Krems by Bed

Remember how I've been going on and on about the weather. Cold or drizzling or raining or sleeting, blah blah blah. Well here we are, five days into our cruise, I woke up with the misery.

I tried to rouse myself, after all, we had an adventure planned to go visit the Gottweig Abbey. This has been a working Benedictine Monastery since around 1100 AD, and I was very much looking forward to the visit. After my failed attempt to lift head off pillow, however, I resigned myself to a day well spent in appreciation of the Egyptian Cotton bedding Viking supplied us with. I did enjoy this view out of my window, as well as the On Demand Downton Abbey spree. I did not do too bad, all told.

Later in the afternoon, I was able to enjoy a lovely, comforting soup for lunch, and then slowly wandered around the boat, taking in as much scenery as I could from the top deck of the Tor. Which is easier said than done. Y'all its cold up there!

Bundle Up!

A warming tisane 

This is my only memory and vision of KremsI 

Thus fortified, I decided to brave the weather, enjoy the view and photograph the cruising later that afternoon.

Jeff had a great time at his Abbey Tour and I will post his photos from that adventure in a later edition.

Note to future self and travelers - Bring plenty of medications for this sort of trip. I should have brought along with me some Claritin D; Benadryl; and Halls. Because guess what, trying to find these things in a foreign country with different rules about what one may purchase without a prescription is a bit problematic. More on that later. 

Vienna Part 2 of 2 - Imperial Crown Jewel and Coffee and Cake

Well yes. Now that I've got all that off my chest. There is a whole Imperial world of Vienna that just begs for far more than 1.5 days to explore.

The city is so Grande! The Ringstrasse, built over the ancient city walls, is a showcase to the grandeur and splendor of the Hapsburg Empire. And traveling along its avenues, one can't help but imagine the pageantry of the past.

I think this cool thing was a monument to Empress Marie Theresa

Viennese Coffee is a must when visiting. As is the decadent Sachertorte, click here for a recipe by Chef Wolfgang. The coffee is not so much of a preparation or specific bean, but rather an experience of just enjoying the good life. Going for coffee in Vienna is the Anti-Starbucks. It is not a take-out or drive through, with disposable cups of mass produced and marketed coffee, but rather an event to be savored. Knowing what to expect, we wandered into a quiet coffeeshop, and ordered the recommended german-named drink which I think consisted of some nice coffee with lots of foam, along with their sachertorte. Glancing around, we noted the other patrons, all at their leisure, perusing the paper, or a novel, or a treatise on Portuguese irregular verbs, and  yes, some were hunched over their phones as well. Take your time, there's no rush. If you're running late for work, this is not for you. If your on holiday, however, sit awhile and relax. You won't regret it.

Vienna Part 1 of 2 - Sisi and the Waltz

Vienna has been known by many distinctions: Resident city of the Hapsburg Empire; Seat of the Holy Roman Empire; Capitol City of the Mighty Austro-Hungarian Empire, comprised of Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Czech Republic, Italy, Montenegro and Poland. And finally, a major center of classical music and home to the famously romantic Viennese Waltz. BTW, for a sublime example, check out this Emperor Waltz, written by Strauss to celebrate Emperor Franz Josef. Feel free to skip ahead to 2:54, that's the most important bit.

Rabbit Hole: Not sure about you, but I have a tendency to search for historical novels based in the areas I am planning to travel to. This trip was no exception, so well in advance I read first The Accidental Empress and then its sequel, Sisi, both by Allison Pataki, a historical novel based on the life of Empress Elisabeth, wife to Franz Josef. There is also a movie that you can find on Amazon Prime, though its in German with English subtitles. I was all caught up on Sisi history and I was on a mission. I came across the beautiful empress years ago when I first saw this exquisite portrait where she is gowned in a House of Worth creation. Isn't this lovely?

Warning here comes a history lesson. Sisi, niece to the Archducess Sophie who was mother of Emperor Franz Josef, began her life as a Duchess of Bavaria, living a country life at her father's estate. Her elder sister was summoned, and accompanied by her mother and Sisi, to Auntie's court to see about a potential marriage with the young Emperor . Once he caught of the younger sixteen year old Sisi, however, it was love at first sight. So she became the "Accidental" bride/Empress and sister went back home with Mama, pleased with the arrangement. Sisi apparently had a difficult time adjusting to royal life, her husbands revolving mistresses, and battle ax of a Mother in Law, so she spent most of her time escaping the lot of them and traveling the world. Her beauty regimen was legendary and she refused to have her portrait taken after age 30, the vain creature.

One can't help but stumble upon Empress Sisi all over this part of the world. Her favorite city was Budapest and she loved the Hungarians, who loved her in return. You'll find her there... in Bratislava, Vienna, Bavaria and likely lots of other cities I haven't been to. Needless to say, I could not wait for our Schoenbrunn Palace Tour. She lived there and walked those halls so I had to go!

Here is the palace in all her Imperial splendor

Here is the sum total of the information provided on Sisi during our tour. A helpful geneology chart

Our tour took us through 25 opulent rooms. Hell, I don't even remember most of them. But not a single one of them had anything to do with Empress Elisabeth. Not one!

Don't get me wrong. Its a palace. And it is frequently compared with Versailles in its similar splendor. I just learned far more about Empress Maria Theresa than I was expecting to and not quite as much about Sisi. However, the Christmas market just outside the palace was quite the Bees Knees of Christmas Market experiences on our trip, so it was a great day.

Day 3 - Bratislava By Bus, But Not By Boat

As I've hinted at along the way Bratislava was a bit inconvenient to get to. Those who wished, could have just skipped it and stayed in Vienna for the day. Not us though. This was a bucket list stop and we were going, even if we had to spend all day on a bus to get there. It was drizzly again, as it had been the prior 3 days, but we didn't let it stop us.

Bratislava is in the Republic of Slovakia. If this sounds unfamiliar, you may recognize it as part of the former Czechoslovakia. Slovakia became an independent state on Jan 1, 1993, in what is sometimes known as the Velvet Divorce. The two ex-spouses are still close and enjoy a close relationship with slightly similar customs and language.

The city seems to have "enjoyed" more than its fare share of communist treatment. For example, the beautiful White Castle had been completely destroyed at some point, and rebuilt by the Soviets. They installed vinyl windows. Really?






A beautiful square in town and some curious signage

A Bit About the Cruise

I'll pause for a moment in the Day-by-Day, shall I, and tell you about life on board a Viking Cruise. We'd been dreaming about taking a Viking River Cruise since the very early days of watching Downton Abbey and seeing the Oh So Luxurious commercials, probably something like this one:

Viking Commercial

A river cruise can be exactly as relaxing or as busy as you please. Viking includes one free excursion every day, usually a walking tour. And there are countless optional ones (available for purchase, of course) All meals are included, as are beer and wine for lunch and dinner. For a modest additional fee, you can add on a Spirits package which covers any beverage, at any hour of the day. Want a glass of the Veuve but not the bottle, go see our favorite barkeep, Jeffrey, and he'll open up that bottle and serve you a glass. Want a Sidecar with your Cheerios? Whatevs, they've got it covered.

The ship: 

As I've already said, there is not much excitement on board. The ships are minimal, and the fun is in being right in the middle of the city and having such easy access to come and go as you please. That said, I am completely content to find a comfy, quiet spot to sit down and do a bit of journaling. I could likely spend hours just with a book, a pen and a journal.

For those a bit more Antsy Pantsy, there are other options. The top deck has a walking track, herb gardens that I'd imagine you might be able to poach from, and nice deck chairs.


The Rooms: 

They're small, and no mistake. Organize your stuff, early on. Here's a few pics of our room. We had a French Balcony. Which is I guess the 2nd tier. You get a sliding door but no balcony. It was just fine for us!

The trouble with any sort of a balcony room, is when the ships do this thing they call "rafting". Sometimes the docking locations are busy so they stack the ships up side by side. This is a pic of someone else's room, within arms reach of ours. Its weird, not gonna lie. Luckily we only had this happen once. I have heard that in the busier seasons, this can happen an unfortunate number of times.

The Schedule: Here is a look at a day in the life of a Viking Cruise:

8:30-9:00am - At this unholy hour, most of the included excursions are being sorted up in the lobby. Make sure to bring your ear phones with the listening boxes. If you want to cram in a made-to-order omelette or my personal favorite, their house-made Muesli, you'll need to factor in about 15 minutes in the dining room.
Noonish - return to ship if you want, for lunch. Or just stay in town, because guess what, its just a short walk back to the boat. You're on vacation, yo!
After lunch - Did you sign up for another excursion? Or would you prefer an afternoon off on your own to explore? Maybe a nap?
6ish - Meet in the lounge for a Port Talk. This is one of my favorites. They tell you all about where you'll be tomorrow. History, culture, food...Yep, I was that one geek taking notes.
7:00 or thereabouts - Dinner is served. Options are the dining room or the terrace. And blessedly, it is informal and casual. No sequins required. The food is un-freaking-believable. They did a great job of tailoring the menu to the current city and if you aren't interested in the local fare, feel free to have the Steak or Chicken.
After Dinner - Back up to the lounge. Sure there are no  neon clad dance clubs or loud casinos shrouded in smoke, but the entertainment on board was fantastic. Local musicians, folklore groups, etc. Sadly I missed most of it. By the time they were serving the soup course, I was already washing off my face and sinking into my comfy bed. Jet lag and travel fatigue are no joke!

This is usually how I ended my evening, after realizing that the TV has  nonstop Downton Abbey episodes on demand. Actually this was probably in the morning before leaving our hotel ship, since I had my shoes on the bed. I don't ever do that.

There was that one night though, where I managed to stay up for the entertainment. It was a Slovakian Men's Choir. They sang us Christmas Carols and they were divine. And wow, the main dude, MC and lead whatever they call him, looks so much like a grownup Liam, don't you think?!

Are you my boat? Day 3

So Day 3 was originally scheduled for us to be docked in Bratislava, Slovakia. This stop was the main reason we chose this particular cruise. Jeff's grandparents are from Slovakia and so is my uncle Joe. We figured this would be our only chance to get to the country and were very much looking forward to exploring Bratislava.

Due to the same river level problem I've been going on about for four posts now, this bit of the itinerary was changed as well. We had to travel northwest all the way to Vienna, arriving late afternoon, then the next day, back on the bus for the trip south to Bratislava.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. When we finally reached "our" ship, we were amazed. The Tor was completely decked out for the holidays and looked enchanting. All public areas were festooned with greenery and lights. And gingerbread!

We allowed ourselves only a moment to run around the ship and take in the holiday glory before we set off for a short tour of Vienna and visit to the Christmas Market. Try the hot eggnog. Seriously, who knew. It was fab though. And in case I haven't mentioned this yet. At the markets, they first sell you a drink in a proper seasonal mug. If you return the cup as you leave, you get a coin back. I don't know, Euro, Forint, Crown, whatever. I did bring home a few, including this beauty.

And while I was waiting for Himself to locate me, I ate one of these things. No idea what it was, other than damn gooey good.

Didn't spend much time there, though it was a great market. We headed back to the ship for the scheduled festivities.


Back on board we freshened up for the Captain's Welcome toast. We also got to meet the amazing crew we would spend the next few days with. We were so impressed at the commitment to service at the individual level. By the 2nd day, these folks know your name, your room number, your favorite drink and your kids names.

And finally and perhaps most importantly, we made friends. Why else do we travel? I saw this quote on a Viking publication and I could not have said it better myself.

And this, Ladies and Gentlemen was the night we first met our tribe.

More to follow.