Page 4 of Tom and Roberta Trips Travel Blog Posts


Europe » Slovakia » Bratislava Region September 13th 2017

I'm so glad this was a tour stop a very small nation with a lot of pride. Standing at the castle our guide told us on a clear day you could see Vienna! Slovakia is surrounded by Austria, Czech Republic and Hungary. It would be a close race for best guide ever on this trip but I might have to pick Monika in Bratislava. I know I keep saying our guides has such passion for history and country but Monika really brought it home. Through the countries we visited the stories were similar in that all guides spoke of the wars, occupation of Communist leaders, what it did to the people and economy. Ever present was the joy in being able to rebuild and restore their countries to there former glory. Monika speaks at least 5 ... read more
Gateway to the Castle
A view looking out towards Austria
Castle view from Old Town

Europe » Austria » Vienna September 13th 2017

And now a few words about our shipboard experience: I realized this was our first River cruise on a longboat (or any boat for that matter) BUT Wow!!! The ship and crew were amazing as was the ship and accommodations. The room though small was perfect. The bathroom had heated floors and absolutely everything in the room was soft close. You couldn't slam the toilet seat down if you wanted to, or the doors or drawers. The ship was clean, clea, clean from top to bottom. The room steward freshened our room almost everytime we left it. The tours were run with the precision of a German cuckoo clock. On the evening before a tour everyone would meet at the bar and the Activities Director Lee would go over the plan for the next day. The ... read more
Alex and Tom
Alex and Polina
A shower stall designed to fit just right.

Europe » Austria » Vienna September 11th 2017

We woke up in Vienna this morning. Now I really didn't have any pre-consieved expectations as to what to expect. I pretty much thought I'd open the curtain on our veranda and see green rolling hills with charming little churches and cottages amongst and a going city around it. Turns out Vienna is a huge metropolis and very Paris-like. There was definately an older section of the city along with the Imperial Palace and other enormous buildings. Let's talk Empress Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina the only female ruler of Austria and the last of the House of Habsburg. She had 16 children.....16!!! And this was in the 18th century. Well now I'm sure we all know at least one of the 16, Maria Antoinette. She was the youngest and sent off to France and well ... read more
One of many huge buildings in Vienna
City Park
Vienna

Europe » Austria » Lower Austria » Wachau September 10th 2017

Tom and I wanted to walk around the town of Melk after touring the Abbey so rather than getting back on the bus we headed towards the sign that said "altstadt" which means old town in English. Down, down, down the roughly hewn rock stairs we went. Our guides promised it would be easy to get back to the ship on our own. When we were at the top of the Abbey we were shown the path to take and which bridge to cross to get back. She told us there would be yellow tiles to follow and stay to the right. The tiles would eventually be blue but just keep to the right.....Remember she said "right is right and left is lost." As we headed down towards old town within the cobbled streets were yellow ... read more
Wachau Valley
Wachau Valley
Wachau Valley

Europe » Austria » Lower Austria » Melk September 10th 2017

Today we will visit Melk Abbey (I cannot believe I've never heard of this UNESCO sight until this trip) and then cruise down the Wauchu Valley (we're told it's the most picturesque scenery in the world) at the other end of the Valley is the town of Durnstein where we will anchor and visit as well. Melk Abbey: The Melk Abbey. Is a Benedictine Abbey built in the Baroque style high above the town of Melk in lower Austria which is built on a high outcropping of rocks overlooking the Danube. It was founded in 1089 When Leopoldo II gave one of his castles to Benedictine monks from Lambach Abbey which was a monastic school. The Abbey we toured today was built in 1736. Beautiful frescos abound all around the Abbey. Our tour guide was Stephanie ... read more
View of Melk taken from the Abbey
At the Abbey
Street vendor in Melk

Europe » Austria » Upper Austria » Linz September 10th 2017

Today is our first actual stop in Austria. Looking out our window in Linz it appears to be a "city" rather than the small towns and villages to which we've become accustomed. Looking past the tall buildings I do see a much smaller onion shaped church spire, the tell tale sign that an old town exists and exactly where it is. But.......we are not here to visit Linz. No, no my friends, we are here to (drumroll here....) Hop on a bus and take a two hour trip back to Czech Republic.....Yep...hey no judgements here I just do what they tell me to do I'm here for the ride. (Pun intended). So as in all prior tours we get the signal to grab our "quiet boxes" and head to your appropriate bus. (I've been calling them ... read more
Old Town taken from the castle
Walking down into old town
At the castle

Europe » Austria September 7th 2017

After our tour of Passau we made our way back to the ship on our own walking along side the Danube. The ship was going to set sail towards Linz at 1:30 so at noon we ate lunch then headed up to the Sun Deck to watch the ship raise anchor and start heading down the Danube. We were only going to stay a few minutes but the small Austrian villages were so beautiful to watch we stayed for hours. The river is quite curvey and around every bend was a beautiful postcard in the making. We began chatting with Steve, his brother Joe and son Austen as we commented on the scenery before us. They told us we'd be passing through locks (where the Danube is a different levels and the ship enters a lock, ... read more
Umm low bridge coming
Bridge overhead
Duck!

Europe » Germany » Bavaria » Passau September 7th 2017

We arrived to our ship the Hermod which just seemed to be anchored at some non-descript location at the side of the River Danube. No harbor, no marina, just the ship or longboat as it is called with a gangway. Three other buses also off loaded passengers at the same time. The welcoming staff were so well organized that within five minutes we were being lead to our room by Borska who pointed out all the shipboard amenities while leading us to our cabin. The room was a little smaller than I had imagined but crisp and clean with plenty of storage. The bathroom, however, was very small and it almost seemed like they had already pre-measured the size of our bodies and built the shower stall with the least amount of room needed for our ... read more
Passau from above
View of Passau
View of the Inn River

Europe » Germany » Bavaria » Passau September 7th 2017

Our last day in Prague came so quickly but we were ready to pack up and go to Prague via motor coach which is really just a bus. Tom and I felt it only appropriate that this bus was built by Mercedes. The comfortable padded seats were already in the laid back position and each had a seat belt. We were told the trip would be approximately 3 1/2 hours from Prague to Passau so we settled in for the ride. Our host was Guillome who sat in the front of the bus and spoke softly into the microphone describing the scenery as the bus sped from the Czech Republic towards Germany. I closed my eyes to rest but instead was riveted by his telling of the history and culture of this area. He told us ... read more

Europe » Czech Republic » Prague September 5th 2017

Today is Tuesday, Tom and I are going to retrace some of what we did yesterday on tour because I wanted to be able to take some pictures early in the morning when the light is better and be able to stop when I want. Yesterday walking with a group did not allow me the opportunity to take photos at my own pace and being with 30 other people all trying to get pictures of the same thing sort of ended in me getting pictures showing a bunch of other people with cameras and phones in their hands. Definitely not my idea of album worthy photos. After breakfast Tom wanted to catch up on a little work and I was happy to explore on my own. Camera and cell phone in hand I decided to power ... read more
On St Charles bridge
Charming little alley off the beaten track
Astronomical clock




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