As we motored through the Wachau Valley, there were many picturesque sights along the way – small towns, churches, castles,

steeply-terraced vineyards,
and, seriously, beauty all around us all the time.

We were back onboard in time for lunch. My salad choice today was duck with oranges:
In the afternoon, we went to Melk Abbey.

No pictures were allowed inside but there were incredible views of the surrounding town and countryside:



And we returned to the ship, it was a rainy day at times, cold and windy. But, nevertheless, lots of fun.

After breakfast we took the included tour, Panoramic Vienna.
I had to take a picture of this bookseller – Manz is my mother’s family name.
During our free time, we walked to Hotel Sacherfor a piece of original sacher torte and (neighbor Kathy: no Starbucks!) and a cup of real Viennese coffee.
Part of a display window along an avenue of very high-end shops:
St Stephen’s Cathedral:




In the afternoon, our tour was a behind-the-scenes tour of the Spanish Riding School, home of the Lipizzaner stallions. Hannah is the first female to ride horses here. When she arrived for work, these two horses knew right away and watched her as she walked over to give them each an apple.
The arena where they perform:
Another stop for coffee and pastry:

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.

Ade and I have a room on the lowest of three floors. No big windows or balcony for us but still a great view this morning.
Breakfast is buffet-style but you can also sit and order from a menu.
We went on a tour of the city in the morning – so much better than the first one we took. We sat about halfway back in the bus and could still see out the front window via the tv monitor. In the upper left of the screen you can see a style of architecture call “neo-ugly” referring the the buildings constructed during the Soviet Communist occupation.
Our final stop was on Buda Castle Hill – St Matthias Church.
Hand-painted ceramic tile roof:
On this tour, we got to go inside.
On the way back to the ship, we drove past Parliament. At the river’s edge are 60 iron shoes anchored to the ground as a memorial to the hundreds of Jews and others who were rounded up in 1944-1945, walked to the edge of the river, then chained together and forced to take off their shoes before being shot in the back and falling into the river.
After lunch, we took an excursion to the countryside to a horse farm.
We were greeted with a snack and a choice of alcoholic beverages. Ade chose apple brandy. I’m not if she like it or not. What do you think?
Traditional Hungarian horseman:
After a cart ride around the property,
it was time for the show.
Bullseye every time:

Using a five-horse team, the horseman straddled two horses as they galloped around the arena:
Many trophies for the cases along the walls and more in lighted cases on the floor:
At 5:30 pm sharp, we set sail. We are headed north on the Danube River to Vienna.

The Pest side of the Danube is flat, the Buda side is quite hilly.
This morning we went on an excursion to Szentendre (Hungarian for St Andrew) and made two stops. The first at Skanzen Village Museum – an open-air museum on 150 acres with 312 buildings organized into regional units.
To see everything would have taken all day, but we saw a few buildings which showed rural life from 100-200 years ago.

To keep small children from touching the hot cooking area, they were placed in the hole in the heavy stool.

Hungarian Racka sheep with spiral-shaped horns:
Then we learned how to make traditional Hungarian gulyas (goulash). Everyone had to chop vegetables:
Other basic ingredients:
Traditional gulyas should be made outside over an open fire and ingredients are added in a specific order.
We did not eat what we made (thank goodness) but rather restaurant-prepared gulyas, bread and dessert.
We drove back into the town of Szentendre to the artist’s village – not too many artists but lots of opportunities to buy souvenirs.

We were dropped off at the ship at about 4:30
just in time for wine and cheese on outdoor terrace underneath the Chain Bridge.

Dinner at 7. Delicious food!
What a busy fun day!

At 10 pm last night, our bags arrived – whew!

Starbucks is all over Budapest. Shakespeare welcomed us to this one:
Today’s excursion was called Jewels of Andrassy. We met Kinga in the lobby of the hotel in the early afternoon. Each person received an earpiece and small receiver. Kinga was able to walk and talk and everyone could hear her no matter how far away you were – an excellent way to hear every word.

There are many life-size sculptures of people doing everyday things. Here an old-time police officer stands on the corner – his belly shiny from all the rubbing.
The manhole covers are all unique and beautiful.
St Stephen’s Basilica, the largest Roman Catholic church in Budapest. The highest point is 97 meters (318 feet). The Parliament building is also 97 meters to symbolize the equality of church and state in Hungary. No other buildings are allowed to be taller.
Inside an ornate structure the lighted case was a religious relic: St Stephen’s mummified hand. Stephen was the first King of Hungary in 1000 AD.
With special papal permission, Stephen was also the central figure on the main altar instead of Jesus.
This golden wall scone was easily 5 feet tall:
A typical entrance to an apartment building. The door you open is a smaller one on the right side.
Also typical is a courtyard inside. The most desirable apartments are on the second floor where the windows and ceilings are the tallest. As you go higher, the windows and ceilings heights are shorter. Most of the apartments had 4 nice-sized rooms when they were built, but when the Soviets occupied Hungary, they decided 4 rooms were too many for any family so a wall was built down the middle. Unfortunately that meant one of the new apartments got the kitchen while the other got the bathroom. The other solution was not to build a wall but to move in another family to share the 4 rooms.
Next stop, the opera house which is being renovated, currently covered in plastic.
A brief performance of four arias:
On to Muvesz – which means “artists” – a cafe once popular with artists and writers.
The four desserts at our little table:

Instead of walking back, we took the Millennium Underground Railway, opened in 1896, the continent’s first subway.

We are staying at Sofitel Budapest Hotel which is in Pest, the bigger and more modern side of the river.

Complimentary breakfast every morning – the selection is huge. Different cuisines are available, from Indian, SE Asian, American, Nordic countries, and of course, Hungarian.
We took a tour of the city but it was not the best. When booking a tour like this, a person should ask about the windows on the vehicle. If there’s something to see on the left (or right) side, 2/3 of the people couldn’t see it. If it was a tall building, you couldn’t see it. I sat alone in the farthest back seat, which was a couple of steps up from everyone else, and got good views of everything as long as I laid down across the seat. If I stayed upright, there were excellent views of the sidewalk.
A view of the Danube from the top of Castle Hill – where there is no castle.
Matthias Church:
A better view of the Pariliament Building:

Heroes Square:
We had a really good dinner at Jerney Bistro:
On the way back to the hotel, a man playing songs accompanied by some recorded music. He was really good.
Our lost bags were on a flight from Frankfurt this afternoon, but it will take hours for the bags to get to the hotel. Fingers still crossed. This is the third full day in the same clothes.

Yesterday, Adrienne’s daughter Alyson drove us to the San Francisco airport.

After a 10-hour flight, we arrived in Frankfurt Germany at about 9:30 am. The shopping area was laid out like an upscale department store. Yes, it’s possible to buy a Jaguar SUV at the airport.

Many kinds of fresh pretzels:
The flight to Budapest was just over an hour. Shockingly at least 3/4 of the passengers on our flight did NOT get their checked bags. There were long lines of people trying to get to the lost luggage counter where you had to fill out a form and submit it. The forms were in short supply and the whole process was chaotic. That took about an hour. Sigh.

Fingers crossed our bags arrive soon. We are really looking forward to a good night’s sleep tonight.

Ade picked me up
and we drove to the Bay Area. We left early to avoid the horrendous commute traffic, therefore there was time a lunch at Aqui in Campbell.

Ade’s granddaughter Kylie showed me her Playmobil horse stables.