Tour de Germany

With great trepidation, I headed out to attempt the 22km bike ride from Germany to Austria (and back). We had enjoyed the short  bike ride earlier in the week so much that it seemed crazy not to go. Most of the group had similar thoughts so there were about 40 of us, causing some chaos as we were fitted for bikes. The ride started off well but the track changed to rough gravel once we reached the river, and there were a few hills, some curves, and a fairly narrow path. About 30 minutes into the ride the guides decided to split the group into the racers (inc Cam and Flynn) and those who wanted a more leisurely pace (Josh and I). The half way point was a pub in Austria were we sat in the shade with cool drinks and ice creams, before climbing back on the bikes for the home leg. Cam managed to get a beer, which he was happy about. The trip home was on a better path, smooth hard packed gravel and some paved roads. We crossed the river at a lock which was interesting to see from above. The ride home took about an hour and was mostly countryside, with corn and wheat fields on our right and the river on our left. The last leg was through the cobbled streets of the town back to the boat. Everyone was ready for a cool shower and some lunch. 

We had a quiet afternoon after the ride enjoying time with the friends we have made on the trip. It was tempting to walk over to the town to explore but it was so nice to relax up on the sundeck that we gave it a miss. At the request of the boys, we split up into a teen table and an adult table for dinner. After dinner the tour directors ran a slide show with some great photos with a digital file for each family to take home. The boys had a late night but I packed up the room and went to bed in preparation for a long transit day tomorrow. 

The Sound of Salzburg.

We docked at Linz during breakfast this morning and piled on to busses for the drive to Salzburg. The road wound through countryside with cliffs on either side, rolling green hills and alpine houses window boxes full of flowers. We stopped at Hellbrunn Castle - not really a castle but a summer retreat for the bishop full of trick water fountains. The fountain tricks were pretty clever and despite our best efforts we all were caught at some stage. There were lots of shrieks and giggles and suspicious scanning of the ground to identify wet areas. The gazebo from the Sound of Music was in the grounds but as none of the boys have seen the movie it wasn’t a drawcard. A walking tour of Salzburg and the fortress was a little too long and not engaging- lots of sound of music trivia and Mozart facts but not a lot of interesting stories. Plus we were all starving. We found a great Austrian restaurant with a terrace that overlooked the town and sat with another family from the group. It was cool and relaxing and the food disappeared very quickly. We were left with 45 minutes to explore so wandered about the streets a bit before meeting up with the group for a quick walk though the Mirabell Gardens. I was surprised at the town - was really expecting baskets and music but it there was nothing. We all agreed this was our least favourite day, but it wasn’t terrible and there were some fun moments.

The bus ride back was long and our feet were dragging but dinner gave us a new lease of life- we sat with a family of Trump supporters and investigated this phenomenon, covering all the undiscussables of religion and politics. I had an early night in preparation for a big day tomorrow. 

Discoveries in Durnstein

We started the morning with a bike ride along the river and through some small villages. This was a highlight so far. It was absolutely gorgeous- vineyards on one side, climbing up steep hillsides and the lush riverbank on the other side. The villages looked like they were out of a storybook, although the cobbled streets provided an Austrian massage while cycling. Having not been on a bike for at least ten years, I was a little anxious, but it was wonderful and not too challenging. I was so pleased I pushed through the anxiety and gave it a go. It’s hard to top the ride experience, so the walking tour of Durnstein later in the morning was a bit dull. It’s a lovely picturesque village (only 300 residents), with a big monastery that we wandered though, but our guide was not inspiring and there were a lot of tourist shops. Team Starrett opted for lunch back on the boat before the afternoon activities - either a hike up to the medieval castle up on the cliffs, or a game of soccer. The boys voted for the soccer game and I took the opportunity for an afternoon nap - it is a holiday after all!
After dinner on the boat we reluctantly headed to the lounge for Karaoke. Surprisingly, we had an absolute ball. Cam and Flynn smashed out a Backstreet Boys number and Josh was the hit of the night with Baby got Back. I was taken aback when he went and signed up for a solo effort and even more surprised at the panache of the performance. The crowd supported all performances with sing along assistance and the night ended with the whole room up on the floor doing a few anthems and the bar attendant doing the worm. Fuelled by a huge sense of fun and a little bit of alcohol, the crowd was ready to party.

Vienna Reprise

The sun came out today, just in time for our excursion to Schonbrunn Palace, the summer home of the Hapsburgs. On approach and inside it looked very much like a mini Versailles, with grand staircases, lots of gold chandeliers and extensive gardens. Of the two interior areas we looked at, Maria Theresa's Rooms were my favourite. All the walls and ceilings are completely covered with painted frescos to resemble an indoor garden. No photos allowed sadly. They had organised a short visit to the Marionette theatre and we saw an excerpt from the Magic Flute. I think puppets are a little creepy but the detail and the movements they could achieve were amazing. We had some time to walk around the grounds. The boys were keen on the zoo and we headed over there after completing the labyrinth, but there was not quite enough time to justify going in.

We had a free afternoon in the city and decided to try the famous Käsekrainer - a sausage filled with cheese in a bun. Cam had a beer with his - a bit of a treat as the boat runs with the US drinking age, much to his disappointment. We bought them from a food stand, with Flynn during the ordering honours due to his German skills (limited but he was the best we had).

Against our better judgement we shelled out for the “Time travel Vienna” Magic history tour. We had done one in Rome about 10 years ago that we still giggle about. It was very lame, but there was a virtual reality part that was good and team Starrett tends to have fun regardless of the quality of the activity, so we enjoyed the afternoon. After rejecting the huge line to get into the coffee house of choice - Cafe Centrale, we shared a quick apple strudel and some drinks at Cafe Mozart before heading back to the boat. 

By now the boys have formed some friendships, as have I and the cocktail lounge time before and after dinner is a nice treat. The evening’s entertainment was a trip to the Prater- an old style Amusement park near the river. Tauck handed out pocket money, 15 Euro per person, as the rides are pay per ride. This caused much discussion between the boys about what was “worth” paying for. I donated my share to the cause and enjoyed watching them. They had teamed up with one of the other boys and I was relegated to the chief bag and phone holder, which suited me just fine as I’m not a ride person. The boys finished the night with a uno game in the lounge that went to 11pm. 

Waltzing through Vienna

Vienna greeted us with cold, rainy weather. We headed off with the group for a short walking tour of Vienna - not the greatest activity in the rain, but it did give us some good historical background and information about the winter palace and the gardens. These is an interesting rose bush scheme where you “buy” a rose bush for ten years and can place a plaque on it. Lots of messages to loved ones, past and present, and probably a great revenue raiser. A horse and carriage ride through the old town was also impacted by the rain . Our windows fogged up immediately and we could only get glimpses here and there. The town is very clean, with tall fancy buildings jointed together, and cobblestone streets. Despite the lack of vision, we could feel those and also hear the clip clop of the horses hooves along the streets.

The visit to St Stephens was a highlight. It’s a gorgeous church, both outside and in, and as we walked inside an orchestra and choir were practicing. There is something special about good music in a church that is very uplifting. We walked down the stairs to the catacombs surrounded by the glorious music. The catacombs were excellent - old, dark, lots of historical coffins, piles of bones, copper jars full of Hapsburg organs, and a guide who brought it all to life.

After the church we had the afternoon free, so we made a beeline for Figlmuller - a famous schnitzel restaurant. Wood paneling, exposed bricks with wrought iron and schnitzels bigger than your head. How could we go wrong? Josh declared his schnitzel the best one he had ever tasted.

After lunch it was still quite rainy so we agreed on a visit to the treasury museum in the Winter Palace. The exhibit started off with both English and Austrian explanations but these tailed away as we moved further in to the exhibits. We had not purchased the audio guides so we may have missed the significance of many items. That being said, there were some great exhibits- I especially liked all the embroidered surcoats, and also the cabinet made for keeping the keys to the Hapsburg coffins. There was a narwhal horn and a sword with a handle made from one that were also interesting. We walked back to the Opera house, which was the pickup point, via another McDonalds (just a look, no purchasing). It’s a beautiful city, clean, green and full of regal, historical buildings. On the way back we saw the Viennese version of a public pool - a swimming pool built into a barge docked in the canal. Apparently it is a popular hang out for the party crowds.

Our evening was sparkling. We were taken to a private palace - the Palais Pallavicini and climbed up a beautiful marble staircase to a cocktail reception, followed by a formal dinner. There was a wonderful violinist with a small ensemble who played throughout the night, with a few ballet and opera performances to round out the entertainment. The boys were brought up to dance with the opera singer and then with other teens on the tour. Josh definitely had the best moves of the three, although his outfit left something to be desired - he showed up in a polo shirt and shorts where some of the group had suits and ties. Great music, great food in a magical location - definitely a highlight of the trip so far.

Castle on a Hill

We went up to the sundeck early this morning to experience the boat going through the lock on the way to Bratislava. It was 20m high and pretty interesting to watch. The boats have a lock time booked and then drive into the holding area and wait for the gate to close. Then the water level rises till we reach the top. It was cold and a bit rainy up on the deck but worth the effort.

After a leisurely morning and a late breakfast/brunch, we headed off to Devin castle. We were welcomed by a group in traditional costumes who led some medieval games. Flynn did pretty well with the crossbow but Josh and Cam were a complete fail on the armour reconstruction. I managed to avoid the one where you try to hack an apple in half with a sword. The castle is a ruin perched high up on a hill and despite the rain we managed to have a good wander about. You can see three countries from the top of the castle, Austria on the other side of the river, Hungary further along and Slovakia where we were.

We then did a walking tour of the old town, with a selfie scavenger hunt for the boys to complete. It’s a car free section of the town so was nice to walk about and get a feel for the history of the city. The complex history of governance of the two cities we have been in is an eye-opener and it’s interesting to see the different influences that have left a legacy. The tour finished off with a gelato (lavender!) and we had free time to wander. The boys and I couldn’t resist checking out the local McDonalds (plus they had toilets) . We hardly recognised anything on the menu - burgers with black buns were to oddest, but the menu was all in Slovakian some don’t really know what things were.

I wandered out to the lounge for pre dinner drinks to discover Cam ensconced with a group (mostly adults) chatting away. I settled in too, with the multi generational group from Louisiana, who I ended up joining for dinner. The teen passengers had a separate table tonight and they looked like they had a lot of fun. I’m really proud of the boys - their attitude, their interactions with others and their behaviour.

Good conversation and a few nice glasses of red wine made for a lovely evening. There was a traditional violin and dance group in the lounge after dinner - some very strange yipping from the girl dancer, but the music was good.

I escaped relatively early and crashed in bed.

Hungary for Adventure

Yo yo yo what is up Blogger world, it’s your boy J-Swizzle, the Josh-man, and I am here now as your guest speaker today.

Having to check out of the hotel three hours before the start of the tour, we packed up our luggage to be taken away by the hotel staff and left for an adventure. After heading the wrong direction, we spun around and headed to what is supposedly one of the best pastry shops in the area (disagree) and learned the unfortunate news that the zoo was too far away to be able to get back to the hotel in time for the tour. With no zoo on the horizon, we instead filled time by doing another escape room. As most escape rooms in the area didn’t open until later in the afternoon, we decided to try one that was rated a fair way below the other escape room place....and it showed. Mum was especially unimpressed by a ladder that had to had to be climbed as part of the room. Escaping that, we continued on to have lunch at a burger place before returning to the hotel.

Meeting up with the tour group, we hopped onto a coach and had a short tour of the city - probably would have been better if we’d received the tour BEFORE walking around for the previous two days wandering uninformed, but better late than never! We were returned to the castle district where we had already explored the day earlier , and then hopped back onto the bus to be taken to the boat.

Receiving a lot of introductory information from the get-go, it was very easy to miss the start of scheduled events as there are no announcements and it is left to us to be on top of what time we have to be where. They take pride in having lollies available at all times in the main lounge for those that are interested. Sailing off after a rubix cube “demonstration”, we said farewell to Budapest and ventured on towards Slovakia. I’d say goodbye in Hungarian, but I do not know a single word of the language.

We had dinner in one of the two available meal places where you may order off the menu or partake in the children’s buffet with chips and nuggets. No comment on what I went with. The lollies were also available, a nice dinner snack. After dessert we returned to our rooms and slept ready for the next day.

Hmmm - I may be regretting offering the guest post, but it does mean that I can go get my coffee right away instead of finishing the blog. Josh and I are in a suite with a lot of space, including a walk in wardrobe. The sliding windows open onto a “Juliet balcony” (a guard rail) and it’s nice to sit here in the early morning with the splash of the water and the quiet hum of the engines. It looks like we took no photos yesterday so I’ve uploaded one that Josh took the day before, in honour of his guest posting.

My house in Budapest, my hidden treasure chest...

Much refreshed, we started the day with a buffet breakfast at the hotel. It was that odd mix of European, Asian and American offerings where things are a bit wrong... pinenuts to put on the porridge, hot chocolate made with water, steamed pork dumplings  and a huge selection of deli meats and cheeses, along with black and green olives. We selected carefully and ate well before heading out to walk over the chain bridge to the castle district. It was an easy walk and we caught a heritage funicular to the top of the steep hill. Things unraveled a bit after that. We stopped to get drinks but Flynn dropped Josh’s on the ground and on my shoes on the way to our table. We then headed off to find Josh’s choice - the telephone museum (?!?) but the location eluded us.  Trip adviser did call it a “hidden gem” and it turned out to be very well hidden indeed. Too well hidden for team starrett to find. Undaunted, we tried to go through the labyrinth where Vlad the Impaler was held captive but they only accepted Huf currency - no credit cards or Euro so we couldn’t get in. Finally we walked over to the national library but it was closed to tourists for the summer. There were a lot of statues and plaques but they were all in Hungarian so we left the district as uninformed as we arrived. We did have a nice time wandering around, chatting and looking at the buildings. The houses are all joined together with big wooden doors securing the tunnel entrances to inner courtyards.

Lunch was taken care of by a trip to KFC to check out the Budapest version. A complete ordering fail saw us end up with spicy chicken in a bucket, four cups for post mix drink and a strange box of boiled rice with mixed veg, popcorn chicken and mango sauce. We ate what we could and headed off to the afternoon activity- a pirate themed escape room. This was a highlight. Fully themed with secret doors, different levels and fun puzzles, it’s the best one any of us have been to. We solved the puzzles, found the treasure and made it out with the hour.

In the afternoon we cruised by a ruin bar for a look (interesting but no one keen to stay) and then meandered along towards the hotel with no definite purpose. By now it was late afternoon and we had racked up 17.5km of walking. We decided on dinner in the square next to St Stephen’s church at an outdoor cafe. The church bells, which were charming from a distance, inhibited all conversation close up, but it was a good meal and it was nice to sit and watch the world go by. Everyone looks like a tourist, although we noticed today that tradies are wearing casual clothes (no hi vis) so maybe workwear for all here is very laid back.

There is an odd tree in the park across from our hotel, set up as shrine to Michael Jackson. Google informed us that he used to say at our hotel and his fans set it up during a vigil the night he passed away, and now maintain it. Apparently there are flash mob performances there on his birthday - it’s a strange world.

An early night for all after a long day.

Transit is a (Buda)Pest

Our journey from Sydney to Budapest was a smooth transit, however 24 hours of travelling takes its toll. I dare not complain though - I enjoyed the luxury of business class the whole way while the boys did the hard yards in economy. I went back to visit them a few times during the flights and then scurried back to my seat - guilt stricken.
After rejection at the Emirates lounge in Sydney Airport (too many adults and she refused to accept Campbell as a child), we smiled our way into the Sydney Qantas lounge with an extra adult.  We didn’t even attempt to brave the Emirates dragons in Dubai- Josh was my date in the lounge and Cam and Flynn ate in the main concourse. Dubai airport is a bit overwhelming. Such a huge airport, with an ostentatious use of space and glass, with towering indoor palm trees thrown in for good measure.  Although it’s air conditioned, the pulse of heat comes through the glass walls. Most of the crowd looks western but periodically a local in traditional Emirati robes and headdress comes striding along, with a few black clad ladies following. Wherever we go some of my boys look like locals - Josh and Flynn were addressed in Arabic and the flight attendant was surprised that they didn’t understand. 

We were collected promptly from Budapest Airport and driven for about half an hour into town. The airport surrounds were a bit grim and looked very poor. The houses have quite steeply pinched roofs with a lot of windows/skylights in them and many had solar panels. As we reached the main part of the city the standard changed, with cobbled streets and greenery and lovely architecture. Our rooms were not ready so we arranged ourselves in the lobby on the lounge furniture and waited - forever. I watched successful check-in after successful check-in and finally displayed a bit of rightious indignation and secured two rooms (on different floors but at this stage we didn’t care). An hour of zzz and then four zombies went for a quick dinner at Flynn’s 19th Hard Rock. Looking forward to exploring the city tomorrow when we’re more rested.