Friday 8/11/06 (Pt 1 - Regensburg)

Friday morning we woke up to Regensberg (Rain-town, it should be a Seattle sister city), one of the oldest cities in Bavaria. There are remains here of the Roman occupation, including walls and arches from the time of Caesar Marcus Aurelius in AD 179. The city was wealthy throughout most of its history, largely from the salt trade, and contains many homes and churches from the 12th and 13th centuries, including the 1000-foot Stone Bridge. It is a beautiful city, with the perfect blend of the modern cosmopolitan tastes surrounded by medieval architecture. Of all the cities visited so far on this trip, I have felt most at home here. We visited St. Peter’s Cathedral (the first non-St. Stephen’s so far) which was built in the Gothic style in the 13th-15th centuries – most other churches we’ve seen so far were baroque, so this was a dramatic and welcome change.

Photos at http://www.flickr.com/photos/bassclef1

Thursday 8/10/2006 (Passau)

This morning we arrived at last in Germany. Passau’s history goes back 2000 years, and has seen the Romans, Charlemagne, and Napoleon come through. Its strategic location is on the border with Austria, at the confluence of the Danube, Inn and Illz rivers.

Our first trip of the day was to visit their church (our third St. Stephen’s) to hear a magnificent organ concert – 5 pieces, one from each of the last 5 centuries. Definitely interesting to hear the progression, especially the dramatic (some might say jarring) change in the 20th century.
After lunch, we had a walking tour through the city to learn about its history. Our guide was a woman who was a native New Yorker who came here in the 1960s and ended up staying. Nice to have a tour guide who understands both cultures so well!

In the evening, the crew of the Viking Europe put on a show for us – the highlight at the end was our maitre d’hotel Rocky – who is Indian, moved to Austria – singing “Country Roads” while in full Reggae garb. Quite the show.

Wednesday 8/9/06 (Melk)

After passing through Vienna and a series of locks on the Danube, we arrived in the town of Melk. The most prominent feature and the focus of our visit is the famous Abbey, founded by the Benedictines in the 13th century and rebuilt several times, most recently in the 18th. It is thus a prime example of Baroque architecture and is more ornate than most people’s expectations of a monastery. However, it was a favorite visiting location for kings and queens and is large enough to house their entourage.

We visited the magnificent gardens and Baroque house, and then entered the abbey. What was most remarkable to me about the abbey was the artwork – because it is a working school and monastery, not merely a museum, they have kept their artwork current with the times, including some very modern sculptures. Inside, the main exhibit describing the Benedictines was a strikingly modern one, using light, shapes and poetry. We saw some rather old pieces, too, including a 600-year-old copy of The Rule of St. Benedict and a 13th century full-size crucifix. At the end of the tour were the two highlights – the magnificent library (used in the film The Name of the Rose) and the enormous church in the center of the complex.

We then took a walk through the quaint town, and my brother Josh and I played Frisbee for a while before heading back to the bus. From there we set sail for Passau, Germany – auf wiedersehen, Osterreich!

Tuesday 8/8/06 (Vienna) part 2

In the evening we all went to a concert of Mozart and Strauss music performed by the Wiener Rezident Orchestra, in the Auesburg Palace, where Mozart debuted many of his works for the Austrian royalty. It was a small chamber group, all very talented and made for a wonderful authentic Viennese experience. Robin and I waltzed when we returned to the boat. The return included some welcome news – the rain had stopped, and we would be setting sail in the night.

A linguistic note – just as a “Frankfurter” is a resident of Frankfurt, a “Wiener” is a resident of Wien – the true German spelling of “Vienna”.

Tuesday 8/8/06 Vienna (day 1 of ?)

We woke up to interesting news today – it has rained so much in Southern Germany and Austria in the last day that the Danube has been rising 9cm every hour! So – for now, all traffic on the Danube is closed. We’re stuck in Vienna indefinitely Truly, I can think of worse predicaments…

Anyway, we went into town and got a tour of the Mozart 250th birthday museum exhibit. Very cool to see musical scores written in his own hand! Quite interesting political times – learning a lot about the Hapsburgs…I didn’t know that they were in power for 650 years.

At this point my family shunned the tourist fare to find an “authentic” place – which we did…very little English spoken, and no credit cards! We had a lovely lunch of schnitzel, wurst, Viennese coffee (I had a Kleine Mokka – black espresso) and then went to the premier Schokolader (chocolatier) in town to sample some lovely treats.

And then, as expected, my family broke down into tourist mode; they couldn’t decide where to go and started scouring the map. I took my cue and decided to wander the city, which allowed me to get lost on purpose (one of my favorite pastimes) and dig my way out without a map. Found my 2nd internet café so far, which has allowed to make this posting! Pictures coming soon…

Monday 8/7/06 – Budapest Pt 2

This morning began with an early driving & walking tour of Budapest. The first half was spent on the Pest side, driving through the main areas of town and learning about the history of the city. We ended up at the main Square of the city, constructed for the Millenium celebration in 1896. The central statuary reflects the history of the Hungarian nation, with the middle column surrounded by the 7 tribal chiefs (from 896 AD) with the angel Gabriel atop.
After visiting Pest, we drove over the Chain Bridge (the first to connect the cities) to the Buda side. Buda is built on hills, unlike Pest – and there is a faultline under the Danube, which we suspect has a part in the creation of the different land structures. The heart of Buda is the Castle district, which was been both home to royalty and middle-class alike at different times in its long history. The view is simply amazing – one can see all of Pest from one side (reminding me of Paris from the Eiffel Tower) and the hills of Buda from the other. The Castle district is also home to the Mathias church (named for a significant king who restored the church) and the Fisherman’s Bastion, a lookout precipice. We also visited the Ruszwurm, the favorite pastry shop of the Austrian queen who visited often in the 19th century.

In the afternoon, we set sail for Vienna. Along the way we got an explanation of Viennese Coffee culture (not unfamiliar for Seattle folks) and a demonstration of how to make apple strudel!

Tonight we will pass Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, and pass through the first of 25 locks!

Sunday 8/6/06 – Intro, & Budapest Day 1

It’s been my parents’ dream – for probably 20 years at least – to take our family to Europe, without small children and without breaking the bank. At long last, this Christmas the dream was realized. They decided to take all 3 of us and our spouses on a river cruise up the Danube, beginning in Budapest, Hungary, through Vienna, Austria, to Nuremberg, Germany over the course of a week.

Today the adventure began – we arrived in Budapest after spending the entirety of Saturday traveling (Seattle -> Chicago -> Frankfurt -> Budapest, plus 9 hours lost due to time zones). After taking a bus through the city, we arrived at our boat and had several hours of free time to walk around the city.

One note: Budapest is the result of the merging of the cities Buda and Pest, on either side of the Danube, connected by bridge in the 19th century. I will be referring to them separately from time to time.

While my folks went touring, Robin and I met up with one of her cousins who lives and works in Budapest as a missionary – in fact, teaching at a school for missionary kids. She and her husband both grew up as MKs and are striving to help these “3rd culture” kids to survive the lifestyle that results from their parents’ work.

After lunch in a wonderful Greek restaurant, Robin and I went down to the Vaci Ucta (pedestrian street), which is a walking-only street surrounded by shops & cafes. We saw some wonderful local craftwork and got some neat souvenirs for the folks back home. At the south end of the street is the vast Central Market.

We had a relaxing evening and captured a few nice photos of Budapest by night. The evening’s entertainment was a group of Hungarian folk musicians and dancers. Due to jet lag we didn’t last through very many songs…

Photos at http://www.flickr.com/photos/bassclef1 !!!