Friday June 1st

We have decided that one excursion a day is all that we will plan. We are at the age and stage that a few hours is all we want each day. We figure that overdoing it any one day will only ruin the next day.  The day went as we expected.

We had the wonderful breakfast I described to you and then we got ready to meet our bus. All went smoothly
So today we had a walking tour of the down town part of the old city of Vienna.. We saw so many wonderful buildings. But it is so hard to remember what building we were looking at. The wonderful medieval architecture with all of its carvings and decorative detail tends to all run together when a person is not accustomed to it.

The highlight was the winter palace of the Hapsburgs. The buildings are amazing. Now several are used for public infrastructure such as libraries and government offices.

We used our audio voice things and our guide was excellent as is usual with Viking we think.
We drove about an hour, walked about and hour and has free time for about an hour.

The crowds were large and this is not yet peak season. Hundreds of people everywhere.

At one point we got a close up look at the Lipizzaner stallions.

We stopped at a cafe and we each had a coke and we shared one piece of chocolate cake. The price was eleven Euros. Things are very expensive in these tourist areas. Perhaps the prices are different in the local areas.

A postcard was priced at one Euro. I bought nothing. I did not see anything I could not live without.

When we returned to the ship two of the crew were waiting to greet us and they had wonderful chocolate truffles for us. we went for lunch. We sat at our usual table and Anne and Mike arrived also. I had cod fish and chips and it was really good. They served it with mushy peas and as soon as I saw the peas I thought of Janet trout. As was the case yesterday there was just a handful of French Fries but they were cooked to perfection.

By now it was time for a nap.

We note that people smoke in public and they smoke everywhere , even in restaurants. That seems so strange to us since that behavior has been banned in Canada for so many years.

Every night the steward leaves us a large bottle of water. To our surprise it is a large glass bottle with a cork. Then as we leave for an excursion they give each of us a plastic bottle of water so drinking water is never a concern.

Once we use any of a bath product another one is left in the room. They have rather large tubes. Normally I collect lots and bring them home for the homeless but with the size of these 15 sets would require another suitcase. I will not be bringing more than a couple of sets home.

We had trouble with our television this afternoon and within minutes the repair man was here to fix it.


Each evening there is a port talk where Sam tells us what the plans are for the next day. It is always 15 minutes before dinner so that means 6:45 tonight since dinner is at seven.

Dinner was good and we enjoyed it. We had to sit alone because our other table mates were elsewhere. After dinner we went to a lecture on Austria. It was very good but I was too sleepy to really enjoy it.

Tomorrow we visit the Abbey in Melk.