Waltz, River and Wine

 Today we met a private guide to take us from Heidelberg to Strasbourg France.   I had several stops I wanted to make and he was very agreeable.  The first stop was Schwetzingen Gardens.  This had very high ratings on trip advisor. There is also a palace that of course we saw no reason to visit.  The gardens were amazing. Very large like Versailles or English gardens. Very French in that they are well manicured with lots of straight lines, water features and lots of grass. Not very much color as with other gardens but it was nice to see the fountains on and working. No gold as with Russian gardens.  The next stop was a tree top walk and suspension bridge that was deep in the German portion of the Black Forest. The was called Bad Wildbad. The treetop walk was a long entry that was flat the wound its way up several hundred feet.  The suspension bridge was about 500 feet long with a bit of swing when walking on it. The area was family friendly and had swi...

This was the photo of the problem with laundry

 Today we will head into one of the wine areas of Germany.  This is a private tour with a guide who started our 10 am tour off with Champagne since he didn’t want us dehydrated and we had about a 40 minute drive. The area we saw was the Platz wine region of Germany  The focus was to be on reds. Of course we were introduced to some amazing whites and we are definitely spoiled with Temecula reds, Paso reds or Napa reds and felt the reds lacked. Tasting was an open ended affair. In others words they just poured what they produced so we tasted 7 different Reisling varieties and the 6 Chardonnay varieties. Not to mention the others types we tasted. Needless to say we are hoping DHL will ship.  Our guide did assure us!    The wine handlers were friendly and some even spoke English. The wineries were smaller and were not importing or mass producing for supermarkets etc.  By the time we had a charcuterie board both Dan and I were feeling no pain.  Upon ar...

 Good news no train issues today.  We are traveling on local trains. We were confused as a train we were supposed to take was at the platform and the number of the train changed but we actually located someone to ask who confirmed the correct connection. A fairly short walk to the hotel and then another walk down to the hotel Verl is staying at and time for a bottle of wine before he arrives with his group on the bus.  Catching up completed and the plan to meet the group at the castle and tag along the rest of the day. This was great for us since they had a guide and in depth castle tour and we were able to benefit.  The Heidelberg Schloss was built in the 1400’s and was attacked in the 1700’s and destroyed after rebuilding in 1764 the castle was struck by lightning setting off fires that ultimately caused the ruin.  It is in remarkable condition considering it is 600 years old and is in ruins. They have maintained several areas which are now for private parties...

 Laundry was done in the rain without a hitch.  We spent the day at the thermal baths. We went to the Caracalla spa. It is the more modern of the spas and has one floor that is swim suit required and upstairs with swim suits prohibited. We opted for a full day pass inclusive of both areas.   Enjoyed time in the pools which were not that hot and usually had no jets. There was a cafeteria on site so we had dinner there it was a great day overall. Enjoyed both upstairs and downstairs stairs.   The rain had tapered off and we were in  the outside pools while it was raining but it didn’t matter. We pack and plan to go to the world famous Baden Baden casino then we will head to Heidelberg by train. The sun is out and Dan says “where are my sun glasses”.  Oops another unexpected vacation cost.  We can’t remember how or where they could be lost. We checked the Italian restaurant to see if they were left. No not there. Oh well they can be replaced. In the mean ...

 I already covered the train excitement so will summarize our Baden Baden exploration. Upon arrival in BB we locate the hotel and the plan is laundry.  Of course we shelve that plan and the weather is dry with some blue skies. Why do laundry?  There is always tomorrow and it is suppose to rain. So yes we opt for the challenge to have an early dinner, unpack and logistically figure out the laundry challenge that we know it will be I want to take some time and talk about our room.  It is at Roomers hotel which is a Marriott hotel. Very sleek and modern. We have a small balcony with automatic shades. Enough outlets and the furniture is black lacquer with a low bed.  Large 8 foot high mirrors at least 4 including both sides of the bathroom door. The shower in open with glass flood to ceiling that can be viewed from bed or closed off with a mirror in case you wanted to see yourself in the shower.   There is a rain type shower head that can’t be turned off and a ...

 Passau is a fairly busy town since it seems to be a major stop for all cruise companies.  The ship docked near the old city and then moved to the major cruise hub. There must have been at least 10 ships in port. Our walk through the old town was okay. Our guide was less than stellar.  The highlight of the city is definitely the church with the 1700 pipe organ. Currently they are repairing, so there is scaffolding inside the church. Today is Sunday and many of the shops are closed  We were able to go to the glass museum. This was an amazing display with so many rooms and display cases we were exhausted.  Upon leaving we discussed the museum and the docent said too bad it is Sunday because there are glass shops in town with artists doing spectacular work for sale at reasonable prices  The weather has stayed dry although it is going to rain tomorrow when we head to the train and Baden Baden. 

 The river cruise is flying by or should I say rolling along. I think this is because we spent 2 days in Budapest and 2 days in Passau so there are only 4 cities between that we stop at.   Linz is our next stop. It is a far more interesting city than we expected. The city is divided by the Danube and more importantly after WWII was divided when the Soviets ruled one side of the river and Austria ruled the other.  Linz has a long history and is a capital of upper Austria, Mozart spent time there and even composed the Linz symphony. In addition to the Hapsburg family and their long history in Vienna and all of Austria   We came into town and in the town square is a flea market. Sellers were mostly garage sale type items with lots of shoes and clothing. Of course Dan found a new relic for the garden. Have to ask him.  The afternoon we decided to go to the botanical garden.  This is the first town we have been seen with a garden. It was a great garden and since...

 Our first travel glitch has occurred. We were checking for seat reservations for the train from Passau to Baden Baden our next stop. Checked with reservations and was told there are no seat reservations in Germany. Alas low and behold there are reservations  We ran into this problem in the past 1 time but had no issues. This time we weren’t so lucky.  We have decided if no seats we will just sit in the dining car and nurse a glass of wine   There is always a way Since this trip is so well planned with only 5 train connections I will go ahead and reserve the rest of the seats.   Better not to be stressed.   Or else we will look at more regional trains Update to today’s travel.  We connected in Frankfurt. No problems we were even on the same platform. Of course almost every seat was accounted for and we felt like sneaks in the night awaiting someone to say sorry that is my seat in German that we have no idea of what is being said. Unfortunately this tra...

 Haven’t blogged in days but today we are on the train to Frankfurt before transferring to go to Baden Baden.  The routing used is the long way around and actually more miles but we are on an ice train (inter city express) so there are fewer stops. Plenty of time to blog since it is a 4 hour trip.  From Vienna the next stop for the ship was the small town of Krems. The excursion was to the Gottweig Abbey which is a 900 year old Benedictine Abbey on the Camino de Santiago. The Abbey is self contained and supports itself by forestry, winemaking and of course tourism.   Yes, they did provide tasting.  Our entire stay in the town was consumed by a visit to the abbey.  We arrived in town late because of a problem with the ship getting stuck in the lock for 90 minutes. Which is really a shame because it would have been fun to see the town. Not to mention purchases would have been more cost effective. This area grows a specific variety of grape known as Grunner Ve...

 We travel back to the city of Vienna where we spent several days last year.  We did the morning bus tour then spent the afternoon exploring sights that were new and a little different. This included the globe museum and like most museums the time spent was doubled what we anticipated. It was well done with lots of descriptions both in German and in English  We headed over to the National Library which had been redone and had an exhibition of landscape architecture through the ages with original drawings and plans. Very interesting and a discussion of how gardens have evolved over the centuries  Next to the Volksgarden or people’s garden just to people watch and then the subway back to the ship.  Tonight we went on a ship’s excursion. This was by far our best excursion yet.  We went to a Heurige. This was originally a bottle or cast opening of new releases of the winery.  What it really amounted to was a private party in a local Viennese winery. This w...

 Arrived in Bratislava early because of an earlier start the day before the walking tour was moved from 2:30 to 9:00 am. Not a problem except for the weather which was pouring down rain but cleared and by 2:30 it was beautiful with blue sky.  Oh well walking in the rain is a great activity for the morning.   Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia which was a country created when Czechoslovakia split.  Guides have been good about explaining the history of the region and recalling what life was like under communism in the past. The Russian attitude about infrastructure and rebuilding of cities was discussed and as an American we have little appreciation of how government control impacts quality of life.  The ship spent the day in Bratislava  good use of our time a nap.  Not a lot of entertainment on board in the evening but we are still finishing dinner at 9pm   Tonight they brought in some local entertainment for “cultural enrichment”  I did no...

 Our excursion to the baths was wonderful. This was my first time and it was like several huge jacuzzis without jets. There were several pools all different temperatures and 2 large outdoor pools with fountains and jets. The out door pools were about 85 degrees and the air temperature was cooler so they felt warm. The indoor pools were all different temperatures but none hotter than about 100 degrees. It was a relaxing afternoon and I am looking forward to seeing baths in Baden Baden when we are there. We went to the szechenyi baths   They are considered one of the best baths   The baths are in an old baroque building with magnificent frescoes on the ceiling and walls. Truly a beautiful building and the outdoor pools were what one would imagine in Rome.    After our bath time we were then bussed up to meet the ship which left Budapest early so as to be through a lock on the river.  With any group of people there are always a few that cause you to wish you w...

 This is our 3rd river cruise with Viking. We appreciate the level of service, free wine or soft drinks with lunch and dinner. Menus are varied and tasty  All that said are positives. This cruise we upgraded the cabin but apparently not quite enough there is a total of 8 inches on either side of the bed and between the end of the bed and built in dresser there is approximately 18 inches. Tiny doesn’t begin to describe all the space we have. Although we do have a sliding window to get real air into the cabin. This cabin seems smaller than our river cruises and is much tinier than our ocean cruise cabins.  The upside we were able to find a space for all our stuff. 

 We had 4 days to explore Budapest. The pros it is a great city with terrific architecture and buildings. People were friendly. We would come back and explore a little more using public transportation. Need to cruise the river at night to see the lights. (Missed it this time).  We had only 1 day of rain but cloudy and cool the rest of the time.  Better weather if possible would be an improvement   I probably need to take more photos while walking since photos from buses and tour buses lose too much detail.  Need to have more chimney cakes  and fewer pretzels(they were a disappointment). In one plaza near Vaci Utca(the main walking street) had temporary structures and kiosks which were active on the weekend not sure if this is every weekend or just because of it being the week after Easter.  Would love to explore these temporary shops  Some things missed were a visit to St Stephen’s church, a visit to the New York Cafe and more time in the thermal ...