A full day of travel up the river today. The first lock of our trip (67 to go) was huge with 4 long ships. We were inches from the side wall. The fenders on this ship are built into the sides and have a very low profile.
Guests were invited to the wheelhouse this morning to observe the captain, the elaborate equipment around him and ask questions.
The program director did a presentation on the life of Mozart and the coffee houses in Vienna. There are very specific ways to order coffee in Vienna so the information was quite valuable but Ade and I might try to find a Starbucks anyway (but we’ll keep it a secret; apparently going to Starbucks in Vienna is not acceptable).
We passed by the castle in Bratislava, capital of Slovakia, on the north side of the Danube:
There is open seating at every meal and we’ve been trying to sit with different people each time. L-R: Terry and Mary are from Camrose Alberta and Patricia and Richard are from Quebec. Mary is a water color and fiber artist and instructor so I found her quite interesting.
Later in the afternoon, Chef Adrian taught us how to make apple strudel. (Cousin Terry in BC, I’m thinking of you!) A very good demonstration except for the passenger he chose to help him – a “diva” who made the demo more about her being “cute” for the crowd.
Then everyone got a slice of fresh warm strudel with vanilla sauce made in the ship’s galley:
As we sat down for dinner, we’d entered a lock. Here, the lock has filled and we are about to exit.
Vienna. This picture looks funny because of the reflection from the window next to our table, but I still like it:
We rafted up to another Viking ship. A very slim fender provided cushion.
Many passengers left right after dinner for a Strauss-Mozart concert, passing through the ship next to the quay. Since we are not fans of classical music (and we didn’t want to dress up), we stayed on board. Good night.
arletelouise 