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May 18 St Andrews
18 Mei 2024, Scotland ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C
We were rudely awakened by Wendy at 7 am and after catching up with everyone back home we got ready for a bike ride on the National Cycleway which ran past the camp. However on getting the bikes down I discovered that Gaye's bike had a flat rear tyre. The bikes came with a tiny pump so I invested about 15 minutes in trying to blow the tyre up but there also seemed to be a problem with the pump so we gave in and went for a walk. It was another beautiful morning.
After breakfast and doing our chores we got away late morning and drove to St Andrews which was only about a 40 minute drive. We found our camp and decided to carry on towards St Andrews. However we were trying to find a carpark on the outskirts of town and that wasn't working for us. We were concerned about trying to navigate narrow streets and not being able to find a park. In hindsight I should have put my big boys pants on and just driven in as the streets were fine and there was parking around. However we retreated to the safety of the camp and checked in. After lunch we decided to walk into St Andrews which was a distance of about 2 miles. By the time we got there a sea fog had rolled in and it had got quite cold.
We had a wander around the ruins of the cathedral and the old castle and wandered some of the streets before having a cup of tea and catching a taxi back to the camp. A takeaway truck was cooking pizzas in the camp so that was dinner sorted.Baca lagi
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May 19 St Andrews
19 Mei 2024, Scotland ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C
We had booked a walking tour for 11 am so we were on the ball relatively early and after two failed attempts to get an Uber to accept our pickup we rang a taxi to take us into town. The fog was still hanging around. We were early so had a wander around the 18th green and starters area at the Old Course. Gave me goose bumps after seeing it so often on tv over the years and most recently in 2022 when Cam Smith won the open.
We met up with our walking group at The Scores which is a monument to 5 people who were burned to death in the streets of St Andrews for refusing to renounce their Catholic faith. We moved onto the University which covers a large part of the old town. Some of the buildings are quite beautiful. About 46 percent of the students are from overseas. We went into the chapel, a part of which dates back to the 11th century. After that we moved on to the ruins of the old cathedral and the castle. After the tour finished it was time for a coffee and some lunch to warm up.
By the time we emerged outside the fog had pretty much cleared and the sun was out so we wandered back to the Old Course. I had read that on Sundays the course was normally closed and because it belongs to the people of St Andrews they are free to wander around with their dogs and have picnics etc. Must be a greenkeepers nightmare. However today was an exception as there was a tournament on. We wandered down a couple of holes and then crossed over to the iconic 17th and 18th holes and made our way back to the 18th green. We made a few purchases in the nearby golf shops and then found a pub to rehydrate. I then found a Turkish Barbers shop. The Turks seem to have a monopoly on Barbers shops in Scotland and are pretty well established in the taxi business also. The haircut went quite well and I was just thinking about the haircut on the Amalfi Coast with a demented Italian and a cut throat razor when he dips this giant cotton bud in some lighter fluid and sets fire to it. Next thing he is waving it around like a Fijian fire dancer and taking swipes at my ears. I was too scared to move and the room was filled with the smell of burning hair. Needless to say I was out of there as soon as I could and Gaye was left to pick herself up of the floor and pay fir the haircut. We ended up catching a taxi back to the camp with the barbers cousin. I could still smell the singed hair.Baca lagi
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May 20 Falkirk
20 Mei 2024, Scotland ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C
We got away from St Andrews before 9 am. It was only a bit over an hour to Falkirk with a stop for coffee on the way. First stop was the Falkirk Wheel which we found with only one wrong turn so a good start to the day. We first saw the Falkirk Wheel on a TV programme Great Canal Journeys. The Falkirk Wheel was built where the Forth & Clyde Canal meets the Union Canal. Only problem is the Forth & Clyde Canal is 35 metres higher than the Union Canal. Based on one of Archimedes' principles they decided to build a giant rotating wheel to deliver boats from one canal to the other. Each side of the wheel has a giant tank with 250 tonnes of water in it. The secret according to Archimedes is that a boat will displace it's own weight in water. So if there are 4 boats on one side and and none on the other the weight of each side is still 250 tonnes. The electric motors used to complete a transfer from one canal to the other use the same amount of power as it takes to boil the jug 8 times.
I am pleased to say that Archimedes knew his stuff and we completed a loop successfully with a lap up the Canal through the Roughcastle Tunnel and back. An amazing sight to see in action. After our boat trip we had a bite of lunch and a cuppa in the cafe at the Wheel. The original plan was to stay the night in the carpark and ride our bikes to see the Kelpies which are about 5 kilometres away along the canal towpath. However, given that we were still a bike down and Gaye was reluctant to sit on the handlebars of my bike we had to look at another plan. After a little research we discovered that motorhomes can also stay overnight in the carpark at the Kelpies so off we went.
The Kelpies is a monument celebrating the part that Clydesdale horses have played in Scotland. Particularly working on the canals. The statues are 100 feet tall and weigh 300 tonnes.
We got the compulsory photos of the Kelpies in daylight and at sunset and stood around in the cold waiting for it to get dark but it never did. The sky was so clear and the horizon stayed orange right up until 11 pm when we called it quits and returned to the motorhome. It was down to about 6 degrees by then.
I did get up and look out the window of the motorhome at 3 am and the horizon to the west behind the Kelpies was still orange and the sky to the east was already welcoming in the new day.Baca lagi
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May 21 Stirling
21 Mei 2024, Scotland ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C
We woke to yet another beautiful morning. We are staying in Edinburgh for the next 3 nights but can't get into the camp until after 1 pm so we decided to head north to Stirling which is about a 40 minute drive away. We found a Park and Ride on the outskirts of town and caught the bus into town. Stirling is a lovely place with so much history and a bloody great big hill with a castle on the top. Fortunately the bus got us about halfway up the hill and we then walked to the castle. We bought tickets and were lucky enough to catch a tour with a guide called Pat who was very entertaining and informative.
After the tour we walked back down to the old town for a wander around and ended up having a very nice lunch in a Chinese restaurant. I bought a couple of spanners in case the urge struck me to fix the flat tyre on Gaye's bike and we then caught the bus back to the motorhome.
From Stirling it was a 60 minutes to our camp in Edinburgh although we added to that with a wrong turn that took a while to sort out. On the way we passed the 3 Forth Bridges which are all over 2.5 kilometres long and were opened in 1890, 1964 and 2017. Very impressive.
On our way down the motorway to Edinburgh there were signs on the motorway warning of an orange level weather event approaching so we got set up in the camp and settled in for the night.Baca lagi
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May 22 Edinburgh
22 Mei 2024, Scotland ⋅ 🌧 13 °C
There was quite a bit of rain during the night but it had stopped by the morning so we got organised to head into Edinburgh. We had booked Edinburgh Castle tickets for 1 pm tomorrow so thought we would do a walking tour that I had found online. I summoned up an Uber which surprisingly was there in 3 minutes so we were off.
Our camp is 6 or 7 kilometres out from the centre of Edinburgh and we arrived there to find that it was quite foggy. We started our tour at the Balmoral Hotel which is a grand old hotel built originally for the railway. I read that the clock in the tower is set 2 minutes fast to encourage rail users to get to the station early. The only day of the year that it is on time is 31 December for obvious reasons. We then started up the hill where you could just see the castle from time to time through the fog. At the University there were lots of police motorbikes and black Range Rovers lined up. We continued our way up the hill to the Royal Mile and amused ourselves for another hour or 2 trying to find the things on the walking tour. At one point we were held up at an intersection for about 20 minutes until Prince Edward was whisked through accompanied by all the police motorbikes we had seen earlier. It was then time for a coffee so we popped into a very nice old hotel to take on caffeine for a change from the usual beer.
By the time we emerged from the pub it was starting to rain so we popped around the corner for a look at the castle and stumbled upon a shop called The Scotch Whisky Experience. I suggested that we seek refuge from the elements there. We booked a tour for half an hour later and wandered around the shop where we made a few purchases. The tour was brilliant. It was a very high quality audio visual display over several rooms with a guide showing and explaining the process to make Whisky. We finished with a tasting in an amazing room surrounded by one person's private collection of over 3,800 whiskies. Apparently the secret to getting such a large collection is not to open them. No fun in that.
By the time we came out it was after 2 pm so, as has become a bit of a habit lately, we headed to a restaurant for a very nice lunch. By then the rain had really set in and so after lunch we made our way back to the Balmoral and were lucky enough to grab an old London taxi and make our way back to the camp to dry out.Baca lagi
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May 23 Edinburgh
23 Mei 2024, Scotland ⋅ 🌫 12 °C
We had a lot of rain during the night but when we woke it had stopped so we did our chores and summoned an Uber into town. On the advice of our taxi driver from the day before we decided not to take the wet weather pants.
We had decided to start at the end of the walking tour we had started the day before and work our way backwards so first stop was the Palace of Holyroodplace which is the King's residence in Edinburgh. Unfortunately it was closed as young Edward had had a bit of a kip there the night before. We were standing outside looking in when yet again we were surrounded by police. Gaye got talking to one of the policewomen and said she thought that Edward was looking a bit thin based on our glimpse of him yesterday. The policewoman said he will be fine if he gets through the breakfast she had seen for him inside the palace. Next thing Edward arrives. He made the effort to wave to Gaye as she leapt up and down and tried to take her top off (not really) but she was chuffed.
From there we worked our way back up the Royal Mile. Why do they always stick these castles on top of a hill. By the time we were halfway up the rain was really quite persistent and because verandas out the front of shops had not been invented in Edinburgh there was absolutely nowhere to shelter. If I had the phone number for mother of the taxi driver from yesterday I would have loved to talk to her about her son's future as a weather forecaster.
Eventually we found a Starbucks and sloshed our way in there for a coffee and made puddles on their floor. We stayed there until we had warmed up and people were starting to look funny at us sitting in our underwear with our clothes on the radiators.
Eventually we got dressed and made our way to Edinburgh Castle where we enjoyed standing in line in the rain with the 1 pm intake. We made, what is yet to be confirmed by the Guiness Book of Records, the quickest tour of Edinburgh Castle. Gaye did an outstanding job of getting some photos while I bitched about the weather and how we should go the Whisky Experience next door.
Eventually we made a hasty exit back down the hill to a pub called The Royal Cafe that a Facebook friend, David Whyte, had recommended. What a beautiful pub. We again made puddles all over there floor and had a great lunch - this time at 2.30 pm.
When we emerged from the pub the streets were underwater and it was clear that tourist activities had been abandoned by everyone and they were all looking for a taxi. I managed to connect with an Uber out the front of the Balmoral Hotel but the the app was telling me we had to go to exit 4 from the railway station for the pickup. Off we headed but every drop of rain that hit the screen on my phone was changing the page and we had no idea where we were going. Eventually we were able to find some shelter under a bridge and the Uber driver messaged me to say that he would come to us if we would stop bloody moving. So we did and he did too. There was a delay while good old Edward and his convoy brought traffic to a standstill so that he could wave to Gaye for a final time. The driver found us in his nice Mercedes van and we piled in totally soaked and dumped our wet stuff all over his nice leather seats. On the way back to the camp there was a road closure which took him way out of his way and the traffic was shite. Gaye gave him 10 pounds for his trouble. Hopefully his van has dried out by now. Needless to say we didn't go out anywhere after that and spent the night trying to dry out our stuff. My phone took 3 hours in front of the heater vent before it was dry enough to let me connect the charger.Baca lagi
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May 24 Alnwick and Durham
24 Mei 2024, England ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C
Fortunately the rain had stopped overnight although there was a lot of water lying around the campsite. Today and the next few days are all about heading south so that we can be in London on the 28th to return the motorhome.
We headed off before 9 am and managed to find our way out of Edinburgh quite easily. We were soon on the A1 heading south with the odd shower on and off.
We stopped for lunch in Alnwick which is a beautiful little town. We managed to find our chosen carpark with Google Maps trying to send us through an archway only once. There are a beautiful castle and gardens to see in Alnwick but as seemed to be our luck at the moment it started raining as soon as we arrived so we settled for a walk around the town and lunch in a lovely pub. Alnwick probably has the highest number of pubs for a small village we have seen and that is saying something.
After lunch we headed back to the motorhome and got out of our wet-weather gear again and continued our way south. Needless to say the weather then cleared up and the sun came out. We got caught up in some major roadworks going around Newcastle which took forever to get through and then it was plain sailing on to Durham for the night. The camp was well out of Durham so we were happy to sit outside and have a drink before dinner in the motorhome.Baca lagi
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May 25 York
25 Mei 2024, England ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C
Today we had another 3 hour drive to complete so we were up and into it early. The weather forecast was for deteriorating weather later in the day. The drive went well on our old friend the A1 which is variously anything from one lane each way to 3 lanes each way. The driving is pretty easy.
We had a couple of stops at service centres on the way and arrived at our Park and Ride on the outskirts of York late morning. We were able to hop straight on a bus into York where we had a wander around the beautiful old town. The cathedral York Minster is huge and you just can't get it all in a photo. We found a restaurant called the Fat Hippo for lunch which turned out to be an American burger chain and had burgers.
Over lunch we decided to go on a river cruise which was at 1.30 pm. I booked the tickets and we wandered down to the river. The boat was quite large and there were a lot of people on board but the cruise was pretty hopeless. The audio failed after 2 minutes so we spent the rest of the time making up our own commentary and waiting for it to be over.
After we escaped from the boat we headed back to the motorhome and found our camp for the night. I had been looking forward to a camp closer to restaurants and pubs after several nights of eating in the motorhome. Google maps showed that there was a carvery just down the road from the camp and a shopping centre about 1.5 kilometres away however on checking in the camp people told us that you can't walk anywhere because it is a busy road and there are no footpaths. We tossed up about getting a taxi but decided to have 2 minute noodles that we had bought in London and which needed to be eaten. They were actually quite good.Baca lagi
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May 26 York
26 Mei 2024, England ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C
We had a relaxed start to the day and drove to the local shopping centre where we had lunch at the Marks & Spencer cafe and did a bit of shopping. We decided not to go back into York and after catching up on some computer work we wandered down the road to the Toby Carvery which it turned out you could walk to after all. The carvery was everything you would expect of a good English carvery and we enjoyed it.
After that it was a wander back to the camp for an early night in anticipation of an earlyish start tomorrow. Our second to last night in the motorhome.Baca lagi
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Cambridge
27 Mei 2024, England ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C
We had a bit over 3 hours to drive today to Cambridge so we set the alarm for 7 am and were on the road before 8.30 because we were expecting heavy traffic being the Monday of a holiday weekend. We got off to a bad start missing the onramp to the expressway that would take us back to the A1. But after a couple of roundabouts and a few kilometres we got back to where we started from and got onto the right road. I was thinking seriously about a coffee stop already. The rest of the drive to Cambridge was pretty easy with 3 lanes each on the A1. We stopped for a coffee at a service area and then found our way to a Park and Ride that had motorhome parking. At that point things lost their shape a bit. There was a double decker bus ready to leave for Cambridge and a queue of at least 150 people waiting for the next bus which was 20 minutes away. We abandoned that plan and went back to the motorhome for a bite of lunch and to find plan B. By the time we finished lunch it was getting close to 1 pm which is the check-in time at most of the camps in the UK so we decided to find our way to the camp. We were third in line to check in at 1 pm and found a nice site before summoning up an Uber to get into Cambridge. By the time we were wandering up to the camp entrance to catch our Uber there were at least 10 motorhomes and caravans queued up to check in.
Cambridge was full of people enjoying their Bank Holiday and the start of school holidays. We wandered around the old town checking out the historic buildings and the river where people were being relieved of large amounts of cash for a 20 minute punt on the river Cam. There was also an island with pedestrian access on which resided some quite large and mainly docile Hereford cattle. I got the impression though that they, like me, were not enjoying all the people around.
After a couple of hours of ticking off things to see we landed in a cafe which served the best scones and tea we had found in the UK. We were also able to solve the question of whether to jam or cream first. The simple answer is where the cream is clotted cream, which is like butter, then that goes first because it is harder than the jam. Whipped cream obviously goes on top.
After solving the riddle that has perplexed mankind since flour was discovered we caught another Uber back to our camp.
As luck would have it there was at long last a pub just a very short walk from our camp and so having eaten everything else in the motorhome we proceeded to the pub for dinner.Baca lagi
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May 28 Dublin
28 Mei 2024, Ireland ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C
With a big day ahead of us and the prospect of heavy traffic and rain heading into London after the holiday weekend we set the alarm for 7 am and having cleaned as much of the motorhome as we could the night before we were on the road before 8 am. We found our way back to the A1 without a hitch. The A1 shortly became the M1 which in places is up to 6 lanes wide. We stopped for the compulsory coffee break and to chuck a bit of diesel into the tank for the last time before making our final approach into London. Fortunately it wasn't raining yet and we found our way onto the M25 orbital motorway and then under a bit of pressure found our exit into Rainham. If we had missed that we would have ended up going over the Dartmoor toll bridge and God knows what would have happened after that.
As it was we ended up back at West's Motorhome Rentals at about 9am. We did a last minute clean of the floors and packed our suitcases before happily handing over the keys and waiting while they did their final inspection. Once that was completed we summoned up yet another Uber to take us to London City Airport which is located in London City not far from Greenwich. It is a brilliant little airport built on reclaimed land from the old dockland area. It was raining by now but we happily settled into a cafe at the airport to wait until we could check in.
Our flight with British Airways was only 1 hour 20 minutes to Dublin but we also gained an hour. Theo and Dawn were waiting for us in the bar at the airport. Our transfer to the city arrived. The driver was called Carl and he had that lovely Irish glint in his eyes and the sense of humour to go with it. We struck it off from the get go once we agreed not to talk rugby. Carl took us to the apartment rental office to check in and pick up keys and then on to our apartment. The apartment was in a great location overlooking the river Liffey and was well set up for 2 couples but was in need of a bit of TLC. However it would do us just fine.
After getting unpacked we wandered down the road to the Brewbar for drinks and dinner.Baca lagi
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Pengembara Love it. Wish I had done it earlier :)
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May 29 Dublin
29 Mei 2024, Ireland ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C
Theo and Dawn are not early risers so it was about 10.30 am before headed out from the apartment. We had booked tickets for the Guinness Warehouse tour at 12 pm so wandered up the river until we found the Har Penny bridge and then turned left through the Temple Bar District which used to be a slum area of shady bars and all things unlawful that has now been reinvented into a bar area full of beautiful old pubs with live music playing all day. The oldest of the pubs is The Brazen Head which has been a pub since 1198. I think there may have been a few wild nights in there over the last 1200 years.
After a coffee stop we found the Guinness Warehouse. The tour is self-guided but very informative and a lot of fun. The exhibits are brilliant. The culmination of the tour is a pint of Guinness in the rooftop bar at the top of the building.
After the tour we wandered part of the way back towards the apartment before stopping for a bite of lunch and another Guinness and then catching a taxi home.
After a lie down to recover from our excesses we got ready to go out for the night. We had booked tickets for a night of Irish music and dancing together with dinner at the Belvedere Hotel. It was a great night out and a lot of fun. We all ate too much. We stayed up until after midnight talking.Baca lagi
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May 30 Dublin
30 Mei 2024, Ireland ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C
We had another late start to the day and after breakfast we went for a wander around the docklands area which is largely owned by Google and other tech companies. We then carried on up to Trinity College for a walk around the beautiful university. We had planned to look in the library but the old fella on the door told us it wasn't worth the the 25 euro entry fee and to go spend it on a Guinness. So we did.
After a bit more exploring we found the statue of Molly Malone about whom the old Irish song records that she is selling her cockles and mussels alive, aliveoh. Poor old Molly looked like she had received a bit of unwanted attention from her admirers.
We then grabbed a bite of lunch and headed to the Temple Bar district to a couple of pubs playing live music. They were excellent and you can spend a lot of very enjoyable hours in them.
Several hours later we caught a taxi back to our apartment and had dinner at a very nice restaurant around the corner.Baca lagi
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May 31 Dublin
31 Mei 2024, Ireland ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C
Today is the last day in Dublin for Dawn & Theo. We decided to cross the river and wander up the other side this morning. We discovered that this side of the river was the main shopping area. After a wander around the shops and a coffee we ended up at a an old church which had been converted into a great pub. By then the temperature was in the mid 20's so we stopped for a beer sitting outside in the courtyard. That was so pleasant that we had another one and a bite of lunch. A couple of hours later we wandered on and found an outdoors clothing shop that was having a closing down sale. Dawn bought a pair of hiking boots, Gaye bought a very nice rain jacket for 20 something Euros and I bought a good pair of walking shoes to replace the ones I bought for France in 2015 for 50 something Euros.
We then wandered back to the apartment so Dawn & Theo could have a shower and get ready for their trip to the airport and back to Amsterdam. Their taxi showed about half an hour early so after saying our farewells Gaye and I went for a walk around to the docks area to find something for dinner. We stumbled across this great supermarket with heaps of fresh food and a buffet type arrangement where you dished whatever food took your fancy into a container which was then weighed and you paid based on the weight. The food was beautiful and fresh. We were craving veges and salads, as it has been hard to get these with a meal in the UK, so we indulged ourselves and wandered back to the apartment with our containers and a bottle of wine for a quiet evening on our own.Baca lagi
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June 4 Linz
4 Jun 2024, Jerman ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C
A leisurely start to the day with our Uber to the train station booked for 10.30 am. We enjoyed another very nice breakfast and had a chat to Granny. I checked the Uber app at 10.10 to find that the driver was 2 minutes away so we arrived at the station early. Our research from the previous day paid off and we boarded our double-decker train easily.
The train is so smooth and quiet. Why can't we do this in NZ. Quite soon we could see signs of serious flooding in the countryside. They had obviously had a lot more rain than we had in Munich. About 90 percent of the long distance trains were either canceled or delayed because of the flooding.
We got off the train in Vilshofen and found a nice lady from Avalon to meet us. She said the bus wouldn't be here until closer to 5 pm so we went for a walk into town and had a bite of lunch. English is definitely not very common once you leave the big cities. We had a look at the Danube which is a raging torrent. Two other couples turned up who had received the same email as ud from Avalon saying to meet at the boat dock in Vilshofen. They weren't impressed with the communication from Avalon. However shit happens sometimes. Floods seem to be a bit of a theme for us this trip. Eventually the bus turned up at 5.15 having picked 8 other passengers up from Munich airport and we were on our way. We were the last to arrive at the boat so threw our cases in the room and changed our shirts before heading up to dinner. In talking to a Canadian couple next to us we came to realise that we had missed a briefing and that a major change to the itinerary was being made. After we spoke to the cruise director who advised that we would be spending 3 nights on the boat with free bus excursions each day and the transferring to a hotel in Vienna for a night before going by bus to Budapest for the last 3 nights on another Avalon boat that is stuck there. Hugely disappointing but there are no boats of any description allowed on the river at the moment and the flood waters are heading towards Budapest. Five people have died and countless are missing so our problems are nothing in comparison. Avalon are going to refund 50 percent of the cruise cost so they have been more than reasonable.Baca lagi
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June 5 Passau and Linz
5 Jun 2024, Austria ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C
After a short night with not a lot of sleep we were up at 6 am and ready for breakfast at 7 before boarding the bus for a trip back to Passau that we had passed through yesterday on our way to the boat.
Passau is a lovely old town with roots dating back to Roman times. It is the confluence of 3 rivers and was important as a trading centre. We had an excellent local guide show us around. The old town and the new town are both 350 years old as they were burnt down back then. The cathedral is stunning inside with beautiful frescoes and the largest organ in Europe. In Germany 8 percent of their taxes are paid to the Catholic church. After the tour we wandered around and checked out the flooding which had receded by 2 metres or so and then made our way back to the bus for the return journey to the boat and lunch.
After lunch it was back on to the bus and a short ride into Linz for the afternoon walking tour. We had free time after the walk so sat outside at a bar and enjoyed a beer and then an Aperol Spritz before returning to the boat and a quick shower before Happy Hour and the briefing for tomorrow. To our surprise Happy Hour is free so squeezed in a couple of rums. It was then dinner time. The food on the boat is outstanding. After dinner we took our wines up to the top deck for a while and then went back to the lounge where they had an Aussie guy playing music and singing. He was quite entertaining so we ended up staying until he finished and had a couple of scotches. So much for an early night. But it was a great day.Baca lagi
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June 6 Salzburg
6 Jun 2024, Austria ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C
Up at 6 again and on the bus at 8.30 for our free excursion to Salzburg today. The birthplace of Mozart and the setting for The Sound of Music.
The trip took about 2 hours. We did the usual walking tour checking out where Mozart was born and lived until he left Salzburg at the age of 27 and went to Vienna. He died at the age of 37. We also saw where various scenes from the Sound of Music were filmed.
Strasburg is a lovely city with some beautiful buildings. The day was quite hot reaching 28 degrees in the afternoon. After the tour we went on the funicular up to the fortress above the city. It was built in the 11th century and is an imposing feature of the city skyline. After that we headed to a restaurant for strudel and a drink then wandered down to the river to wait for the tour to regroup. On the way back to Linz we stopped at Mondsee where there is a lovely old monastery that was the scene of a wedding in the movie.
Dinner was again sumptuous. After dinner it was back to our cabin to pack in anticipation of leaving the boat tomorrow for Vienna.Baca lagi
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June 7 Vienna
7 Jun 2024, Austria ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C
Here we go again. Woke at 5 am, up at 6 and into it. Bags had to be out by 7 in anticipation of moving to our hotel in Vienna for the night. On the bus the tour director came around and gave us 120 euros to cover lunch for the next 2 days. Avalon have really tried hard to make up for the change to the itinerary forced on them. That will cover a few beers and strudel.
We drove through the village of Melk and on to Durnstein which is a very small photogenic village in a valley that produces grapes, apricots, wine and schnapps. All good stuff. The valley is called the Wahou Valley. The Danube flows through here and some of the river boat companies were taking their passengers through the valley on river boats and then back on to buses. The river is still in flood so they were very slow going up river and frightening fast down river and turning to get back into the dock.
We had a nice walk around the village and cake and beer for lunch. The lunch of champions. I thought I might walk part of the way up the hill towards the old ruins of the fort to get a photo. Gaye said to meet her in 10 minutes. After 4 minutes I was halfway up and their were no photo opportunities so I doubled my pace to redline and burnt off the calories from the cake and beer to get to the fort in 7 minutes. Took a few photos and ran back down the track leaping from step to rock and rock to step. I arrived at the bottom 4 minutes late and Gaye was busy talking to one of the tour guides and didn't even notice I was late. I then had to have a recovery beer before getting back on the bus for the final leg to Vienna.
Our hotel in Vienna had just reopened after renovation and was very nice with a beautiful bathroom and Nespresso machine. YEAH BABY. I have missed my Nespresso machine. After changing we headed down to a buffet dinner. We were first out to get on the vus for the trip to the concert but got told to wait. In the end their weren't enough buses and after waiting half an hour we had had enough and wandered into the bar for a wine and then off to bed.Baca lagi
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June 8 Budapest
8 Jun 2024, Hungary ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C
Big sleep in until 6.30 am. Woohoo. Quick shower and then bags down to the lobby before breakfast. We were determined to make the most of our morning in Vienna. But that didn't last long when our receivers didn't work and along with several of the others in our group we couldn't hear the guide. We visited the Belvedere Palace and then went into the old city for a walk. Vienna has some lovely buildings although most of them are post-war and a lot have modern apartments on the rooves which spoils the look. We saw the home of the Spanish Riding School. The shops looks very expensive. After the group walk we decided to sit outside a café for a couple of hours, had a couple of beers and a couple of Pitas. A very pleasant time. By 12.30 it was over 30 degrees and time to make our way back to the bus for our 3 hour drive to Budapest.
On our arrival in Budapest we found our new boat tied up outside another Avalon boat on the Danube. Our cabin was on the outside and had a great view across the river for 10 minutes or so until another river boat tied up beside us and then it all went dark. Disappointed we went up to the lounge for happy hour and the briefing for tomorrow. While we were doing our best to get 3 drinks in during happy hour the engines started up and the boat on the outside began to move out into the river. We then moved forward accompanied by a large cheer from everyone on board who thought we might be going for a dinner cruise. However we remained pretty much stationary while the boat that had been on the outside moved into the numer 2 position. Once they were all tied up then we moved back into the outside position and our cabin got it's view back.
We had dinner with Tom and Chris from Wisconsin in the lounge rather than enduring the noise in the dinning room and then went upstairs to have a final drink and take in the view of the city. Finally we got what we had been expecting to do most nights.Baca lagi
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June 9 Bratislava
9 Jun 2024, Hungary ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C
After a quick 5 and a half hours sleep and breakfast in our cabin making the most of the view we were back on the bus. Today the wheels on the bus are going round and round to Bratislava the capital of Slovakia. Another day, another country. In the last 4 days we have been in Germany, Austria, Hungary and now Slovakia which is part of the former Czechoslovakia. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union Czechoslovakia was dissolved in 1993 into Slovakia and the Czech Republic.
We had a great walking tour around Bratislava with a guide called Igor or George. It is a very lovely city with only a fraction of the tourists we encountered in Vienna. The radio receivers worked and Igor had a perfect mix of information and humour. After the tour we had one hour for a quick beer and to buy a couple of tee shirts with our kunch money from Avalon. Then it was back on the bus for the return leg of 200 kilometres to Budapest. Not much happened on the way back because we had a nap.
We got back a bit late and had to rush to happy hour to get our money's worth. We then had dinner with Tom and Chris again and a drink up on deck again before retiring.Baca lagi
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June 10 Budapest
10 Jun 2024, Hungary ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C
This morning we are down for a tour of Budapest. The tour didn't start until 9 am so a slightly more relaxed start but by then it was raining on and off. We started off on the bus to visiting Heroes Square where it wasn't raining and then boarded the bus to go the gardens where it was raining quite hard. We walked some of the gardens which are lovely and enjoyed some Chimney Cake which is a local delicacy. Pretty much pure sugar but it gave us all the energy to clamber back on the bus for the trip up to the castle on the hill overlooking the Danube. By then it had stopped raining and we enjoyed a walking tour with some free time before once again climbing on the bus for the drive down the hill to the boat and lunch.
After lunch 13 of us boarded a minivan for our paid excursion to a local wine area. This was one of the highlights of our trip. The boat had been serving Hungarian wines with dinner for the last couple of nights and try as I might I couldn't find a bad one. There are 22 wine regions in Hungary. The one we visited was 45 minutes out of Budapest and was basically a long row of boutique wineries all with underground cellars dating back 165 years. At the first stop we descended into the cellar for our tasting of 4 wines. Three whites and a rose which were all very nice. The setting was quite unique although also quite cold. The area is known for it's cooler climate and reds aren't produced there other than some Pinot Noir which they use in the Rose.
The next stop was above ground which was a bit warmer in a vineyard that is a venue for weddings. Three of the 4 wines were paired with bite sized food offerings that really brought out the flavours in the wines. One of the tastings was an outstanding Cabsav/Franc which was so good we bought a bottle.
Then it was a stagger to the minivan and party music on our way back to the boat.
We had happy hour on the boat to top up followed by more wine at dinner and then sat in the lounge bar with Steve and Sue from Tasmania, Tom and Chris from Wisconsin and Rick and Pauline from Austin. Needless to say we all had a great time and staggered off to bed about 11 pm looking forward to a bit of a sleep in.Baca lagi
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June 12 Budapest
12 Jun 2024, England ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C
We finally had a better night's sleep. Managed to get my Garmin body battery over 30 percent. It normally is around 90 percent at home. Our last full day in Budapest so after a leisurely breakfast we decided to walk back to where our boat had been moored and check out the food markets that are meant to be interesting. We meandered around checking out the sights and eventually found our way to the river and the market. The Avalon boats were gone so must be sailing again. Sigh.
The market was colorful but we decided to have lunch outside on the deck of a restaurant overlooking the Danube. Very pleasant. We then wandered back along the river and through the shops before stopping at a cafe called Annas which we had seen on a YouTube clip the day before. Had an excellent coffee and Strudel for afternoon tea and paid 3 times the normal price. We then wandered back to the apartment for a quick rest before heading out for dinner at a very nice restaurant in St Stephen's Square. Every day we are walking 10 to 25 kilometres but the waistline is still expanding!Baca lagi
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Tamat perjalanan
16 Jun 2024