Panaromic Vienna

Day 6

Panoramic Vienna

---

 DATE:  FRIDAY, JUN 1

 START TIME:  MORNING

 DURATION:  3.5 HOURS

---

---

EASY

SHOPPING AND FREE TIME

SIGHTSEEING

UNESCO

See the magnificent architectural highlights of one of Europe’s most elegant and romantic cultural capitals. The center of arts and intellect during the reign of the Hapsburgs and beyond, Vienna dances to a tempo all its own. You will meet your guide and drive into the city for a half-day coach and walking tour, focusing on the splendid buildings on the remarkable Ringstrasse, the gracious boulevard laid out on the site of the old city walls in the mid-19th century. Imposing palaces, elegant public buildings and grand residences line this world-famous avenue. You will see the magnificent Hofburg Palace, winter residence of the Hapsburgs and home of the Spanish Riding School with its Lipizzaner horses. Admire the great, Gothic St. Stephan’s Cathedral, crowned with a gleaming spire and colorful roof tiles. And view the beautiful Vienna State Opera concert hall, its facade adorned with elaborate frescoes depicting Mozart’s opera The Magic Flute.

Breakfast

The internet here in downtown Vienna is lightning fast, much faster than at home so I am going to take advantage of that fact to show you the breakfast service. You can choose anything from the buffet , have an omelette made special for you or order from the menu and have it brought to you. You can even have champagne with your breakfast.
We are soooo spoiled.

Morning on the Danube

It is 6:09 AM Friday morning and I am having my morning coffee and a blueberry muffin as I sit out on our balcony and enjoy the sunrise.
How amazing is that??

Vienna Austria

Vienna,

Renowned as the "City of Waltzes," Austria's capital city of Vienna is Europe's center of classical music. Strauss and Mozart composed many of their finest pieces here. Vienna's musical history is matched by the elegant, graceful architecture that lines the Ringstrasse, the wide boulevard encircling the Inner City. Baroque, Neo-Renaissance, Gothic-Romanesque and other splendidly styled structures, from the Hofburg Palace to the Vienna State Opera, take the breath away with their grand facades. Vienna has a more intimate side, too: inviting footpaths lead through green parks, and famed Viennese cafés sweeten your stay with coffee and the city's delectable Sachertorte.

76_°F

TEMP

50_%

CHANCE OF RAIN

AVERAGE WEATHER IN JUNE

Central European Time Zone (UTC+01:00)

TIME ZONE

German

LANGUAGE

Euro 
€

CURRENcy

Mozart and Strauss Concert

Mozart & Strauss Concert

---

 DATE:  THURSDAY, MAY 31

 START TIME:  EVENING

 DURATION:  3 HOURS

---

---

EASY

AFTER DARK

SPECIAL INTERESTS

The classical music never stops in Vienna, as you will hear firsthand during this special concert. Even the elegant architecture along the famed Ringstrasse seems to sing. On a daily basis, the city celebrates its long musical tradition with concerts in high-style venues. The Vienna Residence Orchestra is one of its most beloved institutions. Despite its young age (it was founded in 1989), it has hosted luminaries in the classical music world; Rudolf Nureyev was a guest director in 1992. During this special performance, you are sure to lose yourself in the lilting airs of Vienna’s most beloved music. In a historic venue, witness the period come to life as costumed singers and dancers take to the stage. And enjoy the beautiful strains of Strauss waltzes and selections from Mozart’s The Magic Flute—music that has defined this magical city. Then, the magic continues during a scenic drive after dark through an illuminated Vienna.

Thursday May 31st

Well the day has just begun , it is 8:45 and already lots has happened.
I awoke at five o'clock so I guess I am on this time zone. We went to bed at ten so that was not bad.
We will be going through the first of 68 locks this morning. I went to the coffee station and I was too early for the muffins which surprised me. Anyway after Ken got up we decided to go topside and see if we could see the lock approaching. We visited with other passengers, took pictures, got muffins and more coffee.

As we began to move and the lock approached I spoke with an Asian man about the locks and how long it would take to fill. Of course we exchanged information about where we are from and to my surprise and his they are from the Eagle Mountain neighbourhood of Abbotsford. It is indeed a small world.. We had breakfast with Ben and Jane. They have been in Abbotsford since 2008 and they are from Taiwan. It was a great visit and we laughed and exchanged stories for the next hour. By the way they said they thought we were in our middle to late fifties so they will be our new best friends. We exchanged information and made a promise to stay in touch when we get back to Abbotsford. Hopefully we will meet again several times during this cruise.

It was nice to come back to our room to enjoy the balcony. We saw our first palace in Bratislava which is the capital of Slovakia.

 Soon it was time for the safety drill. It is done differently than it is on Princess. Over the PA they sound the emergency signal. Then you are told to put on your PFD and wait. Then you wait until the announcement tell you where to go. We went to the sun deck and reported to a crew member. He checked our name off of a list and when everyone was accounted for we were directed to return to our cabin. There was a detailed safety video and it stated that watching the video was necessary and if you did not watch it your TV would be locked. So you watched the video in your room and the only goal for the drill was to make certain you knew where to go, easy peasy

Next I went to the port lecture. Ken passed on it but I went just in case there was something we needed to know for tonight. Ken continued to enjoy the balcony.

During the port talk the ship passed a light house..... I got a picture.

It also passed another set of  old castle  ruins.... I got another picture.

I picked up a coffee and a cookie to hold us until lunch. More time to relax on the balcony.

At lunch we sat with a gentleman named Dennis. Dennis has sailed with Viking many times and he is from Florida. Ken had a burger and I had what they called a Cuban sandwich. It was great and it came with a few French Fries. The fries were great. You know how I love good fries. There were done to perfection. I will have them again.....afterall tomorrow is June.

We spent a lot of time enjoying the balcony and the Danube. There were several small cottages along the shore and we even saw 2 nude adults enjoying the sunny warm afternoon....I did not get a picture.

 Before we knew it we were in Vienna.


Dinner was early...5:45 because of the concert tonight. Dinner was a German special menu. Ken and I had all 3 of the courses.

We then headed for the buses and the concert.
It was a Mozart and Strauss concert. It was absolutely amazing. There were solos, duets, arias, dancing and of course the wonderful orchestra. We had a wonderful time.

Back to the ship for cookies and the end of a day.
Tomorrow we tour Vienna.

Day 4 , Panaromic Budapest

Day 4

Panoramic Budapest

---

 DATE:  WEDNESDAY, MAY 30

 START TIME:  MORNING

 DURATION:  4 HOURS

---

---

MODERATE

ACTIVE

SHOPPING AND FREE TIME

SIGHTSEEING

UNESCO

Take in one of Europe’s great cultural capitals. Over the last few decades, Budapest has reemerged as one of the continent’s iconic cities, divided by the lilting Danube and connected by the graceful Chain Bridge. Meet your guide at your ship for a panoramic tour, beginning in modern Pest. Along the elegant Andrássy Avenue, the Champs-Élysées of Budapest, admire the Hungarian State Opera House. Stop at Heroes’ Square, a wide-open plaza of monuments and statues commemorating the Magyar state. Across the river, explore the more traditional Buda side of the city. Here you will visit the Castle District with its massive hilltop castle complex, the turreted Fishermen’s Bastion and Matthias Church, named for the country’s most popular medieval king. From the heights of Buda Hill, enjoy fantastic views of the famous Chain Bridge, the first span to ever connect the two halves of the city when it opened in 1849.


We began the day with another amazing breakfast, I had porridge , lots of fresh fruit, French toast ans coffee. But most amazing of all I had champagne with my breakfast. We shared a table with a couple from Mass. Jim and Jennie I think. Anyway they have traveled extensively throughout Canada. The did not do the pre cruise but they do have the post cruise booked.

Just as we walked into the dining room there small news paper summaries. We picked up the one for Canada and the United States.
It was nice to read local news.

We came back to our room and we got ready for our excursion. As usual it was a wonderful new bus. Our guide was absolutely amazing. She was a history major and it certainly showed. Even though the places visited were places we had seen before we learned so much from Wanda.

We got back to the ship just after noon. We were too late for the dining room so we had lunch on the Aquavit terrace. They had a wonderful buffet. One major new item was a carrot and ginger soup. I just have to find that recipe.

After lunch we napped for an hour and then we headed out. We wanted to get some better pictures of the iron shoes. There is a monument which is 60 pair of iron shoes. During the Nazi rule 60 thousand Jews were shot there on the shores of the Danube. They were simply shot and their bodies fell into the river. Each pair of shoes represents a thousand of those unfortunate victims. The presentation is so moving.

Then we walked further and explored the grounds of the parliament buildings. We saw the changing of the guard..I took dozens of pictures. I have no idea what I will do with all of those photos. They will not fit in the photo book.

We walked back slowly. It was so hot and shade was hard to find along the way. Every day has been sunny and hot.

Soon it was time to get ready for dinner. Tonight is the captains welcoming address. We went fairly early so we could choose our seat. They served champagne and I got 2 glasses.

As was and is and will be expected that dinner was great. We sat with Anne and Mike again and we were joined by Linda and Richard from Mississippi.

Currently we are on our way to Vienna. We are expected to arrive there around 5 tomorrow afternoon.