Bratislava

 We are in Bratislava, Slovakia. 

     Today’s history lesson on Slovakia:   Slovakia was occupied by Nazi Germany from 1938–45 and was under Soviet domination from 1948 to 1989. On January 1, 1993, Czechoslovakia separated peacefully into two new countries, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. 

   The photos I’ve included are some from St Martin Cathedral. The Cathedral is where the remains of John the Merciful are entombed.  According to our guide, his mummified remains were presented as a gift to a Slovakian Royal as a wedding gift.  Atop the cathedral, instead of a cross, stands a crown signifying the importance of the cathedral as having been a place where many of the Royals had their coronations.  

   This afternoon while Curt and Mary decided to climb the stairs to the Palace, Cathy and I took bikes from the ship and went for a ride up and down the Danube.  As my father would say, it was a way for us to mingle with the pheasants.   

   Also included in the photos below is a photo of a quirky bronze sculpture of Čumil the Sewer Worker peeking up from the manhole.  

   We leave from Vienna tonight at 10:30. 

   Zbohom,

    Ken 

Budapest or BudaBest

Curt had an early run this morning but for the rest of us the morning began with a 7:30 buffet breakfast.  We had wonderful food and wonderful service all in a beautiful room on the ship.  We had a tour of Budapest which was a great combination of walking and bussing with about 20 of our shipmates.  

Highlights on the Pesh side of the city included Hero’s Square, City Park and a stop for chimney cakes and then it was back on the bus as we headed across one of the elaborately decorated bridges to the Buda side of town.  There we had great views from Castle Hill, of Parliament and St. Mathias Church.  We returned to the ship in time for another great meal before heading out on our own to shop for Unicom (a popular Hungarian alcohol drink) and Peprika for the Moores.

I don’t want to weigh this down with Hungarian history but our tour guide today was a very young 47 year old woman.  She spoke from personal experience about how horrible things were while Hungary was under Russian control.  She remembers being one of the school children who marched in the Memorial Parades.  The parades were broadcast back to Russia and other Soviet bloc countries.   It was stressed to the children how important it was for them to smile while they marched.  Communist rule in Hungary did not come to an end until 1989.  

I can’t tell you how much we enjoyed sitting on the beck deck of the ship during our tea and sweet reception this afternoon.   It was followed by a happy hour, watching the crew pull up the anchor as we set sail for Slovakia.   The night included another wonderful four course dinner.  

Egeszsegere (Hungarian for “cheers”)

The Journey Begins

This is a long day.  The drive to Chicago began with a major crash in Green Bay/Bellevue which shut down the interstate so we were rerouted through some side streets.

   We still made it to Chicago in plenty of time.  We are currently in London waiting for our flight to Budapest.  This is truly a long day (days?).  Below is a photo of the four of us in Chicago. Below that is a photo of our ship that I took off the internet.  The cruise line is Avalon and the ship is The View.   

The cruise ship is great.  We are exhausted but wanted to post this.  After being bussed from the airport to the ship, we had a welcome gathering followed by a half hour to unpack, followed by a mandatory safety lecture followed by a four course meal, followed by a trip up and down the Danube allowing us to see Budapest at night.   After seeing the city at night from the river, I understand Kathleen when she questioned Budapest or BudaBEST?

Here are some photos from the tonights cruise up and down the river.  We will be getting off the ship tomorrow morning so we can  see the city in the light of day. 

Yo Estes Kevanok ( I wish for you a good night).

2024 Cruise

 

Cathy and I are going on a river cruise up the Danube.   We will be traveling from East to West from Budapest to Prague which means we will be visiting Hungary, Slovakia, Austria, Germany and finally the Czech Republic.   

We enjoy sharing our vacations and hope to keep this blog updated from September 2nd through the 12th.

If you’re not interested in receiving an email saying we updated the blog, drop me a note and I’ll take your name off the email list.  

The Blaneys and the Moores in Florida a couple of years ago.  

Home

   I wrote this blog entry about 9 days ago when Cathy and I got home and never published it.  After we came home, Kathleen and Erin continued their European adventure by traveling to Scandinavia.  They got home about 10:00 Saturday night after spending time in Denmark, Sweden and Norway.   They were able to meet up with their cousin Patrick, who joined them and a second cousin, Amina Tugan, who is living in Sweden.   They both woke up Sunday morning with slight colds and tested positive for Covid.    
*************
  Cathy and I are home and as you would expect, we are exhausted and grateful.  Exhausted because during our trip home from Lisbon to Green Bay we were awake for 22 hours.  Grateful because all the bad things that could have happened - didn't.  We didn't lose passports, we didn't get lost, we weren't robbed or pick pocketed, we didn't lose anything, we didn't have any health emergencies, all of our room reservations were great, the weather was good (did I mention Seville was 110?), we never had rain and our flights went as well as flights go these days. 
  I joked with the girls that we were leaving just in time.  I was getting ready to grow a man bun, start smoking and I was even starting to refer to soccer as football.   
  People who travel (and I don't count myself among them), always say you have to be able to adapt.  You have to be able to make changes as you go.  Our day trip to Tangier was cancelled because the wind was too strong for the ferry crossing.  We laughed at ourselves because we were so proud that we could adapt - by sitting on a beach for a second day instead of jumping on a tour bus at 5:30 a.m.  Yup, we were real troopers. 
  To be sure, traveling has changed. For one thing, we seem to be dragging our rollerboard bags more than we used to.  Today we had to go through security 3-4 times (significant lines) in Lisbon, then get on a bus, which drove around inside the airport for awhile, crossing at least two runways and then, after waiting to de-bus, climbed the stairs to get on our plane.  When I got to the top of the walk way I wanted to turn around and do my best Nixon-like wave but it didn't seem appropriate.  When we got to Newark, we had to go through customs, leave the security area, get on a tram which brought us to a bus, go through security then run to our gate because our departure from Lisbon had been delayed, only to find that the last leg of our trip to Chicago had also been delayed.  This is travel in 2023.
  Was it worth it?  YES!  It was truly a wonderful trip.  The sights, the food, the company.  Thanks for letting us share it with you.   Obrigado.

Last Day in Lisbon

  Today is our last day in Lisbon.  It is truly another city with which we have fallen in love.  
  The day started with a walk to Pink Street.  It had been an area frequented by international sailors and it was Lisbon's red light district.  Now it has been gentrified and features cafe's, restaurants and numerous bars.  
  We had a meal at the Time Out Market.  The place is very much like Milwaukee's Public Market.  There were countless food vendors.  The food was wonderful as was the atmosphere. 
   Afterward we made our way up to the top of the city.  The views from atop the city were amazing.  We got some good photos but I don't thing they do it justice.  We walked down to the main city through many, very narrow, very steep cobblestone roads and stairs.  We were never very sure where we were but we knew we were heading down.   
  When we finally got down we took a cab to the Elevador Santa Justa.  It was created by a colleague of Eiffel (of The Eiffel Tower fame).  The elevator took us from the street level up 150 feet to Barrio Alto, a different district of the city.      
  Today was a walk/stroll day.  This afternoon we walked some of the plazas and headed home to regroup and start packing.  
  We had our last dinner together at yet another outdoor cafe nearby.  Virtually all of our meals have been eaten outside except a dinner in Seville when the temperature was 110 degrees. 
  Tomorrow we all head to the airport.  Cathy and I are heading home while Erin and Kathleen head to Scandinavia but tonight we finished our visit with a final class of Port.

                   Lisbon as seen from above
 

       The Castle of St George high above the city

                    View from above the city

             One of the many hills we walked down

              A street view from a hole in the castle wall

                          Time Out Market

                              Pink Street

                          What a great trip!

Lisbon with Anthony & Austin

 We spent a lovely day In Lisbon today.  We started the day by rendezvousing with our nephew (cousin) Anthony.  We got on a Hop-On Hop-Off tour of the city.  It allowed us to see a lot of things that are not in our neighborhood.  The tour included a stop at the Belem Tower.  It has stood in the Lisbon Harbor for centuries.  As we regrouped under a shade tree with a bottle of water we ran into Anthony's cousin and travel companion, strictly by coincidence.   Austin and Anthony had split up for the day as Austin was meeting a freind.  When the meeting fell through he went to Belem Tower and by happenstance he ran into us! The boys are on a 5 week trip through Europe and we were very glad our travel plans aligned! 
  Our bus tour included:  Avenue da Liberdade (NYC 5th Ave.), the Basilica de Estrela and The Belem Palace.  The tour also included a harbor tour where we got better looks of the Cristo Rei statue and the Lisbon (25th of April) Bridge. 
  Tired from our touring we spent some time at a Portuguese wine tasting spot.  The stop came as a chance to regroup, catch up with Anthony and get to know Austin.  Both are great guys.
  We retraced some of the plazas we had seen last night and stopped at a hole-n-the-wall place for a ginjinha tasting.  It's a well known drink in Lisbon and tastes a lot like cheery bounce and is served in a shot glass.  
   We had another great dinner followed by gelato.  We said good-bye to the guys and headed back to our temporary home here in Lisbon.   

San Jeroninos Monastary

(Note the line)

        Erin, Anthony and Kathleen at Belem Tower

                              Lisbon Bridge

                Cristo Rei overlooking the harbor

             Great day with Austin and Anthony