Innsbruck 31 May

Started off early in the morning to catch the Nordkettenbahn which starts off as a very modern funicular railway right from the centre of town rising through tunnels and onto the mountain from a height of 560m to 860m then transferring to a cable car which takes it to 1905m and then to anor cable car to the top at a height of 2256 which is a rise overall of 1700m or over 1.7kilometers.  This gives a fabulous view over the city and surrounding mountains.  The funicular railway was an amazing piece of engineering designed by an Iraq architect. Her name is Zaha Hadid . She also designed the ski jump for the olympics.  We had a very early start first train and met up with a lovely couple from Chennai who were travelling,  pleasure and education the gentleman said, when we looked down from the top, the river looked live a necklace encircling the city and that is exactly what it did look like.  When were at the top we met up with a flock of mountain sheep with their bells on, extremely friendly came very close to us to say hello.  The couple we met then came down the hill with us they went their way and we went ours. Lovely morning . 

Sam and I then headed off to The Innsbruck Hofburg (The Imperial Palace) it was one of the three most imoportant of the Hapsburg residences and one of the most prominent buildings in Austria and the Alpine Region.  It had its origins in the 14^th century , and achieved its present size under Emperor MAXIMILIAN 1.  Maria Theresa  a very powerful  Hapsburg woman and the mother of Marie Antionette (her 16^th child) gave the palace its Baroque look.  A major restoration took place for the 2010 reopening, a most unbelievable morning. 

We then had to race off to the Bell Foundry where they have been making church bells since 1599 truly amazing.  We then rushed back to see The Golden Roof Collection.  Now this was truly mind blowing  took us about 2 hours to get  through but well worth it. Everywhere we went today we were almost on our own, don’t know where all the tourists were.  Also it was all such good value for money.  Sam said he had brain freeze half way thru and that if I took him to anor museum  or palace or church it was curtains for us.  I said I would have loved to have had 7 days here, he that would have been OK he would have  slept for the other  5 and I could have gone out on my own.  Poor chap. However I am in love with Innsbruck, Sam is over it.  We have just been home got our blog started been out for dinner across the way and  finishing the blog will  answer any emails and then tomorrow we are off to Chur.  Apparently  there is not too much there so he can rest up.  All the best Love Sam and Sabine   XXXX

Innsbruck 30 May

Hello to all

I am starting this again , just lost the last one so have transferred into Word to do it and will send over late.  We arrived in Innsbruck at about midday after a lovely journey from Salzburg.  The train was a pleasure to travel on as were both the stations.  Salzburg is undergoing major structural renovation, with all manner of things everywhere but nonetheless easy to negotiate.  There are lifts from each platform and then again onto the street so this makes a major difference to your travel.  The journey itself was like a continuing postcard very beautiful.  Innsbruck station is lovely just been renovated so very easy as well. 

We caught a cab to our hotel poor fellow don’t know how he makes a living with what he charged us so I made sure Sam gave him extra.  Our hotel is called Weisses Kreuz built in 1465. The young Mozart stayed here with his father on December 15 1769.  The staff are lovely very helpful.  We set out to have a look at the old town and then came back and organised ourselves an Innsbruck card each.  We set off again caught the tourist bus to familiarise  ourselves and we got off at the Ambras Castle, we were the only people there about 4 guards the most amazing exhibits I am totally blown away that you can just see these unbelievable pieces of art etc and it is just sitting there.  We headed off to catch our bus met up with a couple from Darwin said goodbye to them and than ran into the lady in the lift of our hotel later that evening, we did laugh.  We headed home then went out for dinner we were pretty tired so literally went across the tiny street as we knew we had a quite a day planned for the next day. 

Salzburg 29 May

Early start this morning as we booked ourselves onto a Sound of Music tour which visited all the locations where the movie was made, the tour started at 9.30 and finished at 1.30.  The tours are so popular there were three busloads of people, and on our bus I reckon there was hardly anyone who was even born when the movie was made, but they all knew the various scenes and locations we visited.There was another couple from Melbourne on our bus. Once again the scenery was stunning and you could see why all the outdoor scenes in the movie were filmed in and around Salzburg. On our return to Salzburg we visited the Mirabell Gardens which also featured in the movie, then wallked back into the old town where there was a large craft type market along the river.  Being Sunday there were no shops open except for souvernir shops (of course) and bars.  Even at night it was hard to find somewhere to eat but we found a nice pizza restaurant where we had a couple of pizzas and beers which went down well. On our way home we ran into some Aussies from Brisbane and Adelaide who are heading towards Budapest to go on a river cruise to Prague. We got some laundry done at the hotel so poor Sabine is now busy ironing so she can pack ready for us to leave in the morning as we head off to Innsbruck, which is a couple of hours on the train.  Weather is warming up again, tomorrow's forecast is 29 degrees.

Salzburg 28 May

Hello to all
It is Saturday we have had brekky and organised ourselves out of our hotel in Venice to catch our bus to Vallich which is about 3 and half hours from Venice.  We were fortunate the bus station was just across from our hotel only a few stairs and one bridge.  Quite pretty drive and we arrived at Vallich Railway Station at 12.50 pm and our train to Salzburg was due to leave at 1.16 so not a lot of time but no stairs to contend with and lifts to each platform so that makes a huge difference.  Set off at 1.16 what a beautiful journey picture postcard the entire way.  We had a lovely lady in our compartment and we were so overawed by the beauty she was reading originally (a regular user of this train) she actually sat back and enjoyed the vista herself we communicated in our different languages. We went right up the mountains and when we came out of a tunnel there was snow everywhere really lovely just like being back iun Canada so that was a big surprise.  She got off at her station to connect to anor train and we continued on to Salzburg just beauty the whole way.  Good station as well despite all the major work being done no stairs and lifts Sam left me with the luggage while he did a scout around to find our hotel only a short distance so he came back and off we set took about 8 minutes we were settled by 5.00 as we had arrived in just after 4.00 then we went out what a lovely place clean you could easily spend a week or so here.  We had dinner at a lovely place and then wandered home.  I have just done the most challenging job of the holiday I have coloured my hair (without making a huge mess over the bathroom).   I went to have it done yesterday afternoon in Venice and through a fellow (English/Italian speaking) who had come into the salon the hairdresser worked out I wanted a colour but of course he wanted to cut it too we got it thru no cut but he said he had to charge for colour and cut in the end I said don't worry. I am never brave enough to have a strange person cut my hair.  Tomorrow we are going to the Sound of Music Tour starting at 9.30 it is 4 hours and then hopefully the shops will still be open as I need to get a few things.  Then off again on Monday morning to Innsbruck.  No rest for the wicked.  Sam and Sabine  -  P S My ankle is on the improve a day of rest travellling was good for it.  

Venice 27 May

Sabine is still having problems with her ankle but her bandage is doing a good job, so we set off again shortly after breakfast and headed towards St Marks Square but we went a different route this time, a bit less touristly and commercialised and came across a few more public plazas.  However when we got to St Mark's Square it was even busier than yesterday so we continued on with our museum tour we started yesterday, but there is so much to take in it does your mind.  After our museum visit we slowly wended our way back to our hotel, stopping for a bite to eat and sitting in one of the plazas to eat it. By the time we got home we were both tired so it was time for a nana nap again, after which we again went for a gentle amble and had an ice cream each.  Tomorrow we head to Salzburg but we first have to go by bus from Venice to Villach, just over the border into Austria, then catch a train to Salzburg.  Luckily the bus station is very close to our hotel, we only have to cross one canal to get there.

Florence to Venice 26 May

We had a lovely dinner with Sue and Graeme last night, it was good to see familiar faces and have a good natter.  After dinner we wandered through the streets, it was a beautiful warm night, and Sue bought herself an ice cream.  The rest of us were so full from dinner we couldn't fit one in.  Sabine and I thought Florence was a very nice city, full of style and character.  My friend Peter Hornidge summed it up as having a casual Italian atmosphere with its broken paving, broken kerbs, pick pocketers, parking in squares or wherever you like, outdoor cafes with no regulations, general lack of maintenance, great leather market, great architecture and paintings and sculpture. He was spot on. I thought the women in Florence were gorgeous (Sam speaking!), way nicer than Paris. This morning caught the train to Venice, a lovely train, probably the best we have been on this trip.  Our hotel was not too far from the station but we had to cross a couple of bridges so we were quite hot by the time we got here.  Luckily our room was ready even though it was only about mid-day.  After a bit of a breather and a rest for Sabine's ankle (which is still very swollen and very painful) we headed off to see the sights including the Rialto Bridge and St Mark's Square.  On Graeme's advice we bought a ticket to cover several museums in St Mark's Square and started off with the Doges Palace which is the former seat of government of Venice.  The whole place was fantastic and took your breath away. We will do the other museums tomorrow.  The weather is very warm and knocks you out a bit.  Sabine and I will now head off for a bite to eat.

Florence 25 May

Sabine woke this morning with her ankle still pretty sore but re-did the bandage and felt she would be OK to head out.  Our first stop after breakfast was the cathedral where there was quite a queue so I joined the queue while Sabine sat down until we got close to the entrance, probably took the best part of 30 minutes.  Very impressive inside like most churches in Italy. When we came out we ran into a couple from Adelaide who we first met in Ventimiglia when we encountered the train strike.  They told us the queues for the Uffizi Gallary and the Academy Gallery were very long so we decided to give them a miss. Went and visited another amazing church near the station (Santa Maria Novella, same name as the station) and then went through town and crossed the river to the Palazzo Pitti where we visited a silver and porcelain museum and a costume gallery, we were there about two hours, there was a lot of interesting things to see.  When we left there the queue to get in was very long (it was nothing when we went in) so that was luck. When we were in the museum we got a text from our friends Sue and Graeme who had just arrived in Florence so we called in to see them in their apartment and had a good catch up. They are only 5 to ten minutes walk from our hotel so we came back to freshen up and we are all going out to dinner soon.  Tomorrow morning we are off to Venice.

Florence 24 May

Our train trip from La Spezia to Florence was pretty uneventful, apart from the usual hassles of getting luggage on and off trains and finding somewhere to put it.  We got off the train in Florence and as we were walking from the platform into the main part of the station Sabine, for some reason, maybe it was the heat, fell flat on her face and could not move for a while.  She managed to get up and into the building but she was pretty shaken up so she sat on the floor for a while.  She has a badly twisted ankle and bruises on her knee and arm but luckily does not seem to have broken anything. Our hotel is only about 100m from the station so she managed to limp there, buying a bandage at a chemist on the way which she wrapped around her ankle as soon as we got to our room.  When we got to the hotel there seemed to be some confusion with our booking, I think they only had us down for one night instead of two, however they have put us into an apartment in the hotel which is good except it is two level and Sabine cannot get up or down the stairs.  Luckily there are beds on the ground floor too so we stayed there.  In the afternoon I went for a wander around while Sabine stayed in bed, very busy place, weather was pretty warm (about 32 degrees) but it seemed  a nice place with wall to wall shops.  Later in the afternoon Sabine managed to recover enough to do a bit of a walk round, we looked at the cathedral, a couple of other churches, the Ponte Vecchia, and some other sights, before slowly wending our way back home.  Sabine was pretty tired by then so that was our day.

23 May Ventimiglia to La Spezia

After a very comfortable night in our "emergency" hotel in Ventimiglia we breakfasted early and set off at about 7.30am for the station with a bit of trepidation hoping that the trains were running again.  They were and wecaught the train we planned to La Spezia.  It was only a local train and stopped at about every station so the whole trip was ove 5 hours but at least we did not have to change trains on the way.  At some stages the train got very busy so our luggage was a bit of a nuisance but we got there OK.  The hotel was literally a one minute walk from the station, our room was not ready so we dumped our stuff at the hotel, and the concierge gave us a timetable for the trains to Cinque Terre so we headed off straight away.  At the station we ran into some Aussies from Perth who were caught like us in Ventimiglia but they tried to get here on buses, it took them 21 hours and many changes of transport!  I am glad we did not try that.  We took the train to Monterosso which is the most northerly village of Cinque Terra, had a bit of a look round, then took a boat ride which then sailed back down the coast to each of the other villages.  Very spectacular scenery, and we got off at Riomaggiore, had a wander round and then caught a train back to La Spezia.  We will head off soon to find somewhere to eat and then get ready to travel to Florence tomorrow, it's only about two hours away.

Sunday 22nd May 2011 - Ventimiglia

Hello to all

Life is a funny thing really, one never knows what a day will bring. We all have expectations and imaginings I do not think they ever turn out as we think they will.  We set off today from Nice up early packed we were going to catch the 9.53 train to Ventimiglia and then onward from there as we were to end up in La Spezia late this afternoon, we had a few train changes so it would have been quite a day.  Anyway we were organised early so caught the 8.23 train and when we arrived in Ventimiglia we saw many cancellations for the day on the board.  Other travellers as confused as us, met a couple fromAdelaide going the same direction as us and had left Aust on the 19th April same as us, anyway to cut a long story short there was a train strike on today in Italy.  What to do, first of all it was going to be a 24 hr one so "Sam" set out to find a hotel which he did we walked down booked in really comfortable we were settled in by 10.30 went for a walk along the beach then up to the cathedral where there was a Mass on and then there was to be a wedding at 12.00 so we hung around watched proceedings which was really lovely the groom was obviously a policeman so all dressed in his beautiful uniform and a guard of honour etc the bride came by horse and carriage the cathedral was very very old but amazing so quite an experience really.  We then wandered back  to our hotel did a few messages etc went for anor walk just happened to walk by the wedding reception poor couple we were not following them.  We have just emailed Sue and Graeme as they were travelling from Milan to Venice so they will have met with the same fate as us.  We will go out and have some dinner soon, have emailed ourhotel in La Spezia and we hope to catch the 7.48 train tomorrow morning so we get there intime to go to Cinque Terre, so all in all a very lovely day despite the strike.  I will finish this when we get back just in case anything exciting happens. Just come home from having dinner we found a little restaurant that ws actually open, they apologised as they did not do their a la carte menu until later in the evening so made us a couple of lovely pizzas and we had a few beers as well. At the next table there were four refugee train strike Aussies doing the same as ourselves.  All in all a lovely day and we shall set off all beingwell tomorrow morning.  All the best Sam and Sabine 

Nice 21 May

We walked to the station to head off to Monaco to check it out.  Tried to buy tickets from a machine but it did not work for some reason so had to queue for tickets for a while but still caught the train we planned.  The journey was less than half an hour and travelled along some stunning coastline.  We arrived in Monaco only to find the place was getting ready for the Grand Prix next week and it was full of scaffolding, barricades, detours etc so we could see very little.  We bought an icecream and caught the next train out of there and stopped at one of the beautiful places we had seen on the way.  We got off the train at a place called Eze Sur Mer and went and sat on the beach for an hour or so, it was just magnificent and the water looked so blue.  We returned to the station for the next train back to Nice, then had a nana nap in the hotel before wandering back down to the beachfront promenade in the beautiful clear sun and sat watching the world go by for a while before we went for something to eat, another lovely meal.  Off to La Spezia in the moning.

Paris to Nice 20 May

Caught a taxi to Gare de Lyon for the next stage of our journey, our train trip to Nice.  We caught the fast train, the TGV, which is capable of 320 km/h, and within three hours we were on the south coast of France, but then almost another three hours to Nice as the train had to go much slower on the busier lines.  The train itself was very comfortable and the journey did not seem long at all.  The weather was beautiful when we arrived in Nice, we got to our hotel OK and then went for a walk along the beach promenade and then sat for a while watching the lovely blue Mediterranean Sea.  We then had a lovely meal in a local restaurant and now am catching up with the blog.  Tomorrow we will head to Monaco for the morning and then probably back here for a bit of time on the beach (although there is no sand, only big pebbles, hard on the feet).

Paris 19 May

Today we started off visiting the Chateau de Vincennes which was near our local station and easy to walk to.  The Chateau was started by King John II who initiated the building of a keep as a royal residence around 1350 and which was finished by his son in 1370.  The keep is 50 metres high and is the tallest medieval keep in France.  A protective wall about 1100 metres long with nine towers and a moat were then constructed around the keep, and it was here that the kings of France resided and ruled.  Also within the walls a holy chapel was built staring in 1379 and based on Sainte-Chapelle in Paris and bearing the same name.  In our view it was better than the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris, with beautiful stained glass windows which stood for centuries until a big storm in 1999 destroyed a lot of the windows.  The keep itself eventually became a prison for enemies of the king or for dissidents and heretics.  One of many famous prisoners was the Marquis de Sade.  The whole complex was the subject of restoration started after WWII which is still on-going, the keep itself was closed for 12 years.  The whole place was fascinating and we stayed there around two hours.  Then we headed of the Gare de Lyon where I had to arrange all our train reservations for the rest of our journey around Europe.  That took about an hour but hopefully has all been done now.  After that it was off to the Galleries Lafayette where Sabine wanted to pick up a few things to bring home.

After that it was off to the Pantheon which took a little while to find, this is a massive church which commenced construction in 1755 with ambitions to outdo the church of St Peter in Rome, it probably comes close.  However as soon as it was finished it was turned into a national Pantheon and became the final resting place for various great men and women of France including Joan of Arc, Voltaire, Victor Hugo and the like.  Again a fascinating place. It also had a pendulum in the centre of the building which demonstrates the earth’s rotation, it is called Foucault’s pendulum, you should Google it if you are interested. By the end it was time to go home, we had seen as much of Paris as we could.  Tomorrow we are off to Nice for a couple of days.

Paris 18 May

Another lovely day in Paris.  Set off for a guided tour of the Opera House but when we got there we found out today's tour was cancelled for some reason.  We then visited the Fragonard Perfume Museum and arrived at the same time as a busload of Singaporeans, who got the guided tour in English so we just tagged along and got all the details.  Then we went to see the Chapelle Expiatoire but of course it was closed today (must check the fine print a bit more closely).  So we headed off to the wilds of St Denis to visit the Basilique Cathedrale de Saint Denis, which turned out to be the most magnificent church we had seen in Paris, and was the resting place of all the kings and queens of France from the 6th century. The first church on the site was built in the 5th century, and it was rebuilt in the 12th and 13th century in its current format.  Of course there are renovation works happening to the stained glass windows which have been on the go since 1997.  However we got there just when it closed for lunch (of course) so we went and had lunch in a lovely restaurant in the town square for and hour or two.  After that we visited the crypt where the tombs of the royals were includig Marie Antoinette. We stayed there for ages until we thought we had better head home. We are getting so good at the trains, we can go anywhere.  It is amazing the amount of police and army presence there is around, the soldiers are in three and fours all bearing rifles, not much wonder everyone is so law abiding.  Finished the day off in the laundromat, as you do.  Sabine is now ironing in readiness for heading off to Nice on Friday.

Paris 17 May

Another packed day!  We started off visiting the Archeological Crypt of Parvis of Notre Dame, seeing some of the original foundations of Paris dating back to Roman days.  Then queued again for Saint Chapelle and after about half an hour we got in.  Very impressive with exceptional stained glass windows, there is a restoration project for the windows in train, it will cost 10 million euro by the time it is finished in 2013.
After a bite to eat we headed off for an hour long boat cruise along the Seine, it was a lovely sunny day so it was perfect.  Then we did the sewer tour but it was a bit claustrophobic for Sabine so she went through quickly and waited for me at the end.  Then off to the Paris Wax Museum, by the time we finished that it was getting late so we headed home, absolutely exhausted. Only two days left in Paris!

Paris 16 May

Today we set off early to try to beat the queues at the Eiffel Tower, it probably took about twenty minutes to buy the tickets and get through security which was not too bad, and we got up to level 2 OK, but then we had to queue for ages to catch the lift to the top, and the wind was freezing.  We got there eventually and got an amazing view across Paris.  We then had to queue to get down again! Then we headed back to Notre Dame area where there was some sort of bread baking competition going on so we had lovely ham and cheese baguettes for lunch.  We then joined a queue for Sainte-Chapelle and were about six from the entrance when they closed it as it was 1pm when it closes for 1 and a half hours. As today is Monday a lot of other attractions were closed so we headed towards the Galeries Lafayette which is a very upmarket department store in a fantastic building. Sabine was happy to find real shops rather than the plethora of souvenir shops in the tourist areas.  Had a look at some more churches then headed home, we have worked out the Metro, it is a very efficient system with trains every two minutes and very easy to change lines to get where you need to go.  Paris seems to be a very safe and orderly city and we feel very comfortable.

Paris 15 May

We set off for the station again this morning only to find that the station was closed as they were doing maintenance work on the line.  However we were able to work out that there were replacement buses and sure enough one turned up in a couple of minutes, which took us about four stations along the line where we caught the train again.  We got off in the Champs Elysees and walked up towards the Arc de Triomphe, and encountered some rain so we bought the world's most expensive umbrella which of course guaranteed dry weather for the rest of the day!  We walked up the 278 steps to the top of the Arc de Triomphe which gives amazing views across the city.  We then caught a tourist open top double decker bus to travel around to see a number of sights and get a better idea of where everything is, then hopped off at the Eiffel Tower. However the queues were long and the weather had turned cold so we hopped back on the bus and went towards the Orsay Museum.  The queue was also a bit long so we had lunch at a nearby restaurant, we both had steaks which were beautiful, probably the best I have ever had.  Then we went into the Orsay which was fascinating with paintings by Van Gogh, Gaugin, Monet etc, we spent many hours there and didn't get home till about 7pm, absolutely exhausted.  These holidays are hard work!  Love Sabine and Sam

Paris 14 May

First full day in Paris, set off in the morning by walking to the local Metro station (about 10 minutes) then caught the train into central Paris.  After a bit of a wander round we went to the Louvre and spent many hours there along with the large number of visitors.  We of course saw the Mona Lisa and many other wellknown paintings, but also there is a huge amount of artefacts from ancient Egypt which were fascinating.  We probably only scratched the surface by the time we left to head for Notre Dame cathedral.  Had to queue for a while to get in and while it is impressive it is not as magnificent of some others we have already seen on our trip to date.  We then made our way home and bought baguettes, ham and creamy camembert and washed this down with wine for our meal, feeling very French.  Tomorrow we will start off at the Champs Elysees and see where we go from there.

Paris 13 May

Hello to everyone.  Busy day today.  We had brekky and set off just after 9.00.  Caught the train from Brugge to Kortrijk then anor train on to Lille.  We had a wait there as we were not booked on our train to Paris until 3.00 not to worry we had quite a few things to do anyway what with activating our Eurail passes etc, the first two trains were great only us for a while the Paris train was pretty much packed but you do have to have that booked which we had of course. Arrived here at about 4.30 caught a taxi to where we are staying our taxi driver was a funny man very Danny Di Vito had about 15 arguments with other drivers in the first half a kilometre, we are staying in an apartment in Vincennes the cabbie made it sound like the countryside.  We have been out got a few supplies had dinner at an Indian place now having a bit of a relax in preparation for the next few days of sightseeing.  We have something nice and spacious to come back to I have even bought a bunch of peonies to put in the vase, very pretty. Anyway I will sign off and talk soon.   

Brugge 12 May

It is my birthday today what a beautiful place to have a birthday.  We had a very varied day today.  After breakfast our first stop was the laundromat otherwise  no one would  be speaking to us. We met a lovely couple from Chicago at the laundromat so we talked for a couple of hours they had just been in Paris and were heading off to Brussels tomorrow.  They told us to be careful of the Roma and if we got bailed up by anyone just forcefully say no in German so we have that down pat now.  To be hoped we can do our German well enough.  We then headed out into beautiful Brugge had some lunch and then had a carriage ride through the town , our horse her name was “Tilly” very lovely she was too as was her owner, gorgeous fellow gave us lots of info etc and some places to have a look at etc.  After that I ironed and packed as we are off to Paris tomorrow, all trains booked etc.  We should arrive there at 4.30.  Anyway until my next blog lots of love Sabine & Sam. 

May 11 Brugge

Hello to all

This  morning  an early breakfast and then collected by a chap who runs Flanders Fields Battlefield Daytours.  His name was Nathan and obviously a war historian a Flemish background but with beautiful English.  An amazing day. First of all we visited the largest WW1 German cemetery in Langemark, then the world’s largest WW1 cemetery of the Commonwealth, Tyne Cot Cemetery at Passchendaele, after which we were taken to The Passchendaele Museum .  We had a lovely lunch at Ieper (Ypres),  then on to the Cloth Hall the City Centre and then collected at The Menin Gate quite astounding to see.  I was going to visit my great uncle at Steenwerck Cemetery on Friday but I had given Nathan my info and he took us there as part of the tour, we had to cross the border into France and it was only about four kms over the border, it was indeed a moving experience no one from our  family had visited him before.  I took some photos for my Mum and her sister,  they had not met him of course as he died in January 1917.  Two of the ladies on the tour who were two sisters going to visit their Dad’s grave tomorrow bought me a Remembrance Cross each and gave it to me when we got back to the car I had bought one too so Joe ended up with my cross and the other  two and some beautiful flowers, what a lovely thing to do I only met them this morning they were from the UK only over for a couple of days to see their Dad’s grave again.  It was a most memorable and beautiful day.  We have only been away 3 weeks so far amazing.  Talk soon .  Sabine and Sam.

Brugge 10 May

Hello to all 

Lovely to hear all your comments, Shelley I am delighted the babies are doing so well, lots of prayers in lots of different beautiful churches.   It is Tuesday today and we left Amsterdam this morning, caught the train just after 9.00 to Antwerp and then changed to anor for Brugge arriving at 12.30 ish.  Lots of lovely helpful people guiding you in the right direction. Found a cab and were in our room by 1.00 then out the door what a truly beautiful place some buildings started in the 13th centrury lots in the early 17th century.  I was in Our Lady's Church marvelling at the paintings etc truly truly unbelievable then I went to light a candle and Tim Fisher was lighting one beside me.  I was quite stunned by the beauty of the church you see so many but they never cease to amaze me.  Sam says I use so much more WIFI than he does because I talk/type so much. Tomorrow we have a Flanders Fields Battlefield Daytour organised they pick us up at 8.30 and then drop us back at 5.30 so long day but they will also take us to see my great uncle's grave at Steenwerck we have all the paperwork when you think no one has been to see the poor boy in 94 years very sad. 

River Cruise 3 May to 9 May

Tuesday 3^rd May  -  Bamberg

Before we tell you  about Bamberg we will update about  our ship changeover.  This occurred today we packed up put our luggage out  left all hand luggage in the lounge, went on our tour,came back had lunch and then changed ships.  I think a few people may have been a little put out but really it was no drama we had a few laughs decided it was a second cruise and in the end I think mostly everyone treated it pretty well.  We had the same location etc I quite liked our room better the bed was smaller and I only unpacked probably one third of our gear. 

Bamberg  -  The only day it was not a beautiful day very chilly, but we were extremely fortunate with the weather the whole way thru the crusie other than this.  Bamberg  is a town in Bavaria, Germany,located in Upper Franconia very pretty.  Fabulous guides all well educated people give you fantastic  information.  The Cathedral (1257) with tombs of Henry 11 and Pope Clement 11, a Romanesque buildiung with four grand towers, founded in 1004 and finishedin 1012 partially destroyed by fire in 1081 then a new onebuilt and consecreated in 1111, it is an absolute honour to be in these places, you do see a lot ofchurches but  they are all mlind blowing. 

Great day really despite the ship move.  We are in great company and will I am sure keep these  friendships hopefiully, everyon is busy but if you do not make an effort you would not keep up with anyone.  Our entertainer on shi p no 2 is very good so we dance until he kicks us our of the lounge. 

Wednesday May 4^th 

We docked in Wurzburg.  Our tour today was to romantic Rothenburg, about an hour and half drive from Wurzburg.  Another amazingly beautiful place and a completely walled city, I love walled  cities, like a fairytale really.  A lot of destroyed in March 1945.  It would have ben much worse of course but the U S Assistant Secretary of War John J McCloy knew about the historic importance and beauty of Rothenburg so he ordered U S Army General Jacob Devers not to use artillery in the taking of Rothenburg.  Amazing history I havekept all my info sheets I absolutley love all this info.  Lovely drive back to the ship, dinner etc – on to thenext day. 

Thursday May 5^th  - Wertheim 

Totally beautiful  little town, Sam did a bike ride tour and I did a tour of the town then stayed on in town with Ann a lovely girl from Warragul, we did some shopping then wandered back to the ship. 

Friday May 6^th  -  Rudesheim 

We did a guided visit of Siegfried’s Mechanical Musical Museum, had to be seen to be believed.  Then we went by cable car to the125 foot Niederwald Monument overlooking the river.  Then back to the ship and cruised through the Rhine Gorge  with it stunning castles.   A quick change for dinner and then off to Marksburg Castle for a Medieval  banquet.  While we were gone our ship cruised  to the next town and we caught up with it there. 

Saturday  May 7^th  Cologne

The Cathedral  is the highlight of course.  There was a protest in town but we managed to stay clear of this.  I did buy the original Farina 1709 cologne.  Back to the ship for lunch and more cruising and then we had the Farewell  Dinner and the staff show they were very entertaining and lots of fun, much  dancing few hours sleep and ready for anor day. 

Sunday May 8^th – Amsterdam  

This tour was probably the least enjoyable, not fussed on Amsterdam probably a  lovely place but there is absolutely no charm or ambience with all those bikes cluttering up everything I most certainly Melbourne does not ever get ruined like this.  I know it is great people enjoy bicycle riding but  please keep it in its place not in our beautiful cities. 

Monday May 9^th – Amsterdam

We said our farewells this morning.  We have tonight here then onto Brugge (Bruges)  for three days and then on Friday we will go to Flanders to visit my Nanas’ brother’s first world war grave then on to Paris that day.    

Nuremberg 2/5

Hello,  Today we arrived in Nuremberg, where Hitler had his mass rallies in the late 1930's, it was a bit spooky as the big square that he had built is still there and you can imagine the whole atmosphere.  We also visited the place where they have a complete history of the Nazi regime and their terrible deeds, but we did not have enough time to see it all.  Probably not a place to recommend, even though the medieval town centre is still there, bit it turns out it was completely destroyed in the last days of WW2 and was later rebuilt to replicate the earlier buildings.
Tomorrow we have to change ships which is a real pain so we have had to pack everything and start afresh tomorrow with a new crew.
There is also an internet issue with the new ship so we will be off the air for a week.  We will start again when we get to Amsterdam.
Cheers Sabine and Sam

Along the Danube 27/4 to 1/5

Hello everyone,  We have been a bit slack with our blog the last few days, by the time we have our huge breakfasts, lunches and dinners and do all our sightseeing we are exhausted!  As we travel along the Danube (it's not blue, looks about the same colour as the Yarra) we have seen some amazing places and passed through many locks (there are 68 locks to go through on the whole trip).  We have had perfect weather, just the occasional shower as we travel along, but when we stop it all clears up to lovely sunny days.
Vienna  27 and 28 April
Our first stop after Budapest was Vienna where we were treated to a classical concert at the Leichstenstein Palace, then the next day we did a tour of the city before going to Schonbrunn Palace.  You run out of superlatives when trying to describe some of the buildings we see, but the palace certainly was special and so were the gardens.  We probably did not have enough time to see the city fully but we certainly got a hint of its grandeur.
Durnstein and Melk 29 April
Durnstein is a typical charming small Austrian village on the river with its large church, where we were given an organ recital played on an organ built in 1725. We then wandered through the cobbled streets and bought a bottle of apricot liqueur as the region is famous for its apricots and other stone fruits. After that we continued on to Melk passing steep hills, which were covered with terraced vineyards, small towns which seemed to come along every five minutes, and lots of old castles. It was very picturesque as we lay on our deckchairs on the sun deck.  We then arrived in Melk where they have this enormous Abbey with over 600 rooms for visitors, and with large reception rooms with frescoes which have recently been cleaned and the paint was as good as new.  They also had a massive library with over 16,000 books from the 10th century onwards.
Linz, Cesky Krumlov and Passau 30 April
We arrived in Linz this morning, we were organised for a tour of Cesky Krumlov a small city in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic, best known for the fine architecture and art of the historic old town and Cesky Krumlov Castle.  Old Cesky Krumlov is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and was given this status along with the historic Prague Castle. 
Our tour guide was a lovely girl called Sabine we thought this quite funny, very intelligent lady she is an architect but everyone here seems to have a few jobs.  It was the most senic drive about an hour and half from Linz, we did our tour of the town had lunch at a beautiful hotel built in the 18th century.  Charles and Camilla had their honeymoon there, we though this quite fitting as it was the day of the Royal Wedding.  We then had some free time before we caught the bus back to Passau in Germany.  Our ship had sailed to Passau while we were out for the day.  When we arrived back we took a walk thru the town absolutely beautiful we went thru the Cathedral St Steven's located on the highest point (naturally) it had been burnt down and almost completely devestated in a town fire in 1662 it was rebuilt by famous baroque architect Carlo Lurago.  Most stunning frescos and the largest organ in the world 17,974 organ pipes and 233 stops just amazing.   Our drive from Cesky Krumlov was breathtaking just too much to take in really.  We left in the evening and sailed on to Regensburg.
Sunday 1st May  - Regensburg
This is a special holiday today, MayDay with the May Poles and Mothers Day here, Mary's Saint Day.  We had a Bavarian Brunch and we arrived about 12.30 then set off  for a walking tour.  The guides are all terrific.  We continued on after the tour hada coffee in one of the many squares.  We have just made our way back to the ship and catching up on all our emails etc.  It is all totally amazing what is organised for us and how well we are taken care of.