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August - September 2023
River Cruise Read more
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  • TravelerEuro2023
    Day 35

    ABBA DAY!!!!!!

    September 4, 2023 in England ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    And a full day it was. Up early and off to the Borough Market. The market scene is often one of the first places we visit when we hit a city. A great way to check out the people, the vibe... and the food. The Borough did not disappoint. We got there about a half hour before it opened but we could still cruise around. It was fun watching them make the risotto, slice the cheese and cover the strawberries in chocolate. I could spend hours here... but we had to head to the ABAA VOYAGE concert by 11:30. Out to Pudding Mill Lane on the tube/underground. We grabbed a 'sip' and were ushered into the concert venue at about 12:50. The concert started at exactly 1:00 PM and ran for about 95 minutes.

    A bit about the concert. A dedicated stadium was built to host the 3000 or so visitors for 7 concerts per week. It took several years of high tech programming, recording, etc... to create the concert. Probably the most amazing 'tech' experience we've seen. The company worked with the ABBA members (averaging 75 years of age) to put together the performance. A 10 piece band is situated a bit out of site. But on the main stage are the 4 members of ABBA as they appeared in the 70's. It 100% looks like 4 live people dancing around the stage. It was impossible to tell that they were projected avatars of the 4. If you get a chance ... Google ABBA VOYAGE and watch the 1 minute clip. It was incredible.

    After a tube ride back to our hotel, we were off to Piccadilly Circus which to us, seemed like NYC Time's Square located in London. Tons of shops, bars, restaurants, buskers, a Chinatown and everything you could or maybe can't imagine. A real cool place to hang out. From there, back on the tube and off to bed. We were up at 7:30 to tube out to Heathrow for our flight home Monday afternoon.

    As for the London Metro... what an amazing system. You can now just tap your credit card when entering the system and then tap out when you leave. It is a cheap, fast and efficient way to get literally everywhere. Our trip from downtown London to Heathrow cost us $1.74CDN per person. A cab was close to $200.00CDN. We travelled all over the city for 2 days and no trip cost us more than $1.74. So neat.

    So this essentially ends another amazing trip. Thanks to Jim and Maura Lee Murray as well as Linda Juurlink/Iris Stanley (who we just ran into on the plane over) for making the river cruise part of our trip such a treat!! And of course to Colleen and Paul Kearney.... our Europe partners for the last 9 years. I think this was our 6th trip to Europe. Confident, flexible and keen travel partners. Until the next one.

    Using local guides

    We make a point of relying on the expertise of others when travelling:

    -Travel experts like Janie and Chris Lumsden have in the past (and continue to) inspire us to hunt down neat spots to visit. We’ve hit a ton of Europe so far, but one look at the map reveals so many possibilities.

    -Printed guides like Rick Steve’s are helpful to get a feel for the areas we’ll visit. One of the most exciting days of the planning experience is going on Amazon to purchase a few new guides.

    -We take advantage of Rick’s Audio Guides as well. We download some of his ‘walks/tours’ to our phones and the plug in our earbuds as we move through neighbourhoods.

    -We always believe in hiring a local city guide (or a free one) for our first full day in a city. It helps us gain a little better understanding of our neighbourhood and the city itself.

    -We really believe in hiring some of the professional guides when visiting areas like museums and galleries as it is just not worth it to venture into these places with our untrained eyes and ears. Many of these guides hold a Ph.D. in History and Art and are an endless source of amazing facts.

    Here are a few travel tips that we’ve learned over the years:

    -Don’t carry too much cash as there are bank machines everywhere… but try your best to use one attached to a valid bank.

    -When choosing accommodations, look for spots near metro, tram and bus stops as it can just make things so much easier.

    -Eat where the locals eat. Look for a place that DOES NOT have a TOURIST MENU SPECIAL. Instead find a place with NO English on the menu.    Read more

  • TravelerEuro2023
    Day 33

    Off to London

    September 2, 2023 in England ⋅ 🌙 19 °C

    A day in the life … on a river cruise. This being our first river cruise, we weren’t quite sure what to expect. We got a bit of a summary from the Cameron’s and Vangestel’s but it was still quite a bit of a mystery. So here’s what a day is like. We were usually in bed by about 11:00PM after a long day. Sleeping is quite comfortable as the boat is usually cruising to the next port so there if is nice bit of ‘white noise’ from the boat cruising through the water. Most days we were awake by 7:00-7:30 AM for some breakfast. We had the option of some self serve breakfast in our lounge (bacon, eggs, yogurt, croissants, juice, coffee, etc…). Or we could do a full sit down service meal with an extensive menu of full meals. After breakfast it was usually time to grab a coffee and go sit outside on our own patio and check out the scenery in our new port. Usually by 9:00 AM we were on the move for a tour by local guides. Some day it was a bike tour, some days walking and some days walking/bussing. The local guides were so talented as they found a way to recreate the history of every area we visited. Some days we landed back at our ship for a lunch and other days we just kept moving and found a way to eat on our own at a local restaurant. The afternoons usually consisted of another tour or some relaxation time back on the boat. We’d either sit on our patio, in our lounge area or up on the top of the ship where you could get the best view of the region. By 5:00PM we were usually ready to get spruced up for the evening. The ’sip and sail’ session took place in the lounge from 5-6PM. This was a time to meet up with friends for some local beer/wine or a special ‘drink of the day’. By 7:00 PM it was time to head to supper… usually a 2 hour affair as most suppers were 5-6 courses. By 9:00PM it was time to head to the lounge or to the top of the boat for some local entertainment. AMAWaterways did an excellent job of treating us to the wines/beers and foods of each country we visited. Phew…. now I’m guessing you’re reading why I said that we usually slept well. Our boat had 97 passengers and 47 crew members… so a pretty nice ratio. Rooms were equipped with a bed, bathroom, computer/TV system, two indoor chairs sitting in a French balcony and 2 other chairs in the outdoor balcony. The boat provided audiovox earphone systems so we could tune into our guides, an outdoor pool, small gymnasium, laundry services and a hairdresser and massage room if needed. A pretty neat experience.

    London

    We’re staying in the Southbank region of London this time. The Borough Market, Tate Museum, Piccadilly Circus and Covent Garden will be part of our focus for a couple of days.

    And… we are really looking forward to the ABBA Voyage concert. “Formed by the CGI of Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), which has appeared in the Star Wars and Marvel films, ABBA’s virtual comeback is a truly breathtaking spectacle. Conceived by the beloved Agnetha, Björn, Benny and Anni-Frid, the ABBA Voyage concert is the kind of production that they were destined to make - an immortal and immaculate presentation of themselves, giving their fans the best of everything as they are supported by some of the worlds finest modern musicians. Witness ABBA brought to life by the latest in motion capture technology, blurring the lines between the digital and physical world, making it look so real that it will feel like the stars are physically there before your very eyes. It may very well be the greatest ABBA performance that the world has ever seen”. 

    Check it out here-
    https://abbavoyage.com/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwusunBhCYA…    Read more

  • TravelerEuro2023
    Day 32

    Passau and Vilshofen

    September 1, 2023 in Germany ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    Lots of overnight rain again, but turned very nice by 10 AM. Because of high water we could not dock in Passau. We docked about 20 minutes away and took a bus into the city. Today we did a nice walking tour since our bike tour was canceled because of rain. Because Passau is surrounded by three rivers streets have to be very small and narrow because there’s just not much room to build. Fifty-two thousand of the 12000 are students.

    We saw a dedicated bike route along the Danube. You can drive the entire 600km journey from Budapest to Passau on the trail. A nice way to travel unless you are in a hurry. Our guide mentioned that she drives around 180 km/hr on the autobahn. They’ve driven as fast as 250 km/hr with no chance of a speeding ticket…. but only when they are in a hurry.

    Bus drivers have a special talent here in Europe in these small towns. Narrow road, steep hills and sharp turns make it look impossible. But they pull it off. Terrifying at times.

    After landing back at our boat for our sail to Vilshofen, we were informed that the river from Passau to Vilshofen was closed due to the high water and an inability to fit under the bridges… so back to Passau for a couple of hours before our Oktoberfest farewell celebration. Off to London vis Munich in the morning.    Read more

  • TravelerEuro2023
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    Day 31

    Linz and Cesky Krumlov

    August 31, 2023 in Austria ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    Our stop in the Czech Republic will be brief. We spent several days in Prague a few years back and hit most of the key spots (including being immersed in a hot tub of beer for a couple of hours) so for today’s visit we’re heading off of the beaten path. We’ll visit a small mountain town located just over the Czech-Austrian border. Thanks to the convenient location by the river, the area has been permanently inhabited. The area's oldest settlement goes back to about 70,000 B.C.

    It took us about 90 minutes to get there… and we had to remember our passports, just in case. Best known for the art and architecture of its historic Old Town, Ceský Krumlov also has Bohemia’s second largest castle. During the Communist era of Czechoslovakia, Krumlov fell into disrepair, but since the peaceful revolution of 1989 much of the town's former beauty has been restored. It is now a major holiday destination popular with Germans and Austrians, as well as visitors from abroad. Such a beautiful spot. I think we’ve ranked it our top 3 towns/cities alongside Cortona, Italy and San Sebastian, Spain.

    Each person submits a tax of 50 percent of their income back to the state. Average net salary is 24000 euro. I guess the bonus is that medical coverage and university tuition are both free.

    Later in the day we did a short walking tour of Linz. The city of Linz perfectly combines modern architecture with historical buildings and sights. We toured through the old city center, the old market, and and along a boulevard of way too many shopping possibilities. As we did this late in the day after our 8 hour trip to Cesky Krumlov, our visit was brief.    Read more

  • TravelerEuro2023
    Day 30

    Durnstein and Melk

    August 30, 2023 in Austria ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    After all of the rain from the night before, the river is now 2m higher. A couple of minor schedule modifications and we were off to Durnstein, a small town along the Wachau Valley. Durnstein has a population of about 85 but sees thousands of tourists every day. Their great soil and mountain areas make it a great place to grow some types of grapes. The warm day temperature combined with the cool evening produces grapes that are perfect for mostly white wines. Most vineyards are small family run ones with a capacity of maybe only 80,000 bottles per year. Most vineyards also produce apricots used to make local liqueurs. Today we managed to pull off a scheduled wine tasting and apricot liqueur tasting by noon. After a bit of cruising around, we were back on our boat for an afternoon sail through the valley on our way to Grein where we'll park for the evening.

    The castle on the hill is where Richard The Lionheart was imprisoned by Duke Leopold... and later released for a ransom of silver.
    Richard the lionheart was imprisoned here. By duke leopold. He was released for a ransom of silver.    Read more

  • TravelerEuro2023
    Day 29

    Vienna

    August 29, 2023 in Austria ⋅ 🌧 9 °C

    Hello Vienna.

    So, we’ve spent a week in Vienna on a previous trip so now it’s time to do some of the ‘other’ things we’ve missed. We started with a 3 hour bike tour at 9:00 AM just to wake up. We were a small group of 15 with 2 guides. You have to love dedicated bike lanes. They make biking around a big city a very comfortable.We took a ride along the Danube Canal and through the Vienna. Along the way, we crossed some bridges, cycled across a meadow and cruised along Vienna’s well known Ringstrasse boulevard. We checked out the domed Karlsplatz Church, the elegant State Opera House and the royal Habsburgs’ Imperial Palace. On the way back, we checked out the City Hall, the local university, and Börse Palais concert hall.

     Interestingly enough, Vienna has a population of 2 million of which 200,000 are students. There seems to be a university in every neighbourhood. And… tuition is totally free for all students!! About 17,000 students apply to Med school each year but only 1700 are accepted.

    We stopped at the Johann Strauss statue for a bit. Strauss was engaged 13 times and married 3 times. After his first wife passed away, he said he would never marry again. Six weeks later he remarried.

    A quick trip back to the boat for lunch and then back to the old section of Vienna. More museums, castles, monuments and BARS. So much fun to just walk around and take things in. When we got back around 5:30 PM (phew… long day), we were asked to meet in the lounge for some important news. We had a good idea that it might not be great news. One of the biggest issues on river cruises is when the river is too low and we can’t sail at night. Then you have to pack up and hop on a bus. But this time, the issue was a high water level, which prevents us from getting under bridges. Anyway, we know late tonight whether we continue by water or land. No-one seems very upset as we know AMA will look after us.    Read more

  • TravelerEuro2023
    1111
    Day 28

    Good morning Slovakia

    August 28, 2023 in Slovakia ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    Fell asleep in Hungary and woke up in Slovakia. Pretty cool. A pretty amazing exit from our home base in Hungary as we cruised past the parliament buildings in the evening. Budapest was amazing. So much to see and do, but not enough days. Next time I guess.

    A variety of currencies on this trip. It used to be more of a hassle to track down currencies but the process is now pretty simple. Jump on your bank’s website, choose the currency and amount and a few days later you get a note saying it’s ready to be picked up. We never buy too much in advance as credit cards work everywhere as do bank cards. It’s pretty easy to grab local cash. In Hungary, we’ll use the Forint. One CAD=260 Forint so 1000 Forint is about $4.00CDN. In the remainder of Europe we’ll use the Euro until we arrive in London where we’ll use the GBP.

    Our first experience with a lock. People in canoes can simply pick up them up in order to bypass difficult areas. Unfortunately, large river cruise ships and other vessels can’t simply be plucked from the water and carried overland. To help us continue on up the river, dams and a series of locks were built. It’s a bit shocking to look out your patio door and see a concrete wall about a foot from the patio. These captains are talented.

    Our first ever visit to Slovakia. We spent the day in the capital city of Bratislava before heading out to Austria at night. Host to the crowning ceremonies of 11 Hungarian kings and queens between 1536 and 1830, Bratislava is known as the “Coronation City of Kings”. After a morning of watching the sights from the top level of the boat, we headed out to tour the city. Bratislava seems like a pretty laid back type of spot but fairly touristy. Lots of stores selling ‘authentic’ Slovakian souvenirs that were mostly made in China? The first thing I think of when I hear the word Slovakia is their success in international hockey whether in the World Juniors, World Championships or the many NHL players born here…. like the Šťastný brothers.

    We found that we constantly had to be watching for bikes, trams, buses, scooters, etc.Trams have priority on the streets and we were reminded that do not stop under any circumstance. There’s just so many people roaming around

    The city of Bratislava was founded 1291.Our guide often reminded that they are no longer a communist country and she loved telling a few communism jokes. They seem fairly content that they no longer live under communist rule but she did mention that the 20 or so years she lived in a communist state were not really that bad. Communism ended here in 1989.

    They say life is all about choices. This mornings choices were, a game of chess or a dip in the pool. At 32 degrees, the pool looks like the best choice.    Read more

  • TravelerEuro2023
    Day 27

    Last Day In Budapest

    August 27, 2023 in Hungary ⋅ ☀️ 35 °C

    So this is our first experience with a river cruise. Everyone we talk to praises them for their simplicity of travel, beautiful accommodations and amazing food. We are travelling with AMAWaterways on the AMASonata boat. Our room consists of a bed, a couple of chairs and tables, a bathroom and a nice little outdoor patio. The boat is hosting about 97 passengers and 50 staff so we should be well looked after. Three meals a day are available but I’m guessing most lunches will be in the towns and cities. We start in Budapest and end up in Vilshofen, Germany.

    We woke up around 7AM with the sounds of the boats engines guiding to a new dock in Budapest... in the middle of the downtown. A few hours later we were off for a little stroll through downtown. After a light lunch we were off for a bus/walking tour of both the Buda and the Pest sides of the Danube. And remember... it's pronounced 'pesht'.

    In 1873, the independent cities of Buda and Pest officially merged and became Budapest. Our tour took us through historic Buda Castle, Fisherman’s Bastion, the Royal Palace, and St. Stephen’s Basilica,.

    We passed by the Budapest Shoe Monument. "Shoes on the Danube Promenade is a haunting tribute to a horrific time in history, created by film director Can Togay and the sculptor, Gyula Pauer. Installed along the bank of the Danube River in Budapest, the monument consists of 60 pairs of 1940s-style shoes, true to life in size and detail, sculpted out of iron.

    This memorial is simple yet chilling, depicting the shoes left behind by the thousands of Jews who were murdered by the Arrow Cross. The style of footwear - a man’s work boot; a business man’s loafer; a woman’s pair of heels; even the tiny shoes of a child - were chosen specifically to illustrate how no one, regardless of age, gender, or occupation was spared. Placed in a casual fashion, as if the people just stepped out of them, these little statues are a grim reminder of the souls who once occupied them - yet they also create a beautiful place of reflection and reverence".

    Phew...

    A couple of neat notes:

    No skyscrapers in the city higher than the parliament building.

    In 1986 Cream played here.

    After supper this evening, we are sailing overnight to Bratislava fo a day. Looks interesting.    Read more

  • TravelerEuro2023
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    Day 26

    It's 'Boat Day"!!

    August 26, 2023 in the Netherlands ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    Not sure why it’s showing us in the Netherlands?? Oh well. A little review of last night before we hop on the AMASonata.
    On our second last night in Budapest we had the opportunity to try a langos. Delicious. Lángos is famous Hungarian street food, which is basically a fried bread dough. The basic dough is made of water (or milk), yeast, flour and salt. Lángos is fried in oil and usually served with toppings. For Hungarians, the most popular topping is cheese and sour cream and that was our choice. Deep fried pizza. Amazing.

    Well, we got brave and worked our way into a RUIN BAR. “Back in 2004, a run down building on Kazinczy Street in District VII was saved from demolition by a group of entrepreneurs looking to open up a bar/community space. Rather than redeveloping they chose to work with the building’s ramshackle state, adding quirky furniture and decorations, creating a mix’n’match aesthetic and making use of a space otherwise destined for ruin.
    The venture was a success and provided the template for a new generation of bars. The ruin pub was born, with Budapest’s Jewish District district the focal point for this new nightlife trend. Buildings in varying states of decay were rescued and, rather than being totally renovated, ruin bars worked with their natural surroundings to create quirky and unique spaces”. We chose the Red Ruin Bar. Located in the heart of Budapest and not far from our condo, the RRB is a communism theme bar with red lights and a sense of humour about the political past. When you walk in, the first thing to see is a mural of Karl Marx, Lenin, Stalin and Mao Zedong celebrating in birthday hats. Definitely a different vibe. After 2 beer, one wine and a sparkling water, we were out the door… after spending only $12.00CDN. At least we can say we did it.

    Our beer of choice in Budapest has been the Soporoni brand. It doesn’t take much to develop a loyalty to a product. A great waitress on our first night was more than willing to share a few local facts with us and it really created a nice experience. Soporoni is named after the city of Soporon. Sopron is situated near the western borders of Hungary, at the foot of the Alps, 60 km from Vienna and 220 km from Budapest. It is known as the city of loyalty. In 1921, the residents had a choice to leave the monarchy or stay as part of Hungary. They chose Hungary and now we enjoy the beer.

    And now, we are off to our boat. Checked out of our condo in the morning and grabbed a tram to our boat to drop off our luggage. As boat check-in is not until 3:00PM, we’re off to check out another area of the city.    Read more

  • TravelerEuro2023
    11
    Day 25

    A day of our own

    August 25, 2023 in Hungary ⋅ ☁️ 33 °C

    A bit more on last night's Budapest Great Market Hall visit. I could take up residence here. The Great Market Hall was built in 1897, and is the largest of all Budapest market halls. You can get pretty well anything on the 3 floors including fruits, vegetables, dairy products, meats, pickles, fresh fish, Hungarian paprika, wines, souvenirs, bags, clothes, and home style meals and Hungarian snacks. Looks like this could be a home base for a bit.

    Rick Steve’s glimpse of the Market Hall.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyyJnd_bxaE

    After a long day and a half of travel, it's time to see how much we can squeeze in before we board our river cruise tomorrow evening. After a much needed 10 hour sleep... we were up and ready to roll shortly after 8 AM. For our first couple of days we are staying in a beautiful VRBO directly in the centre of the city so getting around by foot should be pretty easy. We usually do a mix of hotels and VRBO type rentals on our trips. The VRBO rentals can definitely save a bit of money with 2-3 couples travelling and they do give you the luxury of washer/dryer facilities and the use of a kitchen and living room for some together time. In other cities, a central hotel works much better. We’ve even done bed and breakfasts in some countries. Our favourite was in Plitvice, Croatia where we found a little out of the way place near the national park. My best memory of that location was ringing the doorbell to get into our rooms at 9PM after a meal because the door wouldn’t open. At least until Paul realized it was a push door and not a pull door.

    First stop was the Gellert Thermal Spa. Whether you’re a local or a tourist, soaking one’s weary bones in the warm, mineral-rich waters of a thermal bath is what everyone does.
    Sitting on a area of tons of thermal springs — the result of a thinned Earth crust Budapest has well and truly earned itself the title of the City of Spas. After changing into our bathing suits we were off fo a dip in their many pools... some cooler and some vary warm. In between we found time to relax in a longe chair and sip on a cool beverage. On a day that reached 34 degrees by noon, the cooler pools were our favourites.

    A quick walk back to our VRBO to drop off towels and bathing suits... and we were ready to roll again. But first, Paul and I offered to take the ladies to a fine bistro. Well, actually it was called a BEERSTRO but they served delicious Hungarian Goulash and schnitzel.

    Next up, Budapest Retro Élményközpont... the budapest Retro Museum. This was a cool spot recommended by Janie and Chris Lumsden and it didn't disappoint. We got to jump in a Lada and travel back to Socialist Hungary for a couple of hours. "Hungarians born in the late ’80s, at the time of régime change, may still have experienced a few hangovers of Communist life. The TV teddy bear at children’s bedtime, Turbo chewing gum and the indispensable orange kitchen furniture were all features of any Hungarian childhood". It was a little scary when we realized that so many of the displays were pretty familiar to us.... a sign our age. My favourite display was the technology section where I got a chance to take a peek at the popular Commodore64 computers from the early 80's. I remember having 6 of these beasts in my classroom in Mulgrave back in 1984-85? The first real 'computer lab' in the area.

    The last stop before a suppertime break at our condo was a visit to the Fan Square exhibit for the World Athletic Games being held in Budapest. Lots of nice interactive challenges where you can handle a shot-put, run the 100m or challenge yourself to beat the world high jump record. A bit of a bonus. The World Athletics Games are in Budapest while we are there. The top Track and Field athletes from across the globe. The city is going to be crazy busy which should make it fun. The 34 degree heat is a bit much… but hey… we’re watching, not running. It looks like the marathon passes near our AirBnB on Saturday morning.
    https://worldathletics.org

    I    Read more

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