Budapest to Dusseldorf to Newark to Pittsburgh

Mon., Nov. 16 (Day 15) - Even though our day today consisted of traveling home, Viking still considers it Day 15 (of a 15 day cruise) - just as Day 1 consisted of leaving port at 11:30 p.m. So Day 15 was not too exciting. We had to meet in the lobby of the hotel to take a 6:30 a.m. shuttle to the airport. The shuttles began running at 3:30 for people who had 6:00 flights, and they ran almost every hour. The Viking people met in the lobby with each departing group, and were there to make sure we all had our luggage, and to say goodbye. They really are wonderful people and were with us to the end. Even when we arrived at the Budapest airport, there was another Viking representative to take us to where we needed to go in the airport. The flight from Budapest to Dusseldorf was about 2 hours, and then we had a 4 hour layover in Dusseldorf. We were traveling with another couple from the cruise from Budapest to Newark, who were then heading to Cleveland from there. So we had an enjoyable time with them, and passed the four hour layover by having some lunch and visiting with them. We then boarded the flight from Dusseldorf to Newark. The flight took 8 1/2 hours and was very comfortable. Joe and I both had aisle seats, and the two seats next to me were empty, so I had room to spread out. Lufthansa was a very good airline for a long flight, and seemed to serve quite a bit of food, snacks, drinks, etc. When we arrived in Newark, we went through the grueling process of customs, and having to go through security again, and on to our gate. Our flight from Newark to Pittsburgh seemed very quick after the 8 1/2 hour trip. We were glad to arrive home safely around 11:00 p.m. - a long day of travel, and with the time difference, having been awake for about 24 hours. Thank you for sharing our journey with us, and we hope that one day you may be able to enjoy a Viking River Cruise, if you haven't already. We highly recommend it!

Budapest

Sun., Nov. 15 (Day 14) - On Sunday, we had to "check out" of the Viking ship Embla, since the water levels in the Danube were too low for us to travel by river to Budapest (they pronounce it Budapesht). So we boarded buses for the 3 1/2 hour drive from Vienna to Budapest. We had a taste of how fortunate we've been with the weather when we stepped off the ship. For all of our trip to date, the weather has been around 63 or 64 with total sunshine, absolutely beautiful. That is very rare for here this time of year. Our Program Director kept commenting on how fortunate we've been with the weather. Today it is around 50 and raining - more typical, and what we could have had the whole trip. So we were blessed with good weather. As we traveled by bus to Budapest, we crossed from Austria into Hungary at the border of what used to be a communist country. Our tour guide told us that when Hungary was a communist country, it would take 2 or 3 hours to cross the border. Today we just drove across without even having to stop. As we entered the outskirts of Budapest, the tour guide pointed out things as we passed. She pointed out a mall, and said that it would be closed today since it is Sunday. It is by Hungarian law that businesses have to close on Sunday, unless the owner chooses to open and to be there himself. But he cannot make his workers show up. She said it presents a difficulty because people are unable to get to the malls on work days, therefore the malls are extremely crowded on Saturdays. We drove to a Hungarian restaurant in the heart of Budapest where we had a Hungarian lunch. This consisted of meat soup (yes, they actually called it meat soup), which was kind of a beef broth with a few starchy things of some sort in it. Not bad. The main course was Hungarian Goulash, which is actually a beef stew. Opinions were mixed on the beef stew; I liked it a lot. The side dishes were some sort of pasta-potato type of thing (unidentifiable), and something that seemed like in between cole slaw and sauerkraut, neither of which was very good. The dessert was the best part of the meal, a warm cherry strudel - very good. After lunch, we re-boarded the buses and were taken to the Castle District in the Buda side of the city. The Danube River runs right through Budapest, and Buda sits on one side of the river, while Pest is on the other bank. At one time, they were two different cities. Then they merged and are now the one city of Budapest. The Buda side is hilly, while Pest is flatter. Pest is larger than Buda. And Buda is more residential while Pest is more commercial and also contains the government buildings. The Castle District contains some shops, cafes, restaurants, and at the top of the hill is St. Matthias Church, where many coronations have taken place. There is a nice vantage point across from the church where you can see the river, the many beautiful bridges, and the Pest side of town, a fantastic view. After a short guided tour through this area, we had some free time, and then met the bus to continue a bus tour of the rest of the city. On this tour, we drove down Andrassy Ut (Street) which is called the Champs Elysee of Budapest. We passed by the Budapest Opera House, Hero Square where there are a lot of statues of historical heroes of the city, the zoo, the city park, a Jewish synagogue which is the second largest Jewish synagogue in the world, the absolutely beautiful Parliament Building, some museums, and the famous spas. Budapest is called the "City of Spas" and has more thermal water springs than any other capital city in the world. After our tour of the city, we were dropped off at our destination for this evening, the Intercontinental Hotel, located on the Danube River. We all gathered together in the dining room for a buffet supper. After supper, the Viking people, in an effort of good will since our planned cruise into Budapest could not take place, offered to take us all on a boat tour of the city. This gave us an opportunity to see the city from the vantage of the river at night, with all the buildings lit up, as well as the bridges, the most famous of which is the Chain Bridge, because when it is lit up, it looks like there are chains across it. After the boat ride, we said our good-byes to the new friends that we made, since we were all going our separate ways early the next morning.

Bratislava

Sat., Nov. 14 (Day 13) - We boarded a bus this morning and traveled across the Austrian border into the country of Slovakia to visit Bratislava. The border crossing was not even noticeable. If you weren't aware that it was the border, you wouldn't have known you were going into another country. Our guide told us that this is now a "passport free zone", much different than when Slovakia was under communist rule. What used to be the country of Czechoslovakia is now two countries: The Czech Republic and Slovakia. The backdrop of Slovakia is the Little Carpathian mountains. There is a huge Kia plant here. We were told that they wanted to have a large plant here because the word Kia is contained within the country name of Slovakia. We began our tour of Bratislava with a walking tour of Old Town. We saw portions of what used to be the city wall back when these were all walled cities. The city had four gates, one of which is still standing - the St. Michael gate. We went into St. Martin Cathedral, yet another beautiful European Cathedral. We walked down narrow streets, passed by shops and cafes, and heard about all the local history and culture. After the guided tour, we had some free time. We went into a local coffee shop and had some hot chocolate. It was the best hot chocolate we've ever had - very rich. It tasted like you were drinking a Hershey bar. After this, we took the bus back to Vienna, and were back on the ship in time for lunch. A very enjoyable morning.

Mozart and Strauss in Vienna

Day 12 (cont.) - Here is Joe's take on the concert he attended in Vienna. He said it was fantastic, such accomplished musicians, intimate setting. It was an eleven piece chamber orchestra. The lead violinist played with an instrument that was made before Mozart was born. It was a two part concert with Mozart music first, and then Strauss music after a short intermission. They got an introduction to opera and ballet, with arias and duets, dancing on the stage by two performers. Perfect acoustics. Totally worth it!

Schonbrunn Palace

Day 12 (cont.) - After lunch, we took a bus to Schonbrunn Palace, which is located on the west side of Vienna. Schonbrunn Palace was the imperial summer residence of Empress Maria Theresa. It was originally built as a hunting lodge. Over the years, they kept expanding it until it became a huge palace. The story goes that each time Maria Theresa had a child, they added on rooms. Each child had nannies and other people to help with their care, so each child necessitated a few rooms. Maria Theresa ended up having 16 children, so many rooms were added. The rooms are all beautiful, with frescoes on the ceilings, beautiful chandeliers, mirrored walls, etc.  After touring inside the palace, we walked around on the beautiful grounds outdoors. Then we boarded the bus to return to the ship. On the way to the palace, we had passed by the Imperial Hotel, where apparently some important meetings are going to take place tomorrow. There were many television cameras set up outside the hotel, and we were told they were awaiting the arrival of John Kerry, among others. In the evening, after dinner, a bus took whoever was interested to see a concert at the Vienna Opera House. Joe went to see it while I stayed on the ship.

Vienna

Fri., Nov. 13 (Day 12) - If it's Friday, this must be Vienna. What a city! We started out this morning by doing a walking tour of Vienna. There were only 5 people in our group, and we had a local guide. Austria does not have its own language; they speak German here. At the start of our tour, we took the local subway. When we arrived at our stop, but before leaving the subway station, we made a bathroom stop. Now most public bathrooms in Germany and Austria have a charge of 50 cents. But at this particular bathroom the charge was 70 cents. It was probably more expensive because there was concert music in the bathroom. Only in Vienna! Our guided tour of Vienna started at the opera house. We walked the streets of Vienna, while our guide told us all about the history and customs of Austria. We saw the palaces where the Habsburgs lived when they ruled Austria. We saw the church where the Vienna Boys Choir began in the middle ages. We passed by the stables of the famous Lipizzaner Stallions. We stopped to take pictures of the horses in the stables, and then just by pure chance, the horses from the morning show happened to be returning to the stables, and they passed right next to us, so we got to see them up close. We passed by many churches, most of them Catholic. Our tour guide told us that Vienna is overwhelmingly Catholic. She said that in times past, the Catholic rulers of Austria were tolerant and allowed Protestant churches to exist, but there was a rule that they couldn't look like a church. So the Protestant churches look like regular houses. This is such a contrast to Germany, where the Protestants took over the Catholic churches and as a result, all the Christian churches look alike. Our walking tour of Vienna ended at the cathedral, St. Stephens. Another beautiful cathedral, but in my opinion, the least impressive of any we've seen. After walking around the cathedral, we took the subway back to the ship for lunch.

Change of Plans

Day 11 (cont.) - Tonight we received the news that the water level in the Danube is so low that we will not be able to sail past Vienna. Nevertheless they have a plan in place. Tomorrow we will sail to Vienna and remain docked there. As planned, we will see Vienna tomorrow. The next day, when we were supposed to sail to Bratislava, we will instead bus to Bratislava (about 1 hour by bus). We will do our regularly planned tour there and return to the ship in Vienna for lunch. We will then have the afternoon to continue seeing the sights of Vienna. Then, on Sunday, we will pack up, drive to our final destination - Budapest (about a 3 1/2 hour drive) - and then stay in a hotel in Budapest Sunday night before heading to the airport on Monday. Of course, the hotel and all meals are still on Viking.

Wachau Valley

Day 11 (cont.) - After lunch we continued cruising on the Danube River. This part of the Danube River is called the Wachau Valley and it is the most beautiful part of the Danube River. Here the Danube flows through a narrow river gorge. There are many colorful, steep, terraced vineyards on the hillsides, along with castle ruins and monasteries. The Wachau Valley is about 20 miles long and has its own micro-climate. It is warmer than the surrounding area. The history of the area goes back to Roman times. In the 800's, Charlemagne donated vineyards to the monasteries. The Danube River was Europe's major commercial highway from the 800's to the end of the crusades. Today the Wachau Valley is known for tourism and wine. Late in the afternoon we docked at the town of Krems. We were only there for a couple of hours, just long enough to take a quick walk into town and stroll through the streets of "Old Town".

Got Melk?

Thurs., Nov. 12 (Day 11) - A few lingering thoughts about the Cathedral we saw yesterday in Passau, St. Stephens. I forgot to mention that this cathedral has the largest pipe organ in the world. Also, we thought that of all the cathedrals we've seen, this one was the most beautiful. The cathedral in Cologne was the largest and most imposing, and was definitely the most impressive one on the outside. But St. Stephens Cathedral was, in our opinion, the most beautiful inside. We are now cruising on the Danube River. The Danube is very wide. Joe said, "Now THIS is a river." You can see how low the water levels are by looking at the rocks on the bank. It is obvious where previous water levels were. This morning we arrived in the small Austrian town of Melk. The big attraction here is a huge Benedictine Abbey way up on the hillside. A bus took us up the hill to the abbey, where we were led on a guided tour. In this location, a palace was built about 1200 years ago. About 300 or so years ago, the palace burned down and, at the invitation of the Dukes,  the Benedictines built this beautiful abbey. It is still an active abbey today, with 30 monks living here. There is also a junior and a senior high school on the grounds. The abbey is built in the Baroque style. Inside the abbey we went through a series of rooms which had different colors. The first room had a beautiful blue hue, the explanation being that blue is a spiritual color. The next room was green, then red, etc. At the end, you could look back through the doorway and see through all of the different rooms and colors. It was beautiful. The blue room contained the rule of St. Benedict. One of the rooms contained a small gold cross, and in the center of the cross was a sliver of the cross of Christ encased in glass. The abbey had a library that had a collection of 85,000 books, all leather bound. There were books on medicine, the law, philosophy, theology, among others. The bookshelves were from floor to ceiling (very tall ceilings). There was a balcony at one point in the tour where we had a view that overlooked the city of Melk and the Danube River. After our tour ended, we had the option of taking the bus back down to the ship, or walking back through the town of Melk. We decided to walk and went into some of the shops in town. Melk is a beautiful town. We stopped at a highly recommended chocolate shop. The specialty was chocolate with apricots -apricots are plentiful in this area. We sampled some of the chocolates, bought a couple of candy bars and then headed back to the ship.

Passau

Wed., Nov. 11 (Day 10) - Today we packed up our bags so the Viking people can move them to our new ship, which we will embark at Passau, after our excursion there. We took a bus from Regensburg to Passau. It was a great opportunity to see some of the German countryside away from the river. We took the autobahn part of the way. There is no speed limit on the autobahn. As we headed out, our guide told us that the building and completion of the autobahn in Germany was made possible by Hitler. She went on to say that although Hitler did some very bad things, he also did some good things for the people of Germany. Wow. Oh, my. I can't even express what I feel about that statement. Moving on - as we rode along, we really enjoyed the German countryside, which consisted of Bavarian Forest, small villages, and farmlands. Along the way we crossed the Danube River and saw how the low water levels precluded us from getting through by ship. Many sand bars, which are usually submerged, were clearly visible. Before long, we arrived at Passau. We've seen many picturesque, medieval, Bavarian towns on this trip: Miltenberg, Rothenberg, Wurzburg, Nuremberg, Regensburg, and now Passau. I think Passau is my favorite. Passau is very colorful; all the houses are painted different colors. We feel especially connected to Passau because Passau is the city of three rivers. It reminds us a lot of Pittsburgh. The three rivers here are the Danube, the Inn, and the Ilz. They come together at a point (sound familiar?). The rivers are different colors because of different temperatures and particulate matter. The Danube is brown because it runs along agricultural and farming areas. The Inn is green because its headwaters originate in the Swiss Alps and it therefore contains a lot of snow melt. The Ilz is black because it runs through forest and marshland. We took a walking tour when we arrived in Passau, led by a local guide. Passau is located on the German Austria border. The guide told us that because of this location, there is a refugee issue, but said nothing more about that, informing us that he is not allowed to talk about the refugees. In Passau, as in all these German towns, you can buy the traditional lederhosen and dirndls (but who would want to?). High schools here are called gymnasiums. The highlight of the tour, as in all these towns, was the beautiful cathedral. The cathedral in Passau is called St. Stephens. It was re-built in the 1600's after a fire destroyed the original cathedral. It was built on the highest ground in town, as were all cathedrals, because they wanted it to be as close to God as possible. Passau was the largest diocese in the Holy Roman empire, so they built a fortress up on the hillside to serve as the bishop's residence. This magnificent castle on the hill is beautiful and overlooks the town of Passau. Today the building is a museum, while the official bishop's residence is now located next to the church. The current bishop of Passau, Bishop Stephens, is the youngest bishop in Germany. And he chooses to live in a simple apartment rather than the elaborate bishop's residence. There is a church tax in Germany. The German equivalent of the IRS withholds the tax from paychecks, and then gives the money to the churches. Our tour ended at a local German restaurant where our group had lunch. The menu consisted of semolina soup (yes, it was just as it sounds: broth that contained a glob of cream of wheat), broccoli, some kind of meat - probably pork, and some other unidentifiable side dish. It was actually all pretty good. And the dessert was probably the best of any yet, vanilla ice cream sitting atop some kind of cherry concoction - absolutely delicious! After lunch, we had free time, so we walked around awhile among the shops, and then took a cab up to the fortress on the hillside where we saw fantastic panoramic views of the city of Passau. We then went to our new ship, the Viking Embla, where we unpacked and settled into our new room. The new ship is much like the old one. We have the same room number and in the same location. Our room has, as our prior one did, a floor-to-ceiling glass sliding door. There is a railing but no balcony. It provides beautiful views of the river from our stateroom. Our ship sets sail at 6:00 tonight, and tomorrow we'll be in Austria.

Regensburg

Tues., Nov. 10 (Day 9) - Today we sailed in the morning and at 2:00 p.m., got off the ship for a walking tour through the German city of Regensburg. There is a bridge across the Danube River here called the Old Stone bridge. It was built in the 12th century. There is a restaurant next to it called the Sausage Kitchen which was originally built in the 12th century to provide food for the workers that were building the bridge. It has been in continuous operation ever since. There are towers still standing in Regensburg that were built by the Romans in the first century. There is so much history in these European towns. As has been the case in most of the towns we've visited, the most beautiful building we visited was the Cathedral. There were beautiful stained glass windows, paintings, etc. We also saw where Oskar Schindler (from Schindler's List) lived. He spent a few years in an apartment in Regensburg. After the guided tour, we had a few hours to wander around on our own, through the many and various shops in town, before heading back to the ship for dinner. We are now on the third of our three rivers, the Danube.

Bavaria, Embla, and Lufthansa

Today (Monday) there was a lecture in the lounge about Bavaria. In Germany, there are 16 states, the largest and most well known of which is Bavaria. The largest part of Bavaria is Franconia. Beer is very popular here, and there are more breweries here than anywhere else in the world. After the war, Germany was divided up and different countries were given charge of different parts. The United States was given charge of Bavaria. The area covered by Bavaria is quite large. We've been in Bavaria since Miltenberg, and will be in it until Passau, located at the border of Germany and Austria. Nuremberg is also in Bavaria. We learned a little bit more about Nuremberg at this lecture. For example, the Nuremberg Trials represent the first time the leaders of a country were tried and judged by leaders of other countries. The countries included U.S., U. K., Russia, and France. This led to the establishment of the International Court of Justice. The international headquarters of BMW is located in Bavaria; BMW stands for Bavarian Motor Works. Their blue and white logo comes from their official flag, which is blue and white. On another note, we were given official notice today that we will definitely be changing ships. The water level between Regensburg and Passau is simply too low for ships to get through. In fact, a barge tried to go through yesterday and now is stuck, blocking other river traffic from getting through. Tomorrow morning we have to place our luggage in the hallway. Then we will be boarding busses for a one hour fifteen minute drive to Passau. Our luggage will be taken directly to the new ship, the Viking Embla. When we arrive in Passau, we will proceed with our regularly planned tour, and then will be taken to the new ship to resume life as normal - or perhaps I should say to resume vacation as normal. This is certainly not normal life. They are trying to make it as seamless and painless as possible. They did tell us that because it has been such a dry summer, they have had to do this with 80% of their ships this season. Well at least they have experience doing this sort of thing. Oh, and they gave us one more bit of news. Lufthansa, the airline company we are booked to fly home on, is on strike. The strike is supposed to end on Friday, but the Viking people are skeptical about that actually happening. Stay tuned - things are getting interesting.

Nuremberg

Mon., Nov. 9 (Day 8) - Today we docked at the German town of Nuremberg. We disembarked and took a bus tour of the city. Nuremberg was the geographic center of the German Third Reich. It was a place of many gatherings and meetings, and there were many public rallies that took place here. These rallies drew as many as a million people in a city of 400,000, and sometimes the rallies lasted for a week. Because of the city's prominence, it was heavily bombed during the war, and a lot of the original city was destroyed. Much of what we saw today has been re-built since then. There were 2 options for the tours: a deep in history tour, where you actually got off the bus and went inside the World War 2 historical places, and a drive-by tour, where you drove by the historical sites, but didn't get off the bus. We did the drive-by tour. Some of the"sightseeing" in German towns is very somber, because the sights are places that were very much at the forefront of Nazism. In Nuremberg, we drove by the offices where the SS Nazis were stationed, and Zeppelin Field that was built as a place for Hitler to give speeches. We also drove by the Palace of Justice, where the Nuremberg Trials (where the Nazi leaders were tried) were held. We were told that there is a trial going on there this week; a man is on trial for denying the holocaust, which is a crime in Germany today. We drove by a Jewish cemetery which is the only Jewish cemetery in Nuremberg that hadn't been destroyed during the war. We also drove by a Christian cemetery, which is the most photographed cemetery in Germany. It was beautiful, with lots of flowers on the graves. It almost looked like a park. We were told that in Germany, people don't purchase plots for graves, they merely rent them for 20 or 30 years, at which time the bones are then removed and emptied into a mass grave in order to make room for "a new tenant". We did get off the bus to walk around the grounds of the Imperial Palace. This would have been the palace where the emperor of the German Empire stayed when he was visiting his subjects. From the palace, we walked to Old Town, the heart of historic Nuremberg. Along the way, we passed a few churches. There is one Catholic church in Nuremberg and a few Protestant churches. However, the churches all look alike. This is because they were all built in the twelfth century, or earlier, which means they were built by Catholics. When the Protestant reformation occurred, the protestants did not build their own churches; they just took over the Catholic ones. As a result, the Protestant churches look like Catholic churches with stained glass windows, statues, relics of saints inside, and possessing saints' names. Therefore it is practically impossible to tell whether a church is a Catholic or Protestant church merely by its name or by looking at it. The only way to tell if it is a Catholic church is to go inside and see if the red light is burning above the tabernacle. If you see that, then you know it's a Catholic church. After our walking tour ended, we had some free time, and walked around town. We found some craft shops, where we wandered around awhile, and eventually headed back to the bus to return to the ship.

Bamberg - Not

Sun., Nov. 8 (Day 7) - Today's schedule called for a walking tour of the city of Bamberg. The ship actually dropped the passengers off in Hassfurt and then traveled upriver to Bamberg, while the passengers took a bus from Hassfurt to Bamberg, did a guided walking tour of Bamberg, and then had some free time until the ship caught up to them at Bamberg. Since it was Sunday, most of the shops in Bamberg would be closed. Joe and I decided to stay onboard the ship today and enjoy a nice relaxing day cruising the Main-Danube Canal. It was definitely a good decision. We spent some time out on the deck at the bow of the ship watching as we maneuvered our way through some more locks. Then we sat in the lounge awhile, reading, snacking, and enjoying the flow of the river. Since a lot of people got off the ship for the Bamberg excursion, it was not very crowded. It was good to take the opportunity to just rest, relax, and enjoy our vacation. In the evening, after we finished eating our main course, the ship's staff brought a chocolate cake to our table and sang happy birthday to me. Our tablemates were so glad they were sitting at our table, since we all got to eat chocolate cake for dessert. A very good way to end the day.

Miscellaneous Cruise Information

We have left the River Rhine and are now traveling on the River Main. With their European accents here, they pronounce it "Mine". We actually have been on the River Main since before Miltenberg. When we were on the Middle Rhine, we passed many castles and also went by Lorelei, the legendary rock formation where many ships sunk. From the River Main, we will go through the Main-Danube Canal, which connects the Rivers Main and Danube. This canal allows continuous water passage all the way from the North Sea to the Black Sea. The Main-Danube Canal is considered to be an engineering marvel. It was actually begun in 793 by Charlemagne. It wasn't completed until 1992. It has 16 locks along the way, which raises the water level, we are told, to 1,332 feet. All together, we will pass through more than 66 locks. This slows us down, as the ship has to go very slowly through the locks. You can always tell when we're going through a lock, because since the passageway is so narrow, the ship always hits the concrete walls alongside and then rocks a little from side to side. We love the location of our stateroom on the ship. We are very close to the reception area, about 3 or 4 doors down, so we don't have to walk down the long hallway to get to and from our room. It takes us about 10 seconds to get from our room to a table in the dining room - considering how much we've been eating, that may or may not be a good thing. The lounge is also close, just up a flight of stairs, as it is located just above the dining room. Since this cruise is much smaller than ocean cruises, there is only one dining time. It is open seating, so we typically sit with different people each meal, although sometimes we repeat and sit with people we've previously sat with. It is a great way to meet people; in fact, most of the people we've met has been during meal times. We have a favorite waiter, Krasimir, and so we usually try to sit in the area where he serves. He has gotten to know us and our preferences, so as soon as we show up, he's already going to get our drinks. The staff here is great and they are all very friendly. Whenever we return to the ship from an excursion, it is not uncommon for them to greet us at the door with a treat. One time it was cranberry juice with lime (very refreshing), another time it was hot chocolate. A very nice touch. There is a television in the staterooms, but the viewing options are limited. There is a news channel (CNN), TNT, one US sports station, and all the Downton Abbey you could want (makes sense considering Viking is a Downton Abbey sponsor). But the most interesting viewing options have to do with our travels. There are a limited number of movies, but they all relate to our trip - "The Diary of Anne Frank", "Monument Men", "Amadeus", "The Sound of Music", and a few others. There are also some relevant documentaries. Also, you can see a view from the bow of the ship, see a map of our journey and where we happen to be at any particular time, or check the weather in any of the next week's locations. All good stuff. There are lots of guided tours on our excursions. They all have local guides. They divide us up into 4, or sometimes even 5 or 6 groups. We are provided with audio devices and ear phones, so the guides can be clearly heard by everyone in the group. It is a very good system. The currency in most of the countries we are traveling through is the euro (except for Hungary). The way the amount is shown is €2,24 for example, which would be like $2.24. Interesting that they use a comma instead of a period in the price. The German countryside is beautiful, and it is so serene and peaceful sailing along. The foliage is in full Fall colors, gold and yellow and red, much like Western Pennsylvania. There are people from parts of the U.S. who obviously don't live in places where you get these beautiful colors, and they are raving about how beautiful it all is. We just say "Yeah, we get this in our backyard." The German language tends to be guttural, and almost sounds like people arguing rather than conversational. Mark Twain once said that "German is not a language, it's an atrocity". (Sarah, there's something you can share with the students in your German class.)

Rothenburg ob der Tauber

Sat., Nov. 7 (Day 6) - Today we took a bus ride for about an hour and 15 minutes to a small German village. Along the way we saw some of the German countryside. We saw lots of wind turbines and fields of sugar beets. We were told that something like 85 or 90% of the sugar beets is used by Coca-Cola. When we arrived at Rothenburg ob der Tauber, we were led on a walking tour of the town. Rothenburg ob der Tauber means red fortress on the Tauber (which is a stream). The town is a walled city and as such has a very high stone wall completely surrounding the city. There are openings high up on the walls for the sentry lookouts and there are gates for entering the city. Our walking tour began at city hall, which in German is called Rathaus. In the thick German accent, this is pronounced racht haus, but we were told that if you don't like the politicians in office, then you pronounce it rat house. There are lots of souvenir shops in Rothenburg as well as year round Christmas stores. You can also buy a local treat here called a schnobolleen (not sure of the spelling), in English, pronounced snow ball. Now this is not anything like a snowball you might get in Louisiana, nor the snowcones of Pennsylvania. A Rothenburg snowball is a large round (softball size) pastry that has different types of fillings and is coated with chocolate or other flavors. They look delicious, but according to our tour guide, they are very dry and are the most discarded souvenir in Germany. Along the way on our walking tour, we stopped for a pre-arranged lunch at a local restaurant. The menu consisted of local foods: potato soup, bratwurst, sauerkraut, mashed potatoes, and apple strudel with vanilla sauce. These are not exactly my favorite foods, and I was hoping not to leave there still starving. I'm not crazy about bratwurst and I have always hated sauerkraut. But after their description of the sauerkraut, I decided to at least try it. Here is my assessment of the food: the potato soup was delicious, the bratwurst was okay, the mashed potatoes were good, and the sauerkraut was - I can't believe I'm about to say this - the sauerkraut was delicious! The apple strudel was also good. Apples are served a lot in Germany. We were told that this past summer was the hottest and driest in 135 years, for as long as they've been keeping records. Most of the crops were destroyed, but the apples have done extremely well. As a result, we are being served lots of dishes made with apples. After lunch, we had some free time to walk around town on our own before returning to the bus. When we arrived back in Wurzburg (where the ship was docked) we stopped for a tour of Wurzburg Residenz, which was the home of the local bishop, who was not only the head of the diocese, but was also the duke in charge of the city politically. Back then, it was normal for church leaders to have these dual roles. The Wurzburg Residenz was a  huge, baroque palace with many beautiful, ornate rooms. The sheer size of this palace was unbelievable, and the presence of the palace on the hillside dominated the city. After the tour of the palace, we took a walk into the town center of Wurzburg, stopped to take pictures at the beautiful Cathedral, and then walked back along the river promenade to the ship.

Miltenburg

Day 5 (cont.) - Our ship didn't dock today until 2:30 p.m., so we had a lot of time onboard to relax and enjoy life on the river. At 10:00, there was a glass-blowing demonstration, which Joe attended. The guy who did the demonstration was very entertaining. He gave the history of glass-blowing in Germany. He said he uses Pyrex, which is a very pure glass, and so is not brittle. In fact, at one point, he threw a glass bottle on the floor to show that it wouldn't break - and it didn't. One of the things he makes is a bottle within a bottle, with two separate spouts. While Joe was at the glass-blowing demonstration, I was watching another passage through a lock, this time from the bow of the ship, where I had a great view of the whole procedure from the front of the ship, rather than from the side, as was the case previously from our stateroom - watching again as we sailed into the narrow passageway, waited for the water level to rise, and then sailed out the other side. Still fascinating! At 2:30, we disembarked, and began a walking tour of the city of Miltenburg. The city of Miltenburg is beautiful, and looks like a typical Bavarian town. The buildings are half-timbered Tudor style. Our tour began near the butcher shop, where we learned that in order to be a butcher in Germany, 4 years of schooling is required, followed by 9 or 10 years of apprenticeship. A pound of ground beef here costs $9. We continued our tour and along the way we sampled cherry and apple crumb cakes, chocolate, beer, and schnapps. We also toured a wine cellar. After the guided tour, we had some free time. We went inside the town church - St. Jacob's - and walked around viewing the beautiful statues, altar, and paintings. One of the things we learned on our tour is that on Sundays in Germany, all businesses are closed so people can spend time with family and/or go to church.

Frankfurt, Locks, and Football

Fri., Nov. 6 (Day 5) - Day 5 of our cruise started really early for us as we happened to wake up at 2:30 a.m. and couldn't resist the urge to look out the window. We were passing through a really big city, and eventually figured out that it was Frankfurt. Then, slightly past Frankfurt, we went through one of the many locks that we will pass through. We have had the opportunity in the past to watch ships go through locks, but have never experienced the perspective of being on the ship while going through a lock. It was awesome. We entered the narrow passage between two concrete walls, came to a stop, waited while the gate behind us closed, then watched the water level rise until we were high enough to go through the gates in front of us. As we continued sailing, we were still in the very narrow area before it opened up. We were right next to a sidewalk - it was only about five feet from our window. And then all of a sudden, out of the blue, there was this goat lying on the sidewalk. I was so surprised, and I said to Joe "Is that a goat?!!" The goat must have heard me through the glass because he picked up his head and looked at me. Well after all this early morning adventure, we were now wide awake. I was aware that since it was early Friday morning here, it was Thursday evening back home, and that meant Thursday night football. We turned on the tv and found the game, and watched part of the Bengals and Browns game, before going back to sleep. A lot of excitement already, and Day 5 hasn't even really started.

Marksburg Castle, the Middle Rhine, and Rudesheim Coffee

Thurs., Nov. 5 (Day 4) - Today we disembarked at the town of Braubach, Germany, boarded busses, and traveled a short distance up a hill to visit Marksburg Castle. The castle was impressive, but perhaps more impressive was the view of the surrounding area from the castle. The countryside of Germany is really beautiful. After our tour of the castle, we returned to the ship for lunch. In the afternoon, the weather was so gorgeous and warm enough, that for the first time this trip, we were able to go up to the sundeck. It was awesome, sitting out in the sun and watching the German countryside go by. By this time, we were now on the Middle Rhine. Along this portion of the river, there are many quaint little German towns, lots of vineyards, and some castles up on the hills. It was absolutely beautiful. Our program director, Dawn, narrated as we sailed through the Middle Rhine, giving us a history of the area and other commentary. One of the castles we passed was called Castle Mouse. So now I guess we have City Mouse, Country Mouse, and now Castle Mouse. After our lovely tour of the Middle Rhine from the sundeck, we retreated inside to watch a German coffeemaking demonstration, where they showed us how to make a local coffee called Rudesheim. The ingredients for this coffee are coffee of course, brandy, sugar, chocolate, and whipped cream. We watched them make the coffee and then each got a cup to drink. It was delicious. One person described it as coffee that both put you to sleep and woke you up at the same time.

River Levels and German Beer

A word about river levels - cruising on a river is great, but it is very dependent on water levels. This past summer, Europe experienced heat and drought conditions. Therefore the water levels are very low. So low, in fact, that we face the very real possibility of having to pack up, get on a bus, and travel to a location upriver to meet up with a different ship. There is a certain point on the river, the shallowest point, that at this time, looks like we may not be able to traverse in the ship. They are keeping a constant eye on the conditions. An optional excursion that was offered in Cologne was an opportunity to taste local beers. The excursion was to begin at 8:45 p.m. and last until 10:45 p.m. We would visit 4 local pubs, try 4 different kinds of beers, and experience the Cologne nightlife. Then the ship was set to sail at 11:00. When Joe and I were discussing the optional excursions, he was interested in the German Beer tasting. Since I neither like beer, nor usually am up until that late at night, I was not so interested, but I told Joe that if he wanted me to, I would accompany him. So that was the plan. At about 4:00 in the afternoon, they made an announcement that we would be leaving Cologne at 7 p.m. rather than 11. We immediately realized that this meant that the German Beer tasting was cancelled, to Joe's disappointment and to my delight. We learned later that the Viking people who are monitoring river levels called our ship and told them to "GET OUT NOW!" Apparently if we didn't leave Cologne by 7 p.m., there was a good chance that we would be unable to get out due to low water levels, and would be stuck there. Now Cologne is a nice place to visit, but I wouldn't want to stay here, especially with all those stray bombs still hanging around from World War 2.

Cologne, Germany

Wed., Nov. 4 (Day 3) - Today we took a short bus ride into the city of Cologne. There a local guide gave us a walking tour of the city. At one point, we passed by a place that sold, among other things, a donut-like pastry called a Berliner. We also learned about the local beer called Kolsch. Our tour guide told a story about President Clinton, when he visited Cologne, tried to say "I am a Cologner."  He was doing this because when President Kennedy had visited Berlin, he had said, "I am a Berliner". But President  Clinton messed up and said "I am a Kolsch." When President Kennedy had said "I am a Berliner", the pastry had not yet been created. But now, in retrospect, Germans get a kick out of the fact that one of our presidents is a pastry and one is a beer. We walked around the town square and our guide shared with us some of the local customs. One of them is carnival. It is very similar to Mardi Gras, but with one major difference. They start their carnival season on November 11 at 11:11 a.m. And, yes, they do continue with the carnival season until Ash Wednesday. We passed by city hall and actually saw 2 weddings taking place. We learned that the government does not recognize church weddings, so if someone wants to get married in a church, they must also have a civil wedding. It is not uncommon for people to get married at city hall and then get married in the church months or even years later. After our tour of the city, we returned to the ship for lunch, and then had free time on our own in Cologne in the afternoon. The first thing we did was to go to the Cologne Cathedral. The Cologne Cathedral is absolutely beautiful and it towers over the city. We went inside. It is huge - 515 feet tall. It took 600 years to complete. It was the only building in Cologne that was not destroyed during World War 2. That reminds me, another tidbit we learned this morning is that during the war, there were 1.5 million bombs dropped on Cologne. It was the most heavily bombed city in Germany. Not all of the bombs detonated, and they still are finding bombs in the city today. Our tour guide made a joke this morning, when showing us a building that she apparently thought was rather ugly. She said that maybe they'll find a bomb underneath it and they'll let it detonate and rid the city of the ugly building. After we visited the Cathedral, we did a little shopping. We decided it was a must that, while in Cologne, we buy - some Cologne. Now that's no coincidence - that the city shares its name with the product. Cologne - the product - was created here, and thus was named for the city from which it originated.

The Kinderdijk Windmills

Tuesday, Nov. 3 (Day 2) - Technically yesterday was day 1 of the cruise, even though we didn't leave the port until 11:30 p.m. So today is officially day 2. After breakfast, we took a short walk from the ship to the town of Kinderdijk, still in the Netherlands. Kinderdijk is known for its windmills. There are 19 windmills here. The purpose of the windmills is flood control: the windmills pump water out when the canal levels get too high, to prevent the town from flooding. They are not actually working windmills now, since flood control today is done with more advanced technology. The windmills today are used in other capacities: three of them are open to the public for tours. I bet you'd never guess what the others are used for. They are rented out. Now if you're like me, you're probably wondering what do people rent windmills for, maybe to have a party? Well, people rent the windmills to live in them, like you would rent an apartment. That's right, people actually live in windmills. And they are so popular that all 16 windmills are rented out and there is a 75 year waiting list. One of the windmills houses a family of 13. (That fact reminded me of the fairy tale about the woman in the shoe.) Now when a family rents a windmill, they are required to maintain the windmill and keep it in working condition. The person who operates the windmill is called the miller. He is required to make 60,000 revolutions of the blades per year. The blades were also used, in previous times when communication was more primitive, for the operators of the different windmills to communicate with each other. For example, one windmill would monitor weather conditions and would be in charge of letting the other ones know when they needed to start running. But they needed to know if the windmills were working. So the miller would place his blades in an upright, or t, position if his windmill was good to go. If a windmill was in need of repairs, and therefore inoperable, the blades would be placed in the shape of a cross or x. The blades could also be used to announce news. Good news, such as the birth of a child, or a birthday, was announced by placing the blades a little right of center. Bad news, such as an accident or a death, would be announced by placing the blades a little left of center. A local guide took us on a tour of a windmill. He was wearing the typical Dutch wooden shoes. He was very entertaining. Along the way, people would ask questions, and after awhile he said that we were good at anticipating things that he had planned to tell us. He said that they have an expression here for that. The expression is that "You are cutting the grass in front of my feet." Inside the windmill, there were 3 or 4 levels, with very narrow and steep stairs connecting the levels. At the top was a turntable to orient the blades. Inside the windmill, there was furniture to show us what a lived-in windmill looked like. The furnishings were complete with big screen tv. Yep, sure enough, there was a big screen tv hanging on one of the walls of the windmill. After our windmill tour, we returned to the ship to continue sailing. The rest of the day was spent on board. There were a couple of meetings, one about safety and the other to go over some details of this week's optional excursions. As we sailed sometimes they would point out things of interest. At one point, we passed a replica of Noah's ark. Apparently a local fellow had a dream that there was going to be a flood, so he built this ark to the exact dimensions of Noah's ark from the Bible. Interestingly, the ark is the exact length of our Viking longship. When the flood never happened, the builder of the ark decided to sail his vessel to London. However he wasn't allowed to do so, as it was determined that his vessel was not seaworthy. So it is now a museum.

Blogging on the River Rhine is so much fun!

In case you didn't catch it, that title is a little facetious. I'm having a lot of trouble getting logged onto the Internet with my tablet. I thought we were in a place where we couldn't get service. Then Joe, sitting 3 feet from me, said he was online. So I decided to use the ship's laptops that they have available for us. That was difficult. First, while I could connect to the internet, it was very slow. Secondly, the keyboard was different from ours. It had a lot of strange characters, obviously in other languages. And the y and the z were in opposite places. Every time I tried to type the word city, it would come out citz, and you would come out zou. The shift key was a little further over, with the < key where the shift key usually is. So instead of typing something like I, it would be <i. Even with all these problems, I still trudged through it, until I had typed a whole paragraph, accidentally hit one key - I know not which one, but it is obviously an evil key - and everything that I had typed disappeared. At that point I gave up and had decided that this would not be a blogging vacation. We thought that perhaps the problem with my tablet might be that too many people were online and that's why I couldn't get on. I had a chance to test this theory. This morning I woke up at 4 o'clock. The thought occurred to me that I could try to get online, since no one else would likely be on at that time. I tried the internet and got right on. Problem solved. Now all I have to do is work on this blog in the middle of the night. Thought you might like to know this. Also this is my excuse if things don't make sense.

Viking Lofn

The Viking Lofn, our cruise ship, holds 190 passengers and the ship for this cruise is completely full. On this trip there are 4 people from Australia, 2 people from Canada, 1 person from Spain, and 183 people from the United States. We boarded the ship at 5 p.m. The ship left Amsterdam at 11:30 p.m. As with all cruises, the food has been excellent. Some of the people we've met so far: Quentin and Anne from Hilton Head South Carolina; Gail and Bob, a surgeon, from Bradenton Florida, who we had a nice conversation with about the Pirates, who hold Spring training camp there; Carolyn and Ed from Seattle who are retired, travel around the country living in their RV, volunteering at National Parks; Paul and Diane from Minneapolis who spent many years living in Australia; and Carol from Massachusetts who is a big Patriot's fan (boo). The weather has been excellent. This time of year, the temperature is usually in the mid to upper 40's, on average, and rainy. We've been having temperatures in the low to mid 60's, and mostly sunny. The first river that we are cruising is the Rhine. People here don't call it the Rhine River; it's the River Rhine. We are cruising up the Rivers Rhine and Main, and down the River Danube. We seem to be moving at a pretty good speed - Joe estimated maybe 25 miles an hour. We are surprised that the river is not wider than what it is. There is a lot of traffic on the river - lots of barges, etc. We've seen a few ships carrying vehicles, hundreds of them amazingly fitting on a ship. There is such a peaceful feeling as we glide down the river, and we are thoroughly enjoying the serenity. Hmm, maybe we found that feeling that only a river can give - and we're just getting started!

Amsterdam Bicycle Tour

After the canal cruise, we went to our cruise ship, checked in, ate lunch, and then headed back out to Amsterdam for one last adventure before leaving for our cruise. We had arranged to take a private bike tour of Amsterdam. We met our guide, Thijs (pronounced Dice), collected our bikes, and were off to join the thousands of locals who make their way around this city on 2 wheels. Thijs took us to places that the typical tourist wouldn't explore on their own. We saw really cool neighborhoods, secret gardens, nice courtyards, and hidden churches. He showed us things and told us stories about the buildings, culture, and history of Amsterdam. The hidden churches came into existence at a time when the government of Holland forced all churches to close. Those that wished to remain open had to go into hiding, and so the people would gather together in a building behind the facade of a factory or storefront, in a back room or an attic. Thijs showed us some courtyards of apartment buildings, and pointed out the city's coat of arms that was displayed prominently throughout the city. The coat of arms consists of 3 crosses (though shaped like an x rather than a t, like St. Andrew's cross) to represent the 3 dangers that the city of Amsterdam has faced in the past. When Amsterdam was first being settled, all the buildings were made of wood. That presented a fire danger. Because of its low-lying lands, there was always danger of flood. And the plague was the third danger. So the three crosses represented the people of Holland seeking the intercession of St. Andrew for protection from these three dangers. On our bicycle tour, Thijs also took us to Vondelpark, which is the largest park in the city of Amsterdam. It is similar to Central Park in New York. We rode through the park, stopped to take a few pictures, and then returned to the bike shop. The bike tour was a great way to get a local perspective of Amsterdam.

Amsterdam Canal Cruise

After we toured the Anne Frank house, we took a canal cruise on one of the many canal boats here. The tour went up and down the canals of Amsterdam and gave us an opportunity to see many different areas of the city that would have been difficult to get to on foot. Because of the many canals that traverse the city, Amsterdam truly is a city of bridges. The canals are very narrow, and the canal boat seemed to have difficulty maneuvering at times, especially around corners and through the narrow openings under the bridges. The canal cruise was an enjoyable way to see the city.

The Anne Frank House

We were unable to purchase tickets to the Anne Frank house online ahead of time (which is the way to avoid the long lines), so we decided to get there an hour before the doors open in hopes of not being in a long line. It was a good plan as we got there about 8 o'clock, and there were only about 25 or 30 people in front of us. The hour passed quickly as we made friends with the people in front of us in line who were from Orlando. The Anne Frank house tour was very well done, very organized, and very interesting. We walked through the house, where we read short quotes from Anne's diary that were on the walls here and there, watched short videos, and saw a replica of the hidden annex and how it looked when Anne lived there. Today it is empty, as Otto Frank (Anne's father) requested that it be kept empty to reflect the somber tone. On the tour, we saw the actual bookcase that was used to hide the secret annex.

The A Train

Our hotel was called The A Train Hotel and - surprise, surprise - it had a dominant train theme. There were tracks down the hallway and train bench seats in the lobby. It was located just across the street from Central Station in the center of Amsterdam. The people were very friendly, and being in the heart of the city, it turned out to be a very convenient place to stay. After a much-needed nap, and some waffles with milk and white chocolate sauce and powdered sugar for supper, we stopped in a few souvenir shops. We were planning to take an evening canal cruise, but shortly before it gets dark here, the fog tends to roll in, and so we wouldn't have been able to see anything. Since Amsterdam is located on the water, the nights and early mornings are very foggy. The canal cruise would have to wait until tomorrow.

Rijksmuseum

After we checked into our hotel Sunday morning, we went to the Rijksmuseum. This is a famous museum in Amsterdam where there are paintings by many well-known Dutch artists, such as Rembrandt, Vermeer, and a few Van Goghs even though there is a separate Van Gogh museum. The most impressive part of the museum was the Great Hall, where the original of many famous paintings were located, including the "Dutch Masters" (the famous painting on the inside of cigar boxes), and other huge commissioned paintings. After we wandered around the museum for awhile, we found ourselves sitting more often than walking around, and realized that jetlag had caught up to us. So we decided to take a mid-day break and head back to the hotel for a much-needed nap.

The Bicycles

Amsterdam is a bicycling town. Now usually when you say that about a place, it means the residents are big on recreational bicycling. But in Amsterdam, bicycling is an enormously popular mode of transportation. There are thousands of people on the streets of Amsterdam on bikes. In the city center, where we stayed, the streets are narrow and every street has a dedicated bike lane. We were out during rush hour, and there were hundreds of people on bicycles obviously going to work, with a briefcase or laptop across their shoulder or attached to the back fender, or in a basket or crate in front. Some people had wooden carriers in front where they carried their dogs. One lady had 3 large dogs in one such container. We saw school-age children on bikes with their book bags, apparently headed to school. There was extremely heavy bike traffic everywhere. And there were tons of bicycles parked all over town. It wasn't unusual to see 20 or 30 parked in one spot and then another 20 or 30 more just down the road. In fact, there is a multi-story bike parking garage downtown where thousands of bikes were parked. When we walked the streets of Amsterdam, we never feared getting hit by a car, but many times we had to get out of the way of bicyclists. Joe even had a close encounter, where he got clipped by a bicyclist - but no damage done - to either Joe or the woman on the bike.

Waffles, Chocolate, and Pot

Another interesting thing about Amsterdam is the well-known fact that marijuana is legal here. That doesn't mean it can be openly sold. It is legal but somewhat restricted. It can only be sold in licensed establishments known as "coffee houses." So if you're looking for a cup of coffee in Amsterdam, you don't want to go into a coffee house - logical as that might seem. For coffee, you go to a cafe. A popular dessert - or snack here is waffles. In fact, there are many snack bars here that sell only waffles and crepes. These waffles are very sweet and come with a dazzling variety of toppings: fruit, milk chocolate sauce, white chocolate sauce, powdered sugar, whipped cream, ice cream, to name a few. These shops are filled with so many sweet toppings that the smell as you walk down the street is sickeningly sweet. And something has to be REALLY REALLY sweet for me to consider it to be sickeningly sweet. We also saw places that sold strawberry kabobs - chocolate covered strawberries on a stick. And there are lots of chocolate shops here. So as you walk down the streets of Amsterdam, you smell a mixture of scents - from the sickeningly sweet waffles and chocolate, to the pungent odor of marijuana. We frequently passed people on the street openly smoking marijuana. And in the souvenir shops, you can buy cannabis cookies and instead of chamomile tea, they sell Cannamint tea.

A Few Things About Amsterdam

I could write a novel about our experience in and our impression of Amsterdam. But I promise not to do that. I'll try to just capture the highlights. First, there is no language barrier here. While Dutch is the native language, English is spoken everywhere. In fact, it is mandatory in school here. The Dutch people are very likeable and very friendly. Also, they are taller than average. The average Dutch man is 6'1" and the average woman is 5'7". The city of Amsterdam, being on the coast, sits on a soft, silty surface, with sand further down. So everything - buildings, houses - are built on pilings, which are pushed into the ground until they come to rest in the sturdier sand. Also, there are laws against tall buildings, so the highest building is Westerkerk Church at 85 meters. Another interesting feature of the houses is that taxation is based on the width of the property, so the houses go up 3 or 4 floors, but are very narrow. On a canal tour, we saw the narrowest house in Amsterdam, which is only 5 feet wide. We were told it is worth $600,000. Since the houses are so narrow, which means the inside staircases are narrow also, it is impossible to get furniture to the upper floors. Therefore every house has a heavy beam protruding outward from the top, with a large hook on the end of the beam, the purpose of which is to hoist furniture up from the street and put it into the house through the windows - which are always large in order to accommodate incoming furniture.

Pittsburgh to Chicago to Amsterdam

Our flight from Pittsburgh landed in Chicago at 3 pm. Our flight to Amsterdam didn't leave Chicago until 6 pm. So we had 3 hours in Chicago. The Chicago airport has a chapel and it just so happened that they had a 4 pm Mass. So we attended Mass, grabbed a quick bite to eat, then boarded our flight to Amsterdam. The flight took 7 hours 15 minutes (1 hour less than scheduled) due to a very strong tailwind. Going through customs in Amsterdam was a breeze compared to our previous customs experience in Australia. We picked up our bags, located our driver that would take us to the hotel, and were all ready to explore the great city of Amsterdam, even though we'd been without sleep for the past 28 or so hours.

Getting Started

Well, the big day is finally here. Today we fly to Europe to begin our vacation. Shortly we'll be heading to the airport to fly from Pittsburgh to Amsterdam by way of Chicago. Yes, that's right - by way of Chicago. Now if you look at a map, you'll notice that Chicago is not exactly situated between Pittsburgh and Amsterdam. I am totally NOT in favor of flying west to go east. As a person who doesn't like to fly, I consider any extra mileage to be unwelcome. When I raised this issue with the powers that be (i.e., those who profit monetarily from making these decisions), I was informed that it wouldn't really take that much longer. The explanation involved something having to do with flying over the Arctic Circle, the curvature of the earth, and the second law of thermodynamics. Okay, maybe not that last one. But the point is that we're going to be in the air for a very long time. We are scheduled to arrive in Amsterdam at 8:15 Sunday morning. That would be 2:15 a.m. Pittsburgh time. In all of the areas of Europe that we are visiting on this trip, we will be exactly 6 hours ahead of Pittsburgh time. We will be spending Sunday night in a hotel in Amsterdam, and sightseeing around the city on Sunday and Monday. We will board the ship, the Viking Lofn (pronounced Loafin' - they seem to be lacking a vowel), sometime Monday afternoon or evening to begin our great adventure on the high seas - sorry, I got carried away - our great adventure on the three rivers. Adventure on the high seas sounds better.

Welcome!

Welcome to our Three Rivers adventure, where Joe and I will be cruising - what else? - three rivers. However, if you guessed the Allegheny, Monongahela, and Ohio Rivers, well, you'd be wrong. Understandable, since we live in Pittsburgh, but still wrong. Our adventure involves a Viking River Cruise on the Rhine, Main, and Danube Rivers in Europe. We will attempt to keep a blog again (wireless internet willing), and keep you posted on our adventures as we go in search of "a feeling that only a river can give." At least that's what they say!