Thursday--Vienna, Austria

Thursday, August 30th
Vienna, Austria

           Vienna is the Capital of Austria and home to nearly 2 million people.  This is ¼ of the population of the country.  It has a high standard of living as the minimum wage is very high.  The Cathedral of St Stephen, built between 1263 and 1511, is the symbol of the city with its 450 foot tower.  The Danube Tower is 826 feet high and is one of the tallest buildings in Europe.  With nearly 100 art museums and other cultural & historical sites, Vienna is one of the most popular tourist destinations.
          We had arrived at our docking spot in Vienna the night before.  At 9am today we met our friends, Susie & Fred, right at ramp onto our boat.  They were in the suite next to us on our 72 day South America cruise beginning of this year so got to know them very well then.  They now live in Vienna and Fred grew up here.  We took them on a short tour of our boat before starting our “private” tour.  Fred is 90 years young and they took us on a walking tour of Vienna that lasted all day.  He wore me out!!  He’s definitely my hero and Susie is a real sweetheart.  At one point we were in a church that you could take an elevator about have way to very top of its dome but then you have MANY steps to climb to get to very top.  I was huffing and puffing, looked back and Fred was right behind me.  Fred gave us lots of history about the sights he had planned for us to see, and there were a lot of them.  I took lots of photos but now a day later I have no idea what they are.  Sorry about that.  Without doubt, we had the BEST tour of Vienna then any of our boat mates.  Thank you again Susie & Fred.
           We were to be at Albertina Museum at 5pm to meet our bus to catch up with the boat.  The boat left Vienna at 2pm and moved to Bratislavia, capital of country of Slavia.  We were there early so had time to enjoy a beer at Mozart Café across from the museum.  After saying goodbye to our friends, the bus pulled out exactly at 5pm.  We arrived at dock in Bratislavia at 6:15 so had to rush to get ready for our 7pm dinner time.  It was the Captain’s Farewell reception and dinner.  We missed the reception part.  At dinner we sat with a couple from Houston and one from Melbourne, Australia.  Filet and lobster were the two non-vegetarian choices.  I had a problem with our waiter.  It is second time this particular waiter has tried to rush us.  He had taken everyone’s request and then never came back to take mine.  I got more than a little pissed off.  Pardon my choice of words but they fit my disposition.  I had asked the waited to send the Maitre d over but he did not tell him.  So finally at 7:25 I went up to table where the Hotel Director and Captain were hosting some other passengers and ask if he could solve my problem.  After relating my story, he apologized and said he would certainly take care of it.  He charged into the kitchen (we were sitting just outside of it) and apparently chewed some tails.  The waiter did not serve our table the rest of the evening.  The Maitre d served us!  I hesitated to bother Gerald, the Hotel Director, but this was my second run-in with this waiter.  Mass dining at 7pm is one of the problems I have with river cruising.  The other waiters and crew are fantastic.

Wednesday--Melk & Cruising Danube

Wednesday, August 29th
Melk, Austria

          We arrived in Melk early this morning.  I’m puzzled why they call it the “Blue Danube” because it is a yuky muddy brown.  The main reason for this stop is to visit the “Stift Melk” or Melk Abbey.  It used to be a castle and residence of the Austrian ruling Babenberg family until 1089AD when it became a Benedictine monastery.  Monks have lived and worked here for more than 900 years and today there are still 30 monks here.  The monastery has been destroyed and rebuilt several times over the years.  Currently, 750 students go to school here.  As you will see in photos later, it is a massive but absolutely beautiful place.  We left the boat at 9am, were bused a short ride up to the abbey, and then met our guide for an 1 ½ hour tour of it.  There is a hall in the abbey that is 600 feet long.  Also impressive was the 12 libraries with over 100,000 books, most dating back centuries ago.  We were only allowed in two connecting libraries and no photos at all were allowed there.  Non flash photos were allowed every place else. We eventually ended in the cathedral which was incredible.  Viking had arranged an organ concert for us but we elected to leave and walk back through the village.  We stopped at a café and sat outside as I wanted an Austrian beer.  Definitely not as good as German beers but Austria is best known for their wines not beer.  After that we continued a 15 minute walk back to our boat arriving just before lunch time.  Outside at Aquavit Terrace the chef had prepared typical Austrian foods.  I got some fried chicken, a brat, and some dessert.  I carried it down to the dining room as Rebecca wanted a big salad.  We sat with two couples from Sacramento.
          It is now 2pm and we are leaving Melk.  Next stop will be somewhere prior to Vienna to drop off passengers who will be going to an optional Mozart & Strauss Concert in Vienna.  They will be bused there and boat will continue and arrive in Vienna later tonight.  The concert folks can then join boat as we will be spending the night and tomorrow in Vienna.  Another sunny day but warmer today.  Back in the mid 80’s.
          We are cruising past some more castles this afternoon through the Wachau Gorge which is a UNESCO protected historical area.  It’s a valley lined with vineyards and is VERY beautiful.  Our cruise director pointed out the sights and gave us some historical background over the PA system.  Since we will be very busy with excursions tomorrow and Friday they will be giving us a disembarkation briefing this evening.  We packed one of our 3 bags this afternoon as will be busy all day tomorrow seeing Vienna and will arrive in Budapest Friday morning and want to see it all that day.  Our cruise ends and we depart boat Saturday morning but we will be spending another day in Budapest staying at a Hilton.  Fly home Sunday.
          At 9am tomorrow we will be meeting our friends, Susie & Fred.  They were in the suite next to us on our South America cruise this January-March.  They live here in Vienna and have volunteered to give us a tour of their city.  At 5pm we have to meet ship’s shuttle bus to Bratslava as ship will move there while people are touring in Vienna.  
PHOTOS
**You have to "Cut & Paste" the link below onto a browser "New Tab".  A photo album will appear.  Click **Thanks to Google deactivating Picasa Photos, I now have to use Google Photos.  So you will now on first photo which will make it much larger.  In upper right corner under "Info" you will see caption for that photo.  Putting your cursor on right side of photo (under 3 dots at top) will produce an arrow for you to page through the rest of the photos.

https://goo.gl/photos/swaUKodwg5o8CPDc8

Photos--Passau

**You have to "Cut & Paste" the link below onto a browser "New Tab".  A photo album will appear.  Click **Thanks to Google deactivating Picasa Photos, I now have to use Google Photos.  So you will now on first photo which will make it much larger.  In upper right corner under "Info" you will see caption for that photo.  Putting your cursor on right side of photo (under 3 dots at top) will produce an arrow for you to page through the rest of the photos.

https://goo.gl/photos/s82c33aPQ1e7PxE58

Tuesday--Passau, Germany

Tuesday, August 28th
Passau, Germany

          I put some more photos on the blog this morning.  But before I talk about today, I must mention last night’s entertainment after dinner.  They brought a group on board from Regensberg.  There was a male and two female singers as well as their pianist.  The sang opera, Broadway show tunes, and some classical music.  They were FANTASTIC!
          We arrived two hours earlier than they had planned this morning in Passau.  As we sailed in there was some fog rising from the Danube as the water was warmer than the very cool air.  Temperature early was in upper 50’s but it warmed up rapidly and fog burnt off.  So at 2pm now, the skies are a beautiful deep blue and temperature in mid 70’s.  What a day!!
          Passau  is known as the City of Three Rivers as it lies where the Inn & Ilz Rivers meet the Danube.  It is also on the border of Austria so when we leave this evening we will no longer be in Germany.  In fact we can see Austria just few miles from here.  Passau was an important medieval center for the salt trade and during the Renaissance period became famous for making high quality knives and sword blades.  It is also where Adolph Hitler grew up but no one talks about that.  No fighting occurred here during WWII but it received some bomb damage near war’s end.  Passau’s population is currently 50,000.
          The first activity scheduled for us today was to leave boat at 11am for an organ concert at St Stephen’s Cathedral.  The old part is Gothic style but was added onto by an Italian architect in Baroque style.  The concert was to start at noon.  As we were early, we decided to hike up the hill to visit the castle that was built in 1200‘s.  Oh, my, 320 feet above the river and there were lots of steps and steep path to get up there.  But the view from there was incredible.  The 3 rivers that meet here are of different colors and you can see that from up there.  We found some of our boat friends already up there.  From there back down, across bridge, and into the old part of town.  We would just meet the others at the cathedral for the concert.  St Stephen’s Cathedral is beautiful and boasts the world’s largest organ.  There are actually 5 organs that can be played by one organist.  We really enjoyed the 30 minute concert.
          After lunch back on the boat we met at 2:15pm for a 1 ½ hour walking tour of old part of Passau.  Our guide went too far into history and wore me out after about an hour but I stuck with it.  The tour ended at the Cathedral again and we were on our own then for free time.  Of course, I stopped at bakery and got an apple strudel for later tonight.  It is now 4:30pm and I am sitting on our balcony writing this.  I cannot tell you what a wonderful day it is here weather wise.  The old part of Passau is very interesting but the view from our balcony of the Danube and castle on the hill on the other side is fairytale like.
          We sail at 6pm for Melk, Austria.  After dinner tonight there is a passenger talent show.  No, Rebecca will not be singing.

Photos--Cruising Main-Danube Canal

**You have to "Cut & Paste" the link below onto a browser "New Tab".  A photo album will appear.  Click **Thanks to Google deactivating Picasa Photos, I now have to use Google Photos.  So you will now on first photo which will make it much larger.  In upper right corner under "Info" you will see caption for that photo.  Putting your cursor on right side of photo (under 3 dots at top) will produce an arrow for you to page through the rest of the photos.

https://goo.gl/photos/aQJinyLcJRtmdnRx9

Monday--Cruising Main-Danube Canal

Monday, August 27th
Cruising Main-Danube Canal & Regensburg, Germany

          About 6pm yesterday evening it rained very hard for about 15 minutes.  I figured the passengers on tour in Bamberg were getting pretty wet.  At 7pm we literally stopped on bank of the canal and those passengers came back aboard from their tour.  Dinner was delayed until 7:30 so they could freshen up a bit.  The osso bucco was good!
          Let me make a correction.  I stated that we were now cruising on the Danube River but actually from Bamberg to just before Regensberg we are cruising on the “Main-Danube Canal”.  The canal is about 100 miles long.  Later today we will be officially on the Danube River.   There are 16 locks on this canal that raise us nearly 500 feet then lower us about 300 feet.  We passed Watershed Monument this morning which was the highest point of the canal so now the locks will lower us to the level of the Danube.  There were 36 locks on the Main River that raised us 520 feet.  There will be another 16 locks on the Danube that will raise us another 515 feet.  So all total we will be passing through 68 locks on this cruise.  This is what takes time.
          At 1pm we stopped in village of Dietfurt to let passengers off who wanted to be bused 1 /12 hours on ahead to tour Regensberg.  We elected to stay on board the boat again today as we do not like bus rides and would not get back on boat until about 7pm.  So we are really enjoying the scenic cruising this afternoon.  High hills on both sides of canal and some castles on top.  Got some great photos.  Perfect afternoon weather wise also with lots of sun and 75F.  This afternoon has been the most beautiful scenery so far.  We will stop at Kelheim (few miles before Regensberg) to pick up the touring passengers.  They are to meet boat there at 7pm.  Kelheim is where we join the Danube River.  Can’t tell you how much I am really enjoying cruising this afternoon.  Sitting on very front of the boat at Aquavit Terrace.  There is canopy extended now so have nice shady place to sit in open fresh air.  This is where you can sit out and have light lunch as there is small buffet set up then.
          Ok, we arrived at Kelheim at 4:30pm.  Now we have to wait here until 7pm so seems like a waste of time when we are still over a day behind but I am not running the show.  We will got off boat and walk into the town and checked it out.  Was about a mile walk from boat into the little town.  At the only cross road in downtown you could see a clock tower in all four directions.  Dinner is at 7:30 tonight and “quiz night” at 9:30pm.  Tomorrow we will be in Passau.

Sunday, Bamberg, Germany

Sunday, August 26th
Cruising & Bamberg

          When we left for dinner last night I left small bag of laundry on the bed to be done today.  When we got back from dinner last night, the laundry was done and hanging on a hanger.  Now that was fast service.  We both had pork tenderloin, Asian style, with polenta for dinner.  Delicious!
          When I opened our curtain for first look out, we were deep into a lock, so was dark.  When the water level rose I saw a beautiful deep blue, cloudless sky and sunshine.  It was chilly when I stepped out onto the balcony as today's high temperature is for low 70's.  Within a couple of hours the clouds rolled in so has been overcast, windy, and cool most of the day.
          So this morning we sailed up the Main River and arrived in Bamberg shortly after 10am.  Bamberg is where the Danube River meets the Main River.  So now we will start sailing on the Danube River for the remainder of our trip.  We are docked in the industrial part of the city near some grain handling facilities so nothing we can view from here.  It is now 1:45pm and passengers who will be doing the excursion to Bamberg central part of city have just left via buses.  Now the boat will continue on up the Danube to Forchheim.  It is only about 25 miles away but there are several locks enroute so will take several hours.  In fact we will not arrive there until 7:30pm and will only be there long enough to pick up the excursion passengers.  Normally, the boat would be docked here in Bamberg all day but they are still way behind schedule so moving boat to save time.  It is sprinkling some now, is cool, and get back to boat right at dinner time so suspect not to many went on the tour.
          Last night the cruise director went over their plan for rest of cruise of the trip and how they plan to arrive in Budapest on time.  We will be skipping the port of Melk/Durnstein.  There will be more busing, long days, and late arrivals back to boat, unfortunately.  I nicely expressed to cruise director that we did not like getting back late as Rebecca did not have enough time to dress for dinner.  Told him we would just stay on board and cruise with the boat, not doing the excursions.  They really are working hard to make the best of a bad deal because of the 2 day delay.  Good news is, we will still get to see our friends in Vienna where they live.
          After breakfast I stopped at purser's desk to fill out a suggestion card.  I nicely suggested that they could put the bar "special drink of the day" and its price on the daily program.  About 15 minutes later the cruise director called our cabin and said the Hotel Director would like to speak to me.  So I went down to his little office.  Think I mentioned we had cruised with Gerald around 10 years ago on Seabourn Cruise Line.  Anyway, we had a nice 15 minute chat and he thanked me for my constructive comments.
          So we will have a nice cruise this afternoon up the Danube.  Osso bucco is on menu for tonight which is one of my favorite dishes.  Yummy!  Hope you all had a great Sunday!