We are traveling with good friends Steve and Alane Asp. \240

Parliament Building

Closer view of the parliament building, look closely between the buildings you can see the courtyard and moat.

Jeff and I in front of the parliament building. \240The weather was wonderful, low 70’s and sunny.

Alane, Steve and I in on the walking tour. \240 All the architecture is very ornate.

Beautiful chapel and town hall towers. \240The bells ring each hour and can also be played with a keyboard. \240

This is cool, it’s like an automat for food. \240 You order, you get a box number and then pick up your food. \240 There were several of these on the street by restaurants.

Front of the art museum. \240

Mauritshuis Museum, rather small but interesting.

Girl with a Pearl Earring, Circa 1665 by Johannas Veermeer.

I encountered a nutcracker on the street so of course I needed to have my photo with him.

The architecture was very diverse and interesting.

Dinner tonight was excellent, we enjoy seafood at The Catch by Simonis. Tomorrow we check out of the hotel and return to Amsterdam for a tour before we board the boat for our river cruise.

Clock tower of the palace

Ornamental Palace gates

This is the Skate Building, one of many buildings i n Amsterdam with very interesting architecture.

Entrance to the Rijksmuseum

Jeff snd Steve on the canal tour, they look like two boys seeking trouble!

The canal bridges are low and narrow

Church along the canal, the spire is the one Anne Frank could see from her room.

Many buildings have been converted to residential apartments or commercial properties. \240Most apartments are one door and one window wide.

On the canal journey we passed the Anne Frank house

Beautiful bridge crossing the Amstel River

We encountered a large number of other boats but the motorized car which becomes a boat was unique.

Our ship he’ll The Viking Skadi

The windmills were built in the 1600’s

It was interesting to learn that the frames of the windmills are wood

Steve and Alane at the windmills

Homes along the canal

Wildlife were plentiful including ducks, geese, heron and others

Our tour tour guide wore wood shoes

Outdoor kitchen for family cooking who live in the windowill

Jeff in front of the wheel churning water for the mill

Drawbridge on the canal

Legend story of a baby in a basket in the canal with a cat

Tonight Viking brought a clarinet and piano player in to perform after dinner.

On top of the building is Ford escort with wings. \240This was done when Ford opened a manufacturing plant in Cologne

Bronze plaque depicting the original Roman border of the city

This is a replica of the ornate finials at the top of the cathedral spires. \240Note the size as when you look up they look much smaller

The cathedral spires

The entrance of the cathedral is very ornate

Stained glass windows inside

Mass was just ending when we arrived

Artists were drawing country flags in the cathedral courtyard. \240People would drop coins on their counties flag.

The cathedral lighted at night.

Mica in front of castle waiting patiently for the tour to start, NOT!

Blacksmiths work area of the castle

Jeff and Mica with a cannon

View from the castle

The castle had magnificent gardens both flower and food. \240 The roses here are beautiful.

Wine cellar for the castle. \240

The kitchen plates and dinner wear

The kitchen hearth

Master bedroom of the castle. \240The walls are insulated with wood for warmth. \240 There was no heating in the castle other than fireplaces.

Main dining area

Chapel ceiling

Display of weapons used for fighting

Examples of armor used during this period

The Marksburg Castle

After the tour we rejoined the boat and had lunch, thereafter we enjoyed the cruise up the Rhine and the many vineyards, churches, villages and castles along the banks. \240 We even saw some mountain goats.

There were many castles on the voyage, here are pictures of most alongbeithba chart on year built.

Map of the castles along the route to Frankfurt.

Churches along the Rhine

There were many vineyards along the route.

We saw wild goats, cattle, ducks and swans on the voyage.

The day was fun Alane. Steve, Jeff and Mica sat on the aft cabin balcony and enjoyed some wine, champagne, and vodka. \240 It was more than a 3 hour tour. \240 Helen our cabin steward had many glasses to remove. \240We had a great afternoon.

We continued to cruise down the Main River and ported for a bus ride and tour in Miltenberg. \240It was a fun afternoon ending with a local beer.

This bronze was in the courtyard entering the city.

Examples of the architecture

Dogs are always welcome and water iD plentiful for them.

This is the oldest hotel in Germany in continuous operation.

Note the gold star in the sign this means beer is sold here, \240 Good to know.

Jeff and Mica in front of the village fountain.

Beer anyone?

After the palace we toured the gardens. \240Below are the gates to the gardens

Note the manicured hemlocks. \240Each one had a statuette at the trunk.

Back of the palace

Jeff getting just the right shot

After the palace and gardens we did a walking tour of Wurzburg.

St Mary’s cathedral

Main Street of Wurzburg

Lovely train going through town.

Alane , Steve and Mica enjoying wine on the bridge. \240You pay a deposit on the glass and when you return it you get your money back. \240

Locks on the handrail going down to the river walk back to the ship.

River Main

This building was the prior hospital.

Little Venice

Downtown

Oldest doors in the city.

The local church

These are not pavers but wood, very interesting floor at the entrance to the rose garden.

Jeff and Mica in the Rose Garden, it was lovely and provided great views of the city.

View of the city from the rose garden.

Stumble stones are embedded in front of residences to remember those who were taken during the war. \240The stone includes their name , date of their imprisonment, where they were taken and date of death if known. \240These stones are all over Germany as a reminder of the tragedy.

Our first German Beers.

Jeff enjoying his beer. This beer was a regional one with smoke and had a bacon flavor. \240Jeff said one was enough.

Cruising the river during dinner we passed this bridge with locks. \240A tradition in Germany

Our anniversary dinner. \240The Officier sang to us.

A special dessert.

The Nuremberg castle. \240Over 90% of Nuremberg was destroyed in WWII and later rebuilt.

Jeff, Alane and Steve

Entrance to the castle.

Downtown Nuremberg

Church entrance

The town train, it looked fun, but we didn’t ride it.

Beautiful fountain in the main square of Nuremberg

Our first beer of the day a local one, Tucher.

Farmers market in the Nuremberg square

Our second beers of the day we enjoyed these with Nuremberg sausages, sauerkraut and German potato salad. Yum!

Our third and final beers of the day! My favorite Augustiner. \240 We enjoyed these with German pretzels. \240 Yum yum!

We started the hidden art tour in bunkers under the city. \240These bunkers were originally used to store beer and during the war previous art including the Crown Jewels.

Map of the location of the bunkers, the yellow ones stored art and had a special climate control system to keep them from damage due to cool temperatures and humidity. The bunkers were very cold 45 degrees or so. \240

The walls of the bunker if not sandstone were made of hay and straw matted together and it form a very hard insulated surface.

A generator in the bunker when power was lost. \240The bunker also had running water and toilets. \240These bunkers were also used as bomb shelters.

Heating system for the bunkers

Prior to rebuilding Nuremberg the rubble had to be removed. \240As the majority of the buildings were sandstone there was little to salvage and the debris were taken outside of town forming hills later covered in grass.

Plaque from the original church

The boot arrived just as our bus delivered us to the dock. \240Jeff and Mica prior to boarding

There is a small crane on the top deck to lower the gangway in place. \240Interesting.

Entrance to the lock. There are many on the river and canals. This is the wall of one of the longest and deepest locks we passed through.

Sunset tonight was exceptional.

Regansbirg

Regensburg gates into the city

Regensburg City Hall

College of St John the Baptist

Regensburg cathedral

Stumble stone

Hotel in Regensburg

We are near the focus point of sausages and beer

We have arrived !

The first beers of the day, but not the last

We both enjoyed the Regensburg sausages and Jeff even ate the sauerkraut!

High water make on the back of the restaurant in 1988.

The restaurant cook.

Cruising tonight we passed Walhaloa, built by Ludwig I

We also saw swans and

The Dachshund Museum, 55,000 dachshunds. \240

The cathedral is beautiful and has the largest organ in the world

On our walk in the city we found this flower garden.

Of course there was beer!

Dinner tonight was an Austrian feast and the staff dressed accordingly. \240It was fun plus it included beer, pretzels. Sausages and sauerkraut.

Sunset tonight was lovely from the back of the boat.

Views from the second story of the Abbey were awesome.

We cruised the Wachau Valley this afternoon. \240We saw swans, castles, interesting landscape and agriculture. \240We ported in Krems in late afternoon.

Erik Morwald, owner and vintne

Hapsburg Residence

Carriage rides were offered

Our beer of the day, from Austria Stiegl.

The cathedral was beautiful.

After lunch we visited the Spanish Riding School for a begind the scenes tour. \240We were able to the tack room, stables, practice ring and of course the horses. \240They have 65 working horses at the school.

Practice arena

Performance arena seating 1000 people

The stable cat one of two. \240This is Sissy

The tack room

The stallions are named with the first name of the father and the second the mother. \240 All horses are males and only 6-8 are used for breeding each spring. \240 If the mother and father are the same for two horses then there is a II after the second name. \240

After visiting the Riding School we stopped by Cafe Landimann. \240This is a very famous place as Sigmund Freud was a regular. \240We had Sauer Cake, an Austrian favorite and coffee.

Finally this evening we are attending the Vienna Symphony! \240What a full day, but fun. \240The concert was exclusively for viking cruisers.

Concer hall ceiling, the sound was marvelous.

The concert was wonderful and included not just music but opera singers and ballet dancers as well. \240The conductor played a clarinet solo in one piece. \240Our favorite was Blue Danube.

Cruising this evening there were several rock formations and castles

Chain bridge in Budapest is under repair still. \240When we were here in December same story.

Monuments in hero’s square

Palace complex

Views from the walk to Fisherman’s Bastion

St. Matthias Cathedral

The Baths, one of the oldest in Budapest. \240There are 8 indoor thermal pools and multiple outdoor pools. The building is \240very old and historic.

Budapest at night is so beautiful!

We shared a final cruise drink with Alane and Steve. \240 It has been a great cruise, now we are off to Prague.

Tonight we did a Prague at Night tour. \240The city is beautiful even though it wasn’t really dark when we started. We drove through town and admired the mix of architecture. The first stop was the 3rd deck of the TV tower, the views are amazing. The tower was voted as the ugliest building in Prague. In order to try and make it more attractive crawling babies were added to the columns.

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Mica relaxing in a rocking chair in the tower. \240 ITV’s tuakly makes a rocking noise

The second stop was at a monastery , the building were interesting, but the highlight was the beer tasting.

We completed the night with champagne and whiskey in the hotel bar. \240 Long but fun day!

Kong Vharlrs Bridge. \240We walked across and enjoyed the views. \240This is the first bridge in Prague, now there are 16.

A highlight of the walking tour was rather Lennon Wall. \240This wall was started when Lennonbwas killed as a dedication to his love of freedom and talent.

This statue is actual size of the bobby on the TV tower columns. \240From the ground they don’t look that big.

After an extension tour of over 11,000 steps we arrived at the cathedral and walked outside as well as toured inside.n

We then went to Lobkowicz Palace for lunch, a concert and tour of the famous Lobkowicz art collection which included some of Beethoven’s original scores. \240Many famous musicians have performed at the Palace.

Views from the palace.

The furnishings and art were exceptional

Many original music scores were in the art collection. \240Over history the palace has enjoyed concerts by Mozart, Beethoven and other famous composers.

The bird room. \240These pictures are actually made from bird feathers on parchment. \240

Finally tonight we attend a Folklore Dinner. \240The evening was wonderful with music, dancing and great Czech food. Alane was selected to dance with the professionals. Of course there was beer and wine. We had a wonderful time!

The local cat, we all miss our fur babies!