My Morning Panorama

It's not the Rhine. It's not the Danube. Not even Wolfgang Lake in Austria.

It's just the little pond on Sammons Golf Course, here in Temple, Texas. This is the morning view from the windows that line one side of the large ballroom where our "Sweatin' with the Oldies" exercise group works out three times a week. I don't think I could make myself crawl out of bed and go each time if we met in a boring, old, stuffy (smelly?) gym. But gazing at this panorama at 8:30 in the morning, while stretching, lifting and crunching; following the lead of our fun leader, Kathy; and  chattering with my quick-witted, comical and congenial senior companions make the hour something I actually look forward to!

Budapest - Our Last Port of Call

Good morning, Budapest!

We were docked on the other side of the river, straight across from the Parliament Building. The photo below was taken from our cabin's balcony.

Our morning tour of Budapest was full of scenic vistas, monuments and majestic buildings. 

I walked to the top of the Gellért Hill (where the above photos were taken) to see the Liberty Statue. It was erected in 1947 in remembrance of the Soviet liberation of Hungary from Nazi Germany. The original inscription was in both Hungarian and Russian and would have translated as: "To the memory of the liberating Soviet heroes, the grateful Hangarian people 1945." Some portions of the monument were damaged during a 1956 revolution, when public sentiment toward the Soviets decreased. After Hungary's transition from communism to democracy, the inscription was changed to read, in Hungarian: "To the memory of those all who sacrificed their lives for the independence, freedom, and prosperity of Hungary," and the Russian version was removed entirely.

Peace

Progress

Overcoming evil

We boarded our bus again, which took us to Fisherman's Bastion, with its seven towers, which was built built in the early 20th century, just as a panoramic viewing platform ... and believe me, the view across the Danube was magnificent.

The square behind the Fisherman's Bastion is home to Matthias Church and the statue of the first king of Hungary, who was later venerated as the patron saint of Hungary, St. Stephen. The Statue is very ornate, especially the saddle cloth.

Dan filled me in on the history and legend of the bent cross on the crown. In the close-up below, you will note that the cross is sitting crooked. Actually, there is a lot of interesting history about the king's crown, which for a period of time was held, in safe-keeping, by the United States.

Walking back to the bus I snapped a couple pictures of the quaint neighborhood streets.

Later in the day we were taken to the Pest side of the city for a piano/organ recital. It was held in an old building, used as a school for the blind, with narrow, windy halls and up-and-down steps here and there. It was in that building that Dan took a fall. It was the last tour of the last day! He fell on his left shoulder, but somehow injured his right hand, as well. It was painful, but no bones were broken, so he pushed on like a trooper!

After getting back to the boat, we began packing our bags for our early morning departure. We spent the evening with Lee and JoAnn. We will miss them, as they have become friends. Some Hungarian folk musicians and dancers came on board to entertain us. 

The Parliament Building at night was a spectacular sight.

And shortly after sunset, we started seeing these birds, circling over the dome! (You'll have to enlarge this video to see them.)

Saying "good-bye" to people we'd grown so fond of was really hard. Our friends, Lee and JoAnn were especially hard to leave behind, but they tell us they will come see us in Texas - maybe next year! 

We also had a hard time saying good-bye to Alex, our cruise director, who made our European River Cruise everything we ever hoped it would be ... and more! Thank you, Alex!

We had to have our luggage all packed and sitting outside our cabin door by 4:45 the next morning. At 5:15 our ride came to take us to the Budapest Airport. That airport was kind of a dreary space - concrete and tile, very little color, no art. The only brightness was in the two duty-free shops that we had to walk through to get to our gate. 

The weather on our trip was fantastic. Other than one night in Amsterdam, we didn't have rain. We had a few overcast days, but many sunny ones. The temperatures were pleasant. But as we were taxiing down the runway, leaving Budapest, I saw rain dotting the window. I guess that meant it really was time to go home.

We changed planes at Heathrow, and once again it was a crazy mess, getting from Terminal 3 to Terminal 5. It required us to go through security again, and took a little over two hours to get to our gate. The long flight from London to Austin, however, was pleasant, and we actually arrived a half-hour early. 

All I got to see of London was the airport and some landscapes as we gained altitude, leaving for home. Someday I'd like to cross the Atlantic again and visit England, Ireland and Scotland, where many of my ancestors came from.

Kay and Andy were there in Austin to pick us up, bless their hearts! We stopped on the way home for dinner at Chuy's Tex-Mex Restaurant. We hadn't had Mexican food in over two weeks, which must be a record for us. Once home I took a long, luxurious bath and went to bed. Unpacking, laundry and re-stocking our refrigerator and pantry had to wait for a new day. And that new day was a return to normal life - no chefs, no butlers, no drivers! 

I Love Vienna - Day 2

Our second day in Vienna, Saturday, September 21, was very special. We toured the Spanish Riding School, which is located in the Hofburg. Can you imagine a magnificent structure like this housing animals?

But, then, these aren't "just" animals. These are the Lipizzaner Stallions - equally magnificent as their home.

Of course, I had seen these beautiful horses performing, on TV. But I didn't really know much about them. Our tour guide filled us in on the history of the Lipizzaners, and the customs of the Spanish Riding School.

We were allowed to take photos of the horses, from outside the stables, with their heads looking through. But when we actually walked through the stables, we were prohibited from taking pictures or touching the horses. You can't imagine how difficult it was to restrain my hands! They slooked at me and seemed to be begging me to pet their soft muzzles. But I complied with the rules. (I did speak softly to a couple of them.)

One of the stallions - full-blooded Lipizzaner - was brown, instead of white. Our guide explained that the horses are all born black, gray or brown, and turn white as they age. This particular one, along with two others that the Spanish Riding School has, will stay dark. He told us that having a dark Lipizzaner in the stables is considered good luck. The stallion, despite his different color, participates and performs in everything the others do.

We also learned about the riders and the training. The horses are trained according to their personality, therefore a more high-spirited stallion would be trained in jumping, rather than the more disciplined dressage.

We also got to view the tack room, which was beautiful in itself! Every horse and rider has a saddle that is custom fitted to them. As you can see, each saddle and each bridle is identified, by a plaque on the wall, with the horse's name. Each horse is given two names - the first being the line of the sire, and the second being the name of the dam.

This is a picture of the Winter Riding School, where exercise sessions and performances take place.

And this is the Summer Riding School, with one of the world's largest oval horse walkers.

We still had a little time, after our tour of the stables. While I visited a few more shops, Dan sat on a bench, outside the Hofburg, and struck up a conversation with a local Viennese man, who could speak some English.

Dan and Norbert

When I returned, this man named Norbert, told us the story of this modern bank building, the Raiffeisenbank, which stands across from the Hofburg, with all of its glorious Baroque architecture. Apparently there was a lot of controversy when this building, known as Looshaus, was built - such a modern, plain structure, right in the heart of the old, historic city. Norbert told us the people called it a house without eyebrows! I just looked it up on Wikipedia, and enjoyed this quote: "It was said that Emperor Franz Joseph had not only avoided passing next to Looshaus for the rest of his life by using the exit at Michaelerplatz, but also had to leave the windows of the Hofburg nailed so that he did not have to see the "hideous" house anymore." (I thought it was quite charming, in its more modern way.)

Looshaus

Back aboard ship, later in the afternoon, we enjoyed an on-board dance performance of the two dancers who had been part of last night's performance at the Palace Lichtenstein. They danced for us and persuaded a number of people to come forward and take some waltz lessons. 

CLICK HERE NEXT (BUDAPEST)

I Love Vienna! - Day 1

Friday, September 20, we looked out our cabin balcony to see dawn breaking on Vienna. These are some modern skyscrapers, all built since the 1970s. Later I would learn that the building with the "wavy" profile is the DC Tower. It is the tallest building in all of Austria, and it was built to simulate the waves of the Danube.

We would spend two days in Vienna. This morning we had signed up for a city tour, and in the evening we would attend a concert. Dan's cold was even worse today, but he was absolutely determined to attend the evening concert, so he stayed home that morning.

I went ahead with the morning tour, sticking with Lee and Jo for most of the day. Vienna is BEAUTIFUL! I recently read the book (and saw the movie), The Lady in Gold, about the Klimt painting o f Adele Bloch-Bauer, so was excited when I saw places I recognized from the book, such as the Ringstrasse and the Vienna Secession art building. The Vienna Secession was the start of modern art in Austria, and Gustav Klimt was a leader in this movement, challenging conventional art ideas.

The Vienna Secession building

Here are a few other street scenes of this marvelous city.

We spent quite a lot of time at two major sites: The Hofburg and St. Stephen's Cathedral. 

The Hofburg is the former imperial palace of the Habsburg dynasty, and now serves as the official residence and workplace of the President of Austria. At the center of the Hofburg is Heroes' Square. Our tour guide also pointed out the entrance to the place where the Vienna Boys' Choir practices. I would have loved to have heard them sing! The Spanish Riding School is also located in the Hofburg, as are the stables for the Lipizzaner stallions, which we would tour on our second day in Vienna.

St. Stephen's is the most important religious building in Vienna and is easily recognizable because of its extremely tall south tower and its multi-colored tile roof.

As time was running out on our walking tour, we had an interesting interaction with a sidewalk cafe server near St. Stephen's. Five of us sat down to order some refreshments - Lee, Jo, an Englishman named Peter, his wife and I. It was then that I realized that our small stash of Euros was on board ship, in Dan's wallet, so I decided to just sit with the others and visit while they ate and drank. The waiter came and took an order from Lee, Jo and Peter's wife, and then it was my turn. I said I wouldn't be ordering anything, and the waiter said, "Then LEAVE! You must leave!" Thinking maybe I could redeem myself, I said, "I'm happy to place an order if you accept credit cards." "No cards. Only Euros. You'll have to LEAVE," he repeated. As I stood up, totally embarrassed, to move away from my party, Lee spoke up, saying that he had planned to pay with a credit card, as well. (Up until now we'd used our Visa everywhere, by the way, without any problems.) Swinging his arm up and pointing away from the table, the waiter ordered all of us, "LEAVE, You must all leave!" I've had so many "firsts" on this trip, and this was another ... the first time I've ever been "evicted" from a cafe. Ha ha.

Returning to the ship, I found that Dan was feeling some better, and was still certain that he was going to attend the evening concert at the Garden Palace Liechtenstein. So after dinner we got ready to go. It was about a fifteen-minute bus ride from the ship. When we walked inside, our jaws dropped in amazement. What a beautiful palace!

Painted ceiling

The concert was performed by a small chamber orchestra, as well as two solo singers and two ballet dancers. It was an experience that I'll never forget. Dan was so happy to have come, and continues to talk about that wonderful evening.

The dancers were lovely, although my effort at getting a video was pitiful! Still, here's a little peek of what we saw.

The tradition, in classical music venues, is to end orchestral performances with two Strauss pieces - the Blue Danube Waltz, second to last; and the Radetzky Marsch (known as the unofficial anthem of the Austro-Hungarian military) as the final piece, with audience participation by clapping during the playing of the chorus.

It was a perfect day! Did I mention, I LOVE Vienna?

CLICK HERE NEXT (VIENNA DAY 2)