Since we had such miserable weather on our Christmas Markets cruise, the Ramblers decided to give the Danube River another try, adding some cruising on the Rhine and Main Rivers and the Rhine-Main canal as well. Because we enjoyed all aspects of our Uniworld cruise last December except the weather, we decided to book with them again. Now we were members of the River Heritage Club and were entitled to an additional discount and other perks as well as a potential upgrade.
The cruise we selected was the European Jewels, on the brand new S.S. (super ship) Maria Theresa. This time we would be cruising for 15 days instead of 8, but again starting in Budapest, and ending not in Passau but in Amsterdam. Yes, the cruise cost twice as much since it was twice as long, but we thought, as long as we had to fly to our destination, we might as well get our money’s worth.
August seemed like a good time to go, although we didn’t know then that Austrians take their annual vacation in August. We expected the weather would be warm and the days still reasonably long.
In late spring, we booked our European Jewels cruise with a starting date of August 9, leaving from Budapest and ending in Amsterdam.
At this point, we never thought that our cruise might be cancelled because of low water levels. We had deliberately avoided spring sailings because of the chance of flooding, and also because the weather tends to be chilly, but August should be just about right, OR so we though.
2015 has been a year of contrary weather worldwide; the climate seems to be changing and sometimes Mother Nature has something unexpected in store. Early in July, we started to hear about low water levels on some European rivers, mainly the Elbe at first. But then the Danube was mentioned. We were about 40 days out when we heard from our travel agent and Uniworld that we had been upgraded to a cabin on the middle deck. This was exciting news.
Hopefully we would eventually get to board the Maria Theresa
This Ramblers had gambled on getting an upgrade, and consequently booked a cabin on the lower deck. These cabins while just as luxurious as the ones on the middle and upper deck, have small windows just above the waterline. The Senior Rambler agreed to my plan, as we felt that even if we didn’t get an upgrade, it wouldn’t be too bad. How much time would we spend in our cabin after all? Let me just say that after checking out the windows in the “aquarium” cabins as they are sometimes called, the Ramblers were really glad we got the upgrade.
We were thinking about packing, when, about 10 days before we were due to leave, we heard from Uniworld, through our travel agent, that our cruise had been cancelled due to low water. This was really disappointing to say the least. We got the news on Friday and on Monday I headed over to AAA to see if we could re-book on another date.
Uniworld refunded all of the money we paid for the cruise and airfare. This is another reason why it makes sense to buy your airfare from the cruise company if the cruise is cancelled. It is not easy to deal with airlines on your own. I had also bought extended comfort Economy seats for the long flight directly from United and this turned out to be quite difficult to get back. At least for this Rambler, I found United the hardest airline to deal with. Lufthansa, the other carrier, refunded the money as a courtesy which was great.
To cut to the chase, we re-booked on the August 24th sailing of the Maria Theresa; this was the only suitable time available for us. As it turned out, due to the hard work of our travel agent, the new booking involved no additional costs to us. The airfare and upgrade was still included. However,booking this particular date was still a gamble as there was no way of knowing whether the water levels would come up in three weeks. By this time, the low water had affected many river cruise lines on the Danube and they, along with Uniworld and the Ramblers were busily doing the rain dance.
After a relatively pleasant drive down the Florida Turnpike to Palm Beach, we checked into our Hampton Inn early in the afternoon. To have something fun to do in the evening, I bought some vouchers for a Ghost Tour in the historic Palm Beach downtown before we left home.
Why a ghost tour you ask? Well some evil spirit must have prompted me to book this tour as the Ramblers had never done a ghost tour. It’s not that we don’t believe in the supernatural, but as as for spooky stuff, not so much. I thought it might be fun to learn a little bit about the history of the buildings in the downtown heart of Palm Beach. As it turned out, I was wrong.
Many folks were strolling around the downtown area on a beautiful spring evening when we arrived for the tour. Finding a parking place took a while, but we located our meeting place and settled down to wait for our guide and the other folks on the tour to arrive, and waited, and waited…
Supposedly scary spot in downtown Palm BeachThe scariest thing we saw on the tour was the very realistic mannequin of a cop in a store window
At last two other couples arrived, but no guide. This did not bode well for the tour in my book. When our guide finally did arrive, we soon learned that my bad vibes had been justified. Let us just say that the tour was a total disaster, but the Ramblers soldiered on until our guide mentioned that his tours usually ran an hour or more overtime. At this point, we politely pleaded senior fatigue and headed back to our car. We had heard a lot of bad history and talk of orbs, but felt no inkling of any unearthly presence whatsoever. Unfortunately by the time I finally decided it was time to leave (the Senior Rambler was ready to leave after 5 minutes) it was after 9 PM and all the restaurants were closing so not only did we see no ghosts but we ended up going to bed without our supper. Not to say that one might have a different experience with another guide. Oh well, we were looking forward to attending the Barrett-Jackson Auto Auctions and the weather forecast was favorable.
The South Florida Fairgrounds is just a short distance from Palm Beach, but even though we thought we had left early enough (9 AM), as we approached our destination, which was in a semi-rural area, we were soon caught up in auction-bound traffic. Our only previous experience with auto auctions of this magnitude was watching them on TV. The Senior Rambler’s usual mantra is “you can see it better on TV,” but both of us had some interest in actually attending one. My curiosity was probably greater than his, but in this case, once would certainly be enough.
The red seats on the main floors are for bidders only,
We didn’t reckon with the huge crowds, the Florida heat, the relentless noise in the auction room, the vast expanse of the fairground and the lack of places to actually sit down. Our conclusion, you really can see a Barrett-Jackson Auto Auction better on TV.
For those of you who still want to attend or are curious about our experience, here are a few tips. Probably the best information we can give you is to spend the money and register as a bidder. This allows you a seat on the main floor during the auction, and also has some other benefits. Everyone else, which means literally thousands of people, must try to find a seat in the bleachers on the three sides of the auction area. Thousands of people and maybe 500 seats means there were crowds of people constantly milling around in the aisles or standing or trying to wait out those who currently held bleacher seats. It is definitely not a place for the germophobe. Although the room was air conditioned in opposition to the 95 degrees of Florida humidity outside, this was not fun.
One thing we didn’t take into consideration was the extremely high noise level. The B-J auctioneers use a constant running patter which is broadcast at a very high volume. For those of you who are sensitive to noise, and the Senior Rambler is one, we suggest good quality ear plugs as a must. Another option is to attend an auction where the auctioneers have a different style. They are not all as noisy as B-J, but even so, ear plugs are a good idea.
Finally be aware that lots of walking is involved and there was, as far as we could see, little consideration for people with trouble getting around and very few handicapped spots. We did eventually locate the handicapped parking, but it was not really close to the building. Because of the nature of these events, they are always held in very large facilities and weather can become an issue. At South Florida, it was the heat.
Inspecting the merchandise
So did we like anything about our experience. Well, yes, it is a good place to get a good buy on a classic car if you’re lucky. We were amazed at the prices. Some cars went ridiculously cheap and others, at least in our minds, were ridiculously expensive. It all depends on what you want and who is bidding that particular day. So don’t get carried away. Some folks who regularly attend these events pointed out at least one vehicle that had been bought at a previous auction and was being re-sold at a loss. So if you think you might buy something at a bargain price and re-sell at a profit, think again. It seemed to us that a lot of those bargain priced cars were snapped up by dealers although we could be wrong.
Of course there are many tents holding cars to be auctioned that you can walk through, although we were disappointed that they didn’t have more brass age cars, those which were built before World War I.
This car is heading for the auction block
That’s the period I have written about and also the cars we most enjoy looking at. The auction also had a midway where food and a myriad of auto related products are sold. In addition, many manufacturers had their new models on display in air conditioned comfort. They also did provide parking lot shuttles which was a good thing as the lots were huge. This is a place where you don’t want to forget where you parked your car. It’s not a bad idea to take a photo of its location with your phone.
By day two, we were getting tired of the auction, left early and headed to a little biker bar on Jupiter Beach where we enjoyed delicious fried food and watched the boat traffic on the inter-coastal waterway.
A view from our table at Tiki Bar 52, a local favorite and fun place
Probably we should have just enjoyed the beach instead of the attending the auction, but we did learn what it was like, and the people watching was fantastic. It certainly satisfied our desire to attend an auto auction of this kind, even though we enjoy automotive history and old cars. Never again will we go to a Barrett-Jackson Auto Auction, it is incredibly better to watch it on TV.
Our drive home was uneventful, and we enjoyed our usual stop at Lanes’ Orchard
NO peaches yet, but soon
south of Macon on Interstate 75 for a large dish of home made peach ice cream, and some freshly picked strawberries to take home.
The B hotel, unlike the mid range Hampton Inns and their brothers, we usually frequent, did not include breakfast. So, after a cup of coffee and a pastry from their convenience store, we headed to the B’s bus stop. This was the first time we weren’t staying in a Disney World hotel, and we wondered just how long it would take us to get to Animal Kingdom. In this, we were pleasantly surprised as it took no longer than a bus ride from one of the Disney resorts.
The trick was to memorize WHERE the bus stopped so we could find it again. It is no surprise that the stops for the Disney hotels are prominently marked while those for the non-Disney preferred hotels, are in the furthest possible location. Oh well, we were saving a good bit by staying at the B.
I guess we were smiled on by the Disney gods because neither Animal Kingdom nor Epcot were particularly crowded that day, and the sun was shining. This was yet another surprise as we thought that the third week of April would still be prime spring break season. Thus we were able to get to the Safari ride, at the absolute farthest end of Animal Kingdom, before a long line had developed. After a brief wait, we were loaded onto our fake bush vehicle and rumbled down the dirt track. This Rambler has always enjoyed the Safari ride; seeing all the animals, especially the babies is fun, as is the concept of taking a safari in Africa.
Elephant family from Safari Ride
What I didn’t like, was the fake chase for poachers which was part of the schtick. To our surprise, the search for little Red the baby elephant had been abandoned, and instead there was more emphasis on the animals and nature. To me, this was a plus. Having taken our brief trip to Africa, it was time to head back to the exit gate, and our bus stop, for a ride to Epcot our favorite park.
Again, the wait was not too long, and soon we were at Epcot. There are two Epcot rides we particularly enjoy, Soarin’ and The Land. When I thought about this, they share a certain similarity. Soarin’ provides a swooping view of California’s beauty and while The Land focuses on the bounty of fruits and vegetables our land provides.
The new ticket system allowed us to select up to three rides for fast passes but we couldn’t do both Soarin’ and The Land, so we picked Soarin’ as it has been the most crowded ride every time we visit Disney. Thinking we might not get to Epcot very early I chose a late afternoon time for our fast pass. This was a mistake, because we did get there early. This meant that if we wanted to eat in the World Showcase, and we did, we would have to walk from one end of Epcot to another and back again. Looking on the plus side, we had to walk back there anyway to get to our bus stop, again it was about as far away as possible without being in another park altogether. Plus Soarin’ and The Land are in the same building, and we got to see some of our long time favorites along the way.
One thing we have noticed is the proliferation of mobility scooters and gigantic strollers since we have started coming to Disney World. In the old days, strollers were usually small and became even smaller when folded. Now most strollers one sees at Disney are about the size of a small sports car. I’m sure they are easier to push and more comfortable for their occupants but they sure do take up space, and don’t fold much either.
Twenty years ago, one might see an unfortunate soul struggling to push a mobility-challenged relative in a wheelchair, but no scooters. Now there are hardly any wheelchairs but many, many scooters. Some folks are downright dangerous when they steer those machines around, Although the Ramblers figure that if they can’t get around on their own two feet, they probably should stay home, we may be suffering from scooter envy. Who knows?
One of the best things about Epcot is that it offers a wide variety of restaurants serving excellent ethnic food. It may not be entirely authentic, but it certainly tastes good. We settled on the Tangerine Cafe in Morocco, because there were outside tables, and the weather was just about perfect.
Our meal at the Tangerine Cafe
Footsore but refreshed after a pleasant lunch, we headed back to Soarin’ for another wonderful ride and then back to the B hotel. And yes, we only visit our most favorite attractions now, when we go to Disney. Somehow it heightens our enjoyment and leaves lots of time for people watching.
Trying some German red wines
I did find some time to taste some wines at the German pavilion. It was fun chatting with the young woman who came from one of the towns we would visit on our next river cruise.
There was yet another special exhibit open at Epcot while we were there, the Flower and Garden Show. Although Disney World has some of the best landscaping and floral displays in the United States, some extras had been added for the show. The flower beds were particularly spectacular, simply a riot of color reflected in one of the many ponds in the park.
Beautiful flower beds near The Land in Epcot
The garden staff certainly outdid itself with its topiaries, this time they were inserted in a variety of different landscapes, not just on their own. Two of my favorites were Miss Piggy and Tinker Bell. Tink was a part of one of the displays in the butterfly house specially constructed for the show.
Miss Piggy looking particularly attractive in green!Tinker Bell in the Butterfly House
The next morning we headed south on the Florida Turnpike for Palm Beach and the Barrett-Jackson Auto Auction held at the Fairgrounds. W e had watched the Barrett-Jackson auto extravaganzas many times on television and on a whim, I bought tickets for the Palm Beach event, as we could stop at Disney on the way and Palm Beach is a beautiful city. Taking the fairly expensive Turnpike was a good choice because traffic was a lot lighter than on the Interstate, and as an added bonus, Florida has been upgrading their Turnpike rest areas. Although not all are finished, we found them exceptionally nice, sparking clean and with a good variety of food choices. When we stopped at one for lunch, we found they even had an Earl of Sandwich, our Disney World favorite; not as many choices but still excellent.
Our choice in Palm Beach was a Hampton Inn, Although we have been to Palm Beach before, we stayed on the island part on the other side of the bridge. Since our main purpose was to attend the auto auction, I chose a hotel which I though would be close to the fairgrounds. It wasn’t, but it was a pleasant stay in an older property which caters to mainly to business people. It was also very quiet which can be both good and bad. We had a wide open evening , and to fill it, I had vouchers to a ghost tour in downtown Palm Beach. Since this is a beautiful area with ritzy shops and restaurants we thought it would be fun to stroll around there at night. As it turned out, the tour was fun, in a weird way. More about this next time.
Living north of Atlanta, we have visited Disney World many times and even went to Epcot during its opening year. Unfortunately for a variety of reasons, it has become increasingly expensive to visit the Mouse House, but this has not stopped people from coming. If anything it is more crowded than ever, despite the high prices of food and lodging. There seem to be no bargain rates for the hotels on the Disney property even in the so-called off season. In fact, there is no longer an off season. Of course there are hundreds of bargain hotels of varying quality that surround Disney World, but only a few are within the Disney Transportation system. Having access to the the Disney shuttles makes it much easier to get from park to park. Almost everyone(except small babies) needs a startlingly expensive ticket to the park. Yet, we still enjoy Disney World albeit in small doses.It has many pluses that match the equally many minuses, and so… we decided to stop in Orlando on our way to Palm Beach and the Barrett-Jackson Auto Auction. Then I checked on the current cost of tickets and got sticker shock!
We actually still have a few unexpired partial tickets somewhere around the house in a “safe place,” but we couldn’t find them. If we were to go to Orlando, I’d have to buy new ones. I follow several Disney websites that offer links to reputable sellers of new discounted tickets to see what was available. We prefer the Park Hopper tickets as we like to visit both Animal Kingdom and Epcot, and sometimes Hollywood Studios, but don’t want to spend a whole day at one park.
However, Park Hopper tickets are more expensive (of course). In the past, we found that we could save a modest amount by buying a ticket for multiple days (the per day cost comes down as the days go up ) with the no-expiration option. It was disappointing to find that as of this spring, Disney eliminated no-expiration option. Luckily, I was able to find two 5 day Park Hopper tickets at one on-line ticket broker that were among the last no-expiration tickets issued. This was a good deal for us, even though the cost was a little higher initially, because we usually visit Disney World for only one or two days at a time. The multi-day conventional tickets expire, usually within two weeks and single-day tickets are pricey.
Almost forgot. If you haven’t been to Disney recently, all tickets have to be registered by their owners on the Disney website before they will work. This links them to a bunch of things we didn’t use and one we did, but the key difference here is you can’t switch tickets. If you do, you can’t get into the park. This obviously prevents someone from stealing your ticket, but also won’t allow you to give your partially used ticket to anyone else. We did use the new fast pass system but I’m not sure I like the new way of getting a fast pass loaded onto your ticket before you get to the park. It’s kind of complicated, and in the end, we only got fast passes to Soarin,’ far and away our favorite ride.
So we had our tickets, now to find a place to stay. Unfortunately our favorite hotel, the Swan, was showing high rates, as did the other hotels on the Disney campus.
Our view from the 12th floor of the B, we always get the dumpster view or similar
We were looking at the middle of April, and I guess that is still considered prime Spring Break time. Fortunately, I noticed an excellent Travelzoo rate for a new hotel near Downtown Disney, the B. The B is considered one of Disney’s preferred hotels; one of six or so along Buena Vista Boulevard. These hotels are within walking distance of Downtown Disney on one side and restaurants and stores on the other. They also have a Disney shuttle that goes to all the parks, stopping to pick up people at each hotel in turn before heading out. We had never stayed in a preferred hotel before, but it was only for two nights and the rate was less than half the cost of a Disney property. So the B it was. (“So B it!”)
Our drive to Orlando was uneventful, but seemed really long. A few years back, the Ramblers would have considered an 8 hour drive easy, but not so much anymore. As we headed onto the Florida Turnpike, we were really looking forward to getting to the B. Following our Google directions, we exited the Turnpike only to find that as we neared our destination, there was road construction everywhere around Downtown Disney! This made it a lot more challenging to find the B, but we eventually got there. The B is a rather strange hotel, modern and clean but somehow lacking in amenities. it had only one restaurant, mostly buffet style, and the rooms had no coffee makers. In recent years, we have gotten spoiled by the single serving coffee makers in many hotels. At the B, you could get a free cup at their gift shop, which also sold ice cream and pastries (I told you it was odd) but our room was on the 12th floor and it was a pain to go to their version of a Quick Mart for coffee. Nevertheless, the B wasn’t bad. It had comfortable beds and excellent soundproofing! We found their shuttle busses to be reliable and convenient and never had to wait very long for one.
We got to the B while the sun was still shining brightly allowing plenty of time to get to Downtown Disney and get our Earl of Sandwich fix.
Senior Rambler happy with his sandwich at the Earl’s
Downtown Disney is within walking distance but the construction around the area made it a confusing walk. The Ramblers decided to take it easy and ride the shuttle bus system. This turned out to be a really smart idea because the bus driver told us the best way to get to the Earl of Sandwich was to take a pontoon boat across the lake. This saved us a looong walk.
Downtown Disney is in the midst of major changes, but one restaurant that hasn’t changed is the Earl of Sandwich. It is a counter service place that features a dozen or so sandwiches, with cutesy names, that taste really good. They also have salads and sides and a few desserts but the Ramblers zeroed in on the original beef sandwich. Although the prices have gone up,( What a surprise) the sandwich hasn’t changed and we enjoyed ours very much. It is still one of the best deals in the whole of Disney World. Although the Earl of Sandwich is a successful chain , alas. so far it hasn’t ventured into the Atlanta area. Seems silly to get excited about a sandwich in the era of Subway and Blimpie, but all I can say the Earl’s sandwiches are better or maybe it’s the name.
Balloon rising over the lake.
After strolling around Downtown Disney, we headed back to the dock to take the pontoon boat back to our bus stop. While we waited for the next boat, we had a chance to see the tethered hot-air balloon ride in operation. It was fun to watch and quite a romantic sight. The next day we would spend in the parks.
The Rambler didn’t stay to tour the Christmas Markets in Passau, as it was almost noon and she didn’t want to miss her last lunch on the Beatrice. Since this was the final stop, she would have plenty of time to venture out later in the afternoon. It had been a damp and chilly stroll through the winding streets of Alstadt Passau, but Sonia, our guide, made it fun despite everything. We didn’t get to hear the famous organ in St. Stephens as no concert was scheduled that Friday. However, we did get to see a gingerbread haus,straight of Hansel and Gretel, across the street from Simon’s.
Passauer Gingerbread Haus!
Not really, but someone got carried away with their holiday decorating and gave their shop a gingerbread haus facade.This was the most over the top decorating the Ramblers saw in Europe, and reminded us of something the more fanatical Christmas decorators might put up in the US.
After lunch I couldn’t coax the Senior Rambler to take a stroll with me, as the weather, if anything, had gotten worse. He really dislikes cold weather and blames this on the year he spent in Greenland in the 50’s as a member of the United States Air Force! At any rate, he wasn’t about to go anywhere, so I ventured out myself with the goal of buying some Simon marzipan lebkuchen to bring home. Fortunately for me, their shop was only a short distance from the dock. I really do have a poor sense of direction, and I didn’t want to get lost on the last day of the cruise. When I disembarked I noticed several food trucks parked along the dock along with at least a dozen busses.
Line-up of busses along the Danube, hiding the food trucks
The trucks sold food and produce to the workers and residents of the Alstadt. They didn’t have many customers today, not surprising because of the weather. However, the busses were another story. Evidently the Passau Christmas Market draws people from Bavaria as well as river cruisers. I did take a brief look in at the Christmas Market,; since it was a Friday afternoon, a growing number of folks strolled around despite the bad weather.
Open for business at the Passau Christmas Market
Passau is one place the Ramblers would like to visit in good weather but on a chilly, drizzly day in December it was time to head back to the Beatrice.
The Ramblers spent the rest of the day hanging out with the many friends they had made on the cruise from both the US and Canada, as well as Australia. Tonight’s meal was relaxing and we took our time enjoying the excellent food and wine, although we knew we would have to get up early for the flight back home.
Anna, one of our favorite servers, who was always waiting with my German coffee! The blue light in the background came from a weird building which changed colors every few minutes. It was directly opposite our cabin window.
After dinner, we enjoyed a Christmas carol sing in the lounge, very appropriate on the last night.
Our flight on Delta would be non-stop to Atlanta, however it left Munich at 8 AM and the Munich Airport was over 2 hours journey by bus from Passau. All departing passengers were divided into color-coded groups based on the time they would have to leave the ship to catch their flights. We were the purple group, scheduled to leave by 4 AM,(Could have been worse, the first group left at 3 AM, and the lucky ones at 8.) AND we had to have our luggage outside our room by 3 AM so it could be loaded onto our bus. Needless to say we didn’t get much sleep, but the transfer was handled very efficiently. The ship’s galley had even provided breakfast for us tho few took advantage of more than coffee and juice.
The drive to the airport through winter darkness was a quiet one, though I did hear a few snores and we arrived at the airport in plenty of time for our flight.
Waiting at the Munich Airport
The Munich airport is attractive though fairly small and there were shops to look through before it was time to board our plane. (And spend our remaining Euros)
We were disappointed in our Delta flight, although we had managed to get extended comfort seats so we had a little more room. The food was really bad. The Senior Rambler ate hardly any of it, however, I managed to choke most of it down, it was a 12 hour flight after all. But really, Delta should do better for the passengers on their long haul flights. They are a captive audience.
After the passengers boarded, the flight attendants announced that this would be a special flight as our pilot was retiring after many years in the Navy and at Delta. That was the last we heard of this special occasion, although the flight was thankfully uneventful… except for the landing. Our pilot must have been in a hurry to retire as he came in hot and hit the brakes hard. We had a very bumpy landing, not what we expected from a senior pilot. however we were just glad to get home after a very long 12 hour flight. Some of our fellow cruisers were also on our Delta flight but they unfortunately had to catch a connector to get home.
Atlanta Hartsfield is a very large airport so there was lots of walking to get to and through the customs lines, but everything moved fairly quickly. We were happy to see our daughter Lisa waiting for us, and know that home was only a half hour’s drive. We also knew we would get the urge to take another ramble before long,
After a sumptuous Captains’ Farewell Dinner, we woke to yet another day of rain and drizzle, high 36, low 32. There would be no sunny days for us on this trip. The Beatrice docked in Passau, Bavaria around 8:30 AM. This was final stop on our cruise. Tomorrow the passengers would disperse, most to the airport but others to other cities in Europe.
Today’s tour started at 9 AM. The senior Rambler decided he didn’t want to go, but undeterred, I joined the Gentle Walker’s group solo. I was very glad I did, because our guide Sonia, was hands down the best we had on the trip. It was not just her familiarity with Passau’s history but her warm and welcoming self. She greeted us with the traditional greeting of conservative Bavaria Grüß Gott, (translation , “God be with you) which set the scene for an interesting tour, as she shared many traditions of the area, including where to tie the bow of your sash if you are wearing a dirndl. (surprisingly important)
And if my female readers ever decide to wear the dirndl, think Maria in the Sound of Music, where you tie the bow is crucial, even today. If you tie it on the left, you signal that you are available, on the right, taken (engaged or married), in the back, a widow and in the front, a virgin. Evidently at least in Austria, people still check out the placement of the bow.. Dirndls are quite popular today in Austria and Bavaria today, and can be quite expensive.They are worn for special occasions, for a comfortable, traditional look, and even as Halloween costumes. Young women often wear a short skirt and accentuate the low cut bodice, while older women stick to the more traditional long skirt. You can see a variety of dirndls here. Recent article on Austrian dirndls from Vienna Unwrapped.
Sonia led us through the narrow medieval streets of Alstadt Passau pointing out the high water marks of the disastrous flood that occurred in June, 2013, the worst in 500 years. Water from the Danube reached a height of 42.2 feet and much of the Alstadt was underwater. By December 2014, many of the buildings had been repaired although some along the river still needed restoration. Angela Merkel came to view the devastation personally and arraigned aid for for the townspeople who had no flood insurance
The 13th century date of this building was revealed after renovation
Passau, the town which takes pride because three rivers meet there, was done in by its unique location in 2013. Sonia later took us up to a high point in the Alstadt where we could see the confluence of the Danube, Inn and Ilz rivers.
We also hiked up the cobblestone streets to St. Stephen’s Church which has the largest cathedral organ in the world and the largest outside the United States. This beautiful church was rebuilt in baroque style during the 17th century, although a Catholic church has stood on the site for hundreds of years. Passau was once governed by a Prince-Bishop and his impressive palace stands near the church.At St. Stephen’s, I got to see yet another creche under construction, as well as the beautiful interior. Although we didn’t get to hear the gigantic organ
Baroque at its finest, St. Stephen’s organ
, it was an impressive sight, all chrome and baroque gilt. After our visit to the church, we headed back to the shops of the Alstadt where we were scheduled to have a gingerbread baking demonstration.
The Rambler prides herself on her knowledge and skill in the kitchen so she wasn’t too excited about the demonstration. After all, every time she made gingerbread cookies they were the last ones to be eaten.
Gingerbread has never been one of our family favorites. However, I was very glad I decided to go because I learned quite a bit about the history of gingerbread baking.
Creche under construction
Our instructors were the third and fourth generation, father and son of the Simon (family)Cafe, Bakery and Confectionery, established in 1903. They told us that gingerbread has evolved since medieval times when it was simply a mixture of flour, honey and water flavored with whatever spices were available.
Simon Sr. holding up a gingerbread mold; note jars of spices on counter.
This variety got hard as a rock and kept forever, important in the days before refrigeration when nothing was thrown away. It was often pressed into a wooden mold before baking to decorate it. In the 19th century bakers produced a sweeter version, because of the availability of cane sugar, at first, mainly in the form of molasses. No longer did they have to rely on honey as a sweetener. Gradually eggs and baking powder were added and the rye flour used in the earliest versions was replaced by white flour. Simon’s also makes a modern version which replaces much of the flour with. marzipan (almond paste and sugar). If you like marzipan, and I do, you will love this version, as I did..
Yummy stuff in the Simon Confectionery/Cafe, the lebkuchen are in the cans stacked on the counter.
The Simon’s call it Eisenlebkuchen. I later bought a container and savored it all myself after we got home. That’s not as bad as it sounds as the senior Rambler dislikes gingerbread AND marzipan.
In Germany, gingerbread is called lebkuchen, and it contains a variety of spices even a little pepper, but no ginger! If you stop at Passau on a Christmas Markets river cruise, you will probably have a chance to stop at Simon’s and see a gingerbread demonstration. Don’t pass it up.
Crossing the bridge of locks, the Ramblers followed their guide into the Alstadt, crowded with both locals and tourists. Inside are an array of historic buildings; the magnificent baroque Cathedral, Dom, the Abbey of St. Peter and of course, Mozart’s birthplace. The old town is also home to a marvelous selection of shops selling both international and local brands, just about anything you might want.
McDonald’s sign above Getreidgasse.
There are also restaurants and coffee shops and you will even find a McDonald’s and a Starbucks. By law, each shop along the Getreidgasse has to have a signboard, even McDonald’s, although there are many alleyways that are sign-less.
On the Getreidgasse, the main shopping street, at #9, is the Mozart Birthplace museum It is painted a bright yellow ocher, called Schoenbrunn yellow by the Austrians because it was a color favored by the Hapsburg’s. (You can buy it in their paint stores.)
Austrian seniors with matching outfits and walkers heading to the Christmas market
The narrow pedestrian only street was crowded this Friday with folks doing some Christmas shopping the second week-end in Advent. Our guide herded us fairly briskly past these attractions; luckily, there would be time to shop later.
Fiaker kiosk near Cathedral.
On the way to the Cathedral, we noticed a stand offering horse and carriage rides. The carriages are called fiaker. You can take a carriage ride that might cost from 40 to 80 Euros. Just too chilly, and our time was limited so we easily decided against a fiaker ride.
Our final destination was the magnificent baroque Salzburg Cathedral or Salzburger Dom
Cathedral interior
Its patron saints are St. Rupert and Saint Vergilius. This was a surprise to me because when our youngest grandson, little Virgil was christened, the priest told us that he had had a hard time finding a saint with that name, but finally located one. I managed to find St. Vergilius by accident on a river cruise!
Oldest item in cathedral, may be Roman, used as Baptismal font.
The cathedral is truly beautiful with many interesting side altars, a frescoed ceiling, and a wonderful creche under construction.
Ornate ceiling of cathedral
Since I was little, I have always enjoyed the nativity scenes that are assembled in Catholic Churches before Christmas. In Catholic Austria, they are set up during Advent, and more figures are added as Christmas draws near. Unfortunately t was really difficult to photograph the one in the cathedral because it was protected by an extensive Plexiglas shield,
Wish they didn’t have that Plexiglas shield but you get the idea.
The cathedral kneelers, like all the others I saw in the old churches in Hungary, Austria and Germany are made of sturdy, rough boards, and you really know you are kneeling on them. No easy on the knees, padded surfaces like we have at home. On the way out, we were asked for a small donation to help with the upkeep of the cathedral. The young woman who accepted my coins sat in a small, unheated enclosure by the door, and she looked very chilly. When I remarked on this, she smiled and said, “Oh no, I have volunteered for this job.” I hope she was rewarded with hot chocolate or Gluhwein when her shift was over.
The Alstadt Christmas Market was held on the plaza directly in front of the Dom. Our guide pointed it out and hustled off;, he really was a disappointment. We wouldn’t stay at the market either, as we wanted to see more of Salzburg.
Christmas Market at the Dom
Since we now had several hours to spend on our own, the Ramblers had to make some choices. We decided not to take the funicular up to the spectacular Hohensalzburg Castle, because it looked to be both chilly and time consuming.
This meant that we wouldn’t be able to seek out Nonnburg, the Benedictine Nunnery that played an important role in the ubiquitous Sound of Music.
View of Hohensalzburg Castle and funicular to get up up the hill
Although Maria was never a novice there, she did spend some time at Nonnberg, the oldest European nunnery in continuous operation. first established in the 8th century. It too was on top of the hill, with an excellent view of the mountains. Instead we headed towards St. Peter’s Abbey which was much closer and left us time for lunch and some sight-seeing on the way back to our bus stop.
A block away from the Cathedral, the crowds thinned out. Soon we found ourselves in the Abbey grounds where we were almost alone.
Cemetery near Abbey, a peaceful spot.
We enjoyed the peace of the cemetery and the old Abbey church which had been established about the same time as Nonnburg. Our goal was to eat at St. Peter’s Stiftskeller which claims to be the oldest restaurant in Europe in continuous operation (for 1200 years according to their brochure). Of course there is no way to dispute this claim and they may be right, because the monks who lived at the Abbey began serving meals in the 8th century.
St. Peter’s Stiftskeller
We finally found the entrance to the Stiftskeller after wandering completely around the abbey building complex which was extensive. Fortunately it wasn’t crowded and we were seated in the lower level which once served as the cellar of the Abbey in medieval times. This was an extra treat for the historian Rambler. The food and service lived up to our expectations and we enjoyed our meal; the only one we didn’t eat on the Beatrice.
After a leisurely lunch, we headed back to the Getriedgasse, tracking backward towards the river and our meeting place. On the way we had more time to do some window shopping . Our guide had talked a lot about the Mozart candies or Mozart Kugel and I wanted to get some.
The Furst Mozart Kugel
His key points were that you had to try them, and they could be found in two different colors wrappers, red and blue. Although the composition of the candy was the same, the blue ones were made by hand and commanded a much higher price while the more pedestrian red ones were machine made and much cheaper. When he said much more expensive, he wasn’t kidding. The aristocratic blue Mozart candies were over 1 Euro each (actually about $1.50 US), while I was later able to buy a bag of the red ones
Red Mozart Kugel, the value price leader
for about 3 Euros (under $5.00). Well, I had to compare the two, so I went into the the exclusive blue shop and bought one, but only one. I found i really like Mozart Kugel; they have a nougat and marzipan interior with a chocolate coating. The senior Rambler only likes milk chocolate butter creams, so I didn’t have to buy any for him. That was a good thing, because to me, the expensive blue wrapped candy tasted pretty much like the red ones I bought later. We probably should have done a blind taste test when we got back to the Beatrice.! I later learned that the blue ones were the original, invented by a gentleman named Furst in the 19th century. Because of their popularity, they were soon copied by many other Austrian candy makers. These lowly candies have been the subject of many disputes because they became big business.
What do you suppose they sell here???
They are everywhere in Salzburg, but only the ones made by Furst are allowed to have blue wrappers. The Furst blue ones are only sold in three shops in the Alstadt, while the best place to buy the red ones is a supermarket.
Along with candy shops and designer clothing we did see a plebeian store in this high-rent district, that sold tourist souvenirs.
Austrian bobble-heads including a Mozart one
Another shop had a very weird display; the Ramblers had no idea what they sold and didn’t really want to go in to find out. We took time out to stop at the local Starbucks, one of the few places, as it turned out, where you could actually sit down . Always a plus was the Starbucks rest room, not to mention the availability of familiar coffee.
Starbucks with sign board
Fortunately we were able to find our pick up spot with no trouble. A few members of our group were already there. Right across the street, there was a supermarket, and I jumped at the chance to check it out. For some reason, I enjoy visiting grocery stores where ever we travel. To me, they have a lot to say about the local culture. It was a neat little place, with an excellent selection and good prices. Behold, they had bags of the red Mozart kugel on salealong with several other kinds of Christmas candies which I bought for our family at home.
Just a little bit about European currency. Both Austria and Germany use the Euro(they are part of the Eurozone), but the Hungarians still use their national currency, the forint. During our brief stop in Budapest, I exchanged some dollars for forints on the Beatrice and paid for my purchases in Hungarian cash. When we got to Vienna, I exchanged my leftover forints and some dollars for euros. Be warned that most European stores will not take dollars, as the euro is worth more. You can use a credit card, but be sure that it has a chip, which is used in Europe and that your credit card doesn’t add a fee to each purchase you make in Europe. The fee is usually about 3% and most but not all, cards charge one. You can also use a currency exchange although again you will pay a fee, and the rate of exchange may not be so good. ATM’s may be the most convenient way to get cash, but you must find one that has the same system, like Cirrus, for example, as your home bank. However, the ATM fees can be quite high, and you will be billed on both ends.
Uniworld provides a currency exchange for its passengers, for small amounts of cash. If you have never traveled in Europe,it is a good idea to learn about exchanging money and using credit cards before you leave. Also, be sure to let your bank know when and where you will be traveling or you may find that your credit card is frozen, not a good thing.
My final act in Salzburg was to buy some roasted chestnuts from a vendor near our bus stop, They were a welcome treat. Then we climbed on board for the long ride back to our ship.
Back at last
That night we would have the gala Captain’s Farewell Dinner, and later the Beatrice would sail to our last stop, Passau, Bavaria.
As we prepared to embark on our Uniworld tour of Salzburg, the Ramblers recalled our first visit there 17 years ago. We used one of my week-ends while teaching history to Georgia students in Metz, France and traveled there by train. A married couple in my class had gone to Salzburg the preceding week, and highly recommended it so we decided to go as well. It was a wonderful week-end. On their recommendation, we stayed at a marvelous Inn, the Romantic Hotel Gmachl, up in the green hills surrounding Salzburg, which has been in the same family for over 500 years. The Ramblers hoped that the Uniworld tour would be just as much fun.This time we wouldn’t have to spend the night trying to sleep in a first-class train compartment, but would ride in a brand-new Uniworld bus.
In 1998, Eurail sold a pass that covered almost all of Europe. It was good for a certain number of 24 hour days of travel so it had to be used judiciously, and often involved traveling at night. Both students and faculty were issued rail passes which were used for field trips as well as independent travel Lengthy field trips were reserved for Thursdays. After the educational part was over, everyone, students and faculty, split for week-end trips of their own. Classes resumed on Mondays. These passes are no longer available and using a rail pass requires even more planning today.
The Beatrice had docked in Linz, Austria around 3 am. However, we wouldn’t see much of Austria’s third largest city and largest Danube port. Our expedition to Salzburg was to last a full day. Linz did sound like a fascinating place with a 13th century main square surrounded by restored Gothic houses.
By the time we got back to Linz we could only see their Christmas lights
Not only had Mozart composed a symphony there, but it was also a popular spot for many other musicians, especially the composer Anton Bruckner. Bruckner served as the Linz’ cathedral organist for more than 10 years in the 19th century. To sweeten the pot, the city is also the home of the delicious Linzertorte which prominently features almonds and raspberry jam. Hope we get back there someday.
However, even the Ramblers haven’t mastered the art of being in two places at once. We had made our choice and were off to Salzburg at 8:45 am. Despite the cloudy skies and chilly weather yet again ( high 39′, low 36′) the Ramblers enjoyed the drive. We traveled through a varied landscape of farms, field, woods, a lake or two and an increasing number of foothills on the excellent Austrian roads. Half-way through the 3 hour drive, we stopped at a rest area for several kinds of refreshment.
View from the rest area
The rest area was crowded with tourists as three Viking busses had also pulled in, along with assorted cars and vans. There were long lines for both men and women’s toilets, but no one was left behind. This Rambler was much impressed with the quality of the rest area. We have stopped at hundreds in our travels over the US and Canada, and this was one of the nicest. Instead of the vending machines that are standard in the US, it included a shop that sold a variety of local products as well as drinks and tasty snacks. No wonder it was crowded!
Salzburg, the fourth largest city in Austria, and the capital of the Austrian federal state of Salzburg, has one of the best-preserved city centers north of the Alps. It has been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1998 Salzburg is also home to three universities. However, most tourists come here for two reasons. to visit the birthplace of Mozart and because parts of The Sound of Music, celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2015, were filmed there.
Cold looking tourists walking in the Mirabell Gardens, no fountain frolicking today
Although I might sound like a Philistine, the Rambler believes that most American tourists visit Salzburg because of The Sound of Music, and I expect, not a few folks from other parts of the world do as well. This is not the place to discuss WHY this musical is so popular, but just to admit that it is. Actually it was a contributing factor to our choice of Salzburg in 1998. We even took a Sound of Music tour, somewhatdisappointing as we had a terrible guide and it was raining, yet we were eager to visiting this magical city again.
Our group was dropped off on the outskirts of the Aldstadt (old town) in a somewhat nondescript spot. I carefully noted the the street names on the map we were given, so we could find it later. It is no fun to be lost in an unfamiliar place. Our guide, unfortunately, was the worst( again, no luck in Salzburg with tour guides) we had on the whole cruise.
Cold looking statues bordering the Mirabell gardens.
Fortunately the tour itself was relatively short, then we could spend the rest of the day on our own. Of course, the first site our guide pointed out related to the Sound of Music. the Mirabell Gardens, still green in December.
We then crossed the river on Salzburg’s lock bridge to the Aldstadt. The Ramblers later learned that the lock bridge was a modern phenomenon and lock bridges were now everywhere, but we dutifully checked out some of the locks. Actually the custom dates back over 100 years, but became somewhat of a fad in the 2000’s. Countless pairs of lovers have vowed their love by clipping a padlock on a bridge and throwing the key in the river. Don’t know what they do if they use a combination lock??? Some cities encourage this, others consider the locks a form of litter and remove them.
Zither player on bridge of locks
Crossing the bridge, we saw our first and only street musician, a zither player. He was bundled up against the chilly wind that blew down the Salzach river. Fortunately zithers are played sitting down which must have helped a little. I couldn’t tell if he was playing Mozart, as I had to hustle to keep with our group. He certainly wasn’t playing anything from Sound of Music!
The small Austrian city of Krems (population, 25,000) was named a UNESCO world heritage site in 1990. One of the oldest cities in lower Austria, Krems and its twin city Stein have many attractive restored homes build over a span of 1000 years. In addition it is the eastern gateway to the Wachau Valley of the Danube River, famous for its wines and its apricots or Marille, as well as its tidy vineyards and farms.
On the way back from Gottweig Abbey, we got off the bus close to the Krems medieval gate, the Stein Tor (stone tower) one of two dating to the middle of the 15th century. This was in walking distance of the River Beatrice. From there we wandered the streets simply enjoying the scene. Krems has several museums and an art gallery as well as a town hall, but the Ramblers were content to look from outside. It was not a museum kind of day.
It was very pleasant to stroll around enjoying the weak December sun. Yes, the sun actually came out for a while. We did some window shopping and had the opportunity to visit yet another Christmas Market. It was not large but had many locally-made items , small enough in size to tuck into my carry on.
Entrance to Christmas Market, with St. Nicholas on right.
Luckily I had enough Euro’s to purchase several attractive gift items. The ladies in charge were smiling and helpful, many wearing traditional Austrian dress.(more about this later) They carefully wrapped our treasures for their journey to the States.
Our next to the last stop was a store selling the wine and schnapps produced in the area. Here again I was lucky to find sets of small bottles of the various liquors produced in the Wachau Valley. Again, easy to stow in our checked bag. The most famous schnapps produced here is made of apricots (Marille). It is not like the apricot brandy you find in your local liquor store which often has little apricot flavor. Marille liquor is absolutely delicious tasting strongly of apricots.. Unfortunately it is hard to find in the US. Wachau Valley apricots must have a much better flavor than those sold at home in Georgia considering the wonderful end product. Austrians use the apricots not only in schnapps but in syrup, as jam, and in cakes, strudels, dumplings etc.
Although the area produces fine white wines, I didn’t buy any, too expensive to ship. Fortunately wines from each region we cruised through both white and red were served on the Beatrice, so I did get to try them. Unfortunately many of the wines made by the smaller wineries never find their way to the United States
Since we had to be back on board by 1:15, we wandered back to the boat; by now we had worked up an appetite. However, the Rambler made one more stop. Near the dock I had spotted a promising building which offered tourist information, a small gift shop and even a restaurant. The gifts in the shop were just what I had been looking for; St. Nicholas chocolates, and more apricot schnapps in different sized bottles.They were also priced well, for local tourists not for river cruisers. Since it was December 4th only two days before St. Nicholas day, December 6th, the shop displayed an array of of favors featuring the 4th century Catholic bishop. St. Nicholas leaves gifts for good children the night of the 5th, and is also revered by people of many lands, both Catholic and Protestant.
On board, we enjoyed a relaxing afternoon of cruising; No land tours were scheduled . Instead we were captivated by a series of villages we saw on both sides of the river as the Beatrice glided by. I wondered how the people who lived in the village and towns that lined the banks of the Danube got to the other side. There were no bridges for miles along this stretch of the river.
cable ferry for crossing the Danube
Then I noticed a dock and cable ferry on one side. They obviously use a simple cable-drawn ferry to get themselves and a car or two at the time across the river when they need to cross.
Ruined castles were often spotted on the highest hills; the most famous being the Burg-ruine Durnstein, where Richard the Lionhearted, the English warrior king was briefly imprisoned when he was first captured by the Austrian Duke. The remains of Durnstein Castle (Burg-ruineDurnstein)still brood above the small town of the same name.
Durnstein with Burg-ruine Durnstein in the distance
Richard was later moved to Trifels castle in Franconia.
In German, there are two words for castle, burg and schloss. A burg is generally a castle that was built for defense, while a schloss refers to a castle that was built as a ruler’s palace. Unfortunately, even in German, the words are sometimes used incorrectly, which can be confusing. This is one time English does it better, using only one word, castle.
Finally to enliven our afternoon, chef de cuisine Michael had set up a strudel-making demonstration. The strudel would be made by his pastry chef and samples would be handed out to the spectators.
Chef Michael leads the strudel making demonstration.
I was a little skeptical about the demonstration. My mother made dozens of strudels during her lifetime, stretching a ball of dough of the size used for a large pizza, paper thin. By the time she was done, it covered the white cloth which which she had spread on our dining room table. Strudel dough has few ingredients; just water flour,and salt, it is not a rich pastry. The rich ingredients are placed on top of the dough and it is rolled up and baked. Real strudel is delicious when done correctly. However,many restaurants and bakeries make a fake strudel with with phyllo dough which is simply not the same.
I should have know that the Beatrice’ pastry chef would know how to make a real strudel. Not only did he make the correct dough but he quickly stretched it to a paper thickness, even whirling it around like a pizza. Bravo!
