Day 8 - Melk Abbey - A Religious Experience

I admit that I knew nothing of the Abbey of Melk except for the book The Name Off The Rose by Umberto Eco, and the later movie starring Sean Connery as Brother Francis Bacon, a sort of medieval Sherlock Holmes and his Dr. Watson, sidekick and chronicler; Brother Adso of Melk.

the Cruise up to Melk was full of castles and history, including the place Durnstein Castle where Richard the Lionheart was held hostage on his way back from the Crusades from 1192 to 1194.

The fact is, regardless of legend, Richard I was not that great a king.  He spoke no English, would have sold London if he could have to finance his crusade, and finally he "preferred the company of men" and thus never bothered to sire an heir with his Queen Berengaria of Navarre.  Having him out of England was not a bad thing, particularly since his mother, the formidable Eleanor of Aquitaine, was a most worthy regent.  However, she raised the huge sum of 150,000 Marks (100,000 pounds of silver) to ransom him.  Only to raise more money to embark on another crusade a month later.  Queen Eleanor died, and his brother John became regent and later king, while  Richard died when an arrow wound became infected.  Somewhere in all if this, Robin Hood and his Merry Men who may or may not have been real fit in.

Day 7 - Good Night Vienna

Vienna: City of Straus waltzes, the seat of the Habsburg Empire (where inbreeding was a dynastic obligation); the beginnings of Cafe Culture, where great artists and philosophers gathered to discuss great thoughts and ideas over the myriad types of Viennese coffee and Viennese pastries. And, where I  had the privilege of tripping over a cable cover, hitting my chin on the ground  receiving a colorful bruise thereon.  But that will come later.

We saw the Schonbron Palace, home of The Leppezaner Stallions, and the Spanish Riding School.

Vienna is a glorious city.  The first picture is that of the "plague pillar" built to give thanks that the Black Death did not carry off to many people on that particular  round.  We started making the rounds of the many Christmas markets that are blossoming throughout the city.   Steve M says  that these are selections of the most useless things ever.  I  view them as treasure troves of handcrafted items: glass ornaments,  hand knitted items, intricate wood carvings, gingerbread, candies, nuts, chocolates, mulled wine, sausages. 

And The Lions had a presence, selling hot wine.  

It was here that, when rushing back to the meeting place for the bus back to the good ship Skadi, that I tripped over a cable cover with my short legs.  My chin came in contact with the cobblestones and later on blossomed into a glorious multicoloured bruise, but other than that, I am none the worse for wear.  If you glance quickly at it, it looks like I am sprouting an interesting goatee.  And I  get some interesting looks, upon which I say "you should see the other guy".

Day 6 - Sailing Up The Danube in Style or Calories Afloat

Today was a "Sailing Day" as we made our way up the Danube from Budapest to Vienna.   In the morning we had our requisite safety drill which took us up to the top deck on colorful life jackets.  We have not used that deck much as the weather has been cool, cloudy and showery most of the time.  But now I know where to go for a decent stretch. And so we sailed on to Vienna and as the river locks were in our favour, we tried up a couple hours earlier than expected.

So, as the day is devoted to sailing and not touring, what does Viking do?  They feed us. And they feed us, and then they feed us some more.    Between first breakfast - the continental in the forward lounge, to the second, heartier breakfast in the dining room, then lunch, afternoon tea, and dinner.  Finally, they offered a late night snack of goulash back on the boat just in case those who attended the Mozart concert felt in need of sustenance at 10 PM. 

The redeeming factor is that the portions are much smaller than the normal North American portions.  (except for their 8oz Angus Rib Eye steak, and I admit I tried it and it was grilled to perfection, served with a Bearnaise Butter on the side)  The average protein portion is about 100 grams, the dessert portions are tiny, (2 or three bites at the most)

and all savoured with a glass of wine.  Now one of the joys of Viking is their Silver Spirits Beverage Package.  This little wonder works out to about $29 USD per person per day.  So, for our 14 day cruise, it was 798 for the both of us.  (However, if you are cagey when booking, they will comp it, Which they did for us.  )  It includes all drinks, beer, wine, spirits and cocktails and liqueurs, up to $15. USD.  I enjoyed some of the better wines, (by the glass).  and we both drank more on that trip than we have in the last 5 years.  

Day 5 - Stranded in The Thermal Baths - Budapest

The morning tour of Budapest was excellent.   The towns of Buda and Pest were United in the 19th century and became 1.  To tell the status of any citizen was to ask which side of the river the lived on: the wealthier side was Buda, and the poorer was Pest.   

There is so much history here, it would take me days to write about all of it, so I  will settle with telling of my adventure in the baths.  

The Romans loved the Thermal springs of Budapest,  but the Ottomans did it right.  Roman Baths were kind of scary: the pools let the water in, but had no outflow.  Consequently, the baths were, inspite of having lots of water; cold, tepid and hot, were never actually clean.  Drs advised their patients with open wounds NOT to go to the baths as they had worked out the connection between the less than pure water and infections.

Enter the Ottomans,  who, being Muslim, loved their far better designed baths.  The baths have 82 pools, only 3 of which are outdoors.  They vary in temperature from cold to very hot (like a hot tub).   They offer therapeutic treatments such as the Beer Spa.  

However, I was there with my compatriots, in the outdoor baths, regaling them with stories of hot tubbing and making snow angels at -30C, as well as Tales of the Polar Dip on New Year's Day.   These people from Florida and Texas  think Canadians are a race of Super Beings,  Nutz, or probably both.

Anyway, when you get into the baths, you are given a silicone wristband with a chip that let's you into the baths, and you scan to find your own personal change room, which you lock behind you to keep your personal effects safe. 

So it was getting close to the time of departure,  so I went back to my personal changing room, opened the door, let myself in,  and pushed the deadbolt to lock it,  realized in that moment of Crystal clarity,  that I  should have used the other lock, and yea and verily, I  was stuck.

I have had these moments before: the click bloop sound as the car keys disappear into a storm drain.  Then the realization as my roommates departed with the key needed to actually get out of the room and the phone is turned off.  So, with those experiences behind me, I accepted the moment  with resignation instead of panic.

I was among the early returnees so most of my group and the tour guide would have to come by so I  raised my window curtin and signalled for help.  People came to my assistance,  but to know avail. The deadlock would not open.  We tried using chip bracelet in various ways,  with no effect.  Finally with a very great deal of "encouragement" from the tour guide involving skillful use of his foot, the door opened  "enthusiastically" and I was set free.

So, back to the boat for a schnitzel supper, and set sail.

Day 4 On The Road to Budapest

We set off by bus from our hotel.  Viking is not exactly open with the  information that the trip from  Prague to Budapest is by bus, and that it is about 6 hours.  However, things never go quite as planned for us:  There were two accidents about 3 - 5 km apart on the highway ahead of us, and our lane slowed down to a crawl, then stopped entirely.  

The guide, to his frustration,  couldn't figure out why it was taking so long to clear.  The rest of us, (there were only six of us besides the driver and the guide) weren't really bothered that much.  We had a bathroom on board, literally so small that once inside, there was no room to  change your mind.   We had water, wifi, and a place to charge our phones, so we were reasonably content.  After all, this was beyond anyone's control, we had lots of room on the bus, and we were all a laid back bunch.

But, as I  have often said, there will always be arseholes among us,  and thus it was true here:  this particular one was driving a sports car, and obviously felt he was "special".  We had 2 lane northbound and the trucks kept to the right, while busses and cars to the left so we made a center lane for the use of emergency vehicles.  Mr Hot Wheels, decided that this waiting around was for the peasants and started playing hopscotch.   He sped up the center lane, and tried to pull in wherever he could  and two drivers let him in.   However, these two drivers who were as annoyed at this would be Andretti as the rest of us, had something up their sleeves:  the one in front of him backed up, and the one behind pulled forward,  close enough that Mr Hot Wheels could not get out.  Then, they rolled up their windows and ignored him.  In the immortal words of George Peppard in the original A Team -" I love it when a plan comes together."  I couldn't speak his language,  but some gestures are universal.

Anyway, we arrived in Budapest about 4 hours later than planned. Our guide tried pointing out landmarks but by then it was dark, but I admired his efforts.   We arrived at the Viking Skadi, went for a delicious meal on board, came back to find our luggage in our room, which (surprise!) Is smaller than the pictures show, but very well appointed. And we were more than comfortable. 

Be a Mensch! Jewish Prague

Today, I went off to tour Jewish Prague,  Dan went off to...... I don't know where Dan went off to...  my tour promised lots of stairs up and down so Dan was left to his own devices and went off to find a pub.  Just as a side note, Google maps is not all that helpful. There are a number of synagogues in the old Jewish Quarter, not all of them still hold services, one of them has been turned into a museum of the history of the ghetto,  another holds the Holocast memorial,  (These two are as old as the city itself) There is also the Spanish Synagogue,  which was built after the break up of the Soviet union which is a functioning Reform Jewish synagogue.   It is open to the public and contains exhibits of the industrial and cultural contributions of the Jews of Prague.

Did you know that the safety pin and the snap closure came from here?  I didn't. Also, the Art Nouveau movement had its beginnings here, and Franz Kafka.  No one actually seemed to read Kafka when he was alive.  However,  since his death, he has become a celebrated "native son" and his works acclaimed, not that it makes them easier to read and understand.   This is a statue of Kafka and his friend who was responsible for the wide spread rebirth of his writings.  A woman came along, placed her hand on his boot tips and bowed her head.  Our tour guide had no idea what this meant, though from the polished condition of the boots it seems a popular gesture.   I must research this. 

We also toured the Jewish Cemetery, which is are old as the Jewish Quarter itself. The size of Cemetery was never allowed to get any larger over time, so basically,  the inhabitants were laid to rest in layers and it holds about 800,000 graves.

The afternoon was free, and after more walking about, I located Dan.  Then more exploring followed by more cursing google maps, and a few restorative glasses of wine in a nearby wine bar, we went back to the hotel to ready our selves for the next day departure to Budapest. 

Day 2 in Prague

We started out the day at the breakfast buffet here at the hotel.  It was huge, varied and if you went hungry, it was your own fault: omelets, bacon, eggs, of any type, cold cuts, cheeses, fresh fruit, toast, pastries,  cereals, juices, coffee, tea, milk, yogurt, you name it, they had it.  I contented myself with a relatively virtuous bowl of bircher oatmeal (a cold oatmeal that has been soaked overnight in fruit and yogurt) tea, and a croissant.  Life is good.

Then it was off to the "Panoramic Prague " tour that took us up through the Castle, into the Old Town,  Wenceslas Square,  the Charles Bridge.  The traffic (foot and vehicle) was "relatively" light, as it was a National Holiday.  Most places were open, and the people were out, despite the weather which was (again) cloudy with on and off showers all day.  The mulled wine vendors were doing a brisk business.

Czech wine is very good, though it is better known for its beer, as the home of pilsner.  Wine production is not large, and it not exported.   Therefore, it remains a hidden treasure.

If you like to shop, 100 Czech Kurona is worth about 5.65 CDN.   So, prices here are low,  Bohemian Lead Crystal is still made here, and many other type of handcrafted glass are good buys.  So are garnet and amber.  With the glass, make sure that it really is Bohemian Glass, not Chinese knock offs.  As ever, the best deals are to be found on the side streets, away from the main drag and the tourist traps.  I spent the afternoon prowling through the many narrow alleys finding all sorts of places the specialize in local artwork and traditional crafts while Dan, at the end of the tour, took sanctuary in cafe with another beer, and spent the afternoon recuperating from the walk. 

Today, I am off to tour Jewish Prague,  and Dan is planning a self guided walking tour of local beers. This means less walking and more tasting.