Farewell Lucerne

 Before we left Lucerne we took in a Swiss Folk Dinner Show.  The dinner included Swiss Fondu.  The show included yodeling, the singing of Edelweiss, the harmonizing of three alpen horns and a guy who played music using partially filled bottles.  There are four 10 second videos that are attached.  

Early Tuesday had us up and out of our hotel and heading to Mount Stansahorn.  The weather did not cooperative.  At an elevation of 6200 feet we were surrounded by fog during our 35 minute hike up to the summit.  Breaking only briefly.  Even though the weather was not good it was an experience I’ve never had before and will probably never have again. 

We had a 1.5 hour ride from the mountain to Huningue, a French suburb of the Swiss city of Basel and embarked on our Avalon ship, The View.  The bus we were in was the bus used by the Swiss Women’s Soccer team and was painted as such causing a number of cars to drive by, honk and wave.  During the ride our tour guide told us a little more about Switzerland.  58% of all Swiss residents are renters.  She also said that they are a true democracy and have national votes four times per year.   Switzerland is not part of the European Union.  

Tuesday afternoon we still had time to walk across the Tri-Country bridge linking Germany and France and is about 100 yards from Switzerland.

Lucerne days 1 & 2

 We arrived in Lucerne, Switzerland .

We landed in Zurich Sunday morning at about 7:30 am Local time.  All went very well.  We even landed a little early but I gotta say staying up for 30 hours or more can be a killer. 

We had a very full day to look around Lucerne on our own.  We made it to Mass at the Jesuit church by 10:00 am (all in German).  We also spent some time on Chapel Bridge, took a boat cruise around Lake Lucerne before having dinner near our hotel.  We saw the tower constructed in the river which was used as a prison and a place of torture.  

On Monday we took a guided walking tour of the city which included many of the things we saw on Sunday.  We added a trip to the Hoff Church (St. Leodager) and the Lion Memorial.  The lion memorial is carved into a nearby mountain and is a tribute to the 500,000 mercenaries who left to fight for other royal families.  Only 40% of the mercenaries returned home.  We learned that supplying mercenaries was a very lucrative business for Switzerland.   

We also learned that Switzerland is the 3rd most expensive country in the world in which to live behind Singapore and Norway.

There are 120 public fountains in Lucerne and all of them supply drinkable water.  

I’m having a problem connecting my phone to the internet but I’ll try to put some photos here.   

Tower used for prisoners and torture

Lion Memorial 

(Ken, Curt, Cathy, Mary, Mike & Suzanne)

Mass at the Jesuit Church 

Chapel Bridge

Jesuit church

Potable water in 120 fountains

Cruising The Rhine

Hello.  Cathy and I are joining our friends, Curt and Mary Moore and Mike and Suzanne Winkler for a cruise on the “Romantic Rhine”.  We will be traveling from Sept. 6th to the 16th.  We will spend two days in Lucerne, Switzerland before heading North. The Cruise ends in Amsterdam.  

Wrapping things up

 We are home but there were just a couple of items I had not included in previous posts that I’d like to mention.  

As we were sailing out of Budapest we passed the “Shoes Memorial”.  There are 70 pairs of steel shoes permanently affixed to the riverbank representing the 70 Jews who were shot and whose bodies fell into the river.  While we only saw it as we sailed by, it was a moving memorial.  

As yet another expression of my ignorance, I never gave much thought just how recently the communists pulled out of this region and really how bad things were for the people who lived here.  

This summer/fall has set records for warm temperatures in this area.  Most days were in the 80 and 90s and it’s been very dry.  

The cruise line we took was Avalon.  There were only 166 guests on our ship.  The boat was tremendously clean.  The excursions were wonderful.  I never thought the meals would be the events that they were.  When we would re-board the ship from a shore excursion, members of the crew would welcome us back with a small glass of something refreshing to drink and a cool towel.  Everything was precisely on time.  As we would get off the bus at a tour site the local tour guide would remind us that we did not have to return to the ship with the group. If we wanted to stay in the area and get back to the ship on our own that was ok.  We did not have to notify him/her of our intention to stay but the bus would be leaving at 4:35.  That was the guides way of saying if you’re not here by 4:35, too bad for you.  We always left exactly on time and to my knowledge we never lost a passenger. 

In Austria, after proper preparation, all the 14 year olds visit a Nazi camp.  Most of the guides had a version of “It’s a very dark part of our history, but it’s our history”.   We would also sometimes hear a version of, “here you can see a newer building surrounded by very old buildings.  A bomb destroyed the area where the newer building is”.

We went through a series of locks (7-12?) on our trip which were interesting.  As we sailed past small communities we would sometimes pass smaller ferry boats that would shuttle people across the river.  Who knew ferries still existed for river crossings?

This was our first time taking an organized tour in a foreign country.  Everything was arranged for us, walking tours, meals, transfer to/from the airport, guides and hotels.  It was really very simple for us.  However, even though there is a little free time built into the day, there is not much interaction with locals.  As for a language barrier, while guides may have appreciated the occasional “thank you” in their native language (or perhaps were just amused by the attempt), speaking only English was never a problem. 

Cathy and I have not travelled much with friends but we could not have found better people with whom to travel than Curt and Mary.  

Shoes Memorial

Ferry crossing the Danube

Ken,  Mary, Curt and Cathy

Prague

Wednesday was our last day of touring and I think we made the most of it.  

After breakfast at our hotel we boarded our bus for a grand tour of Prague.  A highlight was our trip to the castle.  The history was interesting, the guide was especially engaging, the views of the city were spectacular and it was different from other stops as the castle is still used for government offices, hence a significant police and military presence.   

The castle itself is huge and is adjacent to St. Vitus Cathedral.  The main gate (in my opinion) was not very welcoming (see photo below).  I also found it extremely interesting that there was a huge Ukrainian flag flying at the entrance.  The guide explained that they too had been occupied by Russians so the Czech people are more empathetic than perhaps the US.   Most of the country’s energy had come from Russia which they have now stopped importing with significant impact to individual citizens.  

We finished the tour at the astronomical clock in the old town square.  From there we were on our own so we headed to the Charles bridge .  It’s a pedestrian bridge highly decorated with elaborate Catholic statuary.  

Using trip advisor, Curt found a great place for lunch.  It was small, very good food and very inexpensive.

After lunch we made the decision to hike to Strahov Monastary, the main Abbey of the Norbertine Order.  It may have been only a mile or so to get there but the elevation was significant.  You can see the from the photo I took from the Priests’ private garden how high it is as it looks over the city.    

We went to the ticket booth and told them we wished to see the tomb of St. Norbert only to find that the side chapel where his remains rest, was not open for tours.  Expressing my disappointment and explaining our connection with the Norbertine Order (Premontre, Curt and SNC, friends of the Norbertines etc) she called Fr. Max who told me he or someone else would meet us at the gate to bring us to the chapel.  

   When Sister Aquinas showed up she was dressed in Norbertine White from Veil to shoes.  She explained that the DePere Abbey was very dear to her heart as she had lived there for four months, learning English.  We had many common friends, Conrad, Tim, John Bostwick, John Kastenholtz, Abbot Dane etc.  She not only showed us the church, the side chapel where St. Norbert’s remains are kept and the art gallery but she was unlocking and relocking doors for us all through the monastery.  Pictured below is a photo of the city, taken from the priest’s private prayer garden.  Next to the garden is the statue of Mary, titled “Mary in exile” which was brought to the Monastery from Chicago.  

   For some reason I was surprised to learn that the communists took over the Abbey during the Russian occupation.   Prague is a beautiful city that for the most part was physically saved from destruction of the war.  

   That night we attended an authentic traditional Czech dinner with folk singers and folk dancers and it was a hoot.  It was an optional tour which we had reluctantly signed up and paid for.  However, we ate, we drank beer, we drank wine which was poured in an unusual way, we danced, we laughed and we re-boarded our bus and headed to the hotel. 

   Zbohom (Good bye) Prague

 

St. Vitas Cathedral in the Castle complex

Ukranian Flag

Main gate of Prague Castle.  Stab or clubbed? 

St. Charles Bridge 

One of many statues on the bridge 

First view of Strahov Monastery

Tomb of St. Norbert (above the altar)

View of Prague from the Priest’s private garden

Our Lady in Exile 

How wine was poured

Czech dinner

Regensburg and Prague

 This morning we woke up at our very last port on the Danube, Vilshofen, Germany. After putting our bags outside our door by 7:00 am, we had breakfast and we were on our bus for an 8:00 am trip to Regensburg via the famous German Autobahn.  During our drive our guide pointed some of the May poles that some of the smaller towns an villages still decorate and use.  

The city of Regensburg counts Pope Benedict as one of their own. The old town area of Regensburg has cobblestone roads, a very nice bakery, cute shops and ……. A Cathedral.   The cathedral is St Peter’s.  It took over 250 years to build and while it is still an active Catholic Church, it is owned and is being renovated by the German Government.  

    After our lunch which consisted of 6 sausages, sauerkraut, bread and beer we reboarded our bus and we were off to the Czech Republic.  

   Prague and the Czech Republic was under Communist rule until 1989.  We got to our hotel (The Marriot) with just enough time to quickly unpack and take a short walk to the old town Square for dinner.  The outdoor cafe at which we ate was directly across for the astronomical tower clock that has been in operation since the early 15 century.  

   Tomorrow we taking a walking/bus tour of the city and hope to check out the Norbertine Abbey, Strahov Monastery during our free time in the afternoon.

Astronomical Clock in Prague

Old town square in Prague

Passau, Germany

Sadly, our time on the Danube is coming to an end.  Last night we had a five course farewell dinner.  It is normal to send an hour and a half to two hours eating dinner.  After dinner we joined some of shipmates for entertainment and dancing in the lounge.  

Today was another travel day.  It was cool and rained early on but it was a good morning to be on the ship and a good time to be outside as we went through the lock.

 In the afternoon we took a walking tour of Passau and you know what?   It has a Cathedral!  It’s very beautiful and is named St Stephen. 

Our visit into Passau ended successfully as we were victorious in finding some Lebkuchen (gingerbread) for Curt.  

Our success continued after our four course dinner when we went to the lounge just in time to play a trivia contest based on knowledge of 26 countries starting with the letters A-Z.  With the help of two other cruise passengers, we won the contest, a bottle of champagne and some Avalon hats!

St. Stephen Cathedral 

 

Altar of St. Stephen Cathedral 

depicting the stoning of St. Stephen

Curt, Mary, Simona (AKA “Julie”), Cathy and Ken

Avalon Trivia Winners