Wednesday 26th December Before lunch Hans & Rags went for a walk in a different direction, this time driving to a nature reserve a short distance away. It was quite chilly but every once in a while the sun peeped out from the clouds forming 'God's fingers” on the landscape as shown in the photo. The farmhouse pictured is for sale and with about 4 hectares of land is priced at about A$2 million! Many geese and white swans were seen but the majority of the wildlife remained either hidden or had not arrived from the northern areas yet. This is traditionally, at least for Hans & Marion, family day. Due to Marion's time spent in the kitchen a delicious meal was served which we shared with her sister's family Mina, Jan and Marcel, and Hans ... read more

Sunday 23rd December Judy not at all well but we are expected to be in Amsterdam today and have paid over 230 Euros for train tickets! Well rugged up we left the hotel before 1000 to get the bus to the station and a sign advised us that the temperature was -6 degrees! Because of light traffic we got to the railway station early, enough time to catch an earlier train to Frankfurt, and as it was so cold we thought there would be a greater chance of finding a warm place there whilst waiting for the connection to Amsterdam. Big mistake! Frankfurt was a large old station, cold and windy, with no comfortable place to wait. We ended up in a Burger King where we found a table in relative comfort. Two hour later we ... read more

Monday 17th December This morning was taken up with a demonstration of how to cook apple strudel! This was done in a most entertaining way by the the head chef. The captain and the other officers were then introduced with a toast made on a good trip with a complimentary glass of champagne. Meanwhile the ship continued its way up-river passing lovely little towns in the Wachau Valley covered lightly in snow. This is a wine growing district and the rows of vines could be seen on the mountainsides. Most picturesque and many photos were taken. After a hurried lunch with our new found American & Queensland friends we were off to see the Benedictine Abbey, also known as the Stift Melk in the town of Melk where the ship had moored. An interesting tour was ... read more

Thursday 13th December It was snowing very lightly when we left our room on the way to the bus station and both of us felt light-hearted and happy because of it! As soon as the snow hit the ground it melted but we could feel it against our faces and see it on our dark jackets. That set the mood of the day. Our intended destination for today was Cesky Budejovice. The city is also known as Budweis --the name in German, used in the 19th century. Cesky Budejovice is famous for its Renaissance and Baroque Buildings, for the biggest square in the Czech Republic and for its local beer: Budvar. This local beer, also known as Budweiser, inspired the name of the American Beer Budweiser. We arrived at Cesky Budejovice after a smooth ride in ... read more

Saturday 8th December This morning we were at breakfast just after 7am so we could be at the train station before 9 for our 9.19 departure. It was a beautiful morning with cloudless blue skies. The train trip to Karlovy Vary took us through some stunning countryside and enchanting little towns, much of the track following a fast flowing river. It was hard to keep our eyes from the scenery even though both of us were glad of the time to enjoy our engrossing novels. Karlovy Vary is also known by its German name of Karlsbad and was founded in 1350 by the Czech King and Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV. The town is recapturing some of its former glory with its Baroque and Art Nouveau buildings being restored. It was seriously run down during the ... read more