2017 Adler Danube trip

We had an early start - our luggage had to be out in the hallway by 6:30 and we had to be on the bus to the airport by 7:00. It was a chilly morning with heavy frost on the grass. We were sitting at the front of the bus and were a bit concerned when we overheard the driver say "Mein Gott" when he saw the traffic. The traffic was heavy but we made it to the Nuremberg airport in plenty of time for our flight to Amsterdam. The rest of the trip went smoothly and we got into Newark about 45 minutes early. Going through customs and immigration is always tedious but it went smoothly. Our limo driver was waiting for us and we left Newark at 4:30, arriving back in Woodstock around 6:30. Our friends Geri and Brian met us and brought us home. We were glad to be home.

The ship was only going to be docked at its next destination, Roth, Germany, from 1pm - 5pm, before departing for an overnight journey to Nuremberg, arriving in the morning. Our group was scheduled to leave the ship for the airport at 7am the next morning so there wasn't a lot of wiggle room. We were able to get an 8:30am ICE (Inter-City Express) train from Wels to Nuremberg. The ICE trains are very nice, like the Amtrak Acela trains that run from Boston to NYC. There is onboard WiFi which is very convenient. We then got a regional train from Nuremberg to Roth. Unfortunately, when we got to Roth, there was no cell service to let the ship know we were there. We later found out that there wasn't cell service where the ship was traveling. We found a taxi to take us to the port and when we got there found an Avalon ship but not ours! A crew member said that our ship was about an hour behind. There was no place to sit and wait, it was chilly and I didn't have a coat - we jus

I didn't get much sleep that night, not due to the pain, but due to my neighbors in the hospital room who snored very loudly. While we were in the hospital, our ship continued up the Danube and we hoped to get out of the hospital by 2pm and get a train to Regensburg where the ship would be docked until early evening. Unfortunately, it was almost 1pm by the time an aide came to get me for the CT scan and 4pm by the time the doctor came by to say that the CT scan was clear and I should be able to leave. I hadn't had any pain since around 7am. More unfortunately, by 4pm my temperature started to rise and WBC increased. The doctor wanted me to spend another night but I was desperate to get out and to re-join our ship. We convinced the doctor to write a prescription for antibiotic which we filled at a pharmacy on the way to the hotel. Although I had a high fever that night, eventually it subsided with Advil and more antibiotic. We had to pay for our stay when leaving the hospi

Standing up in the bathroom around 7am, I felt excruciating pain in my groin and broke out in a heavy sweat. I managed to make it to the bed but the pain did not ease. Joann, one of our tour companions and a nurse checked me out and said I should see a doctor. The cruise director made the announcement one sees in movies - "If there is a doctor on the ship, please come to the main desk". An orthopedic surgeon on the cruise came to the room, probed a bit and suggested going to the hospital, the concern being appendicitis. In a few minutes, an ambulance arrived with EMTs and another car with a doctor. The doctor put in an IV and started doses of morphine. I was put in a wheelchair and carted to the waiting ambulance. Carmen was able to ride with me in the ambulance. The ambulance took off through the countryside with the blue lights flashing and sirens going as they passed slower traffic and went through intersections. They brought me to the Klinikum Hospital in Wels, a city o

In the 12th century, King Richard I of England, the Lionheart, managed to alienate much of the nobility in the countries he passed through on his crusade to the Holy Land and on the way back was captured and held for ransom which cost 1/3 of the total wealth of England at the time. This paid for many abbeys and castles in the region.   Ruin of castle on mountain top. Durnstein Abbey in foreground.  Elaborate plantings in cemetery We walked back to the ship for lunch and continued to cruise up to our next stop at Melk. We have been very fortunate with the weather as almost every day, the forecast was for rain but by the next morning the forecast changed to good weather.  During this part of the cruise we were comfortable sitting on the upper deck in a short-sleeve shirt and having a beer. Melk was founded in the 10th century and in the 11th century, Leopold II gave his castle to Benedict monks who continue to live and worship there to this day. The main part of the

In the morning, we took a bus to the old inner part of the city for our walking tour. We walked through the Spanish riding school, famous for the white Lipizzan stallions. We weren't able to see them perform, but we were able to walk by the stables where they were being groomed before being taken to the riding ring. Lipizzan stallion From there we visited the historic St. Stephen's Cathedral. It is very impressive but unfortunately, so large, that it is difficult to get a good photo and there is a lot of construction going on around the cathedral. We had cappuccinos in the cathedral square before getting the bus back to the ship and lunch. After lunch, we took a bus tour to the famed Vienna Woods to the north which look down on the city and numerous vineyards. At the top is a Catholic church dedicated to the Polish troops who helped turn back the Turks in the 1600s.  View from the mountain top - Vienna Woods On the way back to Vienna, we stopped at a tradition

While the "rumble" may have been comforting last night, it was quite loud and the whole room was shaking, with the lamp shades rattling. I barely got any sleep although fortunately, Carmen is able to sleep through just about anything. In the morning, I checked with the front desk and they were able to switch us to a room much closer to the front. This was quite fortunate as often the ships are completely full. This room was much quieter and we slept quite well for the rest of the trip. The beds are very comfortable. Most of the day we were relaxing on board, cruising up the river. In order to control the flow of the river and also generate power, there a large number of dams and locks on the Danube (and most major rivers in Europe). Each lock raises or lowers the ship around 40' or so. The ships are designed to the maximum size that will fit in the locks. Often there is less than a foot between each side of the ship and the lock - it is impressive that the captain can

Szofia met us at the hotel for the 45 minute ride to Szentendre, a small historic town which is now famous for its crafts. Along the way we passed numerous Roman ruins, including parts of an aqueduct and two coliseums dating to the 2nd and 3rd centuries. With all the changing country borders over time it is hard to keep track of which ethnic groups were in which areas. Szentendre is ethnically Serbian and there are numerous Serbian Orthodox churches in the town which are elaborately decorated inside. Serbian Church Altar Szentendre has a large main square with a Baroque cross erected in the middle in 1763 to commemorate the plague avoiding the town. We had a photo of our Woodstock tour group taken in front of the cross. Szofia, our Hungarian tour guide, is at the far left. The two ladies next to her are Joann and Adriana, identical twins - I had a hard time telling them apart. We visited the marzipan museum that has various elaborate scenes and statues made out of marzipan -

The sights that we plan to visit in Pest are not within walking distance so a van arrived to take us to various places. This was one of the more depressing days in terms of learning about the tragic histor of Europe and Hungary in particular. The first stop was the historic parliament building (third largest, after Argentina and England). It is right on the bank of the Danube and is an impressive sight from the Buda side of the river. Needless to say, it is quite impressive inside with a massive entrance staircase and gold leaf adorning much of the interior. We were able to see the crown jewels which were saved by the Americans after WWII and returned at the end of the Soviet regime. The area outside the Parliament was the site of the uprising in 1956 and one can still see the bullet holes in adjoining buildings. Many students were killed in the courtyard by Soviet snipers on the rooftops. Entrance to Parliament building The next stop was the main synagogue in Budapest which was

After breakfast at the Hilton overlooking the Danube, we were met by Szofia for the walking tour of Buda. The first stop was St. Mattias church, founded in the 13th century and named after King Mattias who held the Ottoman's at bay in the 15th century. Unfortunately, after the Ottoman conquest in the 16th century, it was turned into a mosque and the interior covered with white paint. After the expulsion of the Turks in the 17th century it was returned to being a Catholic church. When the Hudson Valley Youth Chorale toured in Budapest in 2002, our daughter Anna sang with the chorale in the church. Carmen who came along as a chaperone said it was a very emotional experience. St. Mattias Church with statue of St. Stephen in the foreground (St. Stephen was responsible for bringing Christianity to Hungary) Our tour took us down to the old palace (now a government building) where we were able to see the changing of the guard. This is quite a choreographed procedure with drums,

We arrived in Amsterdam right on time at 7:30 and got through immigration fairly quickly. Ginny had arranged for us to use the airport lounge as our connecting flight wasn't until 11:30. This was a more comfortable place to spend the time, with comfortable seats and complimentary food and drinks. I had another chance to use the shiatsu massage chair which is quite intense, giving a vigorous massage while showing soothing videos and playing relaxing music. Amy and I really enjoyed using it when we traveled through Amsterdam last year. The flight to Budapest was fairly short and smooth. We were met at the airport by Szofia who was our tour guide for the next three days. We are staying at the Budapest Hilton which is on the top of the Buda hill overlooking the Danube. Interestingly, when the ground was being excavated for the Hilton in 1976, they found the ruins of a 13th century cloister that had been covered for centuries. The lower level of the Hilton has a reproduction of the or

Last year, our friends Betty and Dave Noone invited us to join them on a river cruise through Provence but Carmen was needed to take care of her mother's final days in hospice. David and our daughter Amelia went on the cruise instead and had a wonderful time. Around the same time, our friend and travel agent, Ginny Barthel, announced a trip to Budapest and cruise up the Danube to Vienna and Nurenberg. As a surprise anniversary present I signed us up. So this morning we are on our way. The route of our cruise is shown on the map below: Our friend Brian picked us up and brought us to the office of Booked by Barthel to get our limo to Newark airport. The limo was quite luxurious for the 14 of us going on the trip, a "party" limo with lights on the ceiling, controls for disco music and padded bench seats all around the inside. We made it down to Newark in just under two hours, faster than usual when we drive - it was certainly nice having someone else drive