River
Cruise From Vienna to Amsterdam
March
& April 2004
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Thursday 30
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To
Atlanta, Georgia - March 21 - 24, 2004 - Paducah, Kentucky. |
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Williams home and new garage |
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Day One -
March 25, 2004 - The Trip to
Vienna. |
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Dan gets everything but a strip search. We meet our
Tour Directors. |
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Day Two -
March 26, 2004 - Wein. |
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The first
day in Europe we walked around Vienna. It was cold and snowy. |
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Day Three -
March 27, 2004 - Melk Abby |
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Melk
Abby. We woke up to
snow. We passed some castles on the way up the Danube to Melk Abby.
We toured the Abby and the town. This was the first day that we got
to walk on cobble stones and walk through towns built on hills. It
became the daily routine. We stopped at a grocery store and spent
our first Euros. |
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Day Four - March
28, 2004 - Passau |
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Passau. The
day started out very cold, but (glory of glory's) by noon, the sun came
out, and it started to warm up. We visited the cathedral and the
town. Some of us visited the glass museum, and crossed the river to
climb the hill to the old castle. By the end of the day, some of us
got to use the balconies on our cabins (that cost extra), and some of us
were very tired. We
got the bad news. A boat has crashed into a bridge up stream from
us, and the tour may be over. |
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Day Five - March
29, 2004 - Regensburg |
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We get better
news. The boat is a barge; It was not really a crash, it came
loose and floated down into a bridge; and it
may be able to be removed it if they can get a big enough tug to pull it off
the bridge. The tugs in the area do not have enough power. Regensburg.
Instead of being docked in Regensburg, we dock in Deggendorf and take
busses to Regensburg. We tour the town, eat bratwurst, and see parts
of the original Roman wall. When
we return to the boat, we get even better news. The barge has been
removed, and by leaving immediately, and traveling all night, we can be
back on schedule by morning (on schedule being a very German thing). |
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Day Six - March
30, 2004 - Kelheim & Riedenburg |
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Kelheim.
This was a particularly busy day because we got to take two field
trips. We started out by visiting Kelheim, and the Weltenburg Abby
in
the morning. Walking around the town was nice, if only because it
wasn't built on a hill. Dan tried to purchase distilled water
there. Describing "water" (vasser) was easy.
Describing "distilled" was not.
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Riedenburg.
The highlight of the day, and one of the highlights of the whole trip was
the visit to a German family and their home. It was one of the few times during the
trip when we were able to talk to local people who were not either guides
(and trained to talk to us) or a clerk in a store. The family we met
with was a delight. |
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Day Seven -
March 31, 2004 - Nurnberg |
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Nurnberg.
During
breakfast, we see a barge worker bathing in the lock. We tour some
WWII and many Nurnberg historical sites, and tour the historical museum. |
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Day Eight -
April 1, 2004 - Bamberg |
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Bamberg.
Another beautiful cathedral, and more hills. We must be in
Bavaria. This village is particularly picturesque - with a river
running
through town, and buildings built in
and around it. From the garden on a hill we could see a sea of
orange tile roofs. While there, we were treated to the local
German Beer which has a bacon flavor.
In Bamberg we
heard the first English we had heard on the streets in days. There is
a US military base near by, and we met US service people both in and out of
uniform. |
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Day Nine - April
2, 2004 - Wurtzburg & Rothenburg
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Wurtzburg.
In the morning, we visited the "Residenz"
there, followed by a visit to the "Hospital" for a wine tasting. |
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Rothenburg.
In the afternoon we visited historic Rothenburg where we walked 11th &
12th century streets, and climbed the walls of the city. |
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Day Ten - April
3, 2004 - Wertheim |
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Wertheim.
We cruse down the Main river during the morning to Wertheim where we get
to see a glass blowing demonstration and walk around town. For the
first time while in Europe, we have an opportunity to check our
E-Mail. We even get to do it using English keyboards.
After the
demonstration and a tour of the small town where they are having a street
fair, some of us climb to the very top of an old castle ruin. |
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Day Eleven -
April 4, 2004 - Heidelberg |
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Heidelberg.
We toured the town and the university, including the student
"jail". We had our first pastry and coffee and it was delicious.
After walking around town, where Jean bought a red hat, we had dinner at
the castle, and then toured the castle. After
spending most of the day in Heidelberg, we returned to the boat, and
continued on to Frankfurt where we walked around town after dinner. |
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Day Twelve -
April 5, 2004 - Mainz & Rudesheim |
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Mainz. We
visit Mainz, the Gutenberg Museum, and St. Stephen's Cathedral.
While there, we have the very best pastry and coffee of the trip. |
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Rudesheim.
After lunch, which we have while cruising down the Main, we stop in Rudesheim
where we walk around the village and have dinner in a local restaurant. |
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Day Thirteen -
April 6, 2004 - Rhine Castles & Koblenz |
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Rhine Castles.
We spent the morning cruising the Rhine gorge, with castles on every
mountain precipice. Mysteriously, as we passed the large rock rising
440 feet above the river, Lorelei appeared in the lounge.
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Koblenz.
After lunch, we docked at Koblenz and walked around town - mostly in the
rain. |
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Day Fourteen -
April 7, 2004 - Klon |
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Klon. We
tour the Cologne cathedral, and have our last
taste
of German Pastry. |
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Day Fifteen -
April 8, 2004 - Amsterdam |
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Amsterdam.
We took a buss and boat tour through the canals of Amsterdam. Then
we visited the Van Gogh Museum and the Flower Market. |
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Day Sixteen -
April 9 - 12, 2004 - Home |
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We fly home and
Ralph grills fish for dinner. |
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EZ Address for this page:
www.Europe.DanWheeler.us
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Updated
6/2/05 |