Czech Republic

Up early and out on the dock we watched the unbelievable task of bringing large tour buses down the narrow walkway and loading the luggage and then turning the bus around (!!) to head to the Autobahn. This is truly astounding since we could really only board one way as there was not enough room between the bus and the grassy hill on the far side to walk to the door – and these folks calmly turn these buses around here!

Avalon provides a guide as well as a driver to bring us to Praha (Prague), and ours was knowledgeable and entertaining. The bus was very comfortable and we rolled along through the Bavarian Forest to cross the border into the Czech Republic. Although much of the four hour drive reminded us of the new TCH through New Brunswick there were a few sights that reminded you that you weren’t in Kansas anymore! Through Germany on the Autobahn highway billboards do not exist. Apparently the absence of a highway speed limit makes reading inadvisable! Here in the Czech Republic that isn’t the case and ads are presented for everything from local bottled water to strip clubs. We also saw fields upon fields of solar collectors! According to our guide about 7% of the energy used through this region is renewable. He says that although both Germany and the Czech Republic have wind turbines (it took me a bit to realize that’s what “vinterbeans” were) that Germany does not collect much solar energy as they use the locks as hydro-electric sources.

We are now working in our fourth currency since leaving home. The Czech krown is the local currency and approximately 20 Kč is a Canadian dollar. Of course the multiplier hasn’t been even close to the same in any of our changes, and as eventually they will convert to the Euro you sometimes see prices listed that way. Most of the day was spent converting from CAD to Kč, or from Euro to CAD then to Kč! By the end of the day we weren’t sure what we were doing but the extreme heat wasn’t helping. Truth was though because of the heat I really didn’t care how many €, Kč, or anything else they were charging, a cold beer was mine at any price!

The InterContinental is again ideally situated and although the interior appears more ornate, the hotel seems a little worn. We can view the river from our room and when we managed to brave the extreme heat for short bursts today we discovered we were a short walk to the Charles Bridge, steps from the Jewish Quarter and a 5 minute stroll through the exclusive shopping district to the old town square with the world famous Astronomical Clock and about 1000 other things to see!

Unfortunately we have been caught in a heat wave that has been plaguing this part of Europe. Temperatures today have exceeded 40°C and I do not do well in that kind of heat! I have figured that I can stay out for about two hours if we can find shade, beer and ice cream (not necessarily in that order) before I must head back into AC! Apparently we are due a rain storm tomorrow. It will be the first rain we have seen on this holiday and if it breaks this humidity it will be welcome.

Tomorrow is a very busy day with three major excursions planned. I’m looking forward to learning about the amazing sights we’ve seen today and being to understand and appreciate Praha.

The only encouragement needed!

Once again, mostly gone before I can take a picture.

View from our window of the world's largest metronome! They had to do something with the base of the Stalin (yet another one!) that stood from 1955-1962 before it was toppled. There was much discussion about the design of the replacement. As they could not agree they settled on the temporary metronome to represent the city of music and it's times of change. Very fitting!

So hot that the local shop owners are standing outside with a garden hose spraying passersby!

River flows through many of the buildings.

Another fairytale building, Our Lady of Tyne.

There is a different local brew represented on every corner - thank goodness! If I stay here much longer I will be like the monks, the original brewers and be drinking 18 litres a day...except during Lent when they drank 24 litres a day!!!

World famous Astronomical Clock.

The gold on Our Lady of Tyne glistens in the late day sun.

A WC at intersections. Put money in the slot and you get 15 minutes to do your business on the street corner!

Sculptures guarding the bridge - here three-headed serpents!

Nuremberg

The trip to Nuremberg was in fact the very best part of this day. This is the section of the trip that brings us through the Main Danube Canal and has the greatest number and height of locks. Between Bachhausen and Hipolstein we pass the Continental Divide and the rivers begin to flow in opposite directions we are at the highest place on earth that can be reached by boat, more than 1300 feet above sea level! The Hipolstein lock just after the Divide, with a 24.76m drop, offered incredible views and appreciation of these engineering marvels.

While waiting at the single channel pass at Hipolstein a local expert hopped aboard and offered a fascinating talk on the system of locks. While the canal was opened in 1992 for traffic, it was actually Charlemange who first envisioned the waterway more than 12 centuries ago. While his efforts mostly failed, King Ludwig I of Bavaria tried it again in the mid-1800s and created a canal that operated until 1945. The reconstruction of the present Main-Danube apparently caused lively debate over environmental and economic consequences. In the end the economists largely overestimated projections and the canal still only transports 8 million of it 18 million ton capacity. The environmentalist underestimated the positive aspects of the project in controlling water to help manage both droughts and floods. It is believed, for example that the damage of the recent floods would have been far worse without the control of the locks. Most interesting to me though was the fact current use of the canal shows that the 56% of use for cargo is going down and passenger travel, currently at 39%, is going up! This was apparently unpredicted. When the locks were first built with small side roads at the docks etc., it was believed that “no one would ever take that long to get from point A to point B” so there was no need to plan for passenger or recreational traffic.

Despite the recent floods, the current challenge, linked to the heat wave, is low water levels. The extreme low water levels mean that we are forced to move very slowly through the canal and that messes with our schedule. The cruise director on a river boat clearly has to be a flexible good problem solver who can think on her feet. Our plan was to arrive in Nuremberg to begin a tour in the early afternoon. The slower progress on the river meant that we wouldn’t arrive until late afternoon so things were quickly rearranged and we were let out on the top of a lock, walked down a very long hill into an open area where Danielle had rearranged to have the tour busses meet us. We then drove into the city to pick up some local guides and we were on our way! The only thing that was beyond anyone’s control was the temperature! Although it has been getting gradually warmer each day, today was the first day of unbearable heat. I’m afraid it may have affected my perception of Nuremberg as a larger city that in many ways was like any other big city. Much of the city had been destroyed during the war and so much of what we saw was obvious reconstruction. It seemed to have little to offer that we hadn’t already seen by way of architecture and although its significance during the Second World War and the history of the Nuremberg Trials is indeed fascinating, there was not enough opportunity to truly appreciate that on this trip.

This evening our local entertainment included two Bavarian beer experts and our study and sampling of local Lagers, Pilsners, Dark and Wheat Beers was quite a nice way to end our day – prost!

Symbolic marker for the Continental Divide.

Appeared as a random guy at the side of the canal. I had a hunch so took a picture. A minute later he hop on board and was our lock guide.

We are just entering the lock. Look at the height we must drop-1332feet!!!

So hot when we arrived in Nuremberg that I couldn't even the picture until after I had the beer!



Regensburg - My Favourite!

Today was a nice leisurely start. I was awake at my regular time and had plenty of opportunity to see the “optional tour” groups off on the side of nowhere! Last evening our tour director Danielle told us that we would be stopping along the river to meet a tour guide in an “unofficial” spot. She said we would know the field when we spotted two cows and a chicken. She wasn’t off by much. In the early morning light (I suspect also true at mid- and late-day!) we stopped the boat in the middle of nowhere and about 2/3 of the passengers walked off into a field to apparently find their guide for the day directly behind the aforementioned two cows and a chicken!

The rest of us remained on board to continue to Regensburg, the next stop on our tour. Being up to watch the first groups off, I remained on deck and appreciated the picturesque vistas along the Danube. The peace and tranquility of the early morning was a perfect backdrop to the villages waking, the fisherman hopefully perched on the side of the river, and sights such as the Valhalla – the monument honouring the great men of German history.

By late morning we arrived in Regensburg and began, as we have in other stops along the way, a great overview city tour. A settlement was established here by the Romans in the 2^nd century! The ancient wall is still clearly evident throughout the town and the creation of Regensburg as a modern city of 50,000 people has incorporated the wall and mastered an incredible blend of the old with the new. Our wonderful tour guide explained that in Regensburg, what you see is very much what you get. Strict building, renovation and preservation laws control the town. Incredibly Regensburg suffered almost no damage during the wars, pillage and conquest that besieged so much of the rest of Europe and in an attempt to authentically preserve that history any new construction must blend with the old but not make any attempt to replicate it. Buildings must not appear to be old unless they really are and it’s clear that the locals take great pride in their town.

Once again I’m amazed that, as we pause while the guide provides some fascinating back story, I can notice a building clearly marked as dating back to 1606 and it doesn’t even warrant a glance or a mention! Being with a guide does really help to understand local culture and explain curious happenings. We learned, for example, that Friday is wedding day in Regensburg and that when couples are married the wedding party will then parade through the streets – quite beautiful as they passed by. We also came to know that when the happy couple leaves at the end of the celebration the tin cans tied to the back of their car make one heck of a racket on cobblestones! We learned that the coat of arms that is beside each door post the coat of arms of the current owner. When property changes hands the new owners update the stone carving at the door – talk about significant moving costs! Each building here has a front door that enters on one street and another that exits from another. This has been added to the buildings over the years to aid with fire emergency. When a fire call comes, two crews respond, one at each door, minimizing the chance of damage to the building. Each of the buildings also contain a central courtyard and our guide assured us that we are welcome to walk into these building and exit through the second entrance as a way to criss-cross the town!

Making our way to the centre of town we arrived at St. Peter’s Cathedral. An imposing edifice dating back six centuries, the necessary repairs over the ages are evident. Though skillfully done to create an attractive completion, the laws about not repairing something to appear old, sets a clear delineation for repair history. Again because there has been so little damage through the ages, the stained glass in the church is original and dates back 700 years! After the formal tour ended it was wonderful to go back to the church and explore on our own. With the group it was certainly more challenging for David to take good pictures. When we went back later on our own we were able to wander unencumbered around the grounds, through side alleys and discover some of the many details that were missed first time through.

After the formal tour we were dropped, with a coupon, at The Sausage Kitchen. Claiming to be the oldest restaurant in all of Bavaria, we were given a lunch of beer, sausage, sauerkraut, grainy mustard and crusty bread – delicious and very filling. Across the street from The Sausage Kitchen we found a shop that offered local treasures including cuckoo clocks and beautiful jewelry from local artisans. Coeur de Leon, one such company has me sporting a beautiful new pair of earrings!

A wonderful, if hot, spot to wander and explore and I am now completely convinced that wandering on your own through Europe is easily done. A local gelatti shop held a cool delicious treat we enjoyed on the old stone bridge before once again hoping onboard to continue our trip to Nuremberg.

Some of our fellow passangers being let out in a field on the side of the Danube - literally. Our cruise director said we would know where, "the field with two cows and a chicken!"

Valhalla - erected to the great men of German history.

Our first view of Rengensburg.

Sculpture at the dock of 200 fish representing 2000 years of Regensburg history.

A Swarovski tour boat completely decorated inside and out with crystals! Talk about glittering in the sun!!

Old town bridge.

Oh if the walls could talk!

Pretty town square.

The ornate carving on St Peter's is unbelievable.

 

Hat shops still easy to find.

Tiny cobblestone streets are shared by people, bikes, and traffic!

What remains of the old Roman wall has been incorporated into buildings.

A Regensburg highrise!

Door to a home, how they got furniture in is beyond me!

Lunch at the Sausage Kitchen.

 

Roman door in the current town hall.

Roman wall again. It was easy to see when you knew to look for it.

Wall again appeared on our evening walk.

The walking path beside the dock.



Linz & Passau

Avalon’s description of our visit to Linz is very misleading. We hesitated to sign up for too many side tours as we had wanted to take advantage of the “regular” offerings of the cruise. Today though we stopped in Linz just long enough to drop off ¾ of our fellow passengers to board one of three buses headed to optional tours. We were in docked for exactly 35 minutes so it was a stop only in the most technical sense! It was 7:00 am but as I was up anyway I decided to get up and explore with the little time I had. Before you get off a riverboat you must obtain a shore pass from the receptionist. This morning she clearly thought I had lost my mind to ask for a pass to get off, and repeatedly reminded me that the boat would be leaving in 35 minutes. She doesn’t know me well obviously if she believes I would be late and miss a sailing!

The day was very relaxing and satisfyingly productive. The blog has been a bit of a challenge since getting a connection is sporadic, and there is always so much to see that finding time to write can be a challenge. Today was a great day to gather my thoughts, tidy up notes and picture files and generally regroup. Of course I paused a thousand times to appreciate a pretty Bavarian village or observe the magic of passing through one of the many locks that allows us safe and easy passage up the river in Germany.

I have noticed that much of the riverbank along the Danube has been sandy. All along we have noticed swimmers and families out for a beach picnic. I don’t know what I expected but that wasn’t it. There are places where we notice repair from the recent floods but we are amazed at what little evidence there is of 9m of water! It is very clear why some towns were severely affected but they seem to have weathered it as well as they have the Crusades, fires, royal greed, wars and every other darn thing that history seems to have thrown their way.

After a relaxing day of cruising we arrived in Paussau in time to meet a guide for a late afternoon city tour. Yet another city where I wish we could stay an extra couple of days! The overview of the city (now a highlight feature for me with Avalon) left us with many interesting secrets of this little Bavarian town. We have learned that:

·         Breweries in Bavaria are always bright yellow with a stack – easy to spot and take advantage of.

·         St. Mary’s is the oldest church in Passau dating back to 1635. King Leopold, his wife, his mistress and 100 or his guards came here to pray when Vienna was being threatened by Turkish troops. His prayers were answered and since that time St. Mary’s is believed to be a site of answered prayers. Needing to climb 312 steps to arrive at the church, I will take my chances with prayer without the assistance of St. Mary!

·         Passau was a prosperous port as it was located at the confluence of three rivers that all flowed in different directions. The Danube flows from west to east, the Inn flows from south to north and the Ilz flows from north to south. All three converge in Passau and join to flow east to the Black Sea. This means that from Passau there are rivers with access to all directions.

·         Salt from Saltzberg was of huge benefit to Passau. They could bring the “white gold” down the river from Saltzberg, store it in silos and then transport is out in all directions for triple the cost! The early inhabitants understood the value of location!

·         Passau suffered some of the most severe of the flood damage a few weeks ago. We knew this before we left home as many of the pictures in the media had come from Passau. Its location on the three rivers makes it obvious why. It is not difficult to still find damaged properties but the work that has been done it incredibly impressive! Our local guide, in lederhosen (!), was a University student who told us that, as students were still in town they organized themselves as volunteer work crews and assisted property owners and the town in their cleanup efforts. It is apparently illegal here is Passau to have a first floor location as an apartment. Floods can happen so quickly that if it happened in the middle of the night and someone was sleeping there, they would drown before much could be done! In this case it certainly would have been true since the water marks on the buildings are halfway up the second story windows! Going down side alleys in more enclosed locations there is a definite smell of wet concrete and the hum of fans can be heard as you pass open doorways. According to our guide the flood has had two great advantages. The town has never looked better as everything has been cleaned and repaired, so is fresh and attractive. The second advantage is the sandy beaches that have been created along the banks of the Danube!!! Apparently these did not exist before the flood. The raging river brought the sand and deposited it. Locals are now enjoying a day at the beach! Talk about finding a silver lining!

·         Passau is beautiful with its cobblestone streets and its fountains – with children swimming in them! It is quite hot but that’s the first time I have seen this! Back home someone would quickly get them out of there, here no one seems to notice much!

·         We did get caught is some kind of protest but we still are not sure what it was. Seems to defeat the purpose when no one understands what you are for or against! Along the water walkway (that reminded me of Stanley Park!) a group of young people surrounded our group and held hands with their backs to us. Some in our group became nervous, even our guide was confused! I did point out they were too pleasant looking to be of much threat. The pretty young girl in front of me clearly understood that as she turned to give me a very stern face. She failed terribly and her cute, exaggerated frown quickly turned to a giggle. Eventually, as nothing seemed to be happening, we ducked below their held hands and continued on our way past two other young girls on a park bench who were filming the whole thing. At that point I noticed they all wore buttons that said simply 57 – whatever that means! Anyway we may be on youTube, we may be a local version of Just for Laughs, we may have been caught in some protest, I have no idea. If anybody learns anything please let me know!

·         Visiting yet another St. Stephen Cathedral, this time an interesting blend of Gothic and Baroque style, we saw the largest pipe organ in the world. Not hard to believe when you see the 17,388 pipes located in five different locations in the church all controlled through a single keyboard. The pictures truly do not do it justice.

·         The guide told the story, we have heard before, of the monks sending a request to Rome to have their Bavarian beer allowed during lent. Since it was made only from ingredients found in bread and water, they sent a barrel to the Pope to ask for permission to drink their beer during fast. By the time the beer arrived in Rome it was of course quite skunky and on sipping it the Pope agreed that they could drink as much of it as they wanted! Germans do create beer as an art form and even this little town has no less than three breweries! We asked our guide to suggest a good local beer garden and he told us that Wirtshaus Bayerischer Löwe was the place to be. Well past all the tourist restaurants on the pedestrian ways we continued on to the end of town to have a local delight in an authentic beer garden. Looking very much like its name suggests, we sat under the trees and enjoyed the result of asking for a “local favourite”. Innstadt Passauer WeiBe was a cloudy brew with a hint of cloves – delicious!!

Back on board we enjoyed another delicious dinner and then were thoroughly entertained by the crew! On all our cruises we have enjoyed the traditional night of entertainment by the staff and crew. This show beat them all! We wondered since the pool of talent is so much smaller here than on a cruise ship. What they lost is numbers was more than made up for is enthusiasm, creativity and outrageous hilarity! The sight of our 6’4” skinny chef who calls everyone “darlink”(who always looks like a pirate, with a head scarf covering his baldness, a shiny gold hoop in one ear and skin bronzed to the colour of copper) suddenly well endowed with the help of some overinflated balloons, dancing Swan Lake in a tutu ... well it defies description!

Beautiful bridges of Linz.

Meter markers to measure the hight of the river.

Castles on the hill mixed with ultramodern angled glass buildings.

Not much room to fit under some bridges so river height is critical.

These captains are experts at parallel parking in these locks!

Even when you are in a lock by yourself, space is tight! This is the side of our boat and the side of the lock, taken from our stateroom. The light is green but you want to know what you're doing before you go.

Pretty sights everywhere on the river.

Watermark from the flood in Passau.

Again watermarks, with some of our group in the shot for perspective.

Altar sculptures in St. Stephen Cathedral. The scene depicts his stoning with him looking toward heaven. The fresco above shows, as the ledgend tells, the heavens opening to welcome him.

The largest pipe organ in Europe with over 17,000 pipes.

 An authentic Bavarian beer garden and a happy girl!

Statues, like fountians, have useful purposes here!



Dürnstein/Melk

Awake at 6:00, I decided this morning to go in search of coffee before coming back to the room to finish yesterday’s blog. The rhythm on this holiday has been to work on the blog at the end of the day but being tired enough that at some point I decide to give it up as a bad job, and since I’m often the first one up in the morning, finishing things off before we go for breakfast. This morning my search for coffee was rewarded with a view of our approach to Dürnstein, on a bend in the Danube, nestled in the foothills of the Alps. Writers of the fairytales had indeed visited this spot!

Our first tour of the day began by 8:30 and we walked with our guide through this charming medieval town. The tour offered an orientation and overview and then we were given time to explore on our own. These times to just poke about are our favourite but there never seems to be enough time. I’m already planning our return trip! Mom and Dad had their own exploration as Avalon provided what they called the choo-choo! Well named, it was little trolley cars pulled through town by a tractor. Dürnstein in the heart of the Wachau Valley is a well preserved medieval town of about 900 inhabitants that clearly rely heavily on tourism and also on the tiered vineyards that surround the town. As well as grapes, apricots grow profusely here. The shops are filled with everything “marille”, from jam (called Marillenmarmelade, apparently the German language has no word for jam?), to soap and cosmetics. Every liquor known to man is also produced from these local apricots. The town has more than just shops to entertain though. Incredibly picturesque, the Alpine foothills that surround the town has, as do all little towns along the valley, a beautiful church at its centre and a castle overlooking the town. In this instance the castle is where King Richard I, aka Richard the Lionhearted, was held captive in 1193. At least while imprisoned he had a wonderful view! Everywhere we looked there was another fascinating sight but two are certainly worth mentioning.

In the centre of town there is a tall pole. Our guide stopped here to share its origins. Apparently a type of humiliation pole, people were chained to it during the middle-ages and taunted, beaten, stoned or even put to death for crimes against the community. Being put to death would lead to our next point of interest, the local graveyard! Still very much in use today, the graveyard situated on the shallow soil of the steep Alpine slopes provides a challenge for burial.  Family plots are used, but burial is shallow and quite quickly space is filled. The solution? A Bone House! As bodies decompose and only bones remain, they are removed when the grave is again required. They are sanitized and stacked in a bone house – quite literally a crypt room at the centre of the graveyard. Not sure the picture will do it justice but trust me, fascinating stuff!

On leaving Dürnstein we had the choice of a bike tour vs. cruising down the river. I would have very much preferred the bike ride but the 40° temperature was a huge deterrent. Our reward for having made the right decision was some of the most beautiful scenery! I realize that I say this so often when I travel but the people of the Wachau Valley can certainly enter the argument for bragging rights! Passing village after village, the splendor of the Benedictine Melk Abbey appeared on the horizon, bringing into question perhaps the meaning of poverty and simple life! In true Baroque style, simplicity and restraint were conspicuous by their absence. The monastery was unbelievably opulent and it wasn’t hard to believe that the ruling monarchs preferred to stay with the local monks rather than in an inn when they travelled, in their “humble” palace with its complex of rooms surrounding seven courtyards, all encircled by spectacular gardens! Our tour led us through the Imperial wing, where Empress Maria Theresa and Napoleon once stayed, and where Marie Antoinette rested on her way to France to marry the King and increase the Hapsburg dynasty! Everything that we have seen and heard here makes me so wish I had paid more attention in history class! The library here was unbelievable and houses about 85,000 printed books and 2000 illuminated manuscripts. I believe you could spend a lifetime here and never notice everything there was to see. Every room, every corner, every roofline held an architectural treasure that defies description!

Back on the boat for a wine tasting of the liquid treasures to the Wachau Valley, led by a local vintner, dinner with Con and Vicky who have lived in Australia for 60 years but never lost their accents from Greece, and our local entertainer in the lounge following dinner, rounded out the day!

Strolling on the sky deck under the full before bed we learned from the receptionist, who was off duty  and listening to her iPod under the full moon, that this is the first cruise, on this ship, to make it all the way to Budapest since the flood! Lucky us! While on deck we also heard a bit of a noise from below and looked over the side to realize that the violins and other supplies used by this evening’s entertainer were being (literally) thrown from the boat to a set of waiting arms on shore. The boat stopped for the briefest of moments (slowed down is almost a more accurate description!) as we saw Giorgio Benedetti hop onto the little dock at the side of the river and wave as we continued on our way to Linz!

The beautiful Wachau Valley.

RV Park!

Pretty Medieval Village window boxes.

Town humiliation post!

Mom and Dad

The was actually a fair bit of traffic. I have no idea how they do it.

Restaurant hidden in the hillside.

Every lane and alley is beautiful.

Local graveyard still very much used. The Bone House is in the centre. 

Inside the Bone House. Mostly femers and skulls visable!

The beautiful, blue church spire stands above the town.

St. Michael's church dates back to 400AD offering blessings of good harvest and fertility! I got out of their fast!!

Melk Abbey halls.

Melk Abbey - ceiling fresco in the marble dining room - apparently what a vow of poverty and simplicity got you at the time!

Baroque church at the Abbey - St. Stephen (again!)

Inside St. Stephen. The main altar has gold statues depicting the stoning of St. Stephen. As he looks up the fresco above shows the heavens opening for St. Stephen at his death.

Very ornate gold leaf throughout the church.

Dome fresco

Organ (Nancy & Jamie)

Stairs leading from the library to the church.

One of the seven courtyards at the Abbey.