This blog is intended primarily as my personal journal of our travel and I’m sure a lot of it is factual and mundane. You are welcome to read it at your own risk…
BTW: For anyone unfamiliar with blogging formats, the newest post is at the top and older ones further below.
This blog contains the earlier travel itineraries. The latest ones can be found in https://letsgetabout.wordpress.com/.
We were woken up at the unearthly hour of 4:00 am. At breakfast there were a lot of other people up currently. Following our brief continental breakfast, we packed out cases, checked out and walked to the airport again, but this time pushing our cases up the ramp.
The airline check-in desk had not opened so we waited about 10 minutes before we could find out where to go. Check-in was straight forward, but there was a lengthy line for security and passport control. We stayed in the airport lounge for a couple of hours which was conveniently next to our departure gate.
The flight was about 2.5 hours, and we were served a second breakfast. This one was hot, but we were not so hungry after our first one and the snacks eaten in the lounge.
At Heathrow we found ourselves in a line for a trial security check. This had the benefit that we did not have to remove electronics or liquids. However, it was still a slow-moving line and I had a thorough examination with metal detector, body scan, magnetometer wand, pat down, and a foot analyser I had not seen before. Overall, it was not a simpler experience.
We had a long layover at Heathrow of about 8 hours, so spent some time in the North Lounge. Once bored with this lounge we went walk-about then settled in the larger South Lounge for lunch. Still with several hours remaining, we went to the terminal B lounge which was much quieter. This makes it that we visited all the BA lounges at terminal 5.
Bording was delayed as expected. We had been watching the flights over the previous few days and they rarely depart on time. We waited in line while they finished loading the catering. It seemed like a poor excuse since they do this every day and should have it under control. Finally, sitting in our seats and ready to go we learnt that one of the pilot’s headsets is not working and there will be a delay while a new one is delivered.
Our seating was much improved compared to the outward journey. Alison had a window seat with plenty of storage and I had an aisle seat so could easily get out and access the overhead bins. After dinner was served, I watched three movies and slept for a few hours.
At YVR there was a long walk from the arrival gate to the custom’s hall and once there we passed easily. Following a short wait for the cases, we met Emma who brought us home – then you Emma. Then straight to bed after a full 24 hours of travel.
Following breakfast, we finished packing and checked out of our room, leaving our bags in storage at the hotel. We walked to the parliament building to buy the tour tickets with the first scheduled tour time of 12:15 pm. With 90 minutes to kill, we walked back to St. Steven’s church and bought tickets to enter.
We have seen so many churches this week. The notable feature in this one was the severed hand of St. Steven who was the first king of Hungary in ~1100. The church also avoided the Baroque style that we do not like.
Back at the parliament building we waited about 20 minutes for our tour to begin, then went through security and were issued audio guides. For security reasons we had to stay together with our group as we toured the building. We ascended 138 steps to the fourth floor then followed a long corridor to the centre of the building. Here we saw the grand entrance and staircase. Behind this was the central dome where the crown was kept. We were then led to one of the debate chambers before returning to the ground level where we found interesting displays of the building construction.
Back outside the building we entered an underground passage which used to be a ventilation shaft but is now an exhibit showing restoration work on the building. Having completed seeing everything we wanted, we returned to the hotel, collected our bags, and took a Bolt taxi to the airport.
It was a 35-minute journey and dropped us at the Ibis Hotel in walking distance of the terminal. After checking in we printed our boarding passes then walked over to the terminal to check it out. We also found a cafe to have dinner before returning to our room for the night.
What a difference a heater makes. We woke to a hot room and walking out into the corridor, it felt cold. In comparison, the same corridor had felt warm the day earlier. We again had breakfast in the Callas Cafe on the ground level.
Following some debating, we decided to rent bicycles so we could get around the sites on our plan for the day rather than walking. It was a short walk to the bike shop which we had checked out on Sunday. The staff found a couple of bikes, helmets, and locks. I also asked to have a phone holder to be fitted so I could navigate.
We set off for the City Market which was a little way along a busy road. It had a bike lane but there were several vehicles stopped in the line which we needed to go around, and Alison found this first experience alarming.
At the market we locked our bikes and walked around the upper floor where all the lace and tourist souvenirs could be found. Alison continued the other floors while I went to keep the bikes company and plan the next leg of our journey.
We cross the bridge to the Buda side and followed the Danube before heading up a hill using switchbacks which was tough going. From this approach we could not get the bikes to the top of the Castle District which was surrounded by a defense wall. Consequently, we parked the bikes and walked up. There we bought tickets to enter St. Matthias Church.
The church was nicely decorated and our favourite so far. Many of the others had a gordy Baroque style. At the far end of the church, we entered stairs leading up to a museum where we could also look down on the interior.
Back on our bikes we continued down the hill to the follow the Danube to the next bridge where we entered Margaret Island. This is a park which is 2.5km long where vehicles are not allowed other than city buses. We were just in time for the 2:00 pm performance of a fountain display synchronised to classical music including the Blue Danube. We decided to sit for a while watching the display while eating our lunch. Further along the path we found a cafe to stop for coffee then completed riding the perimeter of the park.
Leaving the park, we crossed the bridge back to Pest and stopped by the parliament building to check out the visitor centre. It was too late in the day to begin a tour but there was free entry to the museum, so we looked around it.
Since it was rush hour and we were nervous of the traffic we found a route back to the bike rental store along the side roads and pedestrian areas. Walking back to the hotel we stopped at Spar to buy food and had dinner on our balcony.
Overnight our room was very cold and the sheet on the bed was thin. By the morning we were freezing in the room even though the heating was set to maximum. When we opened the door into the corridor, it seemed warmer than our room. At reception we found that at this time of year they are not allowed to turn on the central heating. Obviously, the fan was just blowing frigid air into the room.
We went down to the Callas Cafe for breakfast. The food selection seemed basic but adequate. Then we stayed in our room all morning with the door open to let in the heat from the corridor. It was the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II. During this time, we had visits from reception to open the safe, bring us a heater and maintenance fixing the loose toilet seat.
In the afternoon we walked about 3km to the famous Széchenyi Thermal Bath in Central Park. After paying, we were each given bracelets to activate locks on a private changing cubical. Going outdoors there were three large pools for activity, swimming lengths and relaxing. Entering the building on the far side we found dozens of pools.
We entered the active outdoor pool and had fun going around a circular pool. Then we stayed for some time in the relaxation pool. We re-entered the building and tried most of the indoor pools before going back outside again for another round. Eventually, we changed back into outdoor clothes then walked back to our hotel and watched the review of today’s funeral.
We had breakfast, our last meal on the boat, then returned to finish packing. At 9:00 am we needed to be out of our rooms and arranged to meet for coffee but found that Alison’s parents wanted to leave immediately. This was the busiest time and our plan to order a Bolt taxi did not work because the large vehicles were busy. As a contingency we asked for reception to call a taxi while everyone waited outside. I stayed on the boat to listen for the announcements.
When the taxi arrived, there was confusion, and I went back and forth to find the taxi driver. Once we identified the driver, we set off on a short ride to our hotel. The next challenge was finding the entrance and hotel reception. The door to Callas House was not obvious and reception was on the 3rd floor of an old, shared building. We checked in then left our cases to go for a walk.
Next to the hotel was the opera house and we went inside to visit. There was music playing and soon a large group of people came out. After walking along the street and back, we stopped for coffee in an old cafe.
When returning to the hotel, there was a parade about to begin. This was to celebrate the Russians leaving following the collapse of the Berlin Wall. People formed two long lines and carried the Hungarian flag which was unravelled and must have stretched a kilometer or more.
We had lunch in the Callas Cafe then returned to reception to see if the room was ready and send Alison’s parents on their way to the airport. We unpacked and I mistakenly locked the safe without entering a code which became a problem since the receptionist could not find the key to open it again.
Later, we set off for a walk which was planned as a short outing but ballooned to a 12km tour. We first checked the option for renting bikes, then went to the New York Cafe. There was an extensive line of people waiting to go in although we were able to pop in to take a quick look. Then we walked to the market, only to find it was closed on Sunday. However, nearby we find an exhibition of street cars and buses.
We then walked along the Danube to a memorial of shoes. This is the place where 3,500 people were killed and bodies fell into the river. Nearby we took photographs of the parliament building and started to walk back to our hotel. Along the way we went in a Spar to shop for dinner and visited St Stevens Cathedral.
At the hotel we tried sitting on the balcony to have dinner but found it too cold so returned into the room for dessert and coffee.
We had a slow morning of cruising to our destination. We did our packing to get ready to leave the boar tomorrow. Later sitting on the top deck with coffee we watched our approach into Budapest. Following lunch in al fresco, we finally docked near a downtown bridge and were able to join the tour.
There were two tour groups together on the bus for the first half of the tour in Pest. One of the guides was a lively young girl while our guide was older and more serious. We first went on a coach to the City Market, past the expensive New York Cafe to Heroes Square and around City Park where the large Széchenyi Thermal Baths are found. Then we went along the exclusive shopping district on Andrássy Út where we passed the Opera House next to our hotel. Following two hours of looking at the sights on the bus we crossed the Danube to Buda and rendezvoused in a car park.
Here we swapped for smaller vans to ascend castle hill. Most of the group decided to join the young guide, leaving only 6 of us with our own guide. After a short drive to the top of the hill, we walked up steps to the castle area and old town. The guide led us on to the wall where we had a beautiful view of the town and Danube. Alison realized she had forgotten her phone and so I needed to take the photos. Given the substantial number of retakes, we were left behind and by the time we got down from the wall our group was nowhere to be seen.
We spent a frantic 15 minutes running around looking for the group with no success until we met them returning to the bus. We were all in a flap and after descending the steps to the meeting place for the bus, our guide realized we were an hour early. She apologized and reset, then we started the old town tour again. On the walk we found a hand-made lace shop that we visited and found a letter from a gift to Princess Diana.
We returned to the boat for drinks in the lounge with a folk music and dance. Dinner was in al fresco which was quiet with only 3 tables, less than half the tables, in use.
The boat departed from the dock at 8:30 while we were having breakfast. Later we had a destination talk and disembarkation instruction in the lounge. This was followed by a guest speaker talking about the history and geology of the Danube.
Following lunch, we arrived in Bratislava and Alison and Chris want on different tours. Chris did the walking tour of the town while Alison went on a hike up the hill to a castle. The town was small and ancient but not especially significant. Neither of the tour guides were great and we later compared notes to fill in the gaps.
In the evening we had the captain’s farewell reception where all the crew came out to wave and thank us for being guests this week. Dinner was held in the main dining room followed by a guest entertainer in the lounge. There was a singer and pianist followed by a surprise performance of the musical director for the cruise line who was visiting the boat.
We debated on which tour to take to see the most of Vienna and eventually decided the bike tour would be outdoors more and we could travel faster than a walking guide. There were only six guests in the group with the other Canadian couple and an American couple.
We set off with George, our guide, along the Danube and then moved inland past a university with modern architecture. We then crossed an exceptionally large park and stopped in another park for photos with Johannes Strauss in the form of a gold statue.
Once in the old town centre, we visited the winter palace where we parked the bikes for some free time. Here we could see old Roman ruins, and the horse stables. Just around the corner we found a church where the organ was being played.
Back on the board we had lunch in the al fresco restaurant, before heading out on a 40-minute ride to the summer palace. I slept on the bus while the guide bored us with details about the city. We arrived early for our scheduled admission time so were allowed 30 minutes to see the extensive gardens. We had just enough time to get there and take a few photographs. As we went back to the rendezvous point it started to rain.
Inside the palace we walked through about 20 of the thousands of rooms while the guide gave us his commentary. We found the rooms to be hot even though several fans were positions in strategic places. Unfortunately, no photography was allowed. Once we came out it was sunny. It was slow progress getting back to the boat during rush hour.
We had drinks in the lounge. After several days we finally discovered we can get free drinks in the evening during sip-and-sail (happy hour). We had arranged to have dinner in al fresco, but then found it was a special Viennese dinner in the main dining room. Following renegotiation, we found we could still have the special meal in al fresco, although it may have caused problems for the waiters who needed to provide the special meal to other guests. We all have wiener schnitzel and apple strudel for dinner.
After a long and active day we were tired and had an early night.
We had a short 15-minute bus ride from the boat, up a hill to Melk Abbey. This is still an active monastery and private school for local children. We entered the museum part of the building and walked through several rooms displaying the monk’s rules, robes, the dining room, library, and church.
Back outside we climbed a battlement containing a modern children’s exhibit, then entered the gardens. Rather than taking the bus back, we walked down the hill, through the town and through a forest back to the ship.
Lunch was in the al fresco restaurant as usual. We like that it is bright and open with views out of the front. In the afternoon we cruised to Sprits where we went on a hike through the vineyards.
We did get to walk through an interesting village and see people working. There was also an old wine press that we looked at. Then we walked back to the Danube and followed it back to the boat.
Our tour leader was mostly useless at keeping the group together. We started with 13 people and ended with 7. She did not seem to be concerned when I told her there were two missing from behind me. Instead, she carried on to the top of the hill and after counting the group, realising there were two missing, she went looking for them. In the meantime, several others decided to take a short cut back to the boat. At one point I went ahead and when the group turned on to a side path, Alison pointed out I was missing. The guide said, not to worry because I’ll find my own way back. Needless to say, she did not get a tip from us.
In the evening we went out to a wine tasting event. It poured with rain as we were escorted by a man playing an accordion. We were given samples of three local wines while listening to traditional Austrian folk music.
Following breakfast, we set off on a bike tour of Linz. This was a shorter tour and we had more talking and less riding than yesterday.
We rode along the river a short distance, then crossed the river on a road bridge and through the suburbs following bike lanes next to the road. Then we made our way to the old town and entered the cathedral. Our tour guide and several of the bikers joined us inside as our guide explained the history.
The journey back was faster, and we wanted to take photographs but did not get to stop. Once back at the boat we returned to the nearby bridge for the photograph.
Back on board we had coffee together on the top deck then lunch in al fresco. In the afternoon we cruised to Grein where we had dinner in the family style restaurant called Jimmy’s.
After dinner we were taken on a tour of a castle. Our guide was a girl who worked for the current owner of the castle and booked weddings and concerts. At the castle we went through a series of rooms: heraldry, kitchen, dining, and sitting rooms.
Later, we went down to an unusual grotto underground. This was a place where the residents could keep cool on hot days.
Finally, we were taken into a large hall to hear music played on reconstructed instruments from older times.
Not wanting to wait for the guide escorting us down, we set off on our own down a dark path, illuminated only by the light of our phone.
More Chris's Wanderings 