2018 Great Rivers of Europe

October 30-Off to Melk, Austria Left at 01:30 heading toward Melk, Austria. Our first indication of movement was the regular "Thump" of the side of the ship hitting the side of a lock. Had another good breakfast with 'the gang' (several folks we have met along with Sue and John Low). Discussion with our group leader, Marten. Gave us a lot of information about optional tours, the city of Melk and various rules of day to day operation. The current is very strong and there are quite a few vessels on the Danube. We have had to wait several times for traffic to pass. Got to Melk at 1:15, right on schedule. This town is mostly known for the Benedictine Monks who inhabit the Abbey. The bus took us up the hill to the Abbey for a one hour tour of the outer edges of the abbey, There are still 30 monks living in this enormous building and the place was fascinating.  After the tour, we walked down the hill back to the ship, passing thru the small...

October 29-Vienna Up after a fairly good sleeping night, still getting rid of jet lag/stress of the travel. Day looks kinda grey but 60 degrees are in the forecast. Good breakfast and on the bus at 9:45 for a guided tour of Vienna. 40 or so in our group, three groups on the ship. Seems to be fairly well coordinated. Drove @40 minutes along the ring road seeing all sorts of remarkable buildings, statues and squares. Really a combination of the old and rebuilt after the war. Pictures here. One of 1,000churches in Vienna Originally a clock for an insurance company St. Stephens in Central Vienna On our tour, toughest old gal with a walker I have ever seen Inside St. Stephens Spanish Riding Academy Grafitti Back to the ship for lunch with the idea of going back into the city to see a museum. Did not go as the weather was grey, getting windy and a nap was calling. There was a 40 minute talk given by a Syrian refugee and detailing the tribulations of ge...

Oct. 28-start of the cruise. Marvelous! Our bags arrived at the hotel! Fresh clothes! Sauntered down to the restaurant to get some coffee, at least 1,000,000 children running around the buffet. Will wait a bit to go down to eat. Grey, poopie  day so we will hang around the hotel till noonish and take a taxi to the docks and the ship. We should be able to board around noon. More later. Later. Checked out of the hotel@ 11:45, got a car to the ship. Settled in, had lunch, chilled out. Met Sue and  John as they checked in, had a beer and met folks they had met on a pre-trip stay in Prague. Listened to a welcome set of speakers and had dinner. Tomorrow is a full day in Vienna with a morning walking tour and a planned afternoon in a museum, exploring the subway to get there. More tomorrow.

Now what? Got to the Orlando Airport in plenty of time, had a good dinner (and beer) in a airport restaurant. Settled into the wait mode and, during a short walk-about, discovered our flight has been delayed from 7:52 to 8:54, cutting our transfer time to the Vienna flight in Amsterdam down to 32 minutes. Went to the hospitality desk and was conditionally re-booked on a flight from Amsterdam to Vienna about 5 hours after our arrival in Amsterdam. Not happy campers. Had arranged for a pickup at the Vienna airport to go to the hotel and, if the time is screwed up, what then? Emailed the hotel with the details and 'more will be revealed'. Not the greatest of starts. Ok....Page two for today: Seems that the pilot for the delayed plane out of Orlando hit the gas a bit and we got into Amsterdam just 32 minutes before our connecting flight was due to depart. Couple that with the 25 minute delay of the Vienna bound flight and we made it!! Only to have the luggage NOT make...

Ready to depart (well, mostly). Bags sorta packed, gas tank full, airline check in done, cat sitter arranged, research ongoing about vessel(s) we will be on, beginning to read more about where we are going. More as we get thru Amsterdam and into Vienna. Good news is that we have arranged for a taxi from the Vienna airport to the hotel, thus not having to get uptight about trains, busses and walking. Have Euros in the pocket, will spend.

Well. While we were at our Lake Erie Condo (doesn't that sound grand and pretentious !) , we decided to take a river cruise (again.) As we had been on a Viking River Cruise, we decided to try another line, one that seemed to be a quality tour. Grand Circle Cruise Line (GCT.) We read the reviews, had some recommendations from friends who had been on one of their cruises and figured "what the hell, go for it." Perhaps wrong. Here is the story to date, as this blog is being created Oct. 23, just 3 days before departure. Some emotion is left out, blood has been wiped off the page, and tears don't stain if you dry them quickly. 1. We paid the full price on time. 2. Apparently two separate accounts were created for us due to an administrative error at GCT. That caused several small problems with mail delivery to NY vs. Florida. 3. We were to receive the 'final package' three weeks before departure, something along the lines of the last week in September....