We did actually return home!

The hotel in Tittisee was very comfortable and we enjoyed our wanders through the town. This time we even took a boat trip on the Lake - most pleasant. Then onwards to Stuttgart where we spent several days with Lutzi and Claus.Tony has perfected the art of driving around fountains in the middle of the town and finding lost hire car offices. A highlight of this part of our trip was visiting the Hamburg Fish market which visits Stuttgart on a regular basis - lots of interesting food.

Our final German destination was Frankfurt which turned out to be very different to expectations. We used the public transport network, enjoyed the historical buildings and the food and wondered at the craziness of hundreds of Mexicans competing in a bike race.

UPGRADE! - a business class flight from Frankfurt to Dubai. Very nice indeed. Dubai was hot and the air was very thick. However we wandered miles, rode the bus, the train and even used a taxi when the going got very hot indeed. I loved the malls, the old Arab house and the fountains. I am sure the architecture would have been good too if only the air had been cleaner.

And then it was all over - time to fly home. Many thousands of pictures await sorting and editing and maybe one day I'll scrapbook the lot.

Out of Salzburg and into Munich.

Our last day in Salzburg was wet and Helen headed off to do some shopping while we did our chores. In the afternoon we managed to achieve our goal of reaching the top of the hill and the location of The Modern Art Museum. We wandered along the terraces and had some spectacular views of the city. Then down again in the lift and off to the Mirabel for our last visit. This time our objective was to find the dwarfs and after some exploring we did just that. We also checked out the other Do-Re-Mi sites. Our Sound of Music experience was complete.

We set off with plenty of time to catch the train to Munich but we trapped by our own superiority and the on going upgrade of the station – we caught the train with just a minute or 2 to spare. This is a train trip to be enjoyed – fantastic scenery, a glass of wine and comfortable seats – I do like First Class European trains. When we arrived we checked into The Holiday Inn at Unterhaching. This is about 10 train stops from the centre of the city and it is almost rural in nature – lots of green fields and strawberry farms. The hotel is not far from the station and the signposting is good. Helen had a nice room and we were lucky enough to be upgraded to a supersized room with 2 bathrooms – Priority Rewards pay off from time to time. With plenty of room to spread and with a fridge and a jug we were able to feed ourselves for some meals – we avoided the hotel breakfasts and feasted on muesli, fruit and juice. We bought a Hop On / Hop Off bus ticket and did all of the city tours in one day. One of the highlights was passing through the Olympic Venue for the 1972 games, it brought back memories of a terrible time for the world. Right at the Hop On bus stop was a conveniently placed restaurant – excellent wine for a between tour break and I had souvlaki and calamari for lunch Yum. What did the others eat? – I didn’t care!!!!!!

Brown bear with bread roll in Munich Zoo

Kissy kissy!

Day 2 in Munich was zoo day and a visit to the polar bears. The zoo is very green and there’s lots of shade and chairs for a break. There is also an enormous fun playground for kids – just as well as the place was crawling with little people. I far prefer animals in the wild but sometimes a zoo is all you have.

Day 3 was Museum day for us and rest day for Helen. We visited the Deutsche Museum and had a great time. Lots to see based on the application of technology. The most surprising thing on display was U1 – the very first submarine built by the Germans. I particularly liked the display on the development of shipping.

From U1 - depth meter.

Excellent technical toys at The Deutsche Museum

We were well fed during our stay at Unterhaching and I liked Munich very much. I had read that it was a modern city and I was somewhat expecting lots of new high rise – it wasn’t like that at all. It was a bit grotty in spots, a bit crazy in others but overall it had a good feel. Flowers, green space, rivers, tree lined avenues and some ornate architecture. The Rathaus was the most impressive building I saw.

We hired a car which Tony bravely picked up at the railway station in Munich while we minded the bags and then it was off to Friedrichshafen on the shores of Lake Konstanz. Here we explored the Zeppelin Museum and caught a catamaran to the town of Konstanz where we think we walked to Switzerland in the rain. For lunch I just had desert – waffles and berries. YUM. My travelling mates ate 2 courses!!!!!!

Our little hotel was delightful and the food in its restaurant was excellent. Sadly on night 2 the restaurant was closed and we visited a little pub down the road. Not a healthy dinner but quite tasty and the wine was good. The young waitress was really embarrassed by her inability to speak English – her teacher had told her she was bad at it. By the end of dinner she was happy to come and sit beside me and have a chat. I was pleased to be able to boost her confidence. We watched the beginnings of the final of the Euro 12 competition and then watched the rest of it when we returned to our room. Not my usual form!!!!!!

A great slide for small people

Dear me - the things you do on holidays!

Our next voyage saw us heading for Titisee – shame about the road closures and road works but we battled through!!!!!

Oh, how I love this place. We visited here in 2010 with Lutzi and Klaus. Yummy food, tourist shops oozing with junk, cuckoo clocks, food, …. food,  food, … food….food…..wine….wine….wine. Flowers and window boxes everywhere. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!!!!!

Melked in Melt or Melted in Melk?

It was an easy walk back to the Metro station in Vienna and equally simple to transfer ourselves to the main station in plenty of time for our train to Melk. We travelled on a second class Weasel to St Poelten where we changed for our Melk train. The trip took us through pleasant countryside and we soon arrived at our destination. Armed with our Google directions we set off on our 1.7 km walk. The only trouble was the heat and the giant hill! It was hard work but our destination, The Hotel Wachau, was well worth it. We had pretty rooms and Tony and I had a corner room which gave us access to the balcony and a beautiful view across the valley. We also had excellent cross ventilation. The food here was superb, the presentation exquisite and the entire experience could only be described as delightful.

The view over the orchard from The Hotel Wachau

The Abbey Church

What an amazing ceiling!

Looking out from the Abbey at the Danube Valley

Downtown Melk

One of the entrees served at the Hotel.
Smoked trout cake? - well it tasted good but
perhaps mousse would have been a better description.
Though it does look a bit like a cake doesn't it.

A beautiful sunset -
eating out on the large balcony downstairs
 at The Hotel Wachau

We went for a late afternoon walk and had our first really good view of the abbey. After a good night we set off to walk to the Benedictine Abbey and an exploration of the buildings, the gardens and then the town. The Abbey was amazing and is a highly recommended place to visit. Lunch at the abbey was good and our walk through the township provided many photo opportunities. Tired feet led us to have a ride on the little train out to the ships on the Danube and back up the hill to the Abbey car park. A quick drink and then uphill the rest of the way. We investigated Aldi (Hofen) along the way and then returned to the hotel. We watched the sun set and the clouds gather. However we had no rain overnight, unlike the previous day. To sum it up – Melk is great!

Saturday morning saw us setting off again (thankfully downhill). This time Salzburg was our destination. We changed trains at St Poelten once more and then whizzed across Austria (oh what wonderful scenery) on the RailJet. Our friendly hostess delivered us free KitKats which we washed down with coffee. We topped that off with a wine and beer and arrived in Salzburg. Here we were slightly misplaced by road and train works which had muddled our pathway but before too long we were installed in the Holiday Inn. Our very late lunch/afternoon tea was inspired by Michael who had trod these paths and tasted the local fare. Salzburg Nockerl or soufflés  - all I can say is YUM and then I roll my eyes! Simply wonderful!!!!!!! Then off to the Mirrabel Gardens for a look at the Pegasus Fountain.

Helen’s friend Carol and her daughter Caroline have also arrived and this has been good. Today they set off by themselves and Tony and I did The Sound of Music Tour. This was excellent value and we visited many of the locations where the film was shot. I think I loved the church in Mondsee where Maria and The Captain were married best of all. (the real Maria and her Captain were married at the Abbey in Salzburg). We saw snow on the mountains, beautiful fields and forest, lakes and pastures, picnickers and hang gliders. This is Austria at its beautiful best! We saw the Pavilion where Liesel and Rolfe sang, the lake where the children and Maria fell in, the Trapp house, the trees and avenues where then children played and sang and the bridge across the Salzach River. 

Special food!

Before

AFTER - OH DEAR!

All cows in Austria look like this

Look at me - I am at the gazebo.

The Church at Mondsee
where Maria and The Captain
 were married in the film.

I stood right where maria stood and loved every minute.
What a dill!

Aren't we sweet?

The lake where everybody fell in and got wet.

Climb every mountain!

Dorky dancing and singing on the bridge
 - perhaps he really should have been wearing a curtain!

We had a very late lunch at an Italian Restaurant in the old town and then went in search of the lift to the cliff top – no luck. Perhaps we will achieve that goal tomorrow. Wandering through Salzburg is a great way to spend some time and eventually we arrived back at the hotel - tomorrow is another day in which to explore this fascinating place.

Waltzing through Vienna.

Vienna is a great city to visit. I had no preconceived ideas about what it was going to be like and sometimes I think that means that everything is a good surprise. We arrived on the train and transferred to the metro. This time we were equipped with instructions as to the location of our hotel and it was as easy as it sounded. We are not very far from the Vienna Opera House and have walked into the city centre several times. Equipped with 2 day passes on the Hop On/Hop Off bus we have ridden around and around the city and gazed upon the Danube, the beautiful buildings, and the parklands.

A happy Helen!

We have ridden the ferris wheel at Platen, travelled through the park on The Lilliput Train, eaten ices at the fun park, climbed the hill at the Schonbrunn to the Gloriette Coffee House, explored Stephansdom, walked miles, drunk coffee, eaten schitznel, sampled the tasty cakes, tested the beer, shopped in the supermarket (pretty good value for yummy things) and drooled over the many delightful things for sale. A short trip to the market confirmed my theory that seafood is very very expensive in Europe.

This is a very large meal!
They are dishes of cranberries on the side plate.
It was delicious!

I like piggy ATMs

Beer at a sidewalk cafe

Beautiful roses at the palace

Palace behind us - gardens in front
- drinks at the top of the hill

It was worth the walk!

Pare of an amazing window exhibition
 - many parts of this are knitted

Helen may not attempt to order any more drink. A confident order for a Steinlarger resulted in a double shot of vodka being delivered to the table. Much laughter from us and a very puzzled waiter.The restaurants are great value and our apartment is very comfortable indeed.

This is what you do when you get a vodka by mistake!

The weather has been extremely hot and our warm clothes that we packed for St Petersburg are a bit of a bother - still we may need them in a few weeks when we arrive back at Wentworth Falls.

A few more pictures of Prague - what a funny place!

 Prague penguins - they are real ones I can tell.

 The first I saw of this very large black baby was the rear end......

then I saw the face.....hideous!

 helen couldn't quite work out what this was....

....and something seems a little strange here.

We leave Russia and "do Prague"

It was wonderful cruising along the waterway although we didn’t get much rest at all. Mother Volga is a huge river and at 2500 miles in length it is actually the longest in Europe. In Russia the river has mythological status and has been serenaded in poems paintings and music. Itinerant labourers known as burlaks hauled the boats along the riverbank and it is these hard working folk that are commemorated in the song of  the Volga Boatmen.  When we were in Yaroslavl; where the river reaches a width of 2600 feet we were entertained by a quartet who sang this wonderful song magnificently.

Yaroslavl is one of the oldest provincial Russian cities and belongs to The Golden Ring. We were duly impressed by the red brick Church of the Epiphany with its 5green domes and the Church of Elijah the Prophet.  Then we wandered around for a while and Helen and I managed to find a bride and groom celebrating the traditional toasting and glass smashing in the street. Brides are everywhere!. We turned back again at Yaroslavl to enter the direct waterway towards Moscow and headed for Uglich. Uglich saw us visiting more churches including The Church of Demetrius on the Blood which marks the spot where 9 year old Dimitri was murdered.

Just past Uglich is a lock built between 1935 and 1940 along with a hydroelectric power station and a pressure dam. The reservoir thus created is 96 miles long and a famous symbol of the area is the 230 foot high tower of the church at Kalyazin rising out of the water. This is all that remains of the town.

From there it was into the Moscow Canal. The project to link Moscow to the Volga was a huge undertaking and consists of 11 locks ( a height difference of 161 feet) 8 power stations, 5 pump stations and 15 bridges  We passed the outskirts of Moscow , under the St Petersburg Highway Bridge and reached the river Terminal in the Khimki Reservoir beside the old Northern River Station building which is about 280 feet high.

The Russian emphasise the foundation dates of cities and it was often mentioned that the city had been founded by Yuri Dolgoruki and the first written reference to the city dates to 1147.

So we began our round of visits - The Kremlin, Red Square (fenced off) the Metro, the canal system, the streets, shops, boulevards, statues and parks. We attended a folk concert and paid a visit to a monastery 70 kilometres to the north. This is the heart of The Russian Orthodox Church and it was a great day. We lunched in a little restaurant – salmon wrapped in foil and potatoes. Beer and wine were the drinks of the day. Souvenirs here were cheap as many were made in the town.  Now we have lots of bit and pieces and the bags are getting heavier. One pair of shoes has gone!

We did a fabulous tour of Moscow lights by night which culminated with being at Red Square in the pouring rain at midnight. But we saw it through the raindrops and managed some photos of St Basils. While in Moscow we visited the Treasury and saw the fabulous Faberge eggs – wouldn’t mind one of those! All too soon it was time to leave our boat and head to the airport for our flight to Prague.

Memories and impressions of Russia and our cruise

·                     Russians have a great sense of the ridiculous and can deliver the most outrageous statements with a straight face.

·                     Russians speak excellent English

·                     Russian food is very good.

·                     People pop up singing all over the place – it is a land of much music and song.

·                     The grass in many of the park is mown weeds and dandelions are made into head bands by many. People pick bunches of them -  all a matter of perspective.

·                     The city of Moscow does not sprawl  - high rise apartments dominate the residential scene.

·                     Very high heeled shoes are popular.

·                     The rich are rich!!!!!!

·                     Many people fish from the shores of the waterways and there were lots of campsites.

·                     People who complain are a pain and they should be thrown overboard.

·                     Robert was a good companion for the trip!

 Making rock candy at the Chocolate Museum in Prague

 Marzipan fruits at the Museum - they were beautiful

 See Prague in style!

 Inside Prague Castle

One of the many brides.

Prague.

Thank goodness we have now been there! The Czech transport system is excellent and it is very easy to negotiate. The language skills of the people put us to shame – most people spoke excellent English. We did the touristy things and spent hours at the Castle. We walked along the river, laughed at the penguins, enjoyed the architecture, drank much wine and beer, saw thousands of tourist shops, crossed The Charles Bridge 5 times, visited several restaurants, looked at the famous non working clock, walked down Wenceslas Square (a bit disappointing!), watched the football, attended a wonderful and classy concert with dinner at The Mozart Café, explored the Old Town and almost died of the heat.

I was abandoned by Tony and Helen as Tony did not listen to what I said – they returned to the hotel without me!!! Not impressed – but I made it back without any trouble.

We got misplaced! This was due to the fact that the train failed to proceed, the lights went out and the doors were opened. We got off!

Our accommodation at The Bishops House was extremely well located, quite a nice room, an excellent and modern bathroom, a satisfactory breakfast and friendly desk staff. Our room was a tad dark and the one chair a bit uncomfortable. Helen’s room was much brighter and she had a chair and desk as well as a jug. I think they must have given her my room!!!! It was a good choice (thanks Raechel) but ask for Room 106 not 104! I’ll do a review for Trip Advisor when I get a chance.

Remembering Margaret’s tales of jam and cream on meat we hoped to find it. Bingo – first meal that we ordered. Didn’t seem too silly to us as it was exactly as described on the menu! Had a couple of excellent Czech meals in other places as well as some good salads. Prices are pretty good in this part of the world. I now have added reindeer (Russia) and goose (Czech Republic) to the things I have eaten.

Photo tally – about a million!

And my opinion of Prague – I liked it. Is it the most beautiful city in Europe? – each city has its own beauty and style. Prague is one of many wonderful places which really cannot be compared.

 One for Margaret to revive her memories!

 Wandering down Wenceslas Square

 The chocolate is pretty good in Prague

 Impressive stained glass in St Vitus Cathedral. Prague Castle

 View from the top of the hill. It was quite a walk in the heat!

We are now on the train heading through the Czech Republic to Vienna! The country side is rich and green. I just saw the first set of solar panels on a farmhouse. It all seems very peaceful and pleasant. Actually we have arrived as it is now later at night.

Moscow - See the Russians everywhere, Dancing in their underwear, ho, ho ho ho ho HO!

Phew! We have seen an amazing amount - the blog is way way behind and the picture sorting, culling etc is even worse. We have barely had a spare moment - this cruising business is hard work. We have filled every available moment with a trip to somewehere. We are now in Moscow, on the river, beside a park. Have been wandering the countryside today and tonight is a late bus trip to see the lights and a river cruise so I best get the body organised! I must do a bit of writing of detail tomorrow afternoon if I get the chance. We are off on the Metro tomorrow into the centre of the city. There will be a large protest in Red Square so we might not be able to get in to have a really good look. We have peeped in through the gates! Also spent hours in The Kremlin and we have seen the Faberge eggs.

I just sorted the pictures from our first full day and thought that I would post a couple of The Winter Palace - I did not know where to begin. Such an amazing building with an equally amazing history. The contents could be summed up in one word - WOW!