Day 14 Our last full day on our wonderful cruise. Come morning we opened our curtains to check out the weather and could not see a thing. The river was enveloped with fog and we wondered how the ship captain found his way to port. Thanks to radar we arrived safely in Vienna.

After breakfast we were taken by bus on a tour of Vienna followed by a walking tour through the city, including checking out where Mozart lived and St Stephen’s Cathedral. Lunch was at Vienna’s most famous wiener schnitzel restaurant. The schnitzels were the size of a large dinner plate (we shared one between two) and very scrumptious. The afternoon was spent wandering around the city, through the city park, catching the underground train back to the ship and relaxing in the brilliant sunshine (at last) on the sundeck, a very enjoyable day.

After our last evening meal (of schnitzel) we were escorted to a Vienna Concert of orchestral music (classical music performance of Mozart and Strauss), operatic singing and ballet – a great way to finish our cruise.

DAY 15 Today we finished packing, lingered over our final breakfast (taking careful note of the way the chef cooked my eggwhite omelet so I can replicate at home) and have begun to say our goodbyes to our cruise buddies. We now face many hours of waiting around at airports and watching onboard movies. But all worth it! It has been a fantastic holiday. Louth, London, Paris & Italy seem so long ago.

We feel we have done a lot and now are ready to go home. See you all soon.

The day started with a scenic cruise through the Wachau Valley, a UNESCO World Heritage cultural landscape representing one of the most beautiful stretches of river valleys in Europe, en route to Krems. Even though the weather was overcast, it was still a relaxing & beautiful area.

After lunch, we went on a wine tasting tour… the wines were “interesting” and did not inspire us to purchase any.

Since some in Australia were skeptical if we really did go bike riding on day 10, we did another bike ride and went for an hour ride along the Danube River.

Dinner was the formal Captains farewell dinner, another 5 course dinner… the Baked Alaska dessert was particularly palatable.. not sure what life will be like without 3 course breakfast, 3 course lunch & 4-5 course dinners….

Today was a good day, only had to wear 6 layers of clothes, rather than 8 (for John this equates to 3 layers instead of 5).. so warmer than previous days.

We toured around the 900 yr old Benedictine Abbey in Melk, Austria. Liz looked for Sean Connery at the Melk Abbey (re: Name of the Rose movie) however he was not to be seen.

Whilst an impressive building, with its baroque architecture, we did struggle with the excesses and lifestyle of the churches in the middle ages, building such large & costly buildings, covered with gold leaf. This 400 room abbey is home to only 40 monks, however they do run a school for 900 students in the abbey.

The evening ended with a local german blues/rock’n'roll band, singing well known (American) songs, so Liz got to dance again….

Today we were in Passau and took a walking tour around the historic city and heard a short recital of St. Stephen’s Cathedral organ, Europe’s largest pipe organ. We ignored the expected temperature forecast of 14, and dressed for 2-4 degrees (all 5-6 layers of clothes)…. and we were pretty right, it only got to 7 deg. Passau is a pretty town where several rivers merge into the Danube river.
In the afternoon, we took the optional tour and ventured through the Bavarian forest to the Bavarian Village Museum in Passau… a collection of 150 old farm houses & buildings that a person collects as a hobby to preserve the history of German farming. Each of the buildings were disassembled and relocated to the village, and displayed with original furniture as life would be back in 1500-1800’s.

Due to Liz’s cunningness, we were able to get the large table for dinner. In the restaurant, most tables are tables set 4 or 6 people, and one table seats 8. Even though there is an open seating policy on the boat (ie: no reserved seating), this large table has been commandeered by the same group of travelers every night, and they queue up 30 minutes early, each night to get it. So Liz got in early, and we were able to have an all Aussie table. There are a total of 16 Aussies onboard, out of 120 guests.

Regensburg, Germany – we walked around one of the finest medieval towns in Germany, capturing 2,000 years of living history with outstanding manmade monuments like the 12th-century stone bridge and the towering gothic cathedral. It was a dry day, a little overcast, and we dressed for the expected maximum temp of 11 degrees, only to find the top during our morning walk was 2 degrees !!!! ..chilling to the bones…

After a Bavarian lunch of bratwurst sausages, we were bold enough to venture out into the cold for an afternoon in Regensburg. The sun came out, and it was a barmy 3 degrees… however we decided to use the complimentary bicycles, and ride around Regensburg, it was a very pleasant afternoon …… see the pictures for the proof!!

We rode to the East German Art Gallery in Regensburg, and interesting gallery of contemporary & classical art, with lots of variety, addressing past & present social problems. John is still ponding the deeper meaning of what these 2 contemporary pictures are saying to the viewer ???!!!

The night ended with a great German guitarist/singer, whom also sang last week…. in many ways, on board activities from last week are being repeated this week, as 70% of the guests are new…. although we are really glad of cruising for 2 weeks, … one week would have been far too short.

Day 8 & 9 were in Nuremberg……, on day 8 we enjoyed a slow morning onboard the boat (reading, washing, drying, ironing), as it was heavy fog, cold & overcast. After another simple scrumptious lunch, we headed into Nuremberg to check out the many shops & gingerbread stalls. Over 60% of the guests (mostly Americans) left the ship in Nuremberg, as they had only booked a 1 week Rhine/Main Rivers trip, however the boat was soon filled again with guests for the Danube River trip. There is a third leg .. the Vienna-Budapest cruise through Hungary, Serbia, Romania & Bulgaria does sound very interesting … maybe next year ???

Day 9, we had a guided tour through Nuremberg historic town, an archetypal German medieval city encircled by mighty defensive walls and red-roofed buildings…. mostly destroyed at end of world war two, and reconstructed to match the historic original buildings. Our German male tour guide (a historian & a bit of a hunk), was very interesting… explaining how Hitler used Nuremberg for many political rallies before the war as propaganda, and we stood in the area the rallies were held (now a sports field & motor car race track).

We then left Nuremberg, and continued to climb the mountains through some very large locks (~30m) on the man made canal that connects the Rhine/Main rivers to the Danube river, and tonight we traversed the peak of the canal (highest point, where technically the 2 rivers join) …. & even received official certificates. After another formal Captains dinner, Liz enjoyed dancing……

Our time in Bamberg, Germany, was the usual routine, full breakfast, walking tour of historic town, lunch, walking around historic town, formal dinner, & sleep.

Bamberg is a UNESCO World Heritage city and one of Europe’s largest intact Old Town centres (did not get destroyed in the war) , with grand imperial cathedral, & residence, the Town Hall built in the middle of River Regnitz and the fisherman’s village, called “Little Venice,”.

In the afternoon, as it was Sunday, and most shops were closed, we just wandered around (whilst wet, it was getting warmer by a degree), and we took a few turns we didn’t remember and walked off our city map, so took a while to find our way back… a nice walk anyway.

Ah river cruising it’s a hard life. We do have to get ourselves out of bed and shower ourselves and choose what to wear, then it’s off to breakfast and relax. The chef makes Liz a yokeless omelet, with mushroom, ham and tomato. There is also cereal, a variety of bread to toast, other hot dishes, fresh fruit, croissants, muffins, breadrolls, waffles, pancakes and on it goes. We sit near the window and enjoy the view. The waiter brings us coffee and tea, clears away the plates etc. As I said, it’s a hard life.

After breakfast, a short bus trip into Würzburg where we explored a stunning example of baroque architecture, which also happens to be a World Heritage Site. We then wandered around the pleasant town of Würzburg, not many buildings date before 1945 as the town was 90% destroyed by the allied forces. It was Saturday morning and it was an opportunity to watch normal Germans go about their Saturday morning shopping, including choosing their seafood from a tank of live fish which were decapitated once the choice has been made.

The afternoon was spent leisurely cruising plus a very interesting lecture on the reunification of Germany.

Today is our first full day when it has mostly rained (or drizzled all day), plus it is still very cold. We did hear on CNN that Germany is having below average temperatures for October.

We did the obligatory morning walking tour which today was around the town of Miltenberg (Germany), nestled tightly below wooded hills on a bend of the Main River. It was a wonderful small photogenic town, not touristy at all, full of half-timbered houses that give the town a fairytale feel.

As we have not been able to upload photos via the boat’s internet connection (very restrictive firewall), we were able to log on at a warm cafe and upload some pictures of our river cruise so far.

The afternoon was spent lazingly admiring the scenery as we drifted along, an afternoon snooze after another delicious meal and watching TV & NSW cricket decimate the Trinidad team in a 20/20 match on EUROSPORTLIVE tv.

Dinner was an epicurean dinner, where each course is accompanied by a different matched wine, so I had to match the apple & orange juice to each course… was not easy.

Another lazy sunny day, as we cruised the peaceful Main River before docking right in the heart of Aschaffenburg…. during the morning cruise, we went on the top deck, to find out how absolutely cold it was … the wind was soooo icy cold.

Some of the bridges on the Main River are very low, so not only are all the top deck handrails folded down, the wheel house is lowered so far, that a room hatch is opened, and the captain stands up thru the hatch to see… like an army tank.

Our afternoon was a walking tour of the historic part of the town of Aschaffenburg, another palace, and historic buildings. The local guides are certainly passionate about their towns, and each old building. We then had some free time, and we headed for the commercial shopping centre (and the warmth of a few department stores).. just like our Westfields. There John was able to buy a few warm shirts, beanie, and gloves… it will only be getting colder as we cruise thru Germany & into Austria.

Another really nice 4 course dinner on the boat (lemon Meringue pie for dessert), and are now sitting in the lounge room, listening to a German folk guitarist, although he sang mostly popular American songs, only some in German…. it was good, just not the cultural experience it was supposed to be.