Jan 24, 2020 - Vienna

With only one day in Vienna, there are only two things I want to do -- see the performance of the Lippizaner stallions at the Spanish Riding School and hear the Vienna Boys Choir sing at mass. The Vienna Boys Choir sings at mass in the Burgkapelle, the Royal Chapel housed within the sumptuous Hofburg Imperial Palace complex. The Imperial Palace was home to the Hapsburg family for more than 6 centuries and is a repository of art and culture. The music of the choir was truly heavenly. There is something so incredibly pure and crystalline...

Dec 26, 2019 - Last Day of the Danube River Cruise

Martha, Judi, and I gathered on the Sundeck of the AmaSonata under clear, blue skies with our cameras....cold and windy! We were approaching the city of Budapest. Our cruise director gave a guided talk...Pest to our left side of the Danube was the flat, commercial area; Buda on the right side was the hilly, residential area of the city. We sailed under the well known Chain Bridge...one of seven bridges connecting the two sides. After docking we went on a guided tour of Budapest learning of its history...quite a beautiful city. While...

Dec 25, 2019 - Christmas in Vienna

December 25 Merry Christmas - Christmas Day we still have the opportunity to partake of activities on the ship. Martha and I headed to the lounge for the 30 minute core strengthening class with Teo. Then it was breakfast with Vicki and time to catch the bus for our Vienna city tour. We did a drive by of the highlights of Vienna - the Museum Square, Vienna Opera House, Parliament, and the ring road. Leaving the bus for a walking tour, we walked by St. Stephens Cathedral, through Stephensplatz (they were setting up for a big New Year’s Eve...

Dec 24, 2019 - Christmas Eve

Our first sunny day since boarding the ship was today, Christmas Eve. We started our tour this morning by venturing to the Melk Abbey. The Abbey was founded in 1089 when Leopold II gave one of his castles to the Benedictine monks. It was destroyed and rebuilt several times and the current beautiful architecture dates to the18th century. It is a high school now for over 900 students. We have had wonderful guides who have been so knowledgeable in the history and share so many great side stories. During the Christmas Eve lunch and a decadent...

Dec 23, 2019 - Salzburg

With predictions of rain Martha, Judi, and I boarded our bus for a 2 hour ride to Salzburg from Passau, Germany. We drove through lower Bavaria which is mostly farmland. (So many green fields and cloudy rainy skies! It does not feel like winter).. Growing corn, which is used to feed dairy and beef cattle and making canola oil, is their main focus. Farmers supplement their incomes by supporting the local tourist industry in various ways. There are also health spas with healing mineral waters....benefiting troublesome hips and knees. After an...

Dec 19, 2019 - Vienna

After a jet-lagged, lack-of-sleep night, Judi and I started the morning with cups of Nespresso! Refreshed by the coffee and a delicious breakfast at Amadeus Hotel, we were ready for our day of explorations.. Before heading to The Hofburg Palace, we stopped at St. Stephen’s Cathedral....think Westminster Abbey!. Alas, no time that day for a tour. Had a brief walk around the interior and then headed to the palace to view the Morning Exercises of the Lipizzaner horses. Those horses have a training session inside a special indoor arena, it...

Dec 18, 2019 - Danube Bound

December 17/18 - Departure to the Danube Christmas market cruise on AmaWaterways! As always Letitia was punctual in picking us up for our departure from LAX. As we were scheduled for departure out of Terminal 2 (Delta) we did not encounter much traffic. Once checked in we discovered our departure was out of Bradley terminal - but the shuttle was past security to take us directly to Bradley. Our 10 hr and 14 minute flight to Paris was uneventful, but landing in Paris and parking very remotely, riding the bus to the terminal, going through...

Oct 11, 2019 - Last day

My last day. I hadn’t planned to do much. I took the metro to the centre and wandered down side streets just looking. Just under 10 km today. For anyone who hasn’t taken an underground metro, it’s really quite something compared to what we are used to. At one I walked down a flight of stairs then down an escalator then walked a few feet then down another escalator. The train must be around a city block long comprised of several cars and at certain times jam packed with people, sitting and standing. It’s amazing the amount of people moving...

Oct 10, 2019 - Hop on/off bus

Today I did the hop on/off bus tour. It was $29.00 Euro but totally worth it. I started at about 10 and went until 5. There were 3 different lines and I went on all of them today. I saw so much I can hardly remember what I saw. I really like my hotel here but the wifi is horrible so I can’t post anymore pictures from today. If I remember this correctly about 1/3 of Vienna was bombed during WW2. You can sure tell. Going down streets there are beautiful old structures and next to them plain newer ones. They said in the late 40’s - early 50’s...

Oct 9, 2019 - Schonbrunn Palace

Today I went to Schonbruun Palace. Incredible!! The palace is huge. You can’t take pictures inside. This is where the Habsburg families lived. It is amazing the wealth of this family. They give you a recording to play for yourself in each room explaining what you are seeing. It works well allowing you to go at your own pace. You can just imagine what life must have been like for them. Paintings, tapestries, gold on the walls, riches everywhere! After that I walked around exploring for the rest of the day snacking and of course their...

Oct 8, 2019 - Vienna

I made it to Vienna. I don’t know if I’ll be able to post many pictures here. Only one uploaded onto my iPad. The wifi in the hotel isn’t very good but the hotel is nice. I took a taxi from my hotel in Salzburg to the train station. It was 7 Euro. I thought that was a good deal since my taxi was 15 Euro on the initial trip. Now I see what they mean about rip off taxis lol. When I got to the train station I bought my ticket and the train was leaving in 5 minutes. I made it on time. Yay! The whole trip was just under 3 hours. I asked some...

Oct 7, 2019 - Salzburg

I’m short on photos today. It rained pretty much the whole day so I walked around and spent a lot of time eating and drinking coffee. I had some apple strudel, very good! The red bull photo is from yesterday. I guess it originates in Austria. Our guide yesterday said they are extremely wealthy. Not only do they have their own plane but they also have their own runway. She said a number of years ago they flew in the real Marie VonTrapp in from the US for some special dedication. She was over 90 years old. That is the daughter Marie, not the...