Danube River Cruise

Thursday, May 28, 2015

Germany- Passau

A beautiful morning.....walking tour....lunch in the charming old town....then a nice stroll through town...... The Cathedral is located on the highest point of the Old Town..... we were treated to a concert on the largest cathedral organ in the world..... 17,974 pipes, 233 stops and 4 carillons....

The View Pulling In To Passau

Street Menu

Amazing Architecture in St. Stephen's Church

Art Exhibit Through the Alley

Guide Pointing Out High Water Marks

One of the highest marks is actually from a flood recently in 2013......

Exquisite Library

The View as the Boat Left Passau

Wednesday, May 27, 2015

Internet Issues - A Disclaimer

According to the staff on board the internet available varies greatly.... Weather, the movement of the ship and the user's location all impact the signal.... While traveling I am writing and uploading on my phone.... I plan to fill in with details when we return home... A bit challenging.... Small price to pay for this fabulous trip.......

Disclaimer Posted on Daily Bulletin

NOTE: One of our complaints was that we felt that Viking should NOT advertise being a WiFi ship based on the service we experienced..... to their credit I noticed the most recent advertising that I saw from them provided the same disclaimer as above..... good decision, in my opinion.....

Wachau Valley- Austria

Very chilly trip through beautiful country..... the stretch of the Danube between Krems and Melk is known as the Wachau Valley.....listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site..... We saw beautiful little towns with exquisite churches.....terraced vineyards..... ruined castles and medieval towns.....Our narrated passage through this picturesque area informed us that tourism and wine are 2 of their greatest sources of income.

Durnstein Church and Ruin Castle on the Mountain

Bundled Up - Ready for the Scenery

Terraced Vineyards

According to the narration of the travel provided by the Cruise Director, the wine for all Viking Cruises is made in this valley... The ruin Castle behind Don, Kay and John had a great tale told about it..... the medieval ruler would exact huge sums from anyone who tried to conquer the area and throw them off the top of the mountain if they could not pay!

Schonbuhel Castle

Austria - Melk - Benedictine Abbey

Lovely town with a magnificent Abbey....Originally a royal palace with guest apartments and grand halls it is now an active monastery and school......Our local guide took us through the Abbey and then we strolled back through the charming village......

While waiting for our guide.... the Stones took control of the "lollipops".... Don by helping gather our group.... Kay by entertaining the visitors with an impromptu baton twirling demonstration....

Selfie of Sorts.... Inside the Abbey

Amazing Ceiling with Trompe L'oeil Effects

Map of the Area of Wachau Valley Cruise

Vienna - Schonbrunn Palace

Our afternoon in Vienna included a visit to this magnificent summer home for royalty. Once again Viking provided a local guide to ride with us on the bus to provide commentary and then to take us through this historical palace...... Interior photos were forbidden, but it was stunning! Our only complaint would have been we would have loved to have stayed longer to visit......

The photos below of the interiors are taken from the internet as no photos are allowed inside....

Tuesday, May 26, 2015

Vienna- Walking in the Rain

Viking provided a local guide to take a small group through the city underground to the city center..... most of the 188 on board the ship took a bus tour but our group went with Reiner ..... entertaining for sure.... we felt accomplished at having taken the subway in a foreign country..... but he was with us every step of the way...

Opera House

Sign for the Famous Sacher Cafe

The torte, known as a Sacher torte is a dense chocolate cake with a ganache frosting...I had already tried one in Budapest (see earlier post) so I was able to pass this up without regret.......