This
will potentially be the longest post I’ve ever delivered on Frail Deeds. Not to
worry, though, most of it will be photos and not my fractured prose. I’m going
to cover the entire past week spent on the rivers of central Europe. I will start
with an unequivocal admission that I was absolutely wrong for not being excited
about this trip. It was fabulous, one of our best vacations ever, which is an incredibly
high standard to achieve. Even more impressive considering I was sick for a
couple days and the weather was uniformly cold for most of the trip. You should
be asking yourself, then how did this trip rate so high? The answer is the people
I was privileged to spend it with, in addition, of course, to my Favorite Panamanian.
Foremost amongst that group would be our Indiana Friends. We met them on our first
night on the river and we just clicked as if we’d been friends forever. We ended
up eating most of our meals with them.
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Last Night Onboard with our New Friends
and the Fabulous Teo |
Speaking
of meals, I am just now, late in the day, recovering from the sheer indignity
of having to prepare my own breakfast. Yep, spoiled rotten over the past week
with gourmet level meals onboard. The second reason this was such a special time
was Viking. They were challenged with historically low river levels which prevented
them from sailing their normal itineraries. They not only overcame this, but
they excelled. Every crew member labored to make us feel special. Chief amongst
this was our tour director, Teo, fanatically devoted to taking care of us and
keeping us informed, best tour director we’ve ever experienced. Now to the
recounting.
Day 1 Looooong Day’s Journey
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| Clouds Broke Approaching Munich |
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| 1st Time on our Room's Balcony |
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| View from that Balcony |
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| Our Cabin |
As
we were waiting for the van to pick us up for the trip to the airport, my Favorite
Panamanian decided my belt did not meet her lofty standards and I was directed to
get another one. I finally set foot in a TJ Maxx, something I’ve avoided for
years but my wife figured this was my best option. I returned with two new
belts and told her how surprised I was that TJ Maxx actually had small shopping
bags, something I’d never seen in my Favorite Panamanian’s thorough relationship
with them over the years. Even she had to laugh at that revelation. Our trip to
the airport was flawless and, upon checking in, received the best news possible.
We would be able to check our bags in all the way through to our final destination,
Munich. We only had an hour in our first stop, Copenhagen, and I was seriously concerned
about having to get the bags, go through immigration, and then make our connecting
flight.
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| First Meal Onboard |
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| Outside the Tor |
We
had dinner at Logan and boarded our flight precisely on time. This was our
first time ever flying Scandinavian Airlines, and we could not have been more
pleased. Our seats were all the way in the back, but they were comfortable, and
I had my own screen in the seatback in front of me with a nice selection of movies
to watch (that always make the trans-Atlantic passage go faster). No sleep as
we traveled overnight to Copenhagen and I wore out that screen, literally. It
stopped working as we made our final approach. This was our first time flying
into Copenhagen and the airport did not make a good impression. The layout
rivals Miami as the worst ever. It took us 15 minutes to get off the plane from
those last in the plane seats, then there was a twenty-minute walk from one end
of the terminal to the other, with passing through immigration along the way. Our
Munich plane was already boarding when we rushed up.
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| Outside St Faustus Church |
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| Moth Headed Towards the Flame |
We
hoped to get a couple hours sleep on the way to Munich but we had some very
loud Germans in the seats in front of us. As we walked out of the gate in Munich,
we were met by a Viking representative who escorted us to where our ride to the
ship would pick us up. This was really the only time the entire trip that Viking
didn’t overachieve. We ended up waiting over two hours for that ride, which
ended up being another two and a half hours long. So, it took almost as long to
get to the ship after we landed in Munich than it did to fly from Boston to
Copenhagen. Because of the low water situation, we were bused to Englehartszell,
Austria instead of Regensburg. Our first exposure to the Viking ship was a true
revelation. This was our first experience and we were not disappointed. Our state
room was awesome with a balcony, which admittedly didn’t get a lot of use.
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| Inside the Church |
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| Saint Faustus Body |
We
grabbed a quick lunch before heading off ship for a look around the small town.
Englehartszell was a very quiet place, especially given it was a Friday afternoon,
but very picturesque. As a moth to a flame, my Favorite Panamanian made a bee
line to the prominent church. I was surprised to see the church sported an
attached brewery and beer garden. It turns out this was the church of Saint Faustus
(thank you Wikipedia), someone called a “glittering saint” because of their bejeweled
burial shrouds, which we saw, since his body was prominently displayed within
the church. The church used to be a Trappist monastery which explained the brewery
and still active beer garden.
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| Another View of the Tor |
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| Hallway Outside our Cabin |
We
returned to the ship for a pre-supper social hour led by Teo, who explained how
things ran. In addition to the buses we would have to take instead of being
docked, we were promised 100 Euros each time we had to buy our own lunch, kind
of cool! As he spoke, the boat launched for a trip to Passau, Germany. I was
amazed at how smooth the ride was. Our last event was the first of the delicious
dinners we experienced onboard. Of significance, it was at this dinner that we
first met our Indiana Friends, as well as another couple from Seattle, who were
also fun. As the ship sailed into the night, we finally got to sleep for the first
time in over 24 hours. It was a fabulous night of sleep, needless to say, but
it also marked a great start to the trip which only got better.
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| Tour Director Teo |
Day 2 – Regensburg
After
that great sleep, we enjoyed an even better breakfast where a Sous Chef created
your own personal omelet each morning (hence my consternation this morning at
having to make my own). We took an hour and a half bus ride to Regensburg,
Germany to the spot the ship would normally have docked, sporting a huge golden
catfish statue (for some reason). It was a penetrating cold, damp day, which
was a theme for the first few days. Regensburg was a fascinating, well
preserved, medieval city that was spared from WW2 bombing. A guide took us
around for a morning walking tour, pointing out the remains of the Roman era fortress,
established by Marcus Aurelius.
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| Arriving in Regensburg |
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| The Golden Catfish |
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| Remains of Roman Fortress |
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| Embedded in Modern Wall |
Regensburg
has a fascinating history as a mostly free city during the Middle Ages,
obtaining that freedom for the merchants when they financed a Holy Roman Emperor’s
Holy Land crusade. They became famous for the salt trade and as we walked through
one of their historic buildings you could still see the salt soaked into the 900-year-old
rafters. We stopped by an 800-year-old bridge that was a key trade route along
with a 400-year-old wurst place (yep). During the Hapsburg rule of the Holy Roman
Empire, their “diet”, a legislative body, met in Regensburg at a well preserved
town hall (now a hotel).
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| In Front of Bridge |
The
walking tour ended at the central cathedral, and we all know my Favorite
Panamanian was headed inside. We had free time for the rest of our visit to Regensburg,
and I learned a hopefully valuable lesson for the future. I finally learned there
is something that quells my Favorite Panamanian’s shopping urges, cold, damp
weather!!! One of those, “Good to Know” kind of things. We returned to the cathedral
square for lunch at a recommended restaurant there, featuring typical German
fare. I went with a schnitzel based on my recent indoctrination by the Czech Friends.
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| The Wurst Place |
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| Inside the Salt Factorage |
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| View Down the Danube |
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| Gate on the Bridge into Town |
We
returned to the ship where we were greeted by the ship’s captain offering a
welcome toast. We had dinner with our Indiana Friends who we joined for the post
dinner entertainment. That was a Halloween concert by a trio of operatic
singers in a variety of costumes. They were very entertaining especially when a
well-endowed young lady, portraying a boy, decided to interact with the Indiana
Friend lady. That had us all laughing uncontrollably. So ended a great day, especially
as we got to know our new friends.
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The Goliath House
Home to Ancient Merchant |
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| Views of the Streets |
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| Town Hall Where the Diet Met |
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| In Front of Cathedral |
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| Lunch |
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| Poorly Named Store |
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| They Had a Dachshund Museum!!? |
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| Captain's Toast |
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| Dinner with Indiana Friends |
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| Halloween Singers |
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| Indiana Friend About to be Assaulted |
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| Fun Group |
Day 3 – Sunday in Passau
Passau,
Germany is an interesting place where three rivers: the Danube, Ilz, and Inn, converge
to continue on as the Danube. The ship made a short transit overnight and as I
looked out our window in the morning, I was greeted by the first castle of the trip.
Those who know me understand my uncontrolled and unexplained affection for all things
castle related. This castle, the Veste Oberhaus, overlooks that river
confluence. We were signed up for a walking tour of Passau, but we ditched
that, along with our Indiana Friends, in order to attend mass at Saint Stephen’s
cathedral, featuring the largest pipe organ in Europe. The Indiana Friend
navigated us through some very cool cobblestone alleyways to find the cathedral.
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| Veste Oberhaus |
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| Walk to Church |
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| Finding It |
The
mass was delivered in German which severely tested my vestigial grasp of that
language. The church was not heated and that famous organ, was down for repairs.
Still a unique experience, a color guard led the priest (bishop level) in with a
mass-long overuse of incense (most I’ve ever seen/smelled). After mass, we
needed to warm up so we headed next door for a recommended coffee house (yes,
they served hot chocolate, so I wasn’t left out). It was an ancient place,
crowded with other refugees from the frigid mass. For some reason, we were
farmed out to an attached room (must be where they stick tourists to keep us
from bothering the locals). The Indiana Friend used AI to create the photo below.
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| Mass Time |
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| Beautiful Interior |
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| The Color Guard |
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AI Created Photo With Indiana Friends
Wife Happy to Finally Have Cleavage |
Back
on the ship for lunch, my Favorite Panamanian decided she’d had enough of the
cold and damp and remained onboard. I joined our Indiana Friends to explore Passau
to see the sites we missed by not taking the morning walking tour. It was very
fun afternoon with these new friends, as we walked the medieval streets. The
riverside town hall had a depiction of the worst flood levels, which was
impressive, especially compared to where the rivers were now. We reached an interesting
point where the medieval streets changed to the modern section. It was like walking
forward 600 years by turning that corner.
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| The Cathedral |
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| After Mass |
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| Post Mass Coffee House |
Back
on the ship for a German themed dinner, with Teo in traditional Bavarian garb, my
Favorite Panamanian rejoined us for another fun evening. The evening’s
entertainment was a music trivia contest that we probably would have blown off (based
on my non-existent knowledge in that arena) if not for our new friends. Teo was the entertaining emcee for the event
and we formed a group with a nearby table. The songs were not difficult, but we
had to name the singer, his country of origin, name of the song, and the decade
it came out. Extra points were offered if you danced while the song was
playing. Guess who led the charge to the dance floor? Yes, my Favorite Panamanian
ushered me out to the dancefloor, even when extra points were not in play. In a
major upset, our group won the contest. The prize? Bragging rights, which I am obviously
accessing here.
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| Passau Scenes from our Walkabout |
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| Town Hall |
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| Flood Levels |
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| Dinner |
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| With Friends |
Day 4 – Cruising to Abbey
This
was probably my favorite day of the trip because it involved the only extended
daylight cruising we experienced. Of course, the fact that it included numerous
castles didn’t hurt either. I paid for my enthusiasm by acquiring the aforementioned
cold for staying too long on the top deck, exposed to the frigid elements. The
castles were very cool though. We were transitioning through the Wachau Valley which
featured those castles as well as numerous small villages and omnipresent vineyards.
We started out the transition with a passage through a lock which was interesting.
The transition started early so I left my Favorite Panamanian asleep while I climbed
on to the top deck. Teo was narrating the passage over a loudspeaker.
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| Cruising Through the Valley |
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| Into the Lock |
My
Favorite Panamanian emerged after a couple hours to join me, for about five minutes.
She headed below to join our Indiana Friends in the heated forward lounge which
offered almost as good a view as from my perch. I decided it would be judicious
to join them, but apparently the damage had been done. We enjoyed a brunch in
the glass walled restaurant as the valley continued to pass by. I went back up
top as the ship reached its docking location in Krems, Austria, a small
university town as the ship executed a pirouette to change direction. The day’s
adventure was a trip to Göttweig Abbey, perched high on a hill above Krems.
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| More of the Valley |
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| Wife's Five Minutes on Top |
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| Back Inside |
The
abbey was a fascinating place (a lot of that happened during this vacation) as
a Benedictine Monastery, active since the 700s. The Hapsburg emperors had their
own apartments there when they chose to visit. There was a truly impressive
staircase to those apartments with a painted ceiling above the wide stairs. Napoleon,
during his passage through the area, stayed in the same rooms. The tour was
followed by a wine tasting event and the inevitable gift shop. The Favorite Panamanian
was smiling at this point. While we awaited departure time, I wandered outside
to enjoy the stunning views of the surrounding countryside. When we returned to
the ship, the Indiana Friends were leaving for an evening concert, so my Favorite
Panamanian and I decided to wander around Krems for a while. It was another medieval
town where my wife accomplished some shopping while also admiring the flower
bedecked homes. A quiet evening on the ship followed due to the absence of our
Indiana Friends.
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| Arriving in Krems, Abbey in the Distance |
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| Watching the Pirouette |
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| Approaching Abbey |
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| Abbey Entrance |
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| Posing Outside |
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| Central Church |
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| The Stairs |
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| Painted Ceiling Seen from Stairs |
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| Panamanian Angel |
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| Hapsburg Apartment |
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| Views from Krems |
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| Walking Streets of Krems |
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| Of Course She Noticed the Flowers |
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| Pointing at Our Cabin |
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| After a Long Day |
Day 5 – On to Vienna
Krems
was a far as our ship, the Tor, could travel on the Danube. Viking came up with
an interesting solution to minimize frustration. We were supposed to dock that
day in Vienna, before continuing onto Hungary. Viking had the Tor’s sister
ship, the Var, travelling in the opposite direction. The solution had us
packing our luggage before leaving on bus for Vienna. Viking transferred our
bags to the Var while we were in Vienna and our bus trip that evening brought
us to Bratislava (capitol of Slovakia). Since the ships are identical, we
walked to the exact same room where our bags had been delivered.
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| Vienna Scenes |
I
awoke feeling the repercussions of that time spent on the top deck the day
prior. It had been so long since I’ve been sick, I was surprised. Apparently
getting old means you have to be more careful, who knew? (my wife it seems). I
felt weak and a little feverish, I didn’t share that second part with the wife
(for obvious reasons). The weather was particularly uncooperative as the
coldest, most miserable day of the entire trip. There was no way I was going to
miss Vienna, though, one of the world’s great cities I had never seen. It didn’t
disappoint. It is a very imperial place, obviously, since it served for hundreds
of years as the capitol of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. We took a driving tour
around part of the city followed by a walking tour through the Hofburg Palace and
the inner city.
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| Entrance to Hofburg |
The
Hofburg Palace was amazing, huge with additions added over the hundreds of
years it served as the seat of government. Our guide took us through a passage saying,
if we were lucky, we might get a glimpse of the head of one of the famous Lipizzaner
stallions. I remember being dragged by my mother to a Boston performance of
these famous horses at a very young age. The guide was trying to spy the
elusive head shot in the stables when I pointed out a line of horses being led
out the stables directly towards us. He almost lost it in his excitement as he
proclaimed how lucky we were. The horses passed within five feet of us as they
moved to their training arena. I felt good for the guide as he seemed genuinely
emotional about it.
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| Hurting Camper in the Hofburg |
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| Horses Appear |
The
walking tour ended at the central cathedral and we were given three hours to
kill before reporting to the buses. I wasn’t very excited about that since I
was feeling progressively worse. Oh, it also started intermittent raining. We
grabbed a quick lunch and then spent the time perusing shopping opportunities.
Okay, that was mostly my Favorite Panamanian. I tagged along and I shocked her
a couple times when I told her I had to find a place to sit down as I didn’t
trust my legs. In typical fashion, she shifted shopping opportunities to places
that had heat and a place I could sit down. That’s how she rolls.
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| Roman Ruins Discovered |
We
eventually convinced Teo to send a bus back a little early and my pain ended.
Totally worth it though. Vienna was more than merited it. We returned for a
quiet dinner and then went upstairs to the lounge with our Indiana Friends where
I tried to keep my eyes open during a very good jazz trio. I failed at that
enough that my Favorite Panamanian pulled rank and decided it was time I went to
bed.
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| Monument to Plague Survivors |
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| When Will it End!? |
Day 6 – Rest Day
We
were scheduled for either a walking tour of Bratislava or a return for a second
day in Vienna but there was no way I was going to make either. I encouraged my Favorite
Panamanian to choose one, but she decided nurse duty was more important. I
ended up sleeping for almost twelve hours in a row. I guess the body knew what
it needed. I emerged for lunch and a quick trip up to the top deck and saw we
were experiencing the first “nice” day of the entire trip. Figures. I went back
to bed and my Favorite Panamanian disappeared for five hours. While I was sleeping,
she read in the lounge until she noticed it weas getting dark outside and hurried
to see how the patient was doing. It was a day I needed and it did the trick as
I felt immeasurably better and ready for the next day’s tour of Budapest.
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| Brief Emergence from Bed |
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| First Views of Hungary |
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| The Jazz Trio |
Day 7 – Budapesting
The
ship moved overnight and we awoke in Gönyű, Hungary. This was as close as the
ship could travel towards Budapest due to water levels. It was an industrial port.
Travel to the city was along one of the major east-west highways of Europe. We
were warned that we might experience traffic jams along this route as it was
only two lanes each way and was in the process of being expanded. They were not
exaggerating. We had some good drivers who bypassed a huge backup utilizing some
interesting back roads. Our first stop in the city was on the Buda side at a
place called the Citadel. It featured a huge fort that still had some bullet
holes from World War 2 when the Soviets took the city.
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| Monument on the Citadel |
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| Budapest |
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| WW2 Shell Impact on Citadel |
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| View from Top of Citadel |
The
citadel was dominated by a huge Soviet era Liberty Statue which I’m sure the
Hungarians took with tongue firmly in cheek during the Soviet occupation. It
soared above the entire city and was very impressive and a bit Russian. After this
stop, we crossed the Danube to the Pest side and toured a historic church, the
oldest Catholic church in Hungary, featuring the ankle bone of the church’s founding
saint. The guide related a “funny” story how the saint was the first Catholic
priest in Hungary when the king decided to convert everyone to Christianity.
Some of his pagan subjects didn’t appreciate the change and killed the priest
by sealing him in a nail lined barrel and rolling him down the hill which is
now named after him. He was buried in Italy but a couple hundred years later,
the Budapest church asked for his bones and the Italians sent his ankle bone.
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| Still at Citadel |
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| The Soviet Statues |
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| "Liberty" Statue |
We
were blessed with the best day of our entire trip for our day in Budapest. We
took a driving tour of the city, seeing the freedom plaza and the house of
terror. This was a non-descript building on what the guide called Budapest’s Champs-Élysées.
It was the place the Gestapo used during WW2 to torture people. The Soviets took
over the place and used it for the same reason during their stay. It’s now a museum
dedicated to the legions of victims who met their end there. Our driving tour
ended at the banks of the Danube where the ship would have docked.
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| The Church |
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| Built on top of Roman Temple |
We
were then released on our recognizance and walked up to the Grand Market. This
is a huge building. Its cavernous interior was lined with every type of shopping
booth imaginable as well as food booths. We had a lunch in a nice buffet style restaurant.
I was going to wait five minutes for a schnitzel when I spied a huge hunk of
pork attached to a bone. It was served with a knife thrust into the top. We
were entertained by a violin player during the meal, it was all very ethnic. After
lunch we wandered around the city and crossed over one of the many bridges for the
views offered.
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| Budapest Lunch - Note my Hunk of Pork |
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| Violin Serenade |
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| Inside Market Hall |
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| Outside Market Hall |
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| Market Hall |
As
we were driving back to the ship we saw the predicted traffic jam on the other
side. There was a line of trucks that were not moving that stretched for more
than thirty minutes as we drove on highways speeds on the other side. I was
impressed that the trucks did not try to move into the second lane, obviously forbidden.
I could only imagine American truck drivers exhibiting that kind of discipline.
The jam was so huge I was worried it wouldn’t be cleared by the next morning
when we had to travel the same road to the airport. It was miraculously gone though.
As we boarded the ship for our last night onboard, we were treated to the first
colorful sunset of our trip as the sun descended into the Danube. We were
joined by our friends for the last dinner onboard followed by the captain’s farewell
toast in the lounge afterwards. We were luckier than a lot of fellow travelers
who had to leave the ship in the wee hours of the morning to make their departure
flights.
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| Budapest Wandering |
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| On the Bridge |
Day 8 – Homeward Bound
Our
return home could not have gone smoother, including the missing traffic jam on
our drive to the Budapest Airport. We enjoyed one last breakfast with our Indiana
Friends before bidding them and the memorable Teo farewell. We were flying Lufthansa
for our return trip through Munich again. My Favorite Panamanian was a little perturbed
as we wandered through the cavernous Munich terminal as we hurried to make our
Boston flight. We were on a time crunch that meant she couldn’t take advantage
of the massive shopping opportunities. She claimed I had spent part of my time
in sick bed praying for this development. We know each other so well. I had
another screen to watch movies on the trip across the Atlantic, and this one
didn’t give out. We arrived nearly an hour ahead of schedule and our van was
waiting for us. The trip home was uneventful except for the driver having to
save my life as I tripped exiting the vehicle. I was headed for a face plant in
our driveway. It certainly served to wake me up. So ended our memorable vacation,
an unexpectedly fabulous time, blessed with new friends. Thanks for hanging
with me this long, but having done so, I have to question where your priorities
lie, but anyways, thank you.
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| Last Dinner Together |
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| Again Those Great Friends and Teo |
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| That Last European Sunset |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------RECURRING CHARACTERS:
ABFA – Amazing Best Family
Athlete – my daughter
in law; BR3 – Blog Reader #3 – granddaughter
#3; BRS - Blog Reader the Sequel -
second granddaughter; Cantankerous
Friend – friend since grade school who likes to argue about everything,
poses as radical leftist to attract women; CRC - Connecticut Riverboat Captain – another close friend from high
school, renowned sailor of the big river; Curbside
Girls – close friends of my daughter acquired during her single days in
Brooklyn; Czech Connection – Czech couple who’ve become good friends
along with their daughter (the Czech Shadow); Deckzilla – our backyard deck which grew to monstrous dimensions
once my wife got involved in planning; Favorite
Panamanian - the wife (of course); FBR
- First Blog Reader - first granddaughter; First Friday – celebrations to mark the First Friday of the Week; Great Aunt - my elder sister; Indiana
Friends – friends we met on our 2026 river cruise; Keene Friends 1 & 2 – friends since high school from my home
town of Keene, NH; Kindergarten Friend
– friend since kindergarten whom I reunited with after many years; Maine and Virginia Musqueteras – two
close friends of my wife – her US sisters, my wife is the 3rd
Musquetera (musketeer); Namesake Nephew –
son of Great Aunt and Soxfather named after me; Neighborhood Mafioso - wife's close friend and Panamanian mafia
member; PanaGals – female relatives
/friends of my wife from Panama; Panamanian/Latin
Mafia – inevitable group of Latino friends my wife accumulates wherever we
have lived & their spouses; PCR - Pittsburgh College Roommate – high school friend, also a “Minor
Celebrity” in Pittsburgh; PCR+1 - Pittsburgh College Roommate’s wife; Riggins - also known as the Grandpuppy, son's dog; Seis Amigos
- two couples from our condo complex and my wife and I; Soxfather – my brother-in-law (whom I miss more than I can ever
explain); Tia Loca – wife’s younger sister; Wingman – my son in law; Upstairs
Neighbors – American couple and great friends who live in condo above us in
Panama; Wingmom – Wingman’s mom, of
course
