May 16 - Budapest

The weather didn't get any better as we came to the end of our trip. Indeed, gale force winds really knocked our ship around during the night before we arrived in Budapest. Our guide was so frustrated by the weather and so apolgetic. Lucy and many others stayed in the tour bus that morning, but I ventured out into the wind and rain -- all in pursuit of the classic "Kodak moment."

Budapest, of course, is the capital city of Hungary. We were told by friends before we left on our trip that it was a beautiful city and I'm sure it is, but we'll have to return during better weather. It is Hungary's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial and transportation center and has over 1.7 million inhabitants. It is made up of what were originally two cities -- Buda and Pest.

Weather not withstanding, we were promised a cruise up and down the river after dinner to see the lights of Budapest. It was not as Disneyesqe as I imagined, but pretty nevertheless.

May 15 - Bratislava, Slovakia

The long name for this nation is Slovak Republic. In 1918 the Slovaks joined the closely related Czechs to form Czechoslovakia. Following WWII, Czechoslovakia became a communist nation with the Soviet-ruled Eastern Europe. Soviet influence collapsed in 1989 and Czechoslovakia once more became free. The Slovaks and the Czechs agreed to separate peacefully on January 1, 1993. Bratislava is the capital. The old town was just steps away from the ship and is nearly all a pedestrian zone. This was not my favorite tour and the city seemed to be not as wealthy as other places we visited.

We walked by several embassies and couldn't help but note that the only one fenced in was the U.S. Embassy. It's a terrible burden to be so great and powerful!

May 14 - Vienna

It was almost a complete washout. Much of our morning tour was in the bus, but as you can see, we did venture out a bit. Towards noon the rain did taper off. We didn't appreciate, therefore, the beauty this famous city. Postcards will have to supplement my photography.

What we would call a "farmers' market" was overwhelming. The produce was plentiful and beautiful to look at. The strawberries were so perfect that they looked fake, but they weren't.

Since were in Vienna for 24 hours, we had a chance to attend a concert of the Vienna Residenz Orchestra -- all wonderfully Mozart, of course. We had to get over our chuckles, however, when the musicians walked on stage all dressed in 18th century costumes. They weren't joking, they just "worship" Mozart that much!

Along the way!

Passing a "Sister Ship", the Amadante, was a big deal -- especially for our crew.

The scenery was beautiful. Think of what it would be like had the sun been shining!

May 13 - Melk & Durnstein

Now we're in Austria. Melk is known for the Stift Melk (Melk Abbey) - a beautiful Benedictine monastery. For over 900 years monks have lived and worked there. They are active in the parishes, the school (750 pupils), the economy, culture, and tourism. The day we toured was Ascension Day. A Mass was being celebrated while we were there so we weren't allowed to take pictures, but I know how to be very discreet with my Canon! :-)

Durnstein has one of the finest Baroque towers in Austria, a prominent landmark of the Danube Valley.

May 12 - Passau

Passau is the last town we visited in Germany. It has a population o f50,000 and is also in Bavaria at the confluence of three rivers: the Danube, the Inn , and the Ilz. St. Stephen's cathedral dominates the skyline and is just one of 52 churches in town. I learned that baroque cathedrals never had stained glass windows so there would be enough light to illumine the paintings -- the primary way to teach the Biblical story to an illiterate people. Do you think my sermons would have been better had I used this pulpit? The door of Jesus knocking was at a house (I think) along the tiny street pictured above it.

May 11 - Regensburg

Regensburg is a city of 150,000 in Bavaria, located on the Danube River. Much of the charm of this city lies in the fact that unlike most German cities, it was spared destruction by the bombs of WWII. The stone bridge was built during the Middle Ages and except for some minor refurbishing over the years, remains as it was built. Right in the heart of things is the oldest sausage kitchen in all of Germany. We ate our lunch here and it was delicious. Bill even learned to like sauerkraut and he loved the sweet mustard for the sausages. Later during an afternoon stroll, we bough ice cream cones -- not very large, but not very expensive, either -- only 1 Euro each.

Regensburg was once home to Oskar Schindler ("Shindler's List") and Pope Benedict CVI claims it as his home, though he wasn't born there. BMW has a factory nearby which is a major employer.

Inside the beautiful cathedral is a statue called "The Laughing Angel." Why laughing? Overjoyed by the birth in Bethlehem. It would complement the picture of the smiling Jesus I once had. The art world could do with more smiling angels and Jesus! My world could also do with an easier way to publish photos to this blog. I'm a bit exhausted trying to get these pictures in the right order: the people eating at the bratwurst kitchen should be between the women cooking and the smiling angel. Oh well!

May 10 - Nuremberg

Another cold and dreary day. We'll have to remember how we felt about this weather when we're sweltering in the heat come July and August.

Today we stopped at Nuremberg, the 2nd largest city in the German state of Bavaria, population of 500,000. Most of the city was destroyed during WWII (in 90 minutes). It was also Hitler's base of operations prior to and during the war and afterwards, it became famous for the Nuremberg Trials.

We toured the medieval section which dates from the 11th century. The city walls were compleged in 1452 with 126 towers. Albrecht Durer, one of the great figures in the history of German art (who has not seen the painting of "Praying Hands"), lived and worked here.

Very interesting. Bought some ginger bread (not the kind we're used to) and sat down to have a piece after we got a carmel machiato at Starbucks. We didn't do MacDonald's or Burger King, however, which were available.

The cruising was on the Main Danube Canal where we crossed the continental divide (everyone was given a certificate -- like crossing the Arctic Circle) and also went through 3 huge locks -- 80 feet or so. Really interesting to watch, though Lucy said that the locks are a "guy thing."

Mother's Day, May 9 - Bamberg

Our trip was not without its education moments. This morning we had an interesting lecture by a university prof of history on German reunification, including a review of events that let up to Germany's partition. Then there is a German tradition (or so we're told) that after church, the women would go home to prepare dinner and the men would go to the pub for a beer and sausage. SO since we couldn't go to church, we had beer and bratwurst at 10:30 this morning -- first, and probably the last time, we'll have such food at that hour. The tradition is called "fruehschoppen".

Bamberg is a pretty town of about 70,000, located at the beginning of the "Main-Danube Canal." It has so many historical buildings that it was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Sight in 1983. It is also known for having nine breweries in town and 81 others in the surrounding region that produce over 20 different types of beers -- including a smokey flavored bear with an aftertaste of bacon. Even though we had a free coupon, Lucy and I did not try! The best part of the day -- the sun came out and I had to take off my jacket because I was getting hot. Another pretty city and another big cathedral. As one of our Canadian shipmates puts it -- is's the ABC tour -- Another Bloody Cathedral!

Note in the picture an interesting way that these river boats sometimes dock -- two, and sometimes three, abreast. At one point we had to go through two other ships to get to land. The rivers have more of our kind of river boats than we could count as well as other commercial traffic.

May 8 - Wurzburg

Today we toured Wurzburg, another neat city with lots of colorful shops and crowds of people shopping. Our cities are quite boring in comparison. The big tour this AM was the palace of the "prince-bishop". The PB was a creation in the 13th century by Friedrich II. This made the bishop not only the religious ruler but also the secular ruler as well. Not very Presbyterian! When you see the opulence of the palace, you understand that the PB thought he was next to God, if not God herself! Unfortunately we were not allowed to take pictures inside the palace. We took buses to the palace, but then Lucy and I walked back to the ship via the town center. A lover of Dollar Stores back home, Lucy was amused to find a Euro Store!

May 7 - Miltenberg & Wertheim

This day started out with a glass blowing demo on board ship by a master glass blower. He is as much of a showman as a salesman. His shop located in Wertheim -- a town with many preserved 16th century buildings. Neat place. First of all we stopped at Freudenberg for those of us who would take a bus and get to the town before the ship, as well as allow for two people to ride a bike (about 24 miles). The boat was about an hour late getting to Wertheim, so with a bunch of people waiting in the cold, the cruise director took all of us (about 100) to a local hotel and bought everyone a drink while we waited. Cruise directors stop at nothing to keep the people happy! When the ship finally arrived, we had a raptor demonstration in the lounge. The people who brought the birds were also waiting and just before we got on ship, they arranged for a hawk to land on Lucy's arm. Of course she loved it. Then there was the demo inside and I took lots of pictures. Why that was part of the program is anyone's guess, but it was very interesting and it just might be a high point for our animal loving Lucy.