Travel in Europe

Most of you all who know me, know that Rich and I have been traveling a LOT this summer. We were gone just shy of 5 weeks and it was all overseas. The first 16 days were Kenya and Tanzania on a wildlife safari. It was AMAZING! A definite trip of a lifetime. (Although I am already looking at ways to get back there and see more countries and wildlife in southeastern Africa.) I can let you know that I took not hundreds of photos there, but thousands. That post will take a while to get through. When we finished our tour in Africa, we flew up to Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Instead of flying home right away, we got on the Viking Vidar and went on the Grand European Tour River Cruise. We were already on about the same time zone, we figured we’d go ahead and do the river cruise then. It was two weeks long, so we were missing home by the end, but it was also a neat experience. Here were the places we stopped: Amsterdam and Kinderdiijk (the Netherlands) – think cheese, wooden shoes, and windmills – Cologne, Koblenz, Freudenburg, Würzburg, Nuremberg, Regensberg, and Passau (Germany) – think beer, cobblestones, churches and castles, schnitzel, and pretzels – Melk and Vienna (Austria) – think cobblestones, gingerbread, Lipizann horses, castles, Mozart and Strauss, and cathedrals – Bratislava (Slovakia) – think of the summer home of Maria Theresa Habsburg, cathedrals, castles, and a pretty young country (1993) with a deep, long history – and finally, Budapest (Hungary) – think cobblestones, thermal baths, the parliament building lit up at night, and the moving tribute called “the shoes” dedicated to the Jews asked to step out of their shoes before they were shot and then their bodies pushed into the Danube River by the Nazis. This river boat cruise was relaxing and slow-paced after the go-go-go pace of Africa. There were only 183 passengers on board, and we got to know probably about 50 of them by name and fairly well. We tried to eat with different people at each meal but towards the end of the cruise, we sat with the folks we really enjoyed spending time with. The Viking service was amazing and we learned a lot about the local history, cuisine, and customs. If you want to learn about an area, Viking really does it well.

Here are some photos from The Netherlands:

We then moved on to Germany. If we were beer drinkers, perhaps we would have had an even better time, but we enjoyed our stay in Germany. We had the awesome opportunity to meet up with a good friend of Rich’s who is in the German Air Force. We were stationed with them in Norway and our kids went to school together. He and his wife took us to lunch while we were moored in Cologne. It was so great to see them and catch up. So many churches and cathedrals….so many cobblestones. During WWII, the Nazis made the train tunnel entrances look like churches or castles, knowing the Allies wouldn’t bomb those buildings. They still stand like that today. We saw a lot of vineyards on very steep hills as we cruised through Germany. We lit candles for our Joe in almost every city we stopped in…in all the countries in Europe we traveled to.

Then there was Austria….we stopped in Melk and in Vienna. Rich fell in love with Vienna and would like to go back. It was extravagant…so much beauty in the city. We went to a concert that night to listen to the music of Strauss and Mozart. We even had lessons onboard the ship on the Viennese waltz, which all Austrians know how to do. We spent a few hours touring the Spanish Riding Stables where the world famous Lipizzan stallions reside and are trained. They are born dark gray and 95% of them turn a brilliant white. They are bred from 6 lines and are beautiful! Our cruise started out cold and dreary but by the time we hit Austria, it was hot and steamy. We even saw a sunflower field!

We only had a short time in Bratislava, Slovakia, but would like to go back and spend more time there. It was a new country for both of us, so we enjoyed meandering the cobblestone streets. Remember back in the day when the had the country Czechoslovakia? Well, in 1993, after the fall of the Wall and the downfall of the Communist eastern block countries, the country separated into the Czech Republic and Slovakia. You can still see where the wall used to be between Austria and Slovakia because there were trees lining each side. So this very young country is still learning its place in this new Europe and yet it has such a rich history. It was about 100 degrees this day and I mostly took phone photos…but here are a few.

Finally, we ended up in Budapest, Hungary. This is the city I fell in love with. We are already talking loosely about going back and then finishing a river cruise through the lower Danube and hitting Prague and Romania. I adored Budapest! I already mentioned the “Shoes” art exhibit. It was along the area where our ship docked and there were people out there looking at the metal shoes day and night. It was incredibly moving. The Nazis made the Jews take off their shoes before they were shot and their bodies dumped into the Danube because their shoes were the only thing of worth they had and could be resold. The city of Budapest sits on several geothermal sites and therefore have a lot of hot springs. We spent the afternoon at one of the larger ones. They had indoor and outdoor pools….and of varying temperatures. At night, Budapest comes alive with their buildings all lit up as well as their bridges. It was magical!