Bratislava, Slovakia

Budapest - Chain Bridge, going through the lockes,Cei ling of the Budapest Opera House,Kink and I at the Fisherman's Bastion, St. Matthias ChurchBudapest from Buda side of the Danube. Fisherman's Bastion and ending with the Hero's Square.

Epilogue

.......

Airport (wheelchair) passenger service at each airport from Portland and back . . . was exemplary. Outstanding. A gift.

Passenger service aboard Lufthansa is the best. United Airlines culture of mediocrity is intact and will remain our airline of last choice.

For Kim, her #1 favorites (actually 4): Visiting the countries of her lineage; especially Hungary. Enjoying new friendships...she felt like she went to summercamp. Our port visit in Regensburg, Germany. “Icing on the cake” Prague.

For Harry, it was about being on the water aboard the Viking Neptune on the historical Danube. What a boat. What a time.

Final days: Prague, CZ

Final days: Prague, CZ

We ramble on a 6 hr train through east Germany country and rural Czech Republic. There is no moving air in the booth we are assigned and share with another couple. Kim n I get permission to move into another where we can open windows. Ahhhh!

Kink had been saying, “Wait till you see Prague” each time one of us would say something like, “Ohhh my” to Budapest and Vienna. Of course, we wondered how this could be.

The cab driver pulled up to an open square. Pointing right over the top of the hood, he said, “This is pedestrian only zone. We stop here.”

“Here” is the Hotel U Prince at the edge of Prague’s Old Town Square; perhaps the most visited tourist spot in the old city. The church spires and world famed Astronomical Clock peer down at our arrival. What a place! Seems like all the beauty spots we’ve seen were gathered all the way up the Danube and set down to border the Old Town Square. Our stay “here” is topnotch. It’s a thrill to walk-wheel this slice of Europe and history. Nothing stops us. Not hills nor cobblestones nor rail tracks nor tourist traffic. We simply wade into the alleys and tight streets, the Charles Bridge scene, souvenir shops and open market. The National Museum dominates the skyline from historic Wenceslas Square; a long, wide boulevard. We make it there; to Kink’s delight. A horse n carriage ride gives us a better orientation of the area and we are relieved to rest our feet. On our third and final night, we share the ‘best seats in the house’ . . . up on the roof top terrace overlooking the Old Town Square, the magnificent churches, and gaze upon Prague Castle across the river. The golden spires reflect the orange hue of sunset. We enjoy a fabulous meal and talk into the night.

Time goes, the river flows

Scenic redtile roofs of Melk.
Outside the Library at the Melk Abbey

The Melk Abbey
Arriving at Melk and going to see the famous 900 yr. old, baroque Melk Abbey, it's perched on the cliffs above the Danube...spectacular views! and magnificent building & church. Enjoy!
Oops two of me!! This is my daily routine of getting ready for the day of touring...don't want to be without anything!


Cruising the Beautiful Danube




Time goes, the river flows

Vienna seems long ago. While still eye-catching church spires, old forts, and quaint towns along the river ignite 2 (photo) shots instead of 10 of similar genre earlier on the trip. Forests and rolling hills give texture to the flat lands of a few days ago. Smart engineering of concrete slabs screwed into rock walls with iron spouts spaced in the slabs, drain pent up water in rainy times. The low end of gullies have fixed concrete or stone drains to ensure natural water flows get to the river without spreading out and causing uncontrolled erosion. How come we don’t do that?

The river is cleaner the further upstream we travel. Less fishermen compared to Romania-Bulgaria-Serbia. Nicer homes, landscapes, and buildings on the Austrian shore. The cruise has slowed some due to many locks and the time it takes to get through them.

I forgot to mention the Iron Gate region before Budapest. All the literature point to the Iron Gate (natural canyon/rock wall) as one of the most beautiful on the Danube . . . and it is. Look it up on the Internet or wait for pics from our camera.

Soon enough, we glimpse the famous abbey in Melk, Austria through the riverbank trees. A slough just before landing is when the abbey fully fills our eyeballs. Ohhhh, my! OK, go to Melk Abbey on the Internet for a look. This was one of our favorite stops. The abbey is strategically situated above the town and is fortress-like with its steep walls on the cliff. Everything about the place is centuries old. The sanctuary is stunningly captivating. Kink, Kim, n me count this as one of our most favored visits. Go find it for a look.

While Kim joined our tour group, Kink n I were told that a path (as opposed to steps) was just to the right of the parking area. We went to find it to join up with our group. Ahem, . . . the path was like 40 degrees, 50 yds down and cobblestoned; of course!! Kink’s eyes got big and he said, “I’ll stay on the bus.” I said, “Hang on.” I wheeled him around backwards and proceeded down the decline with my boots smoking (like brakes smoking . . . get it?). Ha! Hot dang, we made it and enjoyed the abbey. Kink had been here several years ago with Bobby Masuda and never thought he’d see the abbey again. The tour itself was spectacular.

But wait, there’s more! Getting support staff to the elevator . . . yonder . . . secret key and stuff takes time. Lots of time. So instead of continuing down into the village at the end of the walk-talk tour as we’d plan, Kink n I have only one way to get on the bus. UP that same (now) incline. Sheeeesh! This time Kink is adamant there is no way to get up and he’s reading me the riot act. A guy from the cruise ship appears. Only two words are spoken, “Let’s go!”

. . . baby, it was olympian.

Passau is where the Danube, Inn, and Ilz Rivers meet. Charming small city. Lots of people did shopping here. All the qualities of people mix, buildings, history etc are here.

Then we find ourselves in the most surprising small city on the cruise. Unexpectedly, Regensburg, Germany has the bones, the European feel, the elements of some of the best stuff we’d seen all in this one place. Lots of free time here. The three of us had lunch at a street side café and watched the world go by.

Nuremberg ends the cruise part of our trip. Tour guide said people don’t really like to talk about their history, so the walk-talk wasn’t much. Much about Hitler . . . so who cares.

Goodbye to our new friends Hugh & Virginia, Sandy & JB, Barbara & David, the Danube River, and to the Viking Neptune.

Next: Prague, Czech Republic.

Vienna...through Harry's eyes

Vienna -- St. Michael's Wing to the Habsburg Royal Winter Palace in Vienna
St. Peter's Church
Baroque Holy Trinity Memorial to the plague epidemic of 1679
St. Stephen's Catholic Church

Vienna. I like to say, “Take any section of the Chugach mountains in Alaska, stick em in the lower 48 and you’d have a potential national park. In the same way, take a building in Vienna . . . any along the Danube Canal . . . and each has the bones of a beautiful museum. I mean, yeah I know I’m probably repeating myself (which I do often right here!), but man oh man my eyeballs and brain are totally in tune to the architecture and class of the buildings, palaces, cathedrals, and monuments in Wien (Vienna). Kim chose the Schonbrunn Palace as our optional tour. It was worth the trip I’ll tell ya. For opulence, there is none quite like it. Then I saw the garden ‘out back’ and inhaled. You’ll see pics sometime. The place was crawling with tourists . . . like us. Kink gave me ‘boss’ status when we started and I used the whip today. Ha! We rolled over cobble stones til whatever is loose in our heads rattled. Then we took a circuitous route to the second floor. Very carefully nipping at the heels of the crowds, we picked our way through the Palace. It ain’t over. Remember the gardens? The walkways are massive and . . . hard sand. Baby, we plugged along until Kink cried ‘uncle’. Kim is a trooper who freely wanders within the tour and without. She’s doing terrific and having that ‘time of your life’ thing. What fun! A lounge chair on the upper deck held me in the right position as the sun set. Kim went to get a book from a new friend, Virginia.

Our morning tour was typical ride-tour guide-overview of the city with all the important points of interest described and seen. Our free time before lunch on the ship was spent walking the pedestrian only boulevards and alleys of shops and history. Yes. These streets, too, are cobblestoned. (OK, I’ll quit saying it for now.) Found a sausage stand and got a couple a big buggas. Yum!

A really lovely city. Vienna.

Tomorrow will find us in Melk and Linz. Go find it on a map. More later.

Passau, Regenburg, and Nuremberg (all in Germany) end our river journey. Prague will come into play as we embark on independent travel for that leg of our time in Europe.

Love to all. Harry

A note from Harry...from Budapest

Yesterday. Sunrise as we traveled upstream showed in bright, brilliant orange. Twinkling and flashing in east facing windows on monuments and buildings, Budapest appeared. What a feast for the eyes; pulled from Buda to Pest, back n forth over n over. A morning bus/walking tour to highlights followed by a free afternoon. Cobbled streets puts Kink in endless rumbling and me in strained sweat. But we do not fall back or slow anyone. We’re in the thick of the tour and he’s shooting photos to match Kim’s penchant for everything that fills the lense. What fun! After a few hours of this, Kink decides to stay on the ship for the afternoon. Kim n me take off. St Stephen’s Catheral, the Budapest Opera House, side streets, a weekend market and a bit of shopping (It was Sunday n the commercial district is off). Our plan to have a nice dinner in town ends, instead, back on the ship. Sore feet and the heat do us in. But what fun!! Night falls, the lights on the famed Chain Bridge come on, as do the Palace, Fishermens Bastion, St Mathias and best of the Buda side. Later, as we depart the city, the Parliament Bldg floats into view. It’s too much for me to tell about. You just gotta come see it and I hope we do again someday.

Bucharest, Romania shows all the signs of a country recovering from communism. Bulgaria was a complete surprise as I/we had no preconceptions or knowledge, really, about the place or history. Ohhh man, the countryside is rolling like the Condon-Grass Valley-Sherman County area but miles of fields of sunflowers. Donkey n wagon was a common sight. Small red-tile-rooved villages with unkept landscapes, poor, own veggie gardens and grape arbors surround each home. We past through many. Dipped our legs in the Black Sea, enjoyed a night walk in Ruse. 1^st-4^th century fortresses in Belogradchik and Veliko Tarnovo were awesome in strategic placement and what we can see. We are loving what we’re doing. The Danube, while not ‘blue’, is about as major a waterway as there is in the world. Small towns along its banks bring the binoculars on our ship (about 140 passengers this trip) up each time. Of course, for me, there are fishermen all along and I watch them and wonder as a fisherman would.

The history of these eastern European countries is about conquering, battles, wars, revolutions, resentments, recoverings, being run over, making bad decisions, and its inability to unite to repel outside attacks. It’s a history of war. The evidence is old, recent and obvious. Kim n I have a better grip of what has gone on here, and why it is what it is today.

Kink is so grateful for the assistance we provide. Let me tell you, . . . there are times . . . . But all in all, no meals are missed, he has been on every tour (everyday) except his choice to stay aboard in Budapest, he attends the daily on-board talk presentations, and has joined Kim n me ‘up top’ on the upper deck some evenings. He has slowed a lot. People have been patient. We’ve made some friends who, without boast, hang around Kink n me n da wheelchair at rough spots and steep inclines. Good men.

Today we did Bratislava, Slovakia. Ate ice cream and took in the scene in the town square. Tons of tourists. Why? It’s tourist season, silly. We are dem!

Did I say we’re having fun? Kim’s doing great with all the walking n sightseeing. We don’t miss any meals either.

5:30 each morning the captain is in the wheelhouse steering this gorgeous ship. I’m on the back rail in a workout. The sun rises. The Danube. We’ve got it to ourselves. Aloha to all. Harry

Budapest, Hungary

Today we entered Hungary, where part of my heritage is from. We sailed half the day, I actually slept in this am and missed breakfast!! I have to say the meals have been very good and I'm getting used to eating 3 full meals a day...and my waistline is showing it!!
Harry, on the other hand, is doing awesome and getting up at 5:30am, going to the top deck and working out. He has some exercise bungees that he uses as well as walking the deck. Tonight I joined him for some laps and I got a blister on my foot...not good.

I hope it doesn't bother me tomorrow...we have a full day in Budapest and I am thrilled! My Mom and I were there about 12 years ago and I never thought I'd return. We loved it then and I'm sure I'll feel the same again. It will be wonderful to see how it has changed, since we were there not long after the communists left.

Today was Kalocsa, a small rural town. We didn't arrive until the afternoon. We went on a Puszta Excursion to see their horse farm. It was wonderful to watch the cowboys, in their native dress ride their horses. There were teams of horses, from 2 to 4 to 6 to 8, racing around the arena. They wore wonderful costumes with their regional hats. Their were white oxen with long horns also pulling a 100 yr. old wagon. The highlight was the young man who had a team of 8 horses and he was standing on the last 2 and galloping them around the arena. It's something you may seen on the National Geographic station or magazine..very ancient and amazing. A pictures will certainly be a thousand words and it will make more sense seeing it.

At most of our excursions, they either feed us or give us cold drinks or wine. Today, since we were in Paprika country, they had homemade bread with paprika sprinkled on it along with their regional wine. I was able to buy some paprika to bring home. I did that the last time I was here and it was very good.

We then went to the town and were treated to a pipe organ concert at their huge Catholic Church!!!! It was terrific. When the organ played you could feel it to your soul!

This followed a quick stop at a restored, typical peasant's home. I just tried to imagine what my great grandparent's home looked like when they lived in this part of the world. I wish I had known them and also had asked my grandma and relatives more about what they had heard about the "old country" as they would call it.
So,I'll try to enter info tomorrow night, but we don't leave the city until after 9pm...so we'll see.

Comments from Kimi...and Harry too!

These were left in the comment section from a few posts below...aparently my mom is still having trouble with the blog and lack of highspeed internet!!! Enjoy! -Jessi

So for the past two days we have been in Serbia...such a war torn country and our guide today, in the city of Belgrade, was so emotional about what happened to them through the bombings and their dictator's rule. It is still very fresh and they are struggling to be a stable country.... to be able to participate in the European Union. We saw many beautiful buildings and preserved ruins...one was an intact fort.

This part of the world has had so many from the Romans to the Huns to the Turks to the Austro -Hungarian empire to the Communists dominating them. They don't really know who they are.

Yesterday, we went to the ruins of a Roman Military Camp and city that dates back to the 1st Century AD....amazing!!! They showed us tombs, their baths and lookout towers. They are working on unearthing their amphitheater.

I continue to enjoy watching the people live their daily lives....going to their churches, outdoor markets, visitng with friends and caring for their children.

The riverboat we are on is wonderful and we have meet people from all over the US and parts of the world.

Our friend Kink is doing well and Harry is managing the wheelchair in very difficult terrains. He is thankful he is in good shape.

Much more to come!!!

August 14, 2009 6:22 AM

Kim said...

Aloha all. Dang WiFi on de ship is constantly on the blink. Sorry for expectations we built to tell you stories daily on our supposed blog. Fab fun flight over here. Bucharest was our entry point in this part of the world and has tales of battle scars over centuries in its landscape and buildings. Onto Oltenita on the Danube and set sail for Silistra, Bulgaria. Bulgaria was a big surprise in its history, people, gorgeous countryside of fields of sunflowers!!!! We're talkin' like the wheat fields of Condon, Wasco, Grass Valley plain. Yeah, corn too. Donkey n wagon w/ farmer hauling produce a common thing. Old villages w/ red tiled rooves. To Varna; the seaside city on the Black Sea. Yes, we stuck our feet in the sea so we can say we did. Veliko Turnovo in the mountains. Vidin on the Danube. Belogradchik fortress in famous rocks (think Smith Rocks, OR). Serbia is a very mixed up and emotional place but the city of Belgrade is wonderful. Went to an archeological site outside of Kostolac, Serbia. 4th CENTURY dig!! Coin minted by Romans in 441 AD FOUND; one of many coins found in Roman baths site. That and other finds caught us in the throat when we ponder history in this part of the world. Lots of stuff like this. 1st century . . . 10th century, etc etc. Da Danube ain't blue. Plenty of fishermen all along the river. It's summer camping season and hundreds of campsites and cabins show families on vacation. Kink n wheelchair are a handful, as Kim can attest. Cobblestoned streets, uneven ground, rock/gravel, crossing crazy traffic (I literally raced Kink down a narrow two way street in the middle of Veliko Turnovo to a viewpoint we had passed in the bus. He gripped the arms of that wheelchair I'll tell ya. We three are having the time of our lives. I workout at 5:30am, get Kim n Kink up at 6. Then we hunker down with the winning combo of muesli and gobs of crisp bacon. I mean dis bacon is off da charts!! Ha! Other meals are great. I particularly love being up on the upper deck with my head on a swivel, binoculars in position, seeing all that my eyes can take in. Kim joins me sometimes. Kink naps. He has slowed A LOT. But, he continues best he can. We're having fun. Almost half way through the trip. Mahalo and blessings. Harry/Papa/Popz

August 14, 2009 1:16 PM