May 29 30 Graz

The drive to Graz took just over 2 hours and we arrived at Gerhard's at seven o'clock. We were warmly welcomed and pleasantly surprised that the two girls were there (Katarina and her boyfriend and Magdalena and her husband). It was my pleasure to meet them and spend the evening with them. Ulricke made a fabulous dinner for us and topped it off with a lemon meringue tart for dessert. We chatted amiably, exchanging old photos and antecdotes until midnight. My apologies to Ulricke who had to get up at 5 o'clock to go away. Next morning, Gerhard offered to show us Graz and we decided to accept his gracious invitation. Rearranging our touring schedule is a small price to pay to spend more time with my cousin. Graz offered us a river through town with a floating restaurant, a castle that you get up to by cable car, a quaint old town and a large city park. Did I mentiin that it was raining the whole time we were walking around? Graz is a pretty city, the second largest in Austria. When we took a break from touring, we stopped at thr floating restaurant for a warm up coffee. Returning to Gerhard's we said our good-byes, gassed up the car and headed for Slovenia. Bye Hansl family and thanks for your hospitality.

May 29 Werfen

Got up early to make the most of our day and we were first in line at the Ice Caves. After a twisty, turvy drive up the mountain, there was a 20 minute walk, a cable car, another 20 minute walk around the top of the mountain to the entrance of the cave. It is 0 degrees year round in the cave but you don't feel cold because there are 1,400 steps and I gotta tell you...it was hard to so with the high altitude but worth every step. The ice formations were breath taking but no photos were allowed. On the way back down the sun came out and we stopped for a hot chocolate and a beer. Our second adventure was a fortress, only 10 minutes away. Again, up by cable car and since the hourly tour had just departed, we took the time to have a nice lunch. Upon emerging from the restaurant we immediately noticed that the weather had changed with the wind picking up and the temperature dropping. We nevertheless finished the tour, saw the museums and waited for the "Birds of Prey" demonstration. The eagles and falcons were amazing flying over our head but because of the wind they soared away and didn't seem to want to return. We left the fortress immediately after that to head to my cousin's house in Graz.

May 28 Hallstatt and to Werfen

Yeah! The sun was shining when we got up and after checking out of our little paradise, we headed for Hallstatt (1 hour drive). I gotta say it was scenic getting there but thd town takes your breath away. I think this is the most beautiful place so far. We decided to do the Salt mine tour since the town looked quiet. We were iffy about from reading the reviews but we both found it fun and interesting. First, the funicular takes you to the top of the mountain then, an elevator goes to the top where you get suited up for the tour. The tour starts by walking into the mine. We lost several people quickly due to claustrophobia but we soldiered on. Several short films were shown along the way and there were two slides down which Carl and I did as one. I was a bit nervous but they were fun. The longest one was 64 metres. There was also a little blurb about the "salt man" who was found some years ago completely preserved in the mine. Lastly, the miners train speeds out of the mountain with no side or head room to spare and then we walked to the town down the 500metre path to the funicular to be lowered back to earth. We walked the town which is small and pretty and I went into the Bone Chapel (creepy). In there was nothing but old skulls and bones that were piled up and the skulls painted. We decided to drivd to our next stop, Werfen so we could get an early start tomorrow. The last picture is Carl on thr balcony of the zimmer house we found. You can almost reach out and touch the mountains.

May 25 Salzburg

Woke up to rain again but a good tourist does what one must, eat breakfast and get going. Took transit into Salzburg, found the tourist info and bought out Salzburg card to get the best rates at the attractions. In Mozartplarz, we took the obligatory photo with Mozart's statue and it was still raining. We traipsed around several churches and one museum(Von Trapp family history) and then headed for the funicular to take us up to the castle on the hill. This is one of the only castles that did not get destroyed during the 30 years war because it was so heavily fortified. The view from the top of the castle tour was incredible but a bit hazy due to the weather. Back on solid ground, we wandered around Mozarts birthplace and then crossed the river to Mozart's residence (not interesting). At Mirabell palace we walked the grounds, saw the winged horse from The Sound of Music and the dwarf statue park next door. Having made good use of our Salburg card, we headed back to our B&B, grabbed our laundry and set off for the laundromat. We had the process explained to us and then Carl explained it to another couple from Britain. After leaving the Bubble Point wasch salon we were too tired to even go out for dinner so we ate some fruit and a granola bar and called it a night. The mountain picture is from the backyard of our B&B. Tomorrow, Hallstatt.

May 26 Munich

Rain! The first sight we saw when we got up. We had a nice breakfast in the hotel, checked out, packed the car and headed off sightseeing. At first the rain was not too bad and we decided to do some indoor touristing. The Residenz and its treasury were our stop for the morning. They have the most amazing treasures we have seen so far. The rooms of the palace were largely destroyed during the war but they have been restored. We saw about 60 of the 90 rooms. The opulence takes your breath away. Now, we had to rush because the Glockenspiel at Marienplatz was going to play at noon. We waited and finally, it started. It was a great little show with the characters dancing and jousting. The big market next on the list turned out to be closed because it was Sunday. Did I mention we also stopped in at three churches and that it was still raining. By this time, I was wet, cold and needed a bathroom again. Lunch which included a hot tea was very welcome. We decided that we had covered most of the old city and decided to move on to Salzburg. I had located a b and b there on the outskirts of town but with a bus stop just outside the house which runs into the city every half hour and it has wifi. It turned out to be really nice so will stay two nights. We need to do laundry badly and we are going to try and fit that in tomorrow. Going to relax for a bit before bedtime. Night!

May 25 Budapest to Munich

They day started out ok and then deteriorated. We left the ship by taxi because Budapest is like Toronto and doesn't have a good public transit link to the airport. Budapest airport is new, modern, clean and impressive. They have free wifi in the entire food court which is upstairs. Shopping is downstairs like the duty free shops. Our flight was on schedule and it only took 1 hour to get to Munich. That is where things took a turn for the worse. We went to pick up our rental car and showed them our letter from the credit card that says we have insurance coverage. They refused to honour the letter because there was no logo on the letter. We needed to contact the credit card company but no wifi in the airport. We tried the Starbucks but since we do not have a phone we could not use their system. Then we tried the public phones and finally gave up because the calls just would not go through. Next stop, the internet cafe but Skype is blocked there. Finally, the nice lady told us that there is 30 minutes free wifi and she let us use her phone to get the password. Now, we were able to use Skpe to make the call and arranged to email the letter directly to the car company but still no dice. Finally after more arguing and now about 4 hours we went elsewhere. Finally got a car from Hertz for a bit more money and off we went to find our hotel. The GPS got us there and we settled in but luck was not yet with us. The restaurants nearby were packed due to the local soccer game. We finally found a little sandwich shop that was still open and were served a huge helping of chili. Back at the hotel we made plans for the next day and after the crowds settled down at the pub across the street, we slept.

May 24 Budapest

This day started as we cruised into the harbour and we were wowed. The buildings and countryside were unlike anything we had seen so far. We had a city bus tour stopping at Heroes square and Palace square so we could take pictures. The city is quite unique! After lunch on the ship, which included some local cuisine we hopped on a another bus for a trip to Szentendre, an artists village about 12 miles out of town. This village had all kinds of shops selling paprika, tablecloths, clothes, china and lots of other touristy items. A walk out of the tourist area revealed how the other half liveon top of the hill with modern houses, yards and new cars. The only thing I bought in the village was an ice cream that I shared with Carl. Dinner was a little sad because it was our last full day and we has to say good bye to our friends. Good bye until next vacation Allan and Carl, and Pat and Jim. It was a lot of fun.

May 23 Bratislava

Already docked when we woke up so after breakfast we had a city bus tour, stopping to see their palace and then a walking tour of the old town. This was the first time we had internet for a few days and it was available on the park benches by the river. We saw the old town and then walked to the new mall. You could swear you were at a mall at home except for the language difference. Tonight was the farewell dinner and they treated us well. We had a little concert on board followed by appetizers and champagne. Dinner offered lobster soup, lobster or chateaubriand followed by baked alaska. I have no complaints about the food on this ship. Everything has been great tasting. Tomorrow will be Budapest.

May 22 Vienna

Vienna started with a city bus tour and then we chose to stay in the city to view the Hofburg Palace crown jewels and Schonbrun Palace. We used the subway tomger to the second palacd which was interesting and efficient. Lunch was had at a hot dog stand that offered a few varities of sausage and some chinese food? There just isnt enough time to do this city justice. We ended the day with a classical concert which I thought was the perfect end to the day.

May 21 Melk Dernstein

The ship arrived in the morning and after breakfast we went by coach to the Melk abbey for a tour. The monks at this abbey are good businessmen. They offer tours, provide space for a local highschool and have wineries and fruit orchards. They produce and sell wine, schnapps, liquers, sirop, jams and even chocolates. Apricots seem to be their most important fruit crop. From Melk we sailed through some gorgeous countryside and into the Wachau Valley to visit Durnstein. This is my second favourite city so far. Here we climbed up a mountain to a castle ruin where you could see for miles. It was a view worth the climb. After all that exercise, it was time to stop at a cafe where Carl got a beer and I sampled the local poppy seed cake. It schmekt! That evening we chose to dine at a local winery. They set out traditional austrian fare followed up with apricot dumplings(I got the recipe) and tastes of several of their wines. The local ferry returned us to our ship and we just crashed.

May 20 Passau and Linz

Got to sleep in again as we had until 9:00 to meetI the local guide.
Passau is a small sleepy town where three rivers converge. Their largest employers are the four breweries and tourism. They used to harvest pearls but not any longer. The town is pretty and hilly with cobblestone streets, no high heels worn here. Many buildings have marks on them indicating how high the water got in each of the big floods. Apparently, it is tough to get house insurance here, no kidding!
The cathedal is being renovated and has been for as long as our guide remembered. It is beautiful inside and we caught the tail end of a mass so we were able to listen to the pipe organ which is one of the largest around. The sound was intense.
We spent the afternoon on the deck watching the world go by; hills, trees, an occasional castle and the Danube spread out before us.
I had the absolute pleasure of having dinner with my cousin, his wife and my uncle in Linz. The language was a bit tricky but we made it work. Although my uncle lives close to Linz, my cousin and wife drove over two hours to see us.Thanks. My uncle brougt back some memories of my youth while we walked through Linz pointing out stores where Mom had shopped for clothes and jewellery. As we walked my uncle and cousin pointed out the local highlights so I got a tour and a visit. This is the first time I met my cousins wife and we hit it off very well. We may be stopping at Graz where they live. Tomorrow another port.

May 19 Sunday Regensburg

Got to sleep in which was lucky because the coffee ice cream from the night before dessert kept me awake.
The guide arrived at 9:30 and we did a walking tour around town; nic
e cathedral, preserved homes and shops that were closed today due to it being Sunday.
The guide dropped us at a restaurant to use the vouchers we had received from the ship. We had wurstl, sauerkraut, brot and ein beer which we enjoyed on a picnic table beside the river.
Afterwards we walked around town discovering a beer festival with a flea market, childrens rides and carnival food. The walk back to the ship was a scenic stroll beside the river through the forest.
Carl did manage to locate an open pub for a German beer on a patio.
Upon returning to the ship a chocolate tasting was arranged. We tasted three different types of praline chocolates and all were delicious.
Hansi the one man band entertained us in the evening. He was funny and fantastic. I even bought his cd.

i

Saturday May 18 Nuremberg

Today we had to be on the busses at 8:30 and if you arrive one minute late, too bad, they are gone. Everything is exactly on time here; German efficiency. We had a longer bus tour of the city today; most of which was destroyed during the war. The castle we saw was being restored and quite interesting. Apparently, the castle had a moat feature, but there was never any water in it because of the local geography. We were then shown the city market where you can buy all kinds of fresh produce. The strawberries looked so fresh and tasty that it reminded me of home. We had a bavarian lunch which consisted of spaetzle, pigs knuckles and sausage. Just after lunch we went through one of the largest locks on the MAin Danube canal. It was quite unique because this canal has only been open since 1992. There is an 80' height difference from where you enter the last 3 locks to the exit. We went through 3 of these then, we crossed the continental divide and from here on down the locks descend.
After dinner, the crew put on a show with skits, dancing and magic.

Friday, May 17

If there isn't a stop, there is always some entertainment. This morning we attended a lecture from an expert about the European Union. The guest speakers hop on at one lock and hop off at the next one. Interesting way to make a living! Arrival in Bamberg was early so soaked up some sun on thr skydeck. There hasnt been a lot of sunshine thus far. We had some lunch and headed for the busses. Bamberg was interesting. We had a two hour walking tour with a guide who insisted we sing(well some of us sang). A few more churches, some historical buildings and "smoke beer". This a dark beer (500 year old recipe) whose smokey flavour derives from its malt being roasted over beach wood. We also visited a "euro shop"; where everything costs a euro, duh! In the supermarket wine and chips were acquired as well as a bar of my favourite Ritter for 1 euro, 9 euro cents and of course I had to have one bar. Beer tasting 101 The legal drinking age is 16 in Germany. Beer had a short shelf life before the invention of the cooling machine. Beer tasting analysis involves the colour, foam, smell and taste. We tasted four different beers; light, dark, wheat and pilsener. Interestingly, the ladies liked the dark beer the best. We learned about the Purity Law of 1516 which stated that only hop, water and barley malt could be used to make beer. Nowadays they also add yeast. After dinner music was provided by three musicians whose combined years of experience totaled 248 years. Yeupp, they were old but not bad music. We were so pooped we didn't stay too long to listen to them. Tomorrow is another full day.

Thursday, May 16

7:30 breakfast came early because we had to catch a bus to Wurzburg at 8:30. A tour of the Residenz Palace had been arranged and it was magnificent inside. The ceiling frescos, the mirrored room and the white room restorations were incredible but "no photos allowed" except in the garden. From the residenz we walked to the city center and then back to the ship for lunch. There are often regional specialties choices with our meals now. Last night there were these very strange sausages that appeared to have been boiled but the filling was very loose. The guest local chef was apparently responsible for those and I saw quite a lot of them returned uneaten. At 3:30, we went to a galley tour of the kitchen where our food is prepared.

May 15

Hawaian toast was the breakfast special. That is toast, cheese, ham, cheese, and then pineapple on top all melted together. It was yummy. Once our bellies were full again we headed up to the lounge to listen to Tomy Temerson, a professional zither playerTop forus for  while and then hopped off at the next lock. It was quite interesting.
Early lunch was provided and this lovely meal put me to sleep.
Nap time didn't last long. We had to catch a 5 minute bus ride to Miltonberg just down the river. Miltonberg was amazing;medieval houses, castle walls, shops, cobble streets oand of course beer.
As soon as we returned to the ship, we had a cookie baking lesson. This was fun as to the kithcen to be baked abpnd served with desseet. Carl volunteered to be one of the two male bakers helpers. The ex-nun instructed them on the procedure. I loved the little aprons. Carl and Richard followed the recipe and Brigitte instructions, disinfecting with schnapps as they went. For their help, the guys got a box of brandy chocolates and thrown a kiss. The Vanillakipferl were taken to the kitchen to be baked for dessert. It was much later revealed that the cookies has disappeared so we only got to taste the ones Brigitte brought on board. Photo to follow. Have to catch a bus now.

Tuesday, May 14 Remainder

We woke to a dramatic change in the landscape, surrounded by hills on both sides interspersed by small villages, vineyards and castles.
Later, just after noon we docked in  Rudesheim, a small town that relies on its winery and tourism industry to survive. A tour of a museum of Mechanical Musical Instruments was quite enlighting and was followed by a wine tasting of two Rieslings accompanied by a cheese  plate to cleanse our palate.r We brought one of the wines back with us, of course.
After this we walked through a very narrow street, stopped for a beer and then returned to our ship.
By this time, the weather had warmed up and we sat on the Skydeck and soaked up some sun, and beer!
At 4:30 we sailed and will get to our next port around noon tomorrow. We will see the two towns of Miltenberg and Freudenberg for the afternoon.
There will be a total of 30 locks that we must cross over the next little while since we have left the Rhine river and are now on the Main.
We have had our dinner and will relax for the evening.  Tomorrow morning we are going to have one of the five professional Zither players in the world.  Never a dull moment!
I hope the weather warms up a bit. It has been unseasonably cool or so I hear.

Monday, May 13 Morning

Gorgeous scenery this morning. 

Sunday, May 12 and May 13

Sunday
Another wonderful dinner was followed by live music in the lounge. We stayed up very late trying to decide which excursions to sign up for.
Monday This morning after Breakfast we had german lesson s at 9:30 followed by a briefing about the excursions and then lunch. I was able to correct Helmut's phrase of the day that he had typxed incorrectly in German.
We arrived in Cologne for 4:00pm and did a walking tour of the city with a local guide. This city is where "4711" cologne is produced. The tour gave us a flavour of the city as well as some history. The cathedral was really impressive.
At 8 we sailed heading for Koblenz and we were asked if we wanted to see a famous bridge at 4:00am (I passed).
For entertainment tonight we had a 3 piece band that performed various classical pieces including "The barber of seville".
Tuesday
Tomorrow morning we will sail through the most scenic stretch of river with lots of ruins and castles so we have to get out to the Skydeck for some good photos.
Night for now.

Sunday May 12 Mothers Day

Happy Mothers Day
Its Mothers Day and I don't have to cook or clean and I get served all day; it doesn't get any better.
We were served a wonderful breakfast with choices of eggs, bacon, sausages, fish, fruit, yogurt and cereals after which we loaded onto a bus for our canal river cruise.
There was a lot to see looking at all the types of canal houses, even some where the foundations were failing and the houses were leaning badly. After the cruise, we passed on doing another diamond store tour and did the walking tour.
Lunch was a buffet selection of buttered fish, ribs, pasta, a variety of salads, cold cuts, and    several desserts. I tried a blackberry mousse and a piece of cherry cake. All this eating led to another long walk.
We just set sail for Cologne, Germany and it will take 24 hours to get there. Tonight is the Captains dinner followed by music and dancing. The weather is cool and will likely stay so until later this week.

Saturday, May 11

Saturday began with the same breakfast as yesterday, packing up and checking out of h
The Rijksmuseum was our next stop and we arrived to get in by 9:30. By 12:30 our feet hurt and our brains were tired from trying to absorb so much history so  we decided to get some lunch. A pizza place was found and food was ordered. We got a surprise pizza, four different kinds of pizza in one which we subsequently enjoyed.
Next we retrieved our luggage and walked to the hotel to register for the cruise. We were bussed down to the docks and loaded onto the boat. The first order of business was to unpack, followed by a safety exercise and then a champagne reception. By the time this was done, it was time for dinner. The couple we met earlier are just across the hall and they introduced us to their friends and the six of us sat down to eat. The food was great and we are pleasantly full but in case you are still hungry there is a late night snack offered at 10:30.
There are 3 breakfast times, a lunch buffet, coffee and cake in the afternoon and then dinner. Coffee, tea and cookies are available all day.
We are going to go through 68 locks, one of which is 82 feet high.
There is 42 staff members for the 153 passengers so I think we will be well looked after.
Tomorrow is a canal cruise followed by a downtown walk. We set sail for Koln in the late afternoon.

Thursday eve and Friday May 10

Before we crashed last night we took the tram to the Red Light district but before we did that we stopped and had dinner at McDonalds. As we walked in the direction of the RLD we walked right into the middle of a tour group so we got a free spiel. We were pretending to enjoy the view while we listened and as soon as they left we started chatting with another couple beside us. It turned out that they are going to be on the same river cruise as us. What are the odds?
Anyway, back to the RLD, since it was relatively early, not everyone was yet out in their windows but we got enough of a view to see what was going on. It was very interesting to see them display their wares while trying not to ogle, if you get my meaning. As you walk through the area, you get exposed to the scents from the various "coffee" houses.
After our exploration and with a growing lack of sleep headache, we decided to call it a night.
Good morning,
We slept well, as you can imagine, and the alarm we set did not wake us at the time we thought we should get up. Later, we got up and went for breakfast. There was a choice of coffee or tea as well as a choice of breads, 2 kinds of cheese, 3 kinds of meat and an assortment of cereals so, we were well fed.
After breakfast, we set off for the Van Gough museum and this time the line was shorter. The museum was interesting and ent
ertained us until noon. The museum had a decent restaurant  so we had a lunch consisting of tomato vegetable soup, chicken, pasta and grilled vegies.
Next was the free tour of Coster Diamonds. What pretty, sparkly things they have there. Too bad, they didn't give out free samples.
The Bloemenmarkt was the next stop. It was very busy there, lots of people milling about and more flower bulbs in one place than I have ever seen. Across the sidewalk from the bulb vendors were cheese shops.  We went in for free samples and came out with a wheel of cheese.
The challenge today was with our credit cards not working and the inevitable phone calls had to be made to restore functionality.
It is dinner time now and as I write this we are trying to decide where to eat.
Tomorrow is the day we get on our river boat. Looking forward to this next part but we still have to get through the day.

Thursday, May 9

We are so tired since we have been up since Wednesday morning and it is now Thursday night here.
Adam was kind enough to drive us to the airport and then drive to Grama's to deliver tomato seedlings. Thanks, Adam.
The flight was calm for the most part with only some short and mild turbulence. When we arrived in Amsterdam there was lots of walking and to my astonishment, free toilets.
The tram we took to our hotel was super efficient and the customer service agent on the tram was amazingly helpful.
We dumped our luggage at the hotel and decided to start sightseeing. First stop was the Rijkmuseum where we lined up for ages to get in to ... the line for the entry tickets. We were tired and hungry and decided to try the Van Gough museum and, same deal.
We kept walking and found an underground grocery store where Carl attained some chips, beer and wine after which we had some lunch and regrouped. We decided to pass on the Heineken experience because Carl saw it last time he was here and frankly, I do not drink beer and it was not worth 17 euros to see it. The waitress at the restaurant suggested we go to the Albert Cuypmarkt which is a huge flea market. At the entrance to the street is a sign that says "Beware of pickpockets".
There are bikes everywhere and you don't dare step off the curb without looking first..
We are currently trying to decide whether to crash or keep going.
Bye for now.

ML. It's the night before our trip and we just finished celebrating Mothers Day a little early. Main street Unionville is especially nice in this weather and it doesn't get any better than spending time with my three boys.
I am packed, more or less, and Carl is watching the hockey game. He is fond of saying, "If it wasn't for the last minute he would tnever get anything done". After all, there is still most of tomorrow.
I have filled the freezers with meat and snacks for the boys while we are away. We wouldn't want them wasting away, would we?  We have never left them in charge of the house for such a long time before. Should be interesting.