A Full-time Life

Category: Europe

BRUGES, BELGIUM

We were impressed with the train we took from Amsterdam — our first inter-country train ride. (Thankful for the European Union… it must have been so much more difficult when you had to show your passport at every border.) We had to transfer at least once, maybe twice. But all announcements were made in at least three languages (including English) and there was an electronic reader in each car, also in each language. So it was a piece of cake to get to our next destination — beautiful Bruges Belgium.

Bruges is the capital of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish region of Belgium. We loved seeing those beautiful buildings — and (to nobody's surprise) we loved the Canals.

Grote Markt (Market Square)

Bruges has one of the best preserved medieval areas in Europe as most of its architecture from that period is still intact.

Church of Our Lady

We took a (self-guided) tour of the Church of Our Lady, a beautiful stone Church that took two centuries (from the 13th to the 15th) to build. At present it is undergoing a restoration, nearly completed, but some of its art treasures are not available for public viewing (they have been moved for safety or are covered with dust protectors).

We came with no expectations, so we were happy with what we did see. Each aisle of the large church has small altars with paintings and woodcarvings and there are the usual crypts of royalty.

The picture on the lower left is part of a 14th or 15th Century mural which was discovered under many layers of paint during the restoration.. The panels showed better in person than they did in my photos .. we could make out details. I found the process for saving these works of art to be fascinating. The sign in my photo below explains that process and interprets the representations.

Enlarged photo of sign explaining medieval paintings being restored

I'm happy that there are experts who know how to save these treasures.

Bruges City Hall

One evening while we were wandering about admiring more of the medieval architecture, we saw people entering the courtyard underneath the famous Bell Tower — and we let ourselves be carried along with the crowd.

Thirteenth-Century Belfry of Bruges and Carillon which was added in the 16th.

We had stumbled upon a free carillon concert — just on time for good seats. We learned that the City still employs a full-time person to play the 47-bell instrument, which dates from the sixteenth century. University music students were also taking part in this evening's event, a mix of light classical and pop standards.

Here is a night view of the Church of Our Lady as seen on our way back to our home-away-from-home after the concert.

What a beautiful evening!

Night or day, Bruges was a beautiful City and we were happy that we were able to spend some time there. We could easily have spent longer, but there were other places to go! On the third afternoon of our stay we took another train to another city in Belgium… which is another post.

Linking this week to the following sharing opportunities. With thanks to all of the hosts.

MOSAIC MONDAY; THROUGH MY LENS; OUR WORLD ON TUESDAY; TRAVEL PHOTO SOUVENIRS; TUESDAY TREASURES; SAY CHEESE; MY CORNER OF THE WORLD; SIGNS SIGNS; THANKFUL THURSDAY; SKYWATCH FRIDAY; and FRIDAY BLISS;

November 3, 2019
KINDERDIJK AND (on-our-own again) in HAARLEM

We arrived at Kinderdijk (The Netherlands) in mid-afternoon on the last full day of our River Cruise. This charming town is a living historical museum with 19 still-functioning windmills. It is the only place in the world with so many windmills so close together.

Built in the 18th Century, the Kinderdjik windmills harnessed the power of wind to reclaim land from the sea, making it possible to cultivate and settle the area as well as to prevent flooding. All 19 remain in working order today. The area has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We enjoyed a short talk about the history of the area and a guided tour of the windmills including a re-creation of the original living quarters inside one that is open to the public. (People do live in some of these windmills — the original structure and function must be maintained.)

That night was our final one on the Viking Skirnr — the boat docked at Amsterdam at 4 the next morning. The ship's staff handled final disembarking with great efficiency. Because we were staying in The Netherlands, we were the among final group to disembark. We had time for the on-board breakfast buffet and coffee… and time to wonder how we would adjust to not being able to count on breakfast and coffee automatically appearing every morning as soon as we were ready for it!

Haarlem, The Netherlands

We were called when our Taxi was ready at the dock; our luggage was brought out by the staff. And — just like that — we were on our own in The Netherlands! I'd say 'back to the real world' except we were in a whole new and beautiful country — not at all our usual world! Off we went to Haarlem where "we" (meaning the travel planner of the family, not me) had booked an Air B&B.

Top left: the street marker is on the corner of Scheepmakersdijk, where our Haarlem "home" was located. Upper right and lower left pictures are outside and inside the B&B. Center picture is the city gate, a remainder of the wall that once surrounded the city. Lower right is a neighborhood Canal.

Back at home before the trip we'd actually thought of Haarlem as a suburb of Amsterdam and had pictured ourselves taking the train into the big city several times during the days we had booked at our B&B. But, to our delight, we found Haarlem to be a perfect city on its own. We fell in love with it — and had no wish to leave during the time we had booked.

We walked the canals and narrow streets every day, found the neighborhood shops and cafes delightful, enjoyed people watching, and explored every nook and cranny we could. We felt comfortable just living on our own (for a change at this point). Even making morning coffee is a small adventure in a new place. (Especially coming right after time on a cruise.)

This is just a little hand-made sign that someone had put in their apartment window — but I liked the sentiment (even if it is not quite grammatically correct). The City was full of life, busy without being frenetic. A perfect place to re-adjust to real life after the somewhat un-real existence on the cruise ship.

On that same street there was an office for "Expat Services" so I assume that's the reason for the English sign. Almost everyone we met spoke excellent English, but most signs here were in Dutch (as of course they should be).

We loved the open air cafes, whether they were downtown or along the canals. And of course we enjoyed looking at water and boats.

We read that there are at least two bicycles for every person in The Netherlands. Above are some of them — parked at the Haarlaam Train Depot. We've heard and read that some pedestrians are intimidated by bicycle riders. We didn't have any problems either here or later in Amsterdam (we did go back to spend a few days there at the end of our time in Europe).



In fact, we found it charming that everyone rode them! Especially the families, such as the moms, dads, mom-to-be, and even grandparents! (All snapped while we ourselves were sitting at outdoor cafes watching people and trying not to feel lazy.)

Our days in Haarlaam went by too quickly! On the morning of the fourth day, we schlepped our suitcases a few blocks from our little apartment to that train station (unlike getting off the ship — here in the real world, there were no porters to carry our luggage). Here we hopped on the "local" back to Amsterdam, where we caught a longer-distance train to the next country we would be fortunate to visit.

Linking to the following sharing opportunities with thanks to all of the hosts:

MOSAIC MONDAY;  THROUGH MY LENS; OUR WORLD ON TUESDAY; TRAVEL PHOTO SOUVENIRS; TUESDAY TREASURES; SAY CHEESE;  MY CORNER OF THE WORLD; SIGNS SIGNS; THANKFUL THURSDAY;  SKYWATCH FRIDAY; and FRIDAY BLISS;

October 27, 2019
PROST! We visit KOLN (COLOGNE)

The Skirnr arrived at Koln at 9 in the morning, having left Koblenz at 3 A.M., according to our in-room daily newsletter. We didn't notice the departure — by this time in the journey (only a couple days from its end) we were quite used to the motions of the boat.

We opened our balcony door to watch the landing and saw a Festival Beer Garden set up right across the sidewalk from our room. People were already having fun (at just 9 in the morning) — or maybe it was "still having fun" from the night before, who knows?

The top two pictures above show how our boat was docked here. The rather steep gangplank that we walked to get in and out shows on the left. The lower picture is the beer garden, taken from our balcony. This docking point was great, because we were able to walk on that sidewalk right into the center of town. (I think a few passengers might have gotten sidetracked on the way in, right there across the 'street'.

We were looking forward to a nice long day in Koln. After breakfast on board, we headed into town — which was already hopping by that time in the morning. We saw a coffee shop called Oma Jan's in the same building as Papa Joe's Bier Salon. It was a little early to patronize Papa, but we enjoyed a pastry and coffee at Oma's. (Those happen to be two German words I understand very well, as I've known a few couples whose grandchildren called them Oma and Papa.) As it turned out, we would visit Papa Joe's later in the day.

It was pleasant to stroll around the old town watching people …. we stumbled on a wedding right at the busiest corner of the pedestrian mall. The happy couple had quite a few uninvited guests. Everyone was waiting until the white "doves" were released. Someone told me that a man has a business renting out these homing pigeons for events.

I don't know the significance of the top statue but the bottom (uh, lower?) center gargoyle is said to be mooning a statue that is across the river — that one is sticking its tongue out. In addition to being a happening town, it seems Cologne seemed a bit of an irreverent one.

Irreverent in spite of the fact that the twin spires of the 14th-Century Gothic Cathedral dominate the City skyline. The Cathedral is one of the few buildings in the City that was spared allied bombs during WWII. The City is quite a mix of old and new, with ancient Roman ruins right next to modern buildings.

Ornate and imposing, the Cathedral also has beautiful stained-glass windows, which down't show well at all in this picture. There is a 500+ step tower which leads to a viewing platform (we did not climb it). It holds an impressive sarcophagus which is said to contain bones of the Magi (the three Kings who visited Baby Jesus).

After viewing the Cathedral, we wandered back to the boat for lunch (which we didn't really need) and a nap, which we did. It was a pre-emptive rest, because we had chosen to take an optional evening tour to explore Cologne's food and beer culture — and we did want to start out wide awake!

Cologne is famous for its Kolsch beer. By law, real Kolsch can only be produced here. As we walked back to town, our knowledgeable tour guide (a young woman) provided very interesting history of Cologne's signature beer and explained that we would visit four authentic German brauhauses. Our first stop was Papa Joe's , the one we'd looked at when we walked around that morning. As we enjoyed our first glass of Kolsch, we admired the hand-carved and life-sized mechanical band. Papa's is a jazz club, but the only music we heard was when the "band" played traditional German songs. It was probably too early in the evening.

At the second stop, we enjoyed our Kolsch along with a traditional four-course German dinner. Waiters carried multiple glasses in one hand, while at the same time scooping up empties with the other. We learned the special way to toast each other with the special Kolsch glasses. "Prost" is the German word — as we would say "cheers." (You clink the bottom of the glasses, while looking each other in the eye — otherwise it is bad luck.)

Beer Mat (coaster)

Kolsch glasses are small, but we learned that they would be refilled unless you remember to put the beer mat over it. That is how you signal you've had enough. Our (I guess unlimited) beer and food was pre-paid since we were on a tour, but normally, the waiter would make a hash-mark on the beer mat for each refill and that is how they know how to charge the drinker.

Prost!

There were two more tour stops — at the last one, our guide told us the Brauhaus had been built on the site of Roman ruins – there were actually plexi-glass windows in a few places on the floor where you could see bones on the ground below. I didn't really want to think about that too much by that point.

(This picture has nothing to do with beer.)

Our group had gotten gradually smaller as the tour progressed, but we stayed until the end, arriving back at the ship around 10 p.m. …. The boat left port at 10:30. The picture above is shortly after we left, motoring past some of the bright lights of a more modern part of Cologne..

We sat on our deck enjoying the still warm evening as we said Auf Wiedersehen to Koln … and to Germany. The next morning, the Skirnr would dock in the Netherlands, the fourth country we would see while on this cruise.

We had fun in Koln, but as we reflected, we were most grateful for all we had learned at every stop in Germany. We enjoyed the country so much… perhaps more than I had thought we would. I really knew so very little about it, even though both of us can trace part of our ancestry to that country.

Linking this week to the following, with thanks to the hosts.

ALL SEASONS; MOSAIC MONDAY; TRAVEL PHOTO SOUVENIRS; THROUGH MY LENS; OUR WORLD ON TUESDAY;

TUESDAY TREASURES; SAY CHEESE;  MY CORNER OF THE WORLD; SIGNS SIGNS; THANKFUL THURSDAY;

SKYWATCH FRIDAY; and   FRIDAY BLISS;

October 13, 2019
CASTLES AND DUNGEONS AND WINE, OH MY Wertheim and Koblenz

Castles and Dungeons and Wine, Oh My!

The next couple of days of our cruise were like a fairy-tale! We had castles and towers and dungeons and beautiful views …. and lots of good wine! (Okay, it was an adult fairy-tale.)

Morning view from the boat, Day 11

We woke to another beautiful day on the Rhine River. Our port of call was Wertheim, the smallest of all the places we'd visited in Germany, but one with as much history as any of the larger cities.

It was an important city because of its strategic location at the confluence of the Main and Tauber Rivers. The City's royalty built the Castle (middle picture above) in the 12th Century, but it was captured and destroyed in the Thirty Years' War. The ruins are still impressive. It looks down upon the medieval town center and newer homes along the river banks.

Wertheim also has its own Leaning Tower. (Can you imagine Rapunzel in the window up there?) The noticeable lean is due to 800 years of flooding — a hazard of the town's location on the river banks. Markers on the tower and on many other old buildings show just how high the water has risen over the centuries. (And as we all know from recent years, rising water levels and flooding still continue across Europe.)

The tower was built in the 13th Century as a lookout, but it also served as a prison for drunkards and "quarrelsome wenches." Food and water were lowered down to the prisoners who were kept in complete darkness until their release. (Can you imagine anyone down there in the dungeon?)

(Amateur photographer's disclaimer here: I often need to straighten pictures with my editing tool and I am honestly not sure if the lean on the tower picture is the real angle or if part of it is due to my shaky camera hand. I do remember that the lean was quite obvious to the naked eye.)

From the boat — Day 13

It was a short day in Wertheim — we were back on the boat by noon and the Skirnr departed shortly after for the next stop. Some of the more energetic passengers had taken an optional bicycle tour of the city and surrounding hills — the boat stopped briefly along the way to pick them up.

Every single day of this cruise there were interesting sights from the boat as we traveled, but the next day, which was almost all on the water, was the most spectacular of all. These pictures are just a few of the castles and some of the surrounding beautiful scenery that we saw along this part of the Middle Rhine River.

We went back and forth between our stateroom balcony and the outside lounge upstairs, where we could see both sides of the river … trying not to miss a thing. The views were spectacular wherever we looked. The program director of the cruise was in the lounge to give us some of the history of the castles we passed. (Way too much to include here — there are many links to Castles on the Rhine for more information.) This area would be a wonderful land tour — some of the castles are open to the public. (Sigh. So many beautiful places …..)

We arrived at Koblenz, the next port of call, around 4, and quickly boarded a bus for an excursion through part of the surrounding Moselle wine country. Grape vines grew everywhere — on steep terraces, on hillsides, in front of castles, on railroad right-of-way, and in spaces between more ordinary homes. We ended up at a small country winery, where we enjoyed hearing from the owner about this wine making region and his family's long history making wine. And of course we enjoyed an excellent tasting experience before heading back to the boat for a 7 p.m. dinner, featuring (as usual) good food and (more) local wines.

A beautiful ending to the fairy-tale.

Linking this week to the following: Thank you to all of the hosts.

ALL SEASONS; MOSAIC MONDAY; TRAVEL PHOTO SOUVENIRS; THROUGH MY LENS; OUR WORLD ON TUESDAY; COUNTRY SCAPES; TUESDAY TREASURES; SAY CHEESE;  MY CORNER OF THE WORLD; THANKFUL THURSDAY;  SKYWATCH FRIDAY; and   FRIDAY BLISS;

October 6, 2019
WURZBERG (on the MAIN RIVER)

Marienburg Fortress

on the Left Bank of the Main River

Wurzburg is located on two banks of the Main River in the Franconia region of Germany. We had the above view from near where the boat was docked. Franconia is known for its wine and Wurzburg is home to Germany's oldest and largest vineyard. (That is a different vineyard in the picture above – the city is surrounded by them.) This 13th-Century Fortress was originally a Celtic fort and then was expanded into a Baroque residence of bishops .

Two sides of the same sculpture

Our ship-board guide said Wurzburg's pedestrian zone had the best shopping in the region. We didn't really shop, but did enjoy seeing this sculpture by Mia Weiss. That is two views of the same sign — from each side. (I'm sorry I didn't measure my steps better; obviously I was closer to the Love side.) Here's what I found out about it by searching the net:

Since May 2019, several LOVE HATE sculptures by Mia Florentine Weiss have been travelling as ambassadors through various cities in Germany and Europe in support of democracy and humanism in order to strengthen the European idea according to the maxim MAKE LOVE NOT HATE!

The LOVE HATE ambigram by Mia Florentine Weiss, a larger-than-life-sized sculpture in public space, in its mirror-image reading, confronts the extremes of human emotions with each other and animates the viewer to question his or her own point of view by changing his or her perspective. The mobile LOVE HATE sculpture by Mia Florentine Weiss was to be integrated into a cultural event as a highlight at the respective locations. With the participation in the art action #LOVEUROPE every city commits itself to love for Europe according to the maxim MAKE LOVE NOT HATE!

Bishop's Residence on the Right Bank of the Main

The Wurzburg Bishops' Residenz (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) is on the other side of the River from the Fortress. (Those Prince-Bishops owned a lot of real estate in Germany.) This one is massive (I was unable to get a picture of the entire structure). It is a monument to the ways the royalty used their power (and enormous wealth.) The palace was built between 1720 and 1744.

No pictures were allowed inside sadly…. we even had to check our bags at this palace. The inside was breath-taking. We remember the famous grand staircase with the largest ceiling fresco in the world (it is called "The Four Continents — all the artist knew about at the time). From the Staircase, we entered the Imperial Hall which had marble and gold decorations and more frescoes by the Venetian painter Tiepolo . (Disclaimer: I remember his work, but certainly had to research for his name.)

There were also beautiful formal gardens and we enjoyed strolling around the grounds.

Kappele Baroque Masterpiece Church

Just a couple more "ordinary" churches photographed in passing …. I couldn't even begin to show every photo-worthy structure in this City.

Neumunster Collegiate Church

We had a nice long day in Wurzburg, plus the boat was conveniently docked within walking distance of downtown. This made it an ideal location for us to fill a regular prescription that Bill needed. Finding out how to do that was an adventure in itself. From the helpful local pharmacist we learned the location of a walk-in clinic where he could visit a Dr and (hopefully) get the necessary local prescription. … And it worked!



High-school German (from oh, so many years ago) gave us the basic gist of this sign: "Dear Patients: We don't necessarily see patients in the order in which they enter. Thank you for your understanding." But Bill was seen quite promptly and while waiting we visited with local people — this definitely wasn't a tourist place! In fact, they really had no way of dealing with people who weren't on the national insurance — they had no way to accept credit cards and no change. We ended up paying almost nothing — and the office manager smiled and was more than pleasant all through the transaction. We went back to the same Pharmacy and the prescriptions were ready promptly.

Routine errands, made interesting by virtue of our being in another country. We were impressed by — and grateful for — the efficiency and caring of the staff at the clinic and the pharmacy. And interested in comparing both to our country.

It was a beautiful walk along the river back to the Viking Ship Skirnr, our home-away-from-home for this trip. We made it in plenty of time for departure to the next stop.

Linking this week to the following: Thank you to all of the hosts:

ALL SEASONS; MOSAIC MONDAY; TRAVEL PHOTO SOUVENIRS;

THROUGH MY LENS; OUR WORLD ON TUESDAY; COUNTRY SCAPES;

TUESDAY TREASURES; SAY CHEESE;  MY CORNER OF THE WORLD;

SIGNS SIGNS; THANKFUL THURSDAY;

SKYWATCH FRIDAY; and   FRIDAY BLISS;

September 21, 2019
BEAUTIFUL BAMBERG

Bamberg really was the prettiest town!

Founded in 902, the many historical churches and homes mean it still looks like a medieval city. It's almost like the whole town is an historic work of art.



Alte Rathaus (old City Hall)

In the 14th Century, the citizens of Bamberg wanted to build a city hall that served both sides of the town, which is divided by the Regnitz River. Their solution was to build a bridge across the river and place the Rathaus (town hall) on a man-made island in the middle.

Baroque and rococo touches were added to the building in 1746. The pictures above are the same building — this part of it is slightly visible in the very first picture in this post — on the left corner from the half-timbered part of the building. From this location, there are beautiful city and river views.

It is probably no surprise to anyone that most of my pictures include river views.

Lots of water and boats. Bamberg has been called "Little Venice".

Heller Haus

This building was the birthplace of Joseph Heller, a historian and art collector. I really don't have much more information about him, but the building is so pretty. It looks like it is made out of Wedgewood pottery — or sugar icing! The statue on the end of the bridge in front of it is Queen (and Saint) Cunigunde, the wife of one of the Holy Roman Emperors and a patron of Bamberg.

Another mystery — this three-dimensional sculpture is on a wall on the Mager Building in the old town. I don't know the significance, but was fascinated by it.

Original Schlenkeria Smoked Beer.

There has to be something silly about every stop — in Bamberg for us it was trying this strongly smoke-flavored beer at the historic brewery tavern that is its birthplace. I'll just say that 'trying' was the operative word (for both of us). Definitely not 'finishing'.

These pictures are from our balcony, shortly after we re-boarded the Skirnr. This was the most bird life we'd seen from the boat. There were geese, ducks and ducklings, and several swan families. It was the perfect ending to this beautiful day.

Linking to the following this week with thanks to the generous hosts:

ALL SEASONS; MOSAIC MONDAY; THROUGH MY LENS; OUR WORLD on Tuesday; TRAVEL PHOTO SOUVENIRS; TUESDAY TREASURES ; SAY CHEESE;     MY CORNER OF THE WORLD; THANKFUL THURSDAY;   SKYWATCH FRIDAY;   FRIDAY BLISS;   and SATURDAY CRITTERS

September 15, 2019
NUREMBERG (Day 9)

Our tour guidebook said that our visit to Nuremberg would be a complex and intriguing excursion. I can't think of a better way to describe this beautiful city.

Nuremberg — old and new

World War II reminders were everywhere on this trip but nowhere more so than here. That's what we expected to see and learn more about. Prior to and during WWII, Nuremberg was the site of the huge parade grounds where Nazi rallies and military drills were held. Recently, after much debate, a decision was made to preserve these grounds as a reminder of the country's dark past. (The grandstands are deteriorating badly and the debate was whether to demolish or repair.)

On the day we visited, part of the infamous site was being used as a temporary campground — if I understood correctly, many visitors were in town to attend a rock concert. I'm not sure what to think about that use, but maybe happy vibes are good. On the lower left is one of several picture the tour guide showed us as our bus passed the parade grounds. On the right is my picture of the same grounds. It was easy to imagine the real and terrible events taking place as we viewed both pictures.

Our tour guide was excellent – respectful and knowledgeable. We did not walk around at this stop, but stopped several times for pictures and presentations.

Imperial Palace

I was so sure that this tour would be all about World War II that the rest of what we saw and learned surprised me. The part I did not expect started at the top of Castle Hill, where our the walking tour began. This is the Imperial Palace, a symbol of the City. During the Middle Ages, every Holy Roman Emperor stayed here at some time. Nuremberg was a walled city with this safe fortress at the center.

Much later in time, the Palace also served an important purpose. Shortly after WWII began, an art storage depot was established in the ancient cellars under the Castle. In this way, the City's most important art treasures survived the heavy air raids intact.

Although air raids destroyed most of the medieval city walls, around three miles of them with original gateways and watchtowers still remain.

From the top of the hill we walked toward the City's Old Town. We had a short guided orientation ending in the Town Center….

Der Schone Brunen

(The Beautiful Fountain)

…. at this ornate Gothic fountain which dominates Market Square. The Fountain is an early 20th Century replica of the original built in the 1300s. It depicts figures from the Holy Roman Empire and the Church.

We then had some time to explore on our own.

We did some window-shopping in the Market Square. Nuremberg was once known as the toy-making capital of Europe — mostly hand-carved wooden toys (although my photo obviously shows softer toys).

It has always been well-known for its famous Lebkuchen — a cookie made with ground almonds and nine spices. And delicious. (Okay, it was more than window-shopping at Wicklein Lebkuchen Workshop, where they've been baking since 1613.)

We were told that it is a Nuremberg tradition to serve three German sausages in one bun. The price seemed reasonable enough if sausages are your thing.

The guide had told us to be back at the Beautiful Fountain when it was time to head back to the bus. It was a great meeting place – Nobody could forget or miss this spot! The top middle picture is somebody trying to reach the lucky ring. Tradition says your wish will be granted if you turn that certain ring three times. Our guide said it used to be gold, but because of all the touching and pushing and pulling it has been replaced several times.

Back on the bus (and back to the 20th Century) we stopped at the Palace of Justice, where the Nuremberg War Crime Trials took place in 1945 and 1946.

Palace of Justice, Nuremberg

We joined our guide in hoping that peace and justice prevail in this world and that we do not forget history.

Linking this week to the following, with thanks to all of the hosts:

ALL SEASONS; MOSAIC MONDAY; TRAVEL PHOTO SOUVENIRS; THROUGH MY LENS; OUR WORLD on Tuesday;    TUESDAY TREASURES ; SAY CHEESE; SIGNS SIGNS;   MY CORNER OF THE WORLD; THANKFUL THURSDAY;   SKYWATCH FRIDAY;   FRIDAY BLISS;

September 1, 2019
MUNICH (day 8)

Just after breakfast the Skirnr docked briefly at Straubing where guests could board buses for one of two tours — to the City of Munich (the capital of the German State of Bavaria) or to Regensburg.

We had not known before our trip that Munich would be an option, but because we'd heard a lot about it from fellow-snowbirds whose summer (and real) home is there, we jumped at the chance to visit.

BMW Welt website photo

It was rather a long bus ride into Munich. On the way, our bus made a stop at BMW Welt — a gigantic (and ultra-modern) showroom and car museum near the plant where this car is manufactured. It was more interesting than most "pit-stops" (and we had almost an hour for the usual necessities and then to look around). But I should have asked Bill to take pictures; I was a little overwhelmed by all the cars and lights and noise and modernity when I had just gotten used to seeing only historical buildings. So I didn't take even one picture. This one is from their website.

City of Munich

Once we got to Munich, most of the walking part of the guided tour was spent on Marienplatz (Our Lady's Square). It has been Munich's City Center since 1158. Both the new and old city halls are on the square … as well as the famous Munich Glockenspiel Clock Tower.

The Glockenspiel is quite wonderful in a three-ring circus kind of way. I got photographer's neck looking up at the action (in the green window in the picture on the right. .. The other pictures are zoomed and cropped.) Built in 1908, the tower chimes twice daily at 11 and noon. When it chimes, life-size figures re-enact two 16th Century stories. The top half depicts the marriage of Duke Wilhelm — the action includes a joust with visiting knights. (Bavaria wins, of course.) Meanwhile, the lower stage depicts the Cooper's Dance – there is a myth that there was a plague in 1517 and this dance somehow halted its progress…. When the show is over, the golden rooster in the top cupola crows signifying the end.

There were a lot of people in downtown Munich! Not for the first time, nor for the last, we marveled at the modern stores in the very old buildings. Not that I expect all the buildings in these cities to be turned into museums, but just amazed that the buildings have survived through so much and are still being used.

Our tour included a delicious (and huge) traditional Bavarian dinner at the Ratskeller Restuarant, also on Marianplatz. And after that we pretty much dozed on the evening bus ride back to the boat.

It really was quite a lot of time on the bus and, in hindsight, maybe we should have stayed with our original plan and visited Regensburg, which was closer to the dock point and would have given us more time to explore. There are so many historical places in and near Munich that we didn't have time to visit. But on the other hand, we are glad to have seen even a little bit of this beautiful and historic City and it will be fun to tell our friends that we at least were able to get a quick overview of their hometown.

So many things of interest, so little time … but we're always conscious of how fortunate we are to have seen as much as we have!

While we were away that day, the Skirnr had made its way along the river and we rejoined it at Kelheim just before it set sail for the next stop. They were also still serving dinner on board — but for some strange reason, that option was not quite as interesting as it usually was.

LINKING to the following, with thanks to all of the hosts: ALL SEASONS; MOSAIC MONDAY; THROUGH MY LENS; OUR WORLD on Tuesday; TRAVEL PHOTO SOUVENIRS;    TUESDAY TREASURES ; SAY CHEESE;   MY CORNER OF THE WORLD; SIGNS SIGNS; THANKFUL THURSDAY; SKYWATCH FRIDAY;   FRIDAY BLISS;

August 25, 2019
PASSAU, GERMANY

Morning view from our deck, Day 7

It was exciting to wake up knowing that we would dock in another country — Germany. It seemed almost impossible that less than a week ago we were still in Florida (and still finishing last-minute, closing-up-the-cottage-for-the-season-chores.) What a week!

The Skirnir docked at Lindau, at 9 that morning. By a quarter after nine, we were on a bus headed to the City of Passau and a guided walking tour. (The Viking crew handled tour arrangements efficiently at all our stops, but I was especially amazed at this one because the buses were on the road so quickly after the boat docked.)

Veste Oberhausen

Our tour guide did a good job summarizing the history as we walked through old town and directing us to points of interest.

Passau was founded by the Celts more than 2,000 years ago. In addition to its location at the border between the two countries, it is also strategically located at the confluence of three important rivers: the Inin, Ilz, and the Danube.

The Oberhausen is a fortress founded in 1219. Situated on the Germany-Austria border it overlooks the City of Passau . (click the blue links for more information.)

After the guided walking tour, we had time to explore the City on our own. Some people visited the famous glass museum or other attractions, some shopped…

… but our choice was to do as we often do in a new place …. pretend we’re not tourists* and stroll around as if we were out for a daily walk. We enjoyed the narrow streets and alleys, seeing a few 'real people' – and imagining what it would be like to live in this old, beautiful, and important city.

*except for the camera

I loved seeing the little girls playing a game on their front porch — totally unconcerned with passersby (quietly) marveling at their neighborhood. I think the sign above their doorway (top left photo is a closer view) says that it was once the home of a butcher (flefchharker), but I'd be glad of any corrections.

That's a lot of pictures of cobblestones, but I wanted to highlight (and remember) what we were walking on during much of our trip. (Maybe I should have said 'hobbled' instead of 'walked.' Bill was glad he had taken the day before to rest.) We both agreed that it was all worth it though. The stones on that one particular street were marked in red paint to show different routes.

We kept an eye on the clock as we explored because we had tickets to attend an organ concert at this beautiful church — St Stephen's Cathedral — before it was time to return to the ship.

What a sensory experience to listen to this beautiful instrument as we marveled at the glorious baroque interior at the Cathedral.

Shuttle buses back to our boat had been available all afternoon and after the concert we wended our way back to the pickup spot. It had been a lovely day and a perfect introduction to the third country of our tour.

ALL SEASONS; MOSAIC MONDAY; TRAVEL PHOTO SOUVENIRS; THROUGH MY LENS; OUR WORLD on Tuesday; SAY CHEESE; TUESDAY TREASURES ; MY CORNER OF THE WORLD; THANKFUL THURSDAY; SKYWATCH FRIDAY; and FRIDAY BLISS

August 10, 2019
WELCOME TO MELK

While we slept, the Skirnr traveled along the Danube from Vienna – we woke and breakfasted to views of the beautiful Wachau Valley.

The City of Durnstein on the Wachau Valley Riverbank

The Wachau is an important wine-grape growing region; we saw farmlands and cities, charming villages, castles, and cathedrals close to the shore and glimpsed ruined castles on the hilltops. Our port-of-call for the day was the city of Melk, at the Valley's base. It is located at the confluence of the Danube and Melk Rivers.

Watching the Skirnr's arrival was a different experience this time. We were glad we were up and awake to watch this adventure. Melk wasn't a big city dock –the boat pulled into the shore out in the middle of (what seemed like) nowhere:

There was only a short "T" dock, and the boat had to be tied to bollards on the bank. In the picture above, one deckhand tosses a weighted rope to another man who is standing on the rocky bank below (you can just see him on the left between the rails). The rope missed him (or he missed the rope) a couple of times before he caught it….

… First, the guy on the ground had tried to catch the line as he stood on the safer grassy bank (left picture) but that didn't work and he had to scramble down those loose rocks. We held our breaths for him! Fortunately, he did catch it and tie us off without injury to person or boat (maybe it was because a certain someone was there to supervise the efforts?)


The excursion destination for the day was the 900-year old Benedictine Abbey which overlooks the town of Melk from its hilltop location. There wasn't anyplace to park near where the boat was docked, so we had a walk through a woodsy area to the bus that would take us there.

This is the Abbey as seen from the parking area. This was kind of a throw-away zoomed-in shot as we boarded the bus, because of course I thought I'd get a better one when we arrived. (There was some kind of white tent in the corner of the parking lot that I couldn't get away from.) However, when we arrived at the top, the huge Abbey so dominated the entire hilltop it was impossible to get far enough away for a picture of the whole building.

We weren't quite at the top of the hill yet at the end of the short bus ride. We still had to climb this elegant staircase to get to the Abbey. Translated (so I'm told) the words on the steps read "Melk Abbey" and then 'Listen and You Will Arrive". That quote is part of the Benedictine Rule.

I guess it is another way of saying quiet your mind and you will eventually understand. Or maybe just shut up and pay attention (it was and still is a teaching abbey after all.)

The grounds are beautiful and the views of the city from the hill top are amazing. We were divided into small groups inside and the tour guide was excellent. Here is the article from Wiki which gives the history – reading isn't as much fun as it was hearing it from the guide, but is more interesting than it would be if I tried to repeat what we learned.

We saw the awe-inspiring library, which includes priceless medieval manuscripts. There were ornate sculptures and beautiful frescoes throughout the building, and a chastibule that contains relics of Saints. One of the chapels had an amazing tromp'l'oil painting on the ceiling that made the flat surface appear to be a dome.

Sadly, we were asked not to take pictures inside and I obeyed that request. Although it appeared that not everyone did … I think cell phones are making that a difficult rule to enforce.

Here are a few close-up examples of at least parts of the building's Baroque architecture. And an interesting factoid (not personally verified by me) — the Abbey has 365 windows, one for each day of the year. Melk Abbey was founded in 1089 and it has been in use as an Abbey for that whole time. The Abbey building of today was built over a period of years in the mid-1700s.

We had been told that while we were on the tour, the Skirnr would leave its tie-down in Melk and that we would meet the boat at a different location. That morning Bill had elected to stay on board the boat and forego the Abbey tour. Perhaps because he wanted to continue supervise those deckhands — or perhaps because he had walked miles and miles on cobblestones on the previous four days and his bad foot needed a rest.

In any case, it felt a bit surreal to board the bus at the foot of that staircase and be driven through new and different territory (a lot further than the short ride getting to the Abbey). I certainly hoped we'd meet the boat (and my traveling companion) as planned …

… and was happy when we did exactly that! The top row are views from the bus window as it traveled from the Abbey to the port at the city of Ybbs. We didn't see anything of that town except the dock, but I just loved the name and don't want to forget it, hence the pictures of the sign.

And there's the Skirnr pulling in to pick us up. My bus did beat the boat by a few minutes, which was excellent timing, because it was fun to watch it motor along the river from outside!

As soon as everyone was on board, the Skirnr departed for its journey to a new port of call. On the following day we would awaken in Germany, the next country we would be privileged to visit.

Linking this week to the following sharing opportunities. Thank you to all of the hosts.

ALL SEASONS; MOSAIC MONDAY; THROUGH MY LENS; TRAVEL PHOTO SOUVENIRS; TUESDAY TREASURES ; OUR WORLD on Tuesday; SAY CHEESE;   MY CORNER OF THE WORLD; SIGNS SIGNS; THANKFUL THURSDAY;   SKYWATCH FRIDAY; and FRIDAY BLISS;

August 4, 2019