Arrrgggh!

Since today is international pirate day is seems appropriate to post about the boat/ship part of the cruise on the Danube.

In one of the earlier posts on this series of posts about my river cruise I included a photo that showed how many times this Danube river floods and how high those floods go.  Actually, when booking the cruise, we had heard that sometimes you spend more time being shuttled by bus from town to town because the river is too dry or too high for using the long boats.  It cannot be helped.  We had read that the spring floods were more of an issue, so we booked in the fall and lucked out with gorgeous weather except for the colder rain on our last day in Nuremberg.

These ships are high tech including 110 and 220 outlets, wi-fi for passengers, and a flat screen TV in every room!

Since the Danube has numerous bridges across it, ten built in the last decade, the ship has a wheel house that lowers to go under the older bridges and sometimes the top deck will be closed to passengers if the bridge is deemed too low for safety.  

 

Everything in the photo above, including that wheel house, collapses or lowers down to the level of the railing on the right side of the photo when going under a low bridge.

This cruise also goes several hundred miles through three countries and I am guessing over 40 locks...but I did not count.  Most of them are entered during the evening when we were sleeping.  It took less than 30 minutes to go through most.  Some of the locks rise or lower the ship 100 feet and there is a high wall on each side of the ship during that time.  Lock time must be reserved ahead with the lock master since dozens of passenger and cargo ships go up and down the Danube each day.  Sometimes we had to wait for a ship to go through the lock before us and sometimes it was wide enough for two ships to go through at the same time.

During our cruise there was a strike in Germany by the lock masters.  Technology has made these jobs more obsolete with the trend to have many locks being managed by one lock master via computer.  Therefore, our schedule was bumped up just a little so that we got through the regular locks before the strike.  We were bused back to one of the cities for our day tour as a result of that.

These locks can be a tight fit and yet were rarely felt a bump!  But the piloting did require miniscule movements. 


In the photo below is a boat transferring cargo.  The interesting thing about these is that they are called "family ships" because a family lives on them in the back cabin.  They eat, sleep and work there.  Usually these ships are operated 24 hours for economic reasons.  We were told that the husband does an 8-hour shift, the wife an 8-hour shift and then there is a mate that is hired who lives in the front area of the ship and he/she pulls the third shift. Children are raised on the ship until they are of school age and they are sent to a special school with the children of other families that work on cargo ships.  There is even a 'town' of 'family ships' somewhere on the river which includes a hospital ship and repair ship. etc.  It is like a little water world community.  The children usually follow in their parents footsteps when they become adults starting out as mates.

Well, that is the end of my journey and I have enjoyed reliving it through my blog posts.  Yes, I did enjoy every bit of it and had not a single complaint for the whole time!  Thanks for enduring this memory and am so happy that some of you enjoyed this series.

The Danube Dump

I was perusing my (many) photos and found that there were so many interesting things that I did not discuss here and I can briefly address in the post below.  This post is what I call a photo-dump.  (Plus...just for Mage and other boat/ship fans I have ONE MORE post after this with an interesting history on shipping in the Danube and a few bits and bytes about that.)

Hungary and Budapest itself are primary places for making movies.  I could not get closer to this very interesting architectural building (multiple styles were combined) because they were making an Italian movie.  When the wardrobe lady passed with her plastic bag of Italian shoes, I did have to stare a little.

This driver lost control of these beautiful animals just as I was about to cross in front of him.  The reins had come loose and the animals were not being told where to go.  The jangle of a harness being flung around and hooves being clomped down can be quite breathtaking and attention getting!  

Above is a picture of my shipmates taking photos of the vast vineyards in Germany.  Such wonderful wines they do have!

As most of us know, Germany is taking the lead in renewable energy.  These were HUGE!

The tiny town of Passau, maybe 50,000 people, seemed to have an unusual number of doctors!!

This was the only shop where I was yelled at for taking  a photo...ooops...too late!  Clearly the doctor above is not helping with the stress of some of the folks here.

Food, Glorious Food!

 Only one more post after this on the cruise to make sure I covered a bunch of odds and ends as I promised some readers I would do and then back to my mundane thoughts about life!  I know that my blog readers cannot wait!

Oddly enough I never took photos of the meals while I was eating on this trip.  I totally forget about my camera when food is put in front of me! Those people who take pictures of their breakfast, lunch and dinner need therapy.  Also much of our food was eaten on the boat ship so I usually did not have a camera with me, although it might have been useful in remembering the many names of my mates.  Anyway, just scroll and drool at all the other places and things to eat:

German beer garden.  FRESH PRETZELS!

Really good beer...not too heavy.

Yellow beans that look like Italian flat green beans.

Love the low calorie foods that were found everywhere!

Exotic mushrooms.

Holy paprika and I did bring some home along with Gingerbread!

Setting Sail

I went on a large Disney cruise years ago and the person who coordinated it said it would be wonderful because I would never have to worry about seeing my grandchildren.  She was absolutely correct in that I never saw the kids except at dinner and that made me rather sad.  There was manufactured fun on the ship or lots of sitting around on the ship or exercising on the ship and nothing to see but the ocean for hours.  I disliked the whole experience.  Our stateroom was small with no windows and very crowded since we also had the 'pac and play' for our youngest and tucked her in each evening.  Therefore, I will never go on a cruise with over a thousand people like that again.  Whenever we came into a port we disgorged lots of people and swarmed over stores and restaurants like nasty bees.  We got only one beach day after all the confinement!  There were lots of sticky sweet tropical alcoholic drinks, if that is your cup of tea!

This Viking river cruise was so different in that there were no waves, no manufactured fun (well a little) and the room was just a little more spacious and the groups for tours were much smaller-one bus load.  The views were always interesting as you could see the shore each and every day and most of this part of Europe is not ugly industrial.  The cruise director and all of our guides had a wealth of knowledge about the area and its history and answered our various questions completely when we saw something curious or wonderful.

One of the responders to a prior post voiced concern about how the lower level staff could be treated (mistreated) on a cruise ship.  It is my understanding from the upper level staff that Viking works very hard at keeping good working relations and decent living conditions among all staff.  I do know that the ship interrupted their schedule to stop at a small town to let off one of the lower level staff who had a family emergency, and they provided him with a train ticket to Vienna and a plane ticket home.  Yet, I am sure their living quarters were tight on board ship and I do know they worked very long hours.

We did learn that the Danube can be a ruthless river and the flood this last May left devastation to these lovely old medieval cities all along its coast.  Where our guide is holding his hand is the level of the flood waters of that most recent flood in May of this year in the city of Regensburg, Germany.  All the other dates and marks written on the wall are other floods in this town dating back to the 1500's.  The people do not have flood insurance to cover losses and the government no longer allows them to live on the ground floor.  They may use it only for business.

Perhaps that is why this tattoo parlor on the ground floor is so sparsely furnished?

Most of the architecture away from the river is not as old as it looks.  Many parts of the various cities were rebuilt or restored after fires and wars and are not original...but you would be hard pressed to recognize that restoration except for their clean condition.  They paid great attention to detail creating buildings that looked like the original.  They are proud of their heritage and proud of their link to the past and their part in the history of the world.  But I did get the impression that the Germans were most happy to pause only shortly at WWII sites for tours and quickly move on to the wonderful medieval history that reflects their history so much more fully.  They know that those of us from the new world are most fascinated by this much older history and most depressed by the most recent World War.

There was a small mix-up in the call for the tour guide and this lovely woman in black had left mass (it was Sunday) to come guide us through her hometown of Regensburg.  She appeared to be late until her son, the young man in the photo below this, appeared and said that he had been scheduled for the tour which resulted in the mix up in names.  Honestly ladies, which guide would you rather have??

Just as an aside, our guide's lederhosen belonged to his grandfather and he had just inherited them from him as a gift and was most happy as they were far more comfortable than his newer ones.  He explained that it might take years to break in lederhosen to a comfortable wearing level. His shoes are a traditional Bavarian half shoe.  Isn't he scrumptious even right down to his shoes?

Three Cities

Our first two days after arrival at our hotel and before boarding our ship we relaxed in Budapest, Hungary.  This city a combination of the cities of Buda and Pest and the older community of Obuda.  Much of the city is a World Heritage Site and really, really lovely.  I think it was my favorite city, but we spent most of our time walking and walking and walking there over two days and that might be why.  We felt very safe and did not encounter any situation that made us uncomfortable.

The city is full of professional people:

Poor people who live on recycling:

Striking laborers:

Government employees:

and tourists:

This is not my husband. He would not be caught dead in those jeans or those shoes!.

If we had more time in the remnants of our lives and more money in our bank account and fewer places in the world to still visit we would go back to Budapest for a week and just see it all more closely and eat more of the fabulous food and watch people more.  The strength and patriotism of these people is reflected so well in what they have accomplished after the devastation of recent wars and the evolution following past ancient wars.  First there were the Celts, followed by the Romans, then the Hungarians which were pillaged by the Mongols, followed by 150 years of Ottoman rule eventually to become a capital of the Austro-Hungarian empire (which was no small empire) which then dissolved after WWI and attack by Germany and then Russian rule.  Heroes' Square in Budapest gives just a small clue with statues of various Hungarian leaders across this history.

So much city and so little time!

Booming with the Baby Boomers

 
There will be time to write about the trip itself and all the wonderful things to which we were exposed, but first, I need to write about the culture of these cruises.  We went on what they call a Viking 'long' ship so named as an homage to the real Viking long ships...although this ship was one of the long rivers ships as well.  These trips are very expensive and so only a specific demographic is going to cross that aluminum bridge from foreign soil to the ship.  The passengers are almost all over the age of 60.  A few are very old and even use canes to get around.  One dear soul had recently been diagnosed with terminal cancer and he plowed through each and every day with much aplomb although he needed a wheel chair for most things.  The passengers are all former or current professionals or from successful well-paying careers.  They are mostly Jewish, Catholic, Presbyterian, and Methodist with maybe just a few other beliefs thrown in.  They are liberal, moderate and conservative.  Most are Canadians or British, a few from New Zealand and Australian, and all the rest from all over the world but mostly the United States.

You usually eat breakfast, lunch and dinner on the ship at family style tables in the terrace cafe or the more formal dining room and thus the culture seems to be getting to know as many people as you can.  Most tables in the dining room seat six to eight.  It is not as artificial as it sounds because after such good food and wine that flows like water you find that the things you share with these people are substantial and the differences few.  Grandchildren, aches and pains, interest in the global economy, history of the world and the area in which you are traveling, and personal experiences are the topics of conversation.  I met a forensic scientist/lawyer who wrote a book on how to investigate a bomb explosion, a forestry scientist who saved a forest in Canada, several computer people who invented their own programs, chemists, a dermatologist, a dentist, an engineer on the Alaska pipe line, lawyers, educators, librarians, etc.  They played golf or violins or chess in their spare time. 
 

They were not shy and were leaders in their communities.  They were upper middle class.  This is not a place that I see myself fitting into...but maybe I do?  Many were great at remembering names...but if your name was not Johan, Malcolm, Moira, Barbara, Bill or Sandy (both a male and female were named that last one) I had trouble calling you by name.  Meeting a dozen or so passengers each day is a challenge indeed even though many of us wore name tags part of the day!

The staff that kept the ship clean and kept the wine flowing were mostly from the Philippines.  They worked 8 months on and 4 months off (the last unpaid I think, although Viking paid for their way home).  The professional staff (engineers, chefs, cruise directors, hotel managers) came from the local area: Germany, Austria, Romania, Slovakia, etc and work six weeks on and two off.  They are the most well-trained staff you will ever encounter.  They politely and with genuine permanent smiles put up with forgetfulness, hearing problems, stress over travel and just plan crankiness in people who were adjusting to time changes.  The staff were really wonderful and worth the recommended tip at the end of the cruise.  The food was delicious and fresh if not exactly 4 star.  Serving 190 people three meals a day does not lend itself to high end food. but the desserts and pastries were phenomenal, and they would take back anything you did not like and bring you something else.  'Malcolm's' wife had them take back the filet mignon twice before it was cooked to her non-pink preference.  (I think the Chef was considering slitting his wrists by then, but he overcooked it like shoe leather for her on the final try.)

The cruise director has a full schedule planned for each day.  You can participate in all or none of the activities.  Some tours are more leisurely for the slow walking set.  We participated in everything and even added three optional tours which meant we were exhausted at the end of each day.  They even had evening musicians, dancers, singers and lectures if you could keep your eyes open after dinner or if you were hyper-active.  Needless to say, 80% of us were in bed by 10:00 P.M.

The rooms were small but large enough to sleep in for a week's trip.  We got the cheapest rooms which meant the window was tiny and above our heads unlike all the balcony or french balcony windows on the decks above.  We reached it after a long walk down the hall on the lowest level and it WAS quiet.

 
We could still see out across the water from a window at the top of our wall and determine if we were moving or at dock.  The stability of the ship is so good that most of the time you could only tell movement by the sound of rushing water or the movement of the tree line past the window.  At the end, we did not regret getting the cheaper room because we were on the sundeck or the front lounge or off the ship most of the time.  The only disadvantage is if you wanted scenery without people you had to search for a little corner on the above levels.

This little dog took hubby's book for a read, but did not lose his place.

X-rated photo of hubby taking a shower.

Getting the Old Heart Started

Nothing like pulling together all the documents, papers and schedules for a trip that you thought was departing early Wednesday morning and finding that it departs the evening of the Monday morning that you are pulling out all your stuff and getting organized!

Called cell phone for international access.
Called two visa cards for international access.
Packed (Although I had been 80% packed for a week!)
Charged batteries
Called for plant keeper and lawn mower
Emailed bank for finances for son
Made copies of passports
Watered plants, mowed lawn contacted neighbor's son for help
Tried to find WHERE we had made reservations overnight in Budapest...without luck(!) so made more reservations!!
Stop at bank for a little cash
Head to airport
BREATHE!!

(One would think international travelers such as ourselves were not so amazingly unorganized!)