European Tour - Danube (Durnstein, Krems, Vienna)

The approach to Vienna took us past some historically curious towns and villages including the town where Richard the Lionheart had been imprisoned having been captured on his way back from the Crusades and held to ransom and a church (locked) that was a repository for the skulls of soldiers killed during the Napoleonic wars (see picture below for the somewhat macabre arrangement of these artefacts - all of which apparently had bullet holes). 

For the most part these were reached via the bike rides arranged by the cruise although the boat also had its own collection of bikes for use of the passengers which I was able to take advantage of when we reached Vienna where I explored a manmade Island (now a popular Viennese weekend leisure destination created from the debris collected  when they diverted the course of the Danube to prevent flooding of central Vienna during high-tides).

 

We had previously visited Vienna with the kids (during a very snowy Winter weekend) but we seized the chance to have a more leisurely exploration around the Imperial Palace and the Central Park (including the famous Ferris Wheel featured in the Third Man which A and had a ride on).

All 4 of us also went on a trip to a picturesque Vinyard in the hills overlooking Vienna where we treated to copious amounts of the local wine and ham and traditional music - not quite as grand as our visit to the State Opera the previous evening but certainly an interesting spectacle (although I suspect not quite as much of a spectacle as the Einsturzende Neubauten concert (falling down new buildings - a staple of my 1980s musical youth) who were apparently also performing in Vienna that weekend according to the lamppost advert I saw (see below)!

European Tour - Danube - Austria (Linz, Grien)

 Life on the river rather than Ocean wave proved to be a real hit with the rest of the family. E and I had previously embarked on Ocean cruises (albeit of the short and sweet variety to Cairo and Jerusalem from Cyprus) but the somewhat choppy waters of the Mediterranean did not appeal to E but she  and the kids were very happy with the smoother waters of the Danube.

We had selected this  particular cruise as it stopped off at some interesting looking places  along the Danube but also allowed us to indulge in various activities along the way. This included cycle tours which A and I took advantage of including cycling both banks of the Danube and using a small river taxi to cross over, as well as hikes (including one to a vantage point overlooking the horseshoe bend as seen in the photo below as well as visits to various castles and vineyards where we met with some of the local aristocrats and sampled their wines!

Amongst the docking points was the City of Linz in Austria, where Em and I were able to walk through the picture postcard town centre before finding a beer garden to enjoy  some of the local brews and relax with the locals in the balmy evening air.

European Tour: Munich to the Danube

Yesterday’s post was somewhat misleadingly entitled Berlin to Munich but did not say a whole lot about Munich. We only had 4 days in Berlin before the four of us headed to the railway station and caught the express to Munich - it was in fact on the same line as the train I had taken from Hamburg to Berlin to join the family. 

Our time in Munich was even shorter but A and I managed to fit in a bike ride around the City starting in Marienplatz and ending up in the Englischer Garten where we watched the surfers taking on the rapids. I had previously visited Munich interrailing as a teenager many moons ago and marginally more recently to watch Nottingham Forest play Bayern Munich in the European Cup (so still in the 1990s….!) but the main reason we were there was to pick up our boat for a cruise along the Danube (in fact the port was a couple of hours drive out of Munich but it was the closest City).

As the pictures show, in addition to the pagoda and surfing there was plenty for us to see and do around Marienplatz including a visit to Munich Cathedral and Dinner at a fabulously gothic restaurant in the Rathaus.

Our time in Munich came to an end all too quickly as we had to get to the boat before its 5pm departure so after an early lunch we headed to Vilshofen to commence our Danube Cruise. This was our first family holiday on water and this one got off to a great start as we floated past the German countryside in the late afternoon sunshine/early evening moonlight.

The European Tour - Berlin to Munich

I managed to download one photo for yesterday’s post but rather annoyingly I was not able thereafter  to download any other photos. Fortunately, I have now been  able to recreate the magical combination of commands that was successful yesterday so reproduce below some of the photos from our Berlin bike ride including one of the few remaining parts of the Wall, and a fascinating artefact from the Stassi museum - the briefcase in which its former Director Erich Miele kept incriminating documents relating to his erstwhile friend and mentor (and former President of East Germany) Erich Honecker. It seems  they were kept in a briefcase for ease of transportation  - presumably in anticipation of a fall from grace.

Whilst there were many other fascinating insights in the Museum dealing with the various ways in which the East German state kept its population in line with approved social and political behaviours, the contents of the suitcase were not on show.

As noted yesterday, Berlin is very bike friendly and A and I were able to take full advantage of the access the myriad bicycle lanes offered to explore the City including Unten den Linden (Reichstag and Brandenburg gate at one end many public buildings including the national Museum, Berlin Cathederal on Museum Island as one cycled to the other end) and the various parks and public squares.

Berlin still retained nods to its divided passed including a reproduction of CheckPoint Charlie and the behatted man (see above photo) used in Cold War days to signal walk/don’t walk at pedestrian crossings.

It was a truly fascinating place with a real mixture of culture (we saw an excellent exhibition of Frank Halls paintings while we were there),  and not exactly nostalgia but certainly  acknowledgement of its somewhat ambiguous place in European history.

The European Tour - Berlin

 One of the (few) perks of longevity at my place of work is that every now and again you are given the opportunity to take an extended holiday - not very long but certainly long enough to make it a proper break and that is what happened this Summer. As a result I was able to satisfy some long held travel ambitions and post a  day November provides an ideal opportunity to write about it!

We kicked off with some time in Mittleurope with our first port of call a long planned trip to Berlin. I have long been fascinated by the place having studied German history at school and having also watched from afar the upheavals in the 1980s and 1990s most notably the dismantling of the Berlin Wall.

Berlin is however not the easiest place to reach from Dubai so for it was a flight into Hamburg and a train ride to Berlin Hauptbahnhof. E. And and the kids were already in UK so took a direct flight and so we met up in Berlin shortly after the end of the Football European Championships which it had hosted. I do not know if it had been given a facelift in honour of the football but certainly the City was looking in good shape when we arrived  and our stay was marked by warm weather and a very accessible city - relatively few fellow tourists and good weather.

We were staying at a hotel next to Potzdamer Platz  - very handily located for the Brandenburg Gate and for exploring the Tiergarten and over the next couple of days we were able to explore the various museums including the Staatliche Museum Berlin, the DDR Museum and Stasi Museum - all absolutely fascinating..The Hotel was on the Allies side of the B Erwin Wall form the Cold War days but a very short walk from the line of the Wall itself and the Bunkers used by the Nazis during WWII.

 A and I also had a cycle tour around Berlin including Unter den Linden taking in the Cathedral and the Reichstag as well as (the remaining) parts of the Berlin Wall and the various memorials. I was also able yo hire a bike from the hotel and explore what is a very bike friendly City.

Post a day for November 2024

 It’s that time of year and once again I am putting finger to keyboard for the first time in nearly 12 months.

 As recorded elsewhere 2023 was sadly not a great year and my posts for November 2023 were coloured by  my Father passing away earlier that Summer at the age of 90  - still much missed particularly during our  visits to England for Christmas and this Summer. However, after my posting for November last year had finished 2023 had a further sting in its tail as E’s Father Tony suffered a series of falls at the beginning of December and although he was discharged for a short period from hospital, then contracted pneumonia and sadly passed away on 8 December. Very difficult time for E and her Mother.

Tony was a lovely chap and whilst never the most voluble of personalities was a real salt of the earth character who was lovely to chat to and had a wry sense of humour. Although he was 86 and had not been in the best of health, it did nevertheless come as a shock to us all and our trip down to Bristol over last Christmas was certainly tinged with sadness although it was good to see E’s Mother.

2024 has been a great deal most positive as I will hopefully be recording over the next 30 days with academic success for both V and A who are now both at University in UK and a lengthy Summer holiday which involved a trip around the World (!). So it has been all change location wise for the family (except me and the cat) so stand by for further instalments!

Post a month for November 2024

It’s that time of year and once again I am putting finger to keyboard for the first time in nearly 12 months.

 As recorded elsewhere 2023 was sadly not a great year and my posts for November 2023 were coloured by  my Father passing away earlier that Summer at the age of 90  - still much missed particularly during our  visits to England for Christmas and this Summer. However, after my posting for November last year had finished 2023 had a further sting in its tail as E’s Father Tony suffered a series of falls at the beginning of December and although he was discharged for a short period from hospital, then contracted pneumonia and sadly passed away on 8 December. Very difficult time for E and her Mother.

Tony was a lovely chap and whilst never the most voluble of personalities was a real salt of the earth character who was lovely to chat to and had a wry sense of humour. Although he was 86 and had not been in the best of health, it did nevertheless come as a shock to us all and our trip down to Bristol over last Christmas was certainly tinged with sadness although it was good to see E’s Mother.

2024 has been a great deal most positive as I will hopefully be recording over the next 30 days with academic success for both V and A who are now both at University in UK and a lengthy Summer holiday which involved a trip around the World (!). So it has been all change location wise for the family (except me and the cat) so stand by for further instalments!