Advertisement
Published: October 6th 2008
Sunday, October 05, 2008
We have had only spotty internet access because of all the low bridges we have to go under. They have to clear the top deck of everything and lower all the antennas. Since the internet connection to the ship is wireless, we have no connection when the antennas are down. This will go out sometime.
The ship is very comfortable and brand new. It entered service April of this year. Almost all cabins have large sliding glass doors that let in lots of air and frame the passing countryside. Forward are the lounge on the top deck and the dining room on the second deck. The sun deck is open the entire length of the boat but is currently not available because of all the low bridges. Everything folds flat so the ship can clear the obstructions. The wheel house even telescopes down so that the captain has to stick his head out of a hatch specifically for that purpose. Apparently there is about 10” inches of clearance between us and the lowest bridge.
Weather has been good, for the most part. We have been sleeping every night with the sliding glass door open. The
ship is amazingly quiet. You cannot hear the water nor the engine and there are no vibrations. I have had to look out the window to confirm that we are moving. Makes sleeping easy. Days have been alternately partly cloudy and really cloudy/some rain; nothing serious. Today started out clear and sunny in the mid 50s and ended with rain. Fortunately by that time we were back on the ship
Today we visited Bamberg. Since it was a completely walking tour and it was cool, Grandma decided to stay on the boat and read. Mom and started out on the tour and then went off on our own when it started to look at things we were familiar with. We had a Rauch (smoke) beer and sausage with sour krout before we climbed back on the bus to get back to the ship.
Yesterday we were in Nurenberg for a little less than half a day. We took a very quick bus tour of the old city and then had several hours of free time before dinner at a local restaurant famous for its sausages. It had the atmosphere of a traditional Bavarian gast house except that the
dining room was larger than most gast houses. Excellent food with good beer - it’s hard to get any better.
Day-before-yesterday we were in Regensberg on the Danube, which started as a Roman city. Part of the original Roman gate was incorporated into later buildings and is still used as a passage way into a court yard. Perhaps it is most famous for its 800 year old stone bridge over the Danube. It was not damaged in WWII because the lord mayor refused to blow it up as he had been ordered. Mom and I ate at a sausage stand that has been in continuous operation for the same length of time because it was built to feed the workers who built the bridge.
Today we were in beer drinking country (Bamberg has more breweries than any other city in Germany) and tomorrow we will be in wine country, specifically Franken wine. We will spend the day in Wurzburg, which is the center of the Main river wine region. Franken wines are dry, but very flavorful, white wines. Tomorrow’s tour concludes with a wine tasting in what Napoleon considered to be the most magnificent wine cellar in Europe.
The Lido lounge
Small lounge on the stern of the ship whose semi-circular back wall is nothing but floor to ceiling glass.He gave specific orders that the cellar and building it was in should not be disturbed in any way.
Time to crash. More later.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.134s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 11; qc: 49; dbt: 0.0535s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
kt
non-member comment
the pix make me very hungry...and thirsty. yummm