Today we arrived in Bratislava. After breakfast we visited the castle and the town.
After lunch back on the boat we were treated to a fascinating talk by one of our fellow passengers – Colonel Piers Storie-Pugh – about his father’s experiences in Colditz.
After the talk we went up on the sun deck to watch as our boat went through the Gabcikovo Lock.
Today we visited Vienna. We had a coach tour followed by a walking tour. The architecture is amazing. Everywhere you look there are stunning buildings.
St Stephen’s Cathedral
The Plague Column erected in 1679 after the Great Plague epidemic.
After returning to the ship for lunch Andy borrowed an electric bike and went for a 15 mile bike ride along the river while I relaxed.
Our German chef treated us to a demonstration of strudel making which was delicious!
After dinner tonight we will be joined by musicians from the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra for a private recital.
Today we visited Melk and its 11th century Benedictine Abbey.
During a BBQ lunch on the top deck we cruised along the Wachau Valley.
We docked at Durnstein before setting off to Vienna in the evening.
Andy chose to climb up to the ruined castle in 30° heat!
We travelled by air conditioned coach into the Austrian Lakes as our ship travelled further along the Danube to Linz.
We visited the church that had been used in The Sound of Music, in Mondsee. Then travelled to Hallstadt. The scenery was amazing. It was 32° when we ventured out of our comfortable coach. We needed another beer!
Today we travelled by coach to Regensburg. We could not travel by ship because river levels are too low.
We had a walking tour of the town. It is a medieval town with the oldest stone Bridge still in use in Germany.
It was very hot. We had to visit a Biergarten to cool down.
We flew from Heathrow to Munich this morning to begin our cruise along the Danube with Great Rail Journeys.
We were met at the airport and taken by comfortable, air conditioned coach to Passau where our ship Amadeus Silver III was waiting.
We had time to explore Passau before the ship departed.
We visited Estonia with friends Kim and Steve, whose daughter, Emily, lives there. We flew to Tallinn and spent three days there before hiring a car and driving to Tartu for the remainder of the holiday. We went in October and the autumn colours were beautiful. We stayed in an Airbnb apartment which was comfortable and central (and close to Emily’s apartment).
Estonia is an interesting country with very varied architecture and lots of lakes and forests. Highlights for us were watching Emily perform in the ballet ‘Lageda Laulud’, following the ‘Onion Trail’ along Peipsii Lake and visiting the Estonian National Museum.
