Author: lpetnick

The alarm rang VERY early. I went to the lobby to meet the driver and the men on the reception desk came out with a shopping bag(!) with my “breakfast box.” There was too much, so I unpacked it and gave it to the men who looked exhausted at the end of the night shift. I kept a sandwich, apple and piece of cake (of course).

It took about a half hour to get to the airport. Check in was easy, the guy behind me in security had a new hip, too.

I had awhile to wait so found a cafe, bought a cappuccino and sat down to look at the runway and eat my sandwich. It was white bread, ham, cheese, tomato and lettuce with mayo. I ate about half.

The gate agent had me wait with her while the flight boarded and boarded me last.

When I bought the ticket back in January, it was about $60. extra to go first class. I treated myself.

I was the ONLY one there. Nine empty seats and me.

The flight attendant was lovely, immediately gave me water and a wet wipe. When we were in the air, she gave me a selection of food; I told her to give me her favorite. I received a club sandwich, turkey, cheese, sliced hard boiled egg, tomato and lettuce on 3 slices of toast (cold) with the crusts cut off. Also a fruit bowl, coffee, orange juice and a Swiss chocolate bar. I had half the sandwich, coffee, juice and put away the chocolate for later.

The flight to Geneva was about an hour and 20 minutes. You could see the Alps, first lower ones, then the glorious snow capped peaks. It was beautiful.

The nicest shock came after landing. We parked at a terminal on the tarmac. I was the first one off, a lady met me, took my bag and escorted me down steps to the ground where I saw buses waiting. Not for me! She led me to a big van, introduced me to the driver and off we went to the terminal.

That’s the way to travel. Of course this was because they had in my record that I needed assistance. And it was the first flight where I actually had assistance!

You take the train from the lower level of the airport right to the Geneva central train station. I had to go to a large office where I was given a ticket and waited in front of a board until my number went up. The agent told me to get the first class ticket to Lyon because the train would be crowded and I would be unable to get a seat. For the extra 10 bucks, I thought it a good use of my money.

The train was crowded, and I think many of the people in my car had not paid the extra fare, like kids with backpacks. But no one ever asked for a ticket.

In Lyon I had to go to a ticket machine to purchase my ticket to Beaune. I was very proud of myself since all the instructions were in French. No problem.

Again, about $10, extra for first class. I had time so I found the toilette which needed a euro for entrance. Then back out to find a kiosk to buy mints with a 10 euro note and get the proper change. At least the toilette was clean!

You wait in a crowded area where everyone is looking up at a board with all the trains listed. Mine had Dijon as the terminus so I waited until they put up the track number, then surged ahead with everyone heading towards Dijon.

Easily done.

I must say that everyone I met was very kind, someone always offered to take my bag down steps or on the train.
My landlady for the Airbnb picked me up at the train station and drove me to the apartment. It is 5 minutes from the center of town, up a steep staircase. The apartment is very nice and air conditioned.

I walked into the center of town, tried to get my bearings. I found a café among a zillion cafés with tables on the sidewalks. I asked what to order and the reply was “boeuf Bourguignon” of course. It came immediately, a shallow bowl of beef soaked in wine and a few boiled potatoes. Very good.
I got a little lost trying to find my way back to the apartment, but a gentleman set me straight. I actually passed it!

I just put in a load of laundry, I’m going to get organized a bit, and then I am going to bed!

Love,
Lynn

Since nothing was scheduled for today, I woke up and had breakfast at leisure. Laura and Stuart were already in the dining room. We had each ordered each other cappuccinos so we had an overload but still managed to drink them! I will miss them. Laura and Stu asked me to join them for a trip to the National Gallery at the Trade Fair Palace. Laura wanted to see an Egon Schiele print and thought she had tracked it down.

We ubered over to this enormous bland building and sure enough, it was one of the National Galleries. We paid our entrance fee and then went to the elevator. A guard came over and said that we should use the special elevator since I had a cane. She took us to the special elevator which turned out to have three steps leading up to it. Stuart had a good laugh.

There was some interesting art there, an exhibition of Czech paintings from the 1920’s.

There was a gallery of French artists who painted in the same time frame. I felt very cultured. No Egon Schiele.

The kids wanted to go the the Museum of Alchemy, so I waved goodbye to them.

The cab dropped me off in the square near the hotel and I did some walking and souvenir shopping. I got some cards, but passed on the Czech crystal. Some of it is beautiful, but I’m trying to get rid of things, not add them.

I stopped at the sandwich shop and got a Brie with onion marmalade on brown bread sandwich. At the counter they had a tray of small filled pastries filled with Nutella. I got some for Stu because he loves pastry.

I went back to my hotel room, had half the sandwich, it was pretty rich, and I was saving myself for the truffles that had been left for me last night.

Wine and cheese was being served in the lobby so I went down to partake. I spoke with a lovely young woman from Texas whose husband was napping.

Laura and Stu came in, they had walked back from the Old Town. They decided to take a swim before dinner.
They loved the museum.

We walked up the hill to the restaurant they chose because it had a garden. Unfortunately it had rained so the garden was closed. It was very plain, old wood tables and paneling and photos of old Prague. We started with a cucumber salad and a tomato onion salad. Both delicious. Laura had buckwheat risotto and I had warm Brie with cranberry sauce and salad. We split. Stu had boar schnitzel. I tried it, it was pretty good. But the piece de resistance was dessert. Warm apple strudel with whipped cream AND vanilla ice cream.

That was my dessert swan song, I think.

I sat with Laura and Stu as they packed and we had some good laughs recalling some of our adventures. They were the best companions.

Tomorrow I leave at 6:15 for the airport and my flight to Geneva en route to Beaune, France.

Love,
Lynn

As I eyed the enormous bathtub, I took a deep breath and said, “you can do it!” I managed to swing my leg over the side, haul up the other one, and took a shower. I managed to get out, too.

Breakfast was unbelievable. It was set out in a beautiful room, again gilded and over the top. Where to begin? A basket of breads, croissants, plain and chocolate, a chafing dish of crepes with Nutella and jams on the side, 5 kinds of butter, yogurt three ways, cups of tiny chopped fresh fruits (OMG) sliced, watermelon, cantaloupe, plums, peaches, apricots, oranges, platters of fresh vegetables and pickles, trays of meats and cheeses, potatoes, eggs, mixed cooked vegetables, fresh juices, and a line up of 8-10 jars of tea leaves so you could choose and make your own. I’ve forgotten a few things. Plus you could order 5 or 6 things off the menu.

I’ll have to take some photos tomorrow.

We were sitting at a table in the beautiful flower filled courtyard waiting for our guide. I noticed smoke curling up from the table. There was a glass vase of hydrangeas on the table and the sun coming through it was setting the table on fire! I have read about that, but I have never seen it. The concierge was very happy I pointed it out to him.

Alexandra, our guide, came and introduced herself and we sat for a bit talking about what we wanted to see. We decided to skip the castle hill area and concentrate on Old Town and the old Jewish quarter. And then we walked, and walked and walked. Through Lesser or Small Town where we are staying to the Charles Bridge. It is pedestrian only and probably the most visited place in Prague. Built in medieval times, there are towers on each bank where the toll collectors sat. There are statues lining the bridge and plenty of stalls selling pictures and musicians playing. Our guide told us that you have to be in a guild to be able to play or sell on the bridge. The musicians were great, she said they are professionals.

We walked through Old Town admiring the buildings. At 11:45 we arrived at the Astrological Clock. It performs on the hour. We wanted to stay to see it. Laura and Stu went to look at souvenirs and Alexandra and I sat in a small park. At 11:54 we walked over and it was like Times Square on New Years Eve. It bonged, some statues of saints went around and around then it was over. Not too exciting except for the fact that it has been doing it for centuries.

Lots more walking, Wenceslas Square, heard about the Velvet Revolution, heard about communism in Prague, heard about so much my brain was spinning. We asked if we could take a break and stopped at a gelato place where we got affigatos. The combination of espresso and gelato was a good one.

We walked back through the Old Town to the old Jewish quarter. The history is fascinating. The synagogues we went to are museums now, there is only one working synagogue left downtown, the Old/New Synagogue, the oldest in Europe founded in 1270. One had the names of the 80,000 Jewish Czechs who died in the holocaust. Laura and Stu found Finkel, Marx, Petrovsky and Shapiro, all family names. It is sobering. We ended at the cemetery after hearing about the legend of the Golem. There are twelve layers of graves and 12,000 tombstones. Alexandra showed us a large tomb which was a woman’s. She was the wife of a very wealthy man. They had no children and he predeceased her, his money going to her. By law, if there was no son to inherit, the state took the money. When she died, and they came after her wealth, they found she had none, she had given it all away.

Took an Uber back to our wonderful hotel and collapsed.
But of course made it to the lobby for wine and cheese hour.
I decided to take a swim in the lovely spa. The pool is small, but there is a large crystal chandelier hanging over the pool to make it very grand. There was a mother and her two daughters playing on the steps, but they left me room to do laps, three strokes one way and three back. Then a man came in the pool and I just had room to jump around a bit. Then this massive burst of bubbles came up right in the middle of the pool. It created quite a current. Finally everyone left and I had the attendant turn off all the jets and I swam peaceably for another 15 minutes or so.

There is a small changing room so I decided to shower there instead of going back to the room. I didn’t want to press my luck with getting in and out of the tub.

We met in the hotel’s restaurant for dinner. It is very highly rated. And we were too tired to go out.

We ordered plates to share. We were brought an amuse bouche, a small piece of marinated herring with a sliver of green bean and a quarter of a radish served on a swoop of onion marmalade. Incredible! We split a salad with rare fresh tuna, sliced peppers, olives, string beans, red onion, lettuce and a poached egg. Stu had onion soup which I tried. Very bold broth with taleggio cheese. Our main courses were a bowl of saffron risotto and a bowl of spaghetti marinara with roasted cherry tomatoes and buffalo mozzarella. Then a white gloved waiter grated fresh Parmesan cheese over both. It was plenty of food for the three of us! But there’s always room for dessert or two desserts. Tarte Tatin with vanilla ice cream and sabayon with fresh berries. Not bad at all.

Time for bed.

Love,
Lynn

P.S. Did you know that the Czech word for hello is ahoy? Funnily enough, ahoy is the word Alexander Graham Bell used to answer the telephone. Thomas Edison preferred hello and there you have it!

We had to vacate our rooms by 9 o’clock so we were at breakfast by 8:15. But the schedule got mixed up because the boat had to wait at a lock for over three hours. There was nothing we could do about it so we stayed in the dining room as long as they would let us and then waited in the lounge.

We were sad to say goodbye to the wonderful staff. I’m sure they’ll remember us because we tipped well!

I had arranged for a driver to meet us at the dock and he was there. We introduced ourselves and he introduced himself. His name is Zdeneck. He was tall and young and spoke English but we had to speak slowly.

The distance is 220 kilometers, but it’s a three hour drive since the road is mostly 2 lanes. When we left Germany, you could see a difference right away. The road wasn’t as well maintained and the houses we passed were not as nicely stuccoed and painted.

But it certainly looked real.

There is a large national park that spans the border so we drove through forests and low mountains. Parts of the drive looked like central Pennsylvania!

We stopped at a nice town to use the Bancomat (ATM) and take the pause that refreshes. There were public toilets that had a woman standing guard. Laura just had euros so she gave her one, about $1.12. I think the cost in Czech money was about $.10. I’m sure the woman thought her day was made!

We arrived at the hotel around 2 and were greeted by two gentlemen, asked to sit in the lobby while they checked us in, and brought us cold towels and sparkling wine.
This place is amazing and completely over the top. Lots of chandeliers and gilt and draperies. It’s amazing. Our rooms have canopied beds, fainting couches, crystal sconces and a large foyer holding a huge armoire and a gilded chest of drawers. You can unpack everything you own and there would be space leftover.

My bathroom has a bidet as well as a crystal sconce.

Laura and Stuart wanted to clean up a bit but I wanted to take a walk. Our hotel is across the street from the American Embassy. Our car was stopped before we got to the hotel and a policeman ran a mirror on a stick under the whole car and checked the trunk.

I walked down the hill, all cobblestones and not easy to navigate, and the buildings are beautiful. There are people everywhere! I passed the front of Saint Nicholas Cathedral, just took a quick peek in and it is quite a sight.

I went back to the hotel where there is a mosaic in front of the door that says AD 1517.
The basement, where the beautiful spa and pool is, has original stone arches.
They serve cheese and wine in the lobby from 4-5 every afternoon. Katerina became my best friend, was very solicitous and said she wanted to make sure such a “glamorous” woman was well served. I love her. (I did put on makeup and earrings before we checked in).

We met in the lobby at 6. We wanted to have a light dinner before going out in a vintage car for a night tour of Prague.

Laura had found what looked like a fantastic place just down the street from the hotel. Wonderful Italian sandwiches.

But it was a hole in the wall with a cooler of premade sandwiches and no place to sit.
We went next door to a pizza place with an authentic Italian pizza oven. We split an order of bruschetta which was served on their pizza dough then cut up 2 pizzas for the 3 of us. They were great, like Italy.

At 8:30 we met our driver with Prague Old Car Tours. We were driven all around Prague, Small Town, Old Town, New Town and up to the castle. It was fabulous. Prague is so busy, people everywhere. And it is a beautiful city. The churches were lit up, there is public art, wonderful architecture. There is a moving head statue of Kafka that is extraordinary, by David Cerny, who has done other sculptures in the city. Our driver took us to see several, and that man has to be a bit crazy. We also drove by the Dancing House.

There are so many cafes and restaurants open late, and busy! And lots of people with rolling suitcases clacking along the cobblestones probably in search of their hotels.
We went up to the castle, by this time it was getting cold. But there were no people around.

Finally he drove us up to the top of Prague where there is a Communist-era stadium which is huge! The driver said it enclosed 9 football (soccer?) fields.

This is a wonderful, vibrant exciting city.

We are meeting our private guide at 10 tomorrow morning. I’ve got to go to sleep.

Love,
Lynn

P.S. I absolutely LOVE this hotel! Truffles with turndown service.

We traveled through the night and had a leisurely breakfast en route to Regensburg. The ship was running a bit late because of traffic through the locks. During breakfast, we were in a lock and though the ship seemed completely stable, you could watch it rise by looking at the ladders on the wall recede. Laura mentioned to me at breakfast that I didn’t include in last night’s email the conversation I had with the guide in Salzburg. He said that Austria was “liberated” in 1945. I asked him why he used that word since the Austrian’s were quick to jump on the nazi bandwagon and certainly did nothing to make amends. He really didn’t have a good answer. Just made me think.

While we were driving back from Salzburg, we passed a small town and there was a memorial with a bronze sculpture of a soldier with an inscription which said something like “dead for the fatherland” and the dates of both world wars.

It is gray and drizzly.

We were still traveling on the river after breakfast when an announcement came on to look at a sight along the river. There is a Greek temple! The Parthenon!

After breakfast there was a talk about today’s two stops. The town of Regensburg looks lovely – it’s a UNESCO city. I had signed up for the excursion to Weltenburg Abbey but had second thoughts when looking at the weather. It’s another long-ish bus ride then a smaller boat up the Danube gorge to get to the abbey. I decided I didn’t want to do it, and the cruise director had no problem with the cancellation. Laura and Stu still plan to go, the oldest brewery in Germany is in the Abbey and they want to check it out.

They left after a wonderful lunch. Corn chowder, baby back ribs with curly fries (me) fish and chips (Stu) and the wonderful lunch salads for Laura. We split cheesecake for dessert.

I borrowed a large umbrella from the boat and walked into Regensburg. It started to rain in earnest and it was about a 20 minute walk. First stop, the Dom Cathedral, to look and to get out of the rain! It’s gothic, not baroque and has gorgeous stained glass windows.

I went back into the rainy town and walked around a bit. There weren’t too many tourists, unlike most of the other places we’ve been, but since there are three Viking ships docked near us, there were large groups of red umbrellas walking the streets. It’s beautiful. There are towers built by wealthy merchants. Brings to mind San Gimignano.

It’s amazing that all the towns we’ve seen are painted in such lovely pale pastels.

On the walk back to the boat, I passed the Historische Wurstkuchl, the oldest sausage kitchen in the world. Lots of smoke. If I had a few companions to share the wursts, I would have stopped!

Tonight there was a Bavarian evening in the lounge before dinner. They were fantastic! As soon as they started to play, I texted Laura to tell here that there was a tuba! She and Stu were up in two minutes.

There were four gentlemen, playing tuba, accordion, trumpet and bass trumpet. I guess it was a bit hokey, but it was so much fun to listen to them. They really knew their stuff. They did oompah music, Strauss waltzes, Hungarian music, you name it. They engaged their audience and had us all laughing. For an encore, they played “Edelweiss”, what else?

Laura and Stu had a great time on the excursion. There was a boat ride through the Danube gorge on the way to the abbey. Laura has a photo of Stu shivering under an umbrella. They said the guide was fantastic and really knowledgeable. At the end of the tour they were given a pretzel and a beer. They had to pay 25 cents for a packet of mustard. No Herlocher’s. They told a good joke. What is a five course meal in Bavaria? A pretzel and four bottles of beer!

We had the bottle of champagne that Laura and Stu had given to me as a thank you. Delicious.

Dinner was arugula salad with a basil dressing. Stu had chili con carne, Laura had the cream of celery soup. Then Laura had fried St. Pierre fish with a buckwheat cake. Stu and I had crispy orange chicken. Good, but not the best meal we have had on board. However, dessert was fantastic. Creme brûlée topped with berries. Enough said.

Now I am looking at my packed suitcase and the detritus of a week spent in my lovely room. I might have to take a Benadryl or I might cry myself to sleep.

If you ever want to take a cruise, call Tom Baker. I only told him I wanted to take a river cruise with my kids, he could choose the rest. He did the best job! The itinerary and the ship could not have been better. It will be sad to say goodbye to the staff, they took such good care of us.

Tomorrow, Prague.

Love,
Lynn

Alarm on, early breakfast and in the bus by 8:30. There were only 13 of us signed up for the trip to Salzburg and we were on a big bus so I got to spread out. We had a good tour guide who gave us a lot of information about the areas we we were driving through. He pointed out the headquarters of the firm that makes Red Bull. The owner liked the location in the lake country.

We drove through the lake country. It is beautiful. Sheer rock face mountains (the Alps) with blue blue lakes. Lots of chalets dotted around, most with flower baskets hanging off the porch railings. We went to the town of Mondsee on Lake Mondsee and walked to the center. It is small and picture perfect.

Dominating the square was the church used as the location of the wedding of Maria and Captain Von Trapp. It is very baroque, the inside of the church in Salzburg is gothic and dark so they didn’t think it would film well.

Mass was going on as I went in. Pink and white ceiling and gold trim everywhere. There was a woman singing in front of the altar and four people sitting behind her, the priest and three others. I couldn’t get to the front to see exactly what was up, but one of the three was definitely a woman. Pretty progressive! What really caught my eye was the number of women wearing the traditional dirndl. Perhaps it’s Sunday best. There were a few men in lederhosen. And there were women just walking around on the street also in dirndls. On some, they weren’t flattering.

I passed a store window with lederhosen on display, price: €799.!!

We had a pretty drive to Salzburg, passing some towns that the guide said are now basically bed and breakfasts or restaurants for visitors.

We had to leave the bus outside of the center of town. On the walk in, we saw the second Hotel Sacher (the first is in Vienna) home of the famous Sachertorte. We walked over a bridge that had lots of padlocks on the railings. It’s a thing in Europe.
Lovers lock the padlock and throw the key in the river so their love will never be unlocked.

Ha!

The city is beautiful if a bit Disneyfied. The building are painted in soft ice cream pastels and are all in beautiful shape, at least on the outside. The University of Salzburg owns a lot of buildings, old and new.

Our guide took us on quite a walk. We would be in a square, walk through an arcade or small street and be in another square. And on and on. Lots of squares, all gorgeous. Most with churches.

We walked to a Benedictine Monastery. In the huge courtyard we were told that part of the Benedictine Rule is to offer hospitality to anyone in need. And, they have a restaurant!

We all sat at one table, and I was at the end with my new friends from New Zealand. They were terrific, open and funny. We had a set meal, beef broth with a few skinny noodles, Weiner schnitzel with potatoes, and soft meringues on a red currant sauce.
The schnitzel was pork, not the usual veal. Frankly, I was afraid to tell anyone I didn’t want to eat pork. The Austrians have had anti-semitism in their history forever. They have not taken any responsibility for the holocaust and refused to return any Jewish property seized before and during the war. There was even a concentration camp right in the city.

We had an hour and a half before meeting in the the old market for the walk back to the bus. Salzburg was loaded with tourists, especially tourists in large groups. The guide said that since most shops are not open on Sunday, it wasn’t busy at all. I absolutely can’t imagine what it would be like on a weekday. I did find a bakery selling pretzels so I got one for Stuart. Also the guide told me about the REAL Mozart marzipan chocolates that are handmade. They are wrapped in silver. The “industrial” ones are wrapped in blue or red. I got 3 for us to share tomorrow.

We drove to Passau where we were to meet the boat. It was a 2 hour drive, mostly on a two lane road through not very inspiring countryside. Lots of industrial areas and lots of farms.

When we got to the port, Laura and Stu were right on the dock. They had taken a little walk around Passau. They loved being on the boat that afternoon and said the scenery was beautiful. In the morning they did the walking tour of Linz which they said was completely not worth it except for the stop at the cafe which serves the original Linzer torte which they said was fantastic.

We had the Captain’s Gala cocktail party and were again introduced to staff, then a really good dinner. Salad with raspberry dressing, sliced beef with roasted potatoes and fresh vegetables. Laura and Stu had salmon with barbecue sauce that they said was fantastic. They also had a spring roll stuffed with polenta. Odd but good.

The lights were turned off and then with great fanfare the whole dining staff marched out with flaming baked Alaska. Cue applause. It was great! They also set down a plate of tiny petit fours which, though good, weren’t worth the calories.

There was dancing scheduled in the lounge after dinner. We went up to look. The musical duo was sitting at the bar and no one was there. Hopefully a few people showed up. We decided to go to sleep.

Love,
Lynn

Yay! I didn’t have to set the alarm today because I am only going on the afternoon excursion. I met Laura and Stu for breakfast. The honeydew is still wonderful. For a change, Laura and Stu signed up for the walking tour of Durnstein. The boat was docked about a 15 minute walk away and I decided to stroll over.

It’s a picture perfect medieval town, of course smartened up for the tourists. From the embankment there is a steep cobblestone walk up to the town. There is a beautiful abbey church at one end, then lots of souvenir shops in old buildings. Every so often I saw an old house with a tiny door. I guess the lack of good nutrition kept height down!

The shops were selling a lot of apricot products, liqueur, wine, jam, candy. It’s a specialty of the area. There is wine, too, the terraces for the grapes line the river.

The ship pulled out and we had the most beautiful scenery ahead of us. We entered the Wachau Valley, a UNESCO protected area.

Just in case you’ve gotten the impression that I’m not eating enough, there’s more!
At 12 in the lounge, there was Fruhschoppen. A chef was carving a baby pig, there were cabbage salads, sauerkraut, three kinds of sausage, a boiled beef specialty of the region, different mustards, horseradish, breads, and more. Everything was very festive.

Then at 12:30 lunch was served. We stuck with salads, though the four course lunch was being served all around us. Of course we had to try the Linzertorte.
We went up to the sun deck to watch the scenery go by. We went by the town of Willendorf. For all you art history buffs, the Venus of Willendorf was found nearby.

We docked at Emmersdorf, the town opposite the river from Melk Abbey. Laura, Stu and I got on the bus, I chose the excursion, the cruise director graciously allowed the kids to get a ride up to the abbey. They didn’t want the tour, just wanted to walk around the old town of Melk.

It was hot.

The place is enormous, has tons of history, and an incredible baroque church.

Laura and Stu toiled up the hill from town and met me at the bus for the ride back to where we were moored. Instead of going back to the ship, they asked me to join them at a well rated fish joint by the river. I let them go unencumbered by me. They had a whole fish on a stick that had been cooked over a charcoal fire and said it was fantastic.

I went to the lounge to wait for the talk about tomorrow’s excursion, and saw that there was a lock coming up. I quickly texted Laura and Stu and we met at the bow. Such excitement! We slowly cruised into our lock, and could see the boat rise. Then out the other side.

The other four locks we have been through were during night or early morning so this was a first for us.

We weren’t really hungry for dinner but went through the motions. The Caesar salad was served with a delicious bruschetta. I ordered the second course of gnocchi with artichokes for my main course, Laura and Stu had a red curry. They were also serving duck a l’orange or halibut.

The dessert was panna cotta. Stu decided to get chocolate ice cream which was served with whipped cream, a drizzle of chocolate sauce and a pirouette. Also good!

Big day tomorrow……Salzburg.

Love,
Lynn

Up early for the morning excursion to Vienna. The boat is docked by the town of Nussdorf which is actually a suburb of Vienna. As I opened the curtains, I could see the opposite bank of the Danube, only trees. It seems incredible that we can be so close to a large city and the view is pastoral.

Did I mention that the honeydew melon is the best I think I’ve ever tasted? I don’t think I’ve had a really good one in years and I’ll be eating it as long as the kitchen sends it out. It’s served on a tray with watermelon with seeds. I guess seedless hasn’t arrived here yet, neither have seedless grapes.

I found out this afternoon that all of the breads and cakes are baked on board. At breakfast they have out two huge loaves of bread, one seeded and one plain. You hack off a slice and send it through the toaster. Terrific toast.

On my way out, I bumped into my room cleaner, Edita. She is tall and she gave me a huge hello with a pat on the back. She gives me extra water, towels and conditioner. The staff I have met on board are so friendly and helpful.

The bus ride into the city took about 15 minutes. We drove around the Ringstrasse which is known (here) as the most beautiful boulevard in the world. Beautiful buildings one after another, palaces, museums, opera house, and lots of parks. We were told that Vienna is 50% green spaces. We were dropped off in front of one, the Volksgarten where there were lots and lots of rose bushes. You can honor or memorialize someone with a donation and get the rose bush tagged with your name.

We walked to the Hofburg Palace then through a driveway into the courtyard. The place is HUGE. The offices of the President, ministries and museums are all here.

We walked and walked, finally ending up in the square in front of St. Stephen’s Cathedral.

We were left to our own devices for 45 minutes. I walked into the cathedral which was jammed with people, took a look then left. I was thinking about our guide telling us that almost 20% of the city population was Jewish before WWII and none were left afterwards. Some were able to emigrate before the war, but many were deported and killed. So I didn’t feel like looking at a church.

I had time before meeting up with the group so I stopped and had a cafe latte in a cafe in the middle of one of the pedestrianized streets downtown. It was fun watching the people walk by. The stores are international, who doesn’t need a pair of Jimmy Choo’s in Vienna, but it’s sad that we only saw one, a linen store, that has been locally owned for generations.

Back on the bus and back to the boat. I decided against having lunch in the dining room and went up to the lounge where they have “light lunch buffet” available. They had the salad bar I like, then cream of carrot soup with ginger chips. Pasta was being prepared by Vlad, one of my favorites who seems to know almost every job on the boat. He made me the specialty of the day, krautfeckerl, which is Austrian pasta with white cabbage, onions, cumin and caraway seeds. I asked him to add grated Parmesan. Sounds “interesting” but it was very good.

It was quiet and I was sitting near Vlad so we started to talk. He’s Romanian and can speak 4 languages. Next week the whole boat is chartered for an LGBTQ cruise for 2 weeks. I said I thought that would be fun.

There was an excursion this afternoon to the Schonbrunn Palace which I skipped. I think one tour a day is enough for me.

Tonight there is an excursion to a musical performance of Viennese music plus dancers in traditional costume waltzing along. It sounds painful. My travel agent didn’t recommend it, the audience is all cruisers and the hall is not air conditioned.
There has been a guy (I think, it’s hard to tell) sunbathing on the opposite shore. I mentioned the sandy beaches along the river and he has found himself a spot. He keeps standing up, walking a few steps, then sitting down. Now there are 5-6 boats parked here, if one has binoculars or even a good camera, all will be on display. I wish I had his self-esteem!

I read on the sun deck for a bit. There were 2 pairs of men in head to toe yellow protective gear. There were masks covering their eyes. Each pair had a man telling them what to do. They were walking around holding on to each other and going up and downstairs. I’ll have to ask Vlad what they were practicing.

I met Laura and Stu in the dining room. They had a great day together in Vienna. They took the tram into town, then stayed on it as they listened to a Rick Steve’s podcast talking about what they were seeing. They said it was great. They also found a mural Laura had read about. Right up her alley.

Laura started dinner with a goat cheese panna cotta with apricot chutney. Stu and I had the mache salad. They both had forest mushrooms a la creme topped with puff pastry. I abstained. The main course was…..Weiner Schnitzel!!!! It was served with a potato salad unlike any other.

If you ever have the opportunity to have Kaiserschmarrn, please take it! The description is “Austrian shredded pancake with plum stew and vanilla ice cream”. Unbelievable.

We went up to the sun deck and watched the sunset. Then Laura and Stu had a game of chess on the giant chess board. They said it was a draw.

Good night.

Love,
Lynn

I set the alarm for 7 as the Bratislava city tour was leaving at 8. Last night we were told that we would be going through a lock. Unfortunately that was at 4 this morning and I didn’t see it. Unfortunately Laura said she was rudely awakened by the boat scraping along the sides of the lock. She said it sounded scary, I slept through it. We are docked on the embankment, I have a view of the harbor wall. Laura and Stu have no view at all as the ship is berthed right next to another. It is often done since there is so much river boat traffic. The door to your lobby opens up to the door of your neighbors so they can get through to the exit.

The tour went off without a hitch. I sat next to a nice woman, Sheila, from New Zealand. We went up and up finally to the top of the hill overlooking the city where there is the castle and an amazing view. Bratislava is so spread out and there are lots of new buildings going up. Across the river there are apartment blocks built by the Soviets, white with vertical stripes of color. The guide called them Lego buildings. To the right across the river, Austria, to the left, Hungary. There were lots of windmills in Austria. Our guide says they only get their energy ecologically. We tramped around the castle grounds for a bit. There is a device on a charger in the room that allows you to hear the guide on earphones. I don’t mean to show my ignorance but there were many dates and conquerers and they get jumbled up.

Celts, Romans, Turks, French, Hungarians, Austrians and maybe lots that I have left out. How kids manage to absorb their history classes here is beyond me!

We drove back down the hill and were dropped off near the old part of the city. It is so beautiful to walk around. There are esplanades lined with trees as well as small alleys connecting one square with another. There was a more than life sized statue of Hans Christian Anderson surrounded by images from his stories. The best was one of a man coming out of a manhole.

We did so much walking. I loved seeing the town but it was getting hot and tiring. They do have these 8’ tall hoops spewing out cold air vapor which you can walk through that really do cool you off.

Back to the boat, walking along the river esplanade and seeing over a dozen river cruise ships lined up. I bumped into Laura and Stu who had been on their own quest and were just walking into town. We’ll meet up at dinner.

I had lunch in the restaurant, there was a light lunch served in the lounge but why do light?

The salad bar was out, this time the special salads were red cabbage, bean, and egg salad with lots of vegetables.

There was soup, then pork steak, or grilled fish or vegetable spring rolls. I had the spring rolls which were served with a grated cabbage in a soy based dressing that packed a lot of heat.

But, oh my the dessert! It was a Pavlova, soft meringue with vanilla custard and raspberry sauce.

It was too nice to stay indoors so I took myself out to the forward deck to watch the world walk by. There are TWO other ships parked next to us.

Laura, Stu and I met up at dinner. Tomato and cucumber salad with Roquefort cheese, veal pate served on a 2 layer green (cucumber) and white (mascarpone) aspic, cream of leek soup with shrimp, monkfish, beef cheeks, poached egg on a quinoa lentil salad. I’ve been overindulging so had the pate and soup. Then asked if I could get the salad. Of course, Peter, our wonderful server, will get anything we want. The kids had the poached egg dish and really enjoyed it. And FYI the veal pate was amazing.

Dessert…..chocolate lava cake with raspberry coulis served with ice cream.

Laura and Stu walked all over town, starting with the mall. Stuart wore his purchase, a very trendy seersucker jacket. They also found the museum of design which they loved. It was in the attic of an old building and they were the only ones there. They are intrepid.

After dinner we went to play trivia. Laura named our team Trivial Persnooty. We were shown photos of cities around the world and had to name them. We only got one wrong and won! We got a bottle of wine called Herzog de Nassau. Stu immediately said “a nice Long Island wine” which cracked us up.

Love,
Lynn

I woke up too late for the dining room breakfast so settled for the “late risers” breakfast. That means 8:30. It is served in the Panorama Lounge. Rolls, fresh fruit, some pastries, cheese and ham. Plenty. Tomorrow I will get the full breakfast treatment as I am going on an excursion and might need the extra boost (ha).I walked back into town to find the pharmacy. I’ve started a hopefully little cold and wanted to load up on probably useless supplies. To get there I walked through the Central Market and to the square on the other side. The pharmacy was a real throwback. One lady behind a counter and all the merchandise behind cupboard doors. You wait your turn. With the help of google translate I got what I wanted plus something she told me to get. Vitamin C with zinc. Can’t hurt.

I read for a bit in the lounge before Laura joined me, then we went for lunch in the main dining room. We sit at Table 3 for the duration.

I could have started with cabbage soup but nixed that in favor of the small but wonderful salad bar. Along with the usual suspects there were beet and tomato salad, radish salad and cous cous.

The choices for lunch were Hungarian goulash with spetzle, fish with quinoa or a Reuben sandwich. Since we are leaving Hungary I thought I’d better have the goulash. Laura had the fish which she liked, my goulash was very tasty but the meat was a bit tough. But not enough for me to stop eating.

Dessert was a most delicious slice of cake.

We met the cruise director and arranged to book the excursions we wanted. He said there is a large contingent of Israelis and one of Chinese tourists on board. Then one German couple and a few Dutch people with New Zealand and Canada also represented. So far we have only seen one other American couple.

At dinner last night there was a good looking couple, he was wearing a soft light green jacket in the style of Captain Von Trapp. He looked tres chic.

We all decided against taking the afternoon excursion because it involved a church (or as Sylvia our guide said “ABC…..another bloody church”) and a very touristy town and we also wanted to just hang out and cruise the river.

We floated away from Budapest. Laura wanted the experience of being in the water, in the water (get it?) so I met her and Stu at the pool. Lovely small pool in the rear of the boat, (aft), with large windows forming the views of both sides of the river. There is also a pretty lounge around the pool with white leather furniture and greenery, and a coffee and tea station. AND a platter of shortbread cookies. We all had cappuccinos.
What a nice way to spend the afternoon.

I changed and went up to the top deck, the sun deck, where there are awnings for sun protection and a giant chessboard with pieces about 3’ high. No one was playing.
I sat in the shade, watched the scenery and read a little bit. There are lots of sandy beaches along the river, and plenty had people sunbathing and swimming. At one point, perhaps 5-10 miles outside of Budapest there were beautiful villas lining the shore. We saw 3 dragon boats with kids paddling away to a drumbeat. We waved and they heartily returned our greetings. Laura helpfully pointed out a candidate for her new daddy on one beach. I thought he had on a speedo, but it turns out I was wrong.
It was so quiet and peaceful. Then an older Israeli couple came out, sat right behind me (mind you the whole deck was almost empty) and talked loudly then had a 10 minute conversation on their phone. Is it an Israeli thing? A senior thing? Who knows?

4:00 otherwise known as teatime. It was set up in the Panorama lounge. About 5 platters of cakes and one of tea sandwiches, white bread with cream cheese. Luckily, the cake from lunch was revisited, it’s called Esterhazy torte.

We haven’t passed under any bridges since we left Budapest. But every so often you can see a road leading right to the river and one on the opposite shore. Ferries!
Laura, Stu and I went to the forward observation deck and sheltered a bit between the raindrops. There were castle ruins on the top of a hill at Visegrad. Very picturesque!

It was time to think about changing for dinner so I went back to my wonderful room, opened the curtains and had a perfect private view of the shoreline.

I love watching the different styles of homes along the banks. Some are very contemporary, and some look like manor houses from days past.

There was a program in the lounge before dinner. First, a slide show presentation about our next stop, Bratislava. Then the heads of departments marched in to us all clapping in time to the music and we were introduced to them. We were served champagne and small hours d’oeuvres. We had tiny delicious spring rolls. We were waiting for the bruschetta but they didn’t make it to us. One of the bar waiters likes us and refilled Laura and Stu’s glasses several times.

Dinner again was monotonous and boring. Ho hum. We started with a chef’s salad, then a chicken crepe followed by a roasted vegetable torte. There was also fish with risotto or pork medallions. Dessert was either tiramisu, 2 scoops of tiramisu sitting in a crispy cookie shell with chocolate sauce and whipped cream and topped with the Amadeus version of a Pepperidge Farm Pirouette or pistachio ice cream or a cheese plate. I’m getting better at saying no.

If you have a birthday, they celebrate it well. The dining room lights go off, all the waiters march in carrying a cake with sparklers and everyone applauds.

Unfortunately our passports were taken when we boarded so they know our birthdays. We can’t get away with pretending!

Time to set the alarm so I can get ready for the excursion to Bratislava at 8:30 tomorrow morning.

Love,
Lynn

Luckily I set the alarm because it awakened me out of a sound sleep at 9 o’clock. Breakfast closes at 10 and I wanted to make sure not to miss it!! Who doesn’t need lactose-free cheese, Hungarian pork ham, seven different kinds of sausages, eight different kinds of salamis, etc etc etc?

Laura and Stu moseyed down at 9:45. They weren’t worried!

We checked out of our lovely hotel, Stu called our Bolt and off we went for our next adventure. Luckily we had the number of the cruise ship and called them directly to find out at which mooring they were located. We got stuck in a long line of traffic with a very impatient Hungarian driver. He taught us how to say s**t in Hungarian but don’t ask me what it is. Hungarian is nothing like the Romance languages, it’s impossible to guess the meaning of anything.

We left our luggage at the boat, although we weren’t allowed to check in until 4 o’clock. That was fine because the Central Market was a block away and that was on our list of things to do in Budapest.

The market is huge! We started walking around on the ground floor where most of the stalls were selling Hungarian produce, meat and specialty foods. There are sausages of every size, lots of cans of different kind of pate and caviar. Also butchers and fruit stalls so this market is still for locals, the tourists haven’t taken it over completely. But then you climb to the second floor which is a gallery overlooking the main space. The gallery was completely lined with tourist tat. I saw more embroidered tablecloths than you can possibly want. Imagine getting one home and having to iron it! There were lots of tourists looking over the offerings, including Rubik’s cubes of every size (Mr. Rubik was Hungarian), and every imaginable and non-imaginable bit of junk.

The really interesting thing to see were the food stalls. There were long lines of hungry people waiting for the buffet or for individual specialties. It was so hot and most people were eating goulash soup, sausage platters, fried cutlets, stuffed cabbage and more sausages. The plates were filled.

Stu got on his phone and we chose another Greek restaurant for our lunch since the traditional restaurants that were well rated were all about hot food and we just wanted salads.

We walked over to Cafe Dionysius. The design looked like a stage set for Mamma Mia but they had exactly what we wanted. We got a complimentary plate of homemade bread and smoked mackerel salad. Not bad! Salads all around which included haloumi and feta. Delicious but not as nice as Mazi.

We wandered over to a pedestrian street lined with tourist shops, but most importantly the home of the Chimney Cake Shop, where Stu wanted to try a chimney cake. This is a cylindrical shaped cake filled with ice cream and chocolate sauce. Three spoons please.

By this time we were ready to walk back to the boat and board. Check in was easy, and a lovely young woman led me to my room (cabin)? Laura and Stu are across the hall. The room is just beautiful. Recessed lighting, wood trim, walk in closet, and spotless bathroom that I would absolutely love to have in my home. Very modern and all shipshape. And much larger than I would have imagined on a boat. The boat is only a year old and is absolutely lovely.

The window takes up the whole wall. Instead of having a little terrace, the window is split in half horizontally and opens completely.

We met for an orientation lecture at 6, dinner at 7. We have a table just for us by the window. Peter, our waiter, was great. He’s from Romania and he said he would make sure to take care of us. Laura asked, of course, if there were any candidates on board to be her new daddy.

Dinner. Wow! Choice of salmon three ways or salad, then essence of tomato soup with ravioli or chicken and mushrooms with puff pastry. Main course was sea bream with garlic sauce or chateaubriand followed by chocolate pot de creme or a cheese plate.

The after dinner entertainment was a Hungarian folk show, violins, singers and dancers. Hokey but fun. We then went up to the top deck and watched the brilliantly lit city go by as we had a nighttime cruise. It was beautiful.

Breakfast. Just as good as yesterday. Enough said.

I arranged to have a private guide for the morning. Interestingly the cost was less than paying for a group tour for the three of us. It was a good lesson to learn, and I arranged to have a guide in Prague as well.

At 9 we met Silvia in the lobby. She was so perky and charming and I knew we would have a good time. She led us to the van we would use and introduced us to the driver.

Budapest is huge and having the van would get us around the main sights.

We crossed the river to the Buda side and went up the Gellert hill which is topped by the Citadel (19th century) and walked around it to see the great views of Pest across the river. Buda is very hilly and Pest is flat. As we walked around the Citadel, Silvia pointed out bullet holes in the stonework. She said if you look up to the second story of a lot of buildings you can still see bullet holes from WW2.

We drove partway down the hill and stopped at a church built into a cave. Interesting and cool as the day was heating up.

We had to take a look at the Gellert Spa which was just across the road. Yesterday, Laura, Stu and I had a hard time selecting which spa to choose, settling on Széchenyi. Gellert is all Art Deco and would have been a good choice except for the fact they had no beer spa!
They do, however, have mud treatments which I think they might be considering for tomorrow. Oy. It is attached to a hotel which is a bit faded. Sylvia said it had been bought by a hotel chain and there are plans for complete renovation.

We were then driven up to the Castle Hill and walked through a lovely square then over to a shady promenade overlooking the river. It was beautiful. A photographer was taking pictures of a bride and groom. Great dress. We walked over to see the Mathias Church which has a wonderful painted tile roof, then to Fishermen’s Bastion, a very crowded lookout point.

What you have to keep in mind while seeing all of the buildings in Budapest, is that they were all destroyed during the war and then rebuilt. On the Pest side, they are 4-5 stories high, with balconies and architectural pieces which are copies of what was there before the war. The style is called Neo Italian Renaissance. The historical buildings on both sides are all re-creations as well.

We drove back across the river and were dropped off in front of Saint Stephen’s Basilica, the second largest church in Hungary. It is spectacular, incredible marble work and even a relic of St. Stephen’s hand. If you put a coin in the slot next to the reliquary, it lights up and you can see the fingers.

We walked over to Liberty Square where there is a fountain made up of jets of water formed in a square. The water goes up and down. The trick to getting inside the square, through the water fountains, is to stand for a second or two in front of the water. There is a sensor that then turns the fountain off so you can walk into the middle. However not everyone has Sylvia to tell them about this and plenty of people were getting wet!

It is in front of the last Russian statue remaining in Budapest. The story is that it was not removed to a park about 20 miles from Budapest where all the Soviet statues were taken because there are unknown Russian soldiers buried underneath.

There is a life size statue of Ronald Reagan striding forward with outstretched hand. It is supposed to be striding towards a statue of Gorbachev. The tradition here is not to put up statues until those commemorated are dead. When Gorbachev dies, it will be put in place.

We said goodbye to Sylvia and walked over to a famous strudel restaurant and sat at an outdoor table. There are so many restaurants and cafés with sidewalk tables. It’s very continental! We were all hangry and not particularly communicative and it took a while for a waiter to take our order. I had a spinach strudel, Laura had a salad, Stu had a tomato and onion salad. But of course we shared two dessert strudels, one poppyseed and one sour cherry with chocolate chili sauce.

I was able to gather enough strength to walk with Laura and Stuart over to the river to see the very poignant Shoes on the Danube memorial. You’ll just have to read about it.

I decided Laura and Stuart need some time away from me, so they gave me a map and showed me how to walk back to the hotel. And they took off together on the tram. (Probably giggling like children.)

It was hot! But I had an icy bottle of water waiting for me in the hotel. And I even went against my highest principle and took a bag of potato chips from the mini bar. I decided my body needed the salt and fat so they wouldn’t count. Luckily, it was only a dollar or so. I’m sure at the Ritz Carlton I would not have treated myself. Can you imagine the prices of the food in the mini bar there?

Laura and Stu spent the rest of the afternoon trying out the tram and metro system (they approve) and did some shopping and got a Thai foot massage. Laura wasn’t impressed, she said she felt worse walking out than when she walked in.

We went out to dinner at a Greek restaurant a block from the hotel. Stu did his homework and said that this place, Mazi, was one of the top rated of any restaurant in Budapest.

What an incredible meal!! We decided to order a lot of starters instead of main courses. Tzatziki, fava beans with caramelized onions, roasted beets with garlic, lamb and veal kabob with sour cherry yogurt (not a kabob as we know them but a little meatball shaped like a cocktail frank), baked feta cheese (the absolute best) and an arugula salad with sun dried tomatoes and goat cheese. A platter of warmed pita triangles with olive oil accompanied this.

We swooned. Of course eating this way allows you to have dessert. The waiter chose for us: baklava made with just pistachios, no inferior nuts like walnuts, and a hot semolina pudding-like center flavored with orange in phyllo dough. The waiter brought a complementary platter of three small scoops of sour cherry ice cream and the baklava was served with a scoop of ice cream as well. I can just about guarantee that you have never tasted anything so good. Including drinks, the whole tab came to $50. Restaurant eating here is good value! We decided the lunch time restaurant just couldn’t compete.

If you are ever in Budapest, do yourself a favor and stop by Mazi.

I love to look at the way words are translated. I saw a good one yesterday when we were in the area of the synagogue. A restaurant said it served “milky meals.” It took me a minute to figure out that it was a dairy restaurant.

Stu called the cruise company today to find out where the boat would be docked. We got the exact location. There are river cruise boats docked all up and down the river. It turns out we can drop our suitcases off after 11 though we can’t board until 4. But the mooring is right by the Central Market a stop we were planning on making tomorrow. We can leave our bags and not worry about returning to the hotel for them. Brilliant!

I’ve enjoyed our stay at Hotel Parliament and am looking forward to our next adventure.

Love,
Lynn

Last night I was in great shape(?)so stayed up until 9:30, which was pretty good considering I had been up for at least 24 hours. But oh this morning! Jet lag is real.

I met Stuart and Laura in the breakfast room in the hotel. Luckily they stay open until 10:30. Breakfast was fabulous. About eight different kinds of charcuterie, cheeses, eggs several ways, beans, bacon, sausage, ham, lots of breads and pastries, juices, a coffee machine with about 10 different buttons to push for various coffees, fresh fruits, jams, syrups, even a juicer to make your own fresh grapefruit juice. I stood there in a daze, then restraint kicked in. I did, however, have four different coffees.

We took a Bolt taxi (Budapest form of Uber) over to a farmers market that is open on Sunday, the Szimpla market. It is located in a ruin bar. Ruin bars have become very popular, apparently now they are mostly for tourists. But they are in very dilapidated buildings. The one we were in was fabulously decorated, something to see everywhere. Lots of tables with vegetables and tables with samples of cheeses, sausages, honeys, and the ubiquitous paprika.

Stuart found another market about a 10 minute walk away that was supposed to have antiques. It looked a bit like the Bellefonte antiques mall. We found a wonderful little bookstore/café and had iced tea and iced coffee (called a dirty hippie) for a pick me up. They had fabulous postcards. Weird, the kind I like!

We decided to head towards Zara for a tiny bit of shopping but as I looked up I saw a Star of David, on the dome of the Dohany Street synagogue, the second largest in the world. We first walked along an arcade which enclosed a cemetery where several thousand Jews who died in the ghetto before the war ended were buried in mass graves. Traditionally, there are never cemeteries next to a synagogue but this is the exception. There were hundreds of stones placed on the memorial monument.

We bought tickets, went through security, and into the synagogue. Stu was given a paper Yarmulke. It was built in the mid 1850’s and then destroyed during the war and then rebuilt. It is styled like the Alhambra. We listened to an English speaking guide for about 15 minutes, then walked around on our own. It is very powerful to think of how many people passed through the doors and were killed during the Holocaust.

We decided to buy bus passes and took the bus back to the hotel. A short time to regroup, and then a taxi to the Széchenyi baths.

The place looks like a huge yellow and white wedding cake. I opted for a cabin, a small changing room and Laura and Stu took off for the Thermal Beer Spa on the other side of the complex.

The building itself houses many small thermal pools but the biggest attractions are the three pools in the center of the establishment. By far the largest is an enormous lap pool, flanked by 2 thermal pools. There is larger than life statuary all around, even Neptune riding dolphins, or at least I think they were dolphins. I elected not to take the beer bath and arranged to meet the kids after their session. I had to buy a cap to use the lap pool. The thermal pools probably had 150 to 200 people in each one, the huge lap pool probably had 6. I’ll tell you why. It was COLD. It took awhile, but I eased myself in and spent the next hour slowly swimming back and forth. I met Laura and Stu after their bath session in one of the thermal pools.

In the center, there was a circular half wall that divided it off. Within this was a very fast current that pushed you right around the circle. Laura grabbed me (I think she thought I would drown) and we were laughing so hard we couldn’t talk. Stu was right behind us howling, too. The amazing thing is that most of the others in the current were not laughing at all. Maybe it’s an Eastern European thing. I noticed that there were few Americans there, although I did see one teenage girl in a Woodward Camp t-shirt. Also, I was one of the older people there, it seemed like a young demographic. Stu read that the locals go before noon, maybe that’s when the oldsters hang out.

While I was doing my laps, I could see people surrounding the pool and made some observations about the human condition. There was a good looking woman in a black tank suit with “Bad Girl” emblazoned in white on the front. She walked everywhere hand in hand with a man in a speedo who looked like he was happy indeed to be with her. Also there were two women in the exact same suit (major cleavage on display) who spent a solid half hour taking pictures of each other posing with pouty mouths. There were always women posing in front of statues with adoring men snapping photos.

We Bolted back to our hotel, showered and changed, then went to the restaurant Zeller for dinner.

We were greeted with complementary glasses of elderberry Prosecco. We were taken through several small rooms, then through a large room decorated like a garden, large trees all around with interesting lights hanging, and paper cutouts of birds flying around. The ceiling was glass. A live duo was performing. We decided to sit in the adjoining room so we could talk. Stu ordered black current beer. I thought it was good, probably because it didn’t taste like beer. Laura and I started with truffle cream soup which was fabulous and Stu had tiny whole fish which were fried and served in a paper cone. Our entrees were equally imaginative and good. We were so stuffed, dessert was out of the question, but we were brought tiny banana cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. Of course we managed to eat them. On the way out we passed at least four tables where EVERYONE was on their mobile devices. No one was talking. What a waste.

The taxi came and brought us back in about five minutes. It took over ten to get to the restaurant, because Budapest has a system of one way streets which makes it difficult to get from one place to another.

I did notice today that except for the area around the synagogue and the ruins market, the streets were virtually empty. Because it’s Sunday? We will find out tomorrow.

I’ve got to set the alarm, we are meeting our guide at 9.

I had a feeling in my bones that the flights were not going to go as planned. When my flight left State College in beautiful weather and got to Chicago bang on time I thought maybe I was wrong. Maybe this would be a breeze.

I had a five hour layover. O’Hare airport is so incredibly busy. I was trying to be good so I did not get Chicago pizza or the famous Mexican food at Frontera Grill but found a place with somewhat pitiful looking salads.

My American Airlines app kept telling me that my flight to London was on time. It wasn’t. Every 20 minutes an announcement told of a 20 minute delay. I finally realized that I was not going to be able to meet up with Laura and Stuart to take our flight from London to Budapest. And my American Airlines app told me that they had rebooked me, Budapest via Madrid!!! I called my sister and she promised to try and get someone on the phone as I couldn’t.

The plane took off three hours late. I sat in premium economy which was terrific. It was just a few hundred dollars more than the regular economy fare but thousands less than business. The seat was comfortable, there were power outlets at hand, and we even got cloth napkins and real silverware.

When I finally arrived at Heathrow, a customer service rep was waiting with a £10 food voucher and a ticket for a direct flight to Budapest.

I had thought that O’Hare was busy, Heathrow was an absolute zoo. I sat at a Cafe Nero coffee bar with my skinny latte and watched the show. There was a group of preteen girls with long blonde cornrows and braids which had been dyed inexpertly blue. They were all wearing red Romanian Hip Hop Dance Competition t-shirts.

It was a large group of very healthy Scandinavian teens, (perhaps Finnish) with blue and white bandannas. Probably scouts.

The Jo Malone Shop was doing big business however across from them, Fendi, Chanel and Hermes were dead.

I got two sandwiches, one a ploughman’s sandwich, cheddar cheese and pickle, the other a baguette with mature cheddar and tomato chutney plus a bottle of water at Pret a Manger. Cost: £9.44. Close to the £10 I was given. Lunch!

You wait in a huge area which is surrounded by shops and restaurants and watch the boards until your flight is shown with a gate. Then there’s a 10 minute walk to that gate.

In the departure lounge, a lovely surprise. An English choral group was singing a hymn a cappella and it was absolutely beautiful. I wondered whether a hymn was appropriate before taking off.

The flight was uneventful to Budapest.

My hotel had sent a taxi for me and it was lovely to be met. I had a terrific cabdriver who could speak English, although haltingly. He took me into the city and we talked about Hungarian wines, the fact that the city was virtually destroyed after World War II but has been rebuilt in the same beautiful style, good restaurants, the boat tragedy several months ago, the protests, and lots more. What a great introduction to the city! I asked if he could take me on a little tourist route before dropping me at the hotel, and we drove along the river dividing Buda and Pest which were 2 different towns for many centuries before uniting. Our hotel, Hotel Parlament, is on the Pest side. Lovely people at check in, nice, smallish room, but scrupulously clean and Laura and Stu next door. What else could I want? It was about 630, they had eaten dinner, and were ready to go to sleep.

I decided to push through and took my dinner sandwich down to the small bar, ordered a Coke Light and ate at the bar. The bartender’s brother went to FAU and lives in Boca. Small world.

Time for bed. (8:15).
Love,
Lynn