had missed the guided tour.

We wandered back down the Main Street admiring the architecture and many shops until we got to the main square where we detoured off and up to the castle.   Many steps later we reached the top and had a spectacular view over the town and river.  We made our way down, which was a bit more treacherous as the cobblestones were a bit slippery due to grass growing between them.  We managed to walk at quiet a pace for over 2 hours and we are both feeling it as the cobblestones really tired out your feet and legs.

Back on the boat and we had a local lady (Brigitte) come on board to show us how to make Vanillkipferl, vanilla and almond little crescent shaped biscuits.  Brigitte was quite entertaining with stories of local life within the villages and nunnery (she left the nunnery before she took her final vows).

Now back in our room to get ready for dinner which will be another spectacular one as a local Chef has come on board to cook local cuisine.  The woodlands and forests in this region mean that game dishes are a speciality like wild boar, venison and hare which are served with red cabbage and cooked with apple and dumplings made from potatoes.  I'm hoping they forget about the other speciality of dumplings made of semolina with minced liver.  Yuck!

No doubt the meal will be served with copious amounts of wine again - life is really hard....

Rudesheim - Rhine Gorge

Woke up this morning to the ever present sore throat and now a chesty cough.  Alan got me a lovely hot cup of tea and and we sipped on that whilst watching the magical scenery drift by.

We have reached the mountainous area and this cold misty morning made the castles and villages look very medieval and spectacular.

This stretch of the river boats approx 1 castle every 1.5kms so plenty to see.  Our cruise director, Robert, gave a commentary starting at 8.30 which was very entertaining with the history and old legends, including the Lorelei who lured sailors to their destruction.  We did the scenic cruising from the loung as it was bitterly cold outside, Alan just ducked out every time he wanted a photo. I stayed rugged up with a hot cuppa.

Hadn't even had time to digest breakfast when a early lunch was put on so we could disembark at 1245 in Rudesheim.

In Rudesheim we visited the mechanical musical museum.  We were expecting to duck out the back as we could not see how we would survive this 45min tour but we were pleasantly surprised.  The building and the collection of musical machines were incredible - one did 16 different instruments.  They had been restored and the house they were in dated back to the 1300's.  It too was well worth the visit.  So it turned out to be a very pleasant and educational 45 mins.

From here we wandered down the street to a beergarden for a free tasting of the local coffee.  The speciality here is made in a special coffee cup with 2 taspoons of sugar, drowned (and I mean drowned about 1/2 cup) with a very health splash of warm brandy which is ignited then espresso poured over to douse the flames and a massive dollop of whipped cream and chocolate.  You are not allowed to stir the coffee as the layers need to remain.  Absolutely delicious and obviously the brandy did me the world of good as it stopped my coughing for a good 3 hours!

We didn't have enough time to do the gondola ride and walk back thru the vineyards.  The vinyards are build on the extremely steep slopes of the hills - they are so steep machinery can't operate here so walking thru the vineyards didn't appeal to me anyway.  Instead we wandered the cobbled streets, poking our heads in and out of shops and tasting the local wine, which proved to be very good and cheap so we stocked up on a few bottles.

By this time the sun had finally come out and the temp must have risen at least 10degrees as we wandered back to the boat.  Back on board we finally got to open our sliding door to let in some fresh air (and dry Alan's socks) and now updating blog before we head down for another delicious meal with too much wine.

Cologne, Germany

I have a nasty sore throat and somehow the aircon got turned dow to 15 degrees last night which resulted in me waking up with the driest throat in history.  Fortunately he is well trained and promptly donned his clothes and went to the end of the corridor to fetch me a nice hot cup of tea,.

Aaah this is the way to wake up, sit up in bed all snuggled under a doona with a hot cup of tea and a panoramic view of the german countryside going past your window.  

This morning was  a lazy cruising morning which was much appreciated.  Due to technical difficulties yesterday (meaning 3 power failures) we were 3 hours late leaving port which meant we wouldn't get into Cologne in time to disembark and see anything.  Due to this they organised for the boat to stop at Zons where we disembarked and bussed into Cologne (a short distance by road but a long distance by river).

Cologne was interesting.  90% of the town was destroyed in WWII but the one spectacular building to survive was the Cologne Cathedral.  This is one spectacular building, absolutely gob smacking incredible!  It is believed that the only reason it survived the war was that it was so large (taking over 600 years to build) that the bombers used it as a landmark to bomb the rest of the city.

We had a walking tour of the city which included the Cathedral, the Jewish Centre and other bits and pieces.  The standout one for me was the old arch of a sewerage system.  /Apparently the Romans were in Cologne and set up their usual water and sewerage system and then along came the Germans who didn't understand it and let it fall into disrepair and it took another 1000 years before the ever effecient Germans got the city to the same standard of sanitation.  So much for there over engineering everything!!!

Back from the thoroughly entaintinly and interesting tour to another fantastic meal on board.
The meal we had last night is below and I have added the quantities so you don't think I have been a complete and utter pig (well thats what I'm telling myself).

Duck Mousse on black bread (served on a teaspoon)
Waldorf salad (about 3 mouthfulls)
Tomato and Red Pepper Soup (tea cup size)
orange sorbet
Tempura Shrimp on sundried tomato risotto (1 big prawn on 1tbsp risotto)
herb and pastry crusted veal loin with asparagus and mash (1 slice veal and little veges)
creme caramel mousse
cheese platter
coffee/tea

As you can see we are really slumming it!!!!  Thankfully with the small portions you get to taste lots and every course has up to 5 different options.

We have a wonderful cruise director 'Roberyt', no sure of his nationality as yet but he is hysterical, has the driest sense of humour and his one liners just crack us up.  He is also the fashion plate of the cruise.  Today we started out with a particularly bright orange shirt with matching shoes (obviously in honour of the new Dutch king) but this was teamed with the most georgous floral coat - every woman on the tour wanted to rip it off him.  Tonight he changed for dinner into a fabulous teal shirt with matching shoes.  He is such a dream boat and so full of incredible information and witty comments he gets a full house every night to go thru the next days itinerary.

I'm writing this blog as they have a 'special treat'for us with classical musicians on board playing some classical music - whish I could say by what composer but don''t have a clue.

Oh forgot to say that during during my wine glass is never empty ....so excuse the typos

till tomorrow

Amsterdam cont

Woke to a beautiful blue sky and the promise of a glorious day, brisk but sunny, just perfect for our walking tour of Amsterdam.

We packed our bags and headed out about 1030 to meet up with the walking tour.  The Sandemans Tour was fantastic.  We were a bit worried to start as over 100 people had turned up to participate but they quickly brought in more guides and even though we had 40 people in our group the guide made sure he stopped where we could all surround him to hear the commentary.  Rob, our guide was fantastic, had loads of information and a good sense of humour and showed us some great little hidden gems.  Unfortunately we had to leave the tour early as we had to get back to the hotel to collect bags and get to the meeting place for the river cruise.

Boarded to Avalon Vista at 4pm and found our lovely room, we will certainly being travelling in style.  The boat is great with lots of room in the lounge and dining areas and each level has another smaller lounge which has the coffee/tea making facilities which are available 24hrs.

We had a delicious 4 course dinner and far too much wine and am now dreading facing the scales when we return.

Awoke this morning to rain, a sore throat and a rotten headache (part cold and part too much wine).  We rugged up and went off on the cruise organised canal tour.  Not the best day to try and see the sights so we were grateful we had arrived the few days earlier. 

Now back on boat and planning on spending the rest of the day being dry and warm inside and having time to catch up on emails and a good book, with lots of soothing lemon tea inbetween with the hope of feeling better tomorrow.

Amsterdam Day 1

Had a good nights sleep and woke to a cloudy but non rainy day.  Today we had a tour booked to Zaanse Schans Windmills, Marken and Volendam.

Stepped outside and realised if may have been sunny but it was a very chilly 10 degrees with a nasty little wind.  The bus was packed to capacity and we both inwardly groaned at the thought of being herded about like sheep, but knew we had to suck it up if we wanted to get into the Dutch countryside.

Our first stop was Volendam to see an authentic cheesemaker.  Um, well they didn't even bother telling you how it used to be down just a 5min talk on how cheese is processed.  Bit disappointing but we did get to sample some of the cheese.  We wandered the streets and admired the tradional houses of the area and poked around in the tourist shops.  I was on the lookout for some Speculaas Moulds (Gingerbread moulds) for Nic.  No luck at this stop.

From here we boarded the ferry to Marken.  The ferry service has been running for 80 years and even though there is now a land bridge to the island the ferry is still popular.  The island still has the original style of housing which we walked around.  It is very picturesque and we finished with a demonstration of 'traditional clogmaking'.  Again interesting that there version of original used machines!  But we did get see and hear some of the traditions of the clogs.  Again looked for the Speculaas Moulds with no luck.  Starting to think they realy don't exist any more.

From here it was back on the bus and off to Zaanse Schans Windmills.  Only 8 are still in existence/working in this area and they have been turned into a tourist event.  Nevertheless they are interesting to see and wandering around the village was very pleasant, if not bloody freezing. I ventured into every shop asking for the Speculaas with no results - even had it written down on paper so they would know what I was after.  Eventually found a bakery museum who pointed me to a shop that had some. Finally managed to get last few moulds left in the shop.  Will look forward to Nic making me some gingerbread in them!

It was a quick trip back to Amsterdam where we walked back to the hotel to collect our washing and set out to find a laundromat. Found one in the main shopping centre and wasted a couple of hours do the laundry, but did get a good coffee whilst we were waiting.

Back to the hotel again for a quick wine and then we will head in the opposite direction to the flowermarkets and dinner at a highly recommended Indonesian restaurant.

Unfortunately the Indonesian restaurant was fully booked so we wandered around the flower market - oh how I wanted to bring home the incredible selection of tulip bulbs available.  We continued to wander around the streets and canals and eventually came across a Thai restaurant.  Well we thanked our lucky stars as we had the best Thai meal we have ever had - and thats including the meals we had in Thailand - the satay sauce was to die for as was everything else.  Very happy with this meal.

We eventually dragged ourselves out of the restaurant as Alan wanted to walk thru the red light district.  Must say I found it rather disturbing with these beautiful young women  wearing nothing more than a couple of elastic bands standing behind glass doors really saddened me.  They all looked bored out of their minds!  The one thing I had noticed here were the number of men travelling in groups and seeing them in the red light district I found rather intimidating,  I do hope they all go home with a nasty itch!

The streets are absolutely crowded at the moment and we realised today that all the road blockages and building sprucing up etc were due to Queen Beatrix abdicating and Prince Willem being coronated on Tuesday.  Pity we wont be here for this once in a lifetime event, which we would have had a grandstand view of from our hotel.

No photos in the blog again.  Have decided this laptop is going in the bin.  Have now lost all our Paris photos off it and I can't even blame Alan for it, in fact may have to eat humble pie over losing the blog.  Now too scared to save anything on it.  Hoping Anto may be able to recover stuff from the harddrive when we get back.

Paris to Amsterdam

This morning we woke far too early after our late night and had to pack up and set off the the train station for our trip to Amsterdam.  We went on a Thales train which took about 3 hours.  Not that impressed with the train as the toilets were filthy and the train was crowded.  Not only crowded but tickets had been sold for no seats so we had nowhere but the overheads to store the large suitcases and there were people wandering the train looking for seats after each stop.  Next time we will pay the few extra dollars and go first class.

What a difference a day makes in the weather, yesterday I complained about how hot it was in Paris and once we boarded the train it dropped about 10 degrees and started to rain.  The rain has continued all day.  On arrival at Amsterdam we nearly froze with rain/sleet and wind.  Our hotel is not far from the station so it wasn't long before we were in a nice warm room with very inviting looking doonas.

We decided to continue the 'rest day' and just wandered outside the hotel and down the street thru shops. restaurants and cafes. Found a little supermarket with some very cheap wine so thought we might try a bottle (not bad and going down nicely as I type this). Stopped for a hot chocolate then thought an afternoon nap would be good.

Again braved the cold and ventured out to dinner.  Went to an Argentinean restaurant across the road.  Definitely had my red meat quota for the week.  Have now rolled home and ready for bed at the ungodly hour of 9pm.

Busy day tomorrow with an excursion out of the city and the weather forcast is not good.

Never mind will finish this wine and snuggle under my doona

Paris Day 3

Absolutely slept like a log last night so woke up quite refreshed this morning.  Looking out the window to another cloudless blue sky promising another very warm day.

This morning we walked to the Louvre - the long way around as we wanted to check out where we had to go for our Moulin Rouge outing tonight.

Having taken sensible advise re the Louvre we decided to just pick seeing the Mona Lisa and around that area.  We  couldn't do any more in the time we had.  As we were there when the doors opened we had a relatively uncrowded trip thru the Louvre.

From the Louvre we hopped on the Red Bus again to Notre Dame.  The queue was a mile long but moving very quickly so in we ventured.  It was like being in a sardine tin we moved with crowd and got out as quickly as we could.  Very hot and uncomfortable.

From here it was just a few steps to the Crypts.  This was enjoyable as nobody else was there so we had an opportunity to use the interactive displays on the building of Notre Dame and the old Paris.  A very pleasant attraction.

From here it was a short walk to the Conciergerie, which is a Palace that was turned into a jail during the Revolution.  It has been kept as a museum to those killed including Marie Antionette, and her cell etc is as it was.  It must have been very difficult for her but at least she had a bed which was more than the other prisioners.  Thoroughly enjoyed our time here as the building was fascinating as well as the history to it.

For here we wandered off to find lunch, which proved difficult - not in finding food but in finding a spot we could sit and enjoy our sandwich.  It was very hot again and no parks or shade.  We had booked on a wine tasting a 3pm so had a couple of hours to fill in so we just wandered the streets.

By this stage both of us were foot and hip sore from all the walking and it was rather warm.  I eventually decided I wasn't enjoying myself anymore and had had enough so we bypassed the wine tasting and did the 45min walk back to the hotel.

Once back I updated the blog, Alan deleted the blog. (time I let that go) had a shower and change of clothes and got a taxi to the evening intertainment.  Alan had an argument with the taxi driver as he wasn't going the way Alan thought he should.  Very intimidating having a Frenchman drive in peak hour at the same time as he was waving his hands and I'm sure swearing at us!  Anyway we got where we were supposed to be.

Boarded the bus and off on a dinner cruise of the Seine,  Our dinner companions were a lovely American couple and the dinner was the best meal we had had so far.  The dinner was followed by a visit to the 2nd level of the Eiffel Tower, this was good and it was nice to have daylight then the night time with the lights view.

Feeling rather weary at this stage but still had the Moulin Rouge to go.  We lined up for ever, eventually got our seats and OMG can they squeeze and pack you in.  It was the most uncomfortable 1.45 of my life.  The tables and chairs were so close that once I got in my seat I was pushed right in an couldn't move.

The show was OK - not sure if there was a story line it appeared to be lots of topless women in multiple colourful costumes doing the same dance steps.  I did enjoy the acrobats and other acts inbetween the dancing.  The show didn't finish until after 1am when the boarded the bus and got back to our very welcome bed.  (Yes kids, mum and dad stayed up until 2am!!!!)

Another day of about 20ks having been walked.  Up and off to Amsterdam in the morning

Paris Day 2

This is an abbreviated blog due to me not really being over Alan deleting 2 days worth.  There wont be any photos due to technical difficulties - which are not Alan's fault this time.

We didn't escape the jetlag afterall!  I was awake at 2am and couldn't get back to sleep.  The room was extremely hot as apparently we can't have airconditioning as its not hot enough yet to turn it on.  I tried opening the windows but as we are directly above an intersection the noise was horrendous.  Even though we were a bit grumpy getting up the day promised to be a glorious spring day with not a cloud in the sky.  Complete contrast to the previous day.  Turned out to be a stinking hot day.

Today we had tickets on the Red Bus but had to walk a few ks to get to our stop.  We ventured out with plenty of time feeling very confident in where we were going.  We very quickly noticed a large police presence in the streets and as we got close to the Presidential Palace roads were being blocked off. (They were expecting demonstrtions and riots as the gay marriage bill was being voted on today) We managed to follow directions around the detours and still arrived  11/2 hrs before our bus.

We wandered up and down the Seine  enjoying the 'quiet' before peak hour.  Eventually got back to the Red Bus and our first stop was Trocadero.  The ride was informative and we didn't get off at Trocadero or visit any museums as we didn't think we would have the time (turned out to be a good decision).  We went directly to the Eiffel Tower where we did photos and then boarded the river cruiser for an hour trip up the Seine.  This again was informative and a very pleasant way to see Paris.  I especially enjoyed resting my feet.

From the Cruise we wandered around the Eiffel Tower and down to the Military complex looking for Napoleons Tomb.  Unfortunately the jetlag had interferred with Alan's inbuilt GPS and map reading ability and after a hot and long tromp around we eventually gave up and wanderd off to find lunch.  We did find the Tomb later on - miles from where we were!

We found a great bakery up a side street and had a yummy lunch, we are both addicted to the bread, not to mention the pastries.  After our little lunch break we got the metro to the Opera where we had a guided tour.  Unfortunately once there they informed us we had to wait another 2 hours.  We quickly decided to visit the Musee D'Orsay and hopped on the metro.  Um GPS gone haywire again, went to wrong station which meant we had to get off and change stations.  Alan thought it would be quicker to walk then change stations but after getting lost again we realised we couldn't get there and back to the Opera in the time.  So we turned around and got the metro back to the Opera, again wrong station requiring a long and hot walk at the end.  Tempers a little frayed at this stage.

Eventually we got to the Opera with a million other people and couldn't hear anything the guide was saying so we wandered off and did our own thing.  Having cooled down, in temper and temperature we enjoyed the spectacle of the Opera and we decided to get back on the Red Bus and do the tourist loop.

We stopped at Arch de Triomphe.  I took one look at the stairs and opted to sit in the shade and wait.  (Yes I know Nic you did it with a 15mth old on your back, but I'm too old and unfit to care) Alan tackled the stairs and enjoyed the view from the top. 

From here we hopped back on the bus and continued the tourist loop back to our stop  then walked home for a quick change and off to find a little Italian place we had spotted the night before.

GPS still not working and we couldn't find the restaurant so ended up going to the nearest one where we had another unremarkable meal.

Back to the hotel, very tired as we had walked 20ks today. 

No Post today

No post today as Alan managed to delete it

Paris

After the usual horrendous flight from Australia we arrived with bad backs, numb bums and totally exhausted.  Thankfully our seats on the flights were in  pretty good positions, especially the last 7 hours from Dubai as we were in the first row so had plenty of leg room and we both managed to doze for most of that flight.

Arrived at hotel Waldorf at around 10pm so a quick shower and crawled into bed and managed to sleep thru to 6am with only a couple of brief wake ups.

 

Our Room is the first story window

We woke up quite refreshed and after a quick breakfast of croissants (yep Astrid Granny ate a chocolate croissant just for you) we ventured out to catch the metro to Montmarte.  Even though Nic and Anto had warned us about the stairs at the metro we bypassed the lift and I exhausted myself climbing up what seemed like 20 flights of stairs out of the metro at Montmarte.  Needless the say I opted for the Funiculaire up the hill.  We wandered around Sacre Coeur and the streets of Montmartre before stopping for a coffee on our walk down to Paris central.

As we were enjoying our walk in the brisk morning air, and it was  all down hill we decided to walk to Galeries Lafayette.  We didn't spend too much time wandering around the shopping centre as it was all too expensive for us.

From Galeries Lafayette we continued walking and after not too many wrong turns (we were only using a paper map) we eventually ended up on Avenue Des Champs Elysees.  We wandered all the way up to the Arc de Triomphe but didn't go up it as that's on our Paris Pass for tomorrow.  We did stop for Crepes at one of the many stalls along the street.  I opted for the sugar and lemon and Alan went for the Nutella and Banana.

From here we decided to head back to our hotel via some back streets where we could enjoy the architecture, shops and restaurants etc without the huge crowds of Champs Elysees.  I managed to order a sandwich and coffee in a cafe where they didn't speak English and my French is non existent so quite chuffed with myself when I actually got what I asked for.

Eventually back at the hotel, foot sore and aching hips with the pedometer telling us we had walked 15ks so not too worried about that chocolate croissant and crepe after all.

Quite pleased with ourselves for navigating with the paper map, admittedly using a GPS would have been a lot easier, but wandering up and down the streets is fun and once we figured out where the streets signs were on the buildings it wasn't too much trouble navigating around the place.  We also found the Metro to be very easy to use despite our language problem.