Peter Deilmann MV Mozart cruise on the Danube April 2-9, 2006

[jgnova]

Peter Deilmann MV Mozart cruise on the Danube April 2-9, 2006
Part I

“Why is Deilmann sending us their brochure via FedEx? We got this 2 months ago!”

And thus we learned in May of 2005 that my midnight contest entry on the Deilmann site produced a reward – a coupon toward any of their European river cruises and the challenge of choosing which cruise and ship to take – until I spotted a “theme” cruise on the Danube in October 2005 dedicated to classical music. Oops – that wouldn’t work as I would be taking the last course in my MBA program. With a quick call to Deilmann’s US office (conveniently located minutes from our house) to see if there would be another classical music, cruise, we learned that there would be a similar cruise in April 2006 – and we signed up instantly. The 7-night cruise began (and ended) in Passau, Germany (near Munich) with stops in Austria (Vienna and some small towns), Slovakia (Bratislava), and Hungary (Budapest and a small village).

Over the next several days, I’ll be posting a detailed, daily description of the trip, including our pre- and post-cruise stays in Munich and Salzburg.

In today’s postings (4, including this one), I’ll provide an outline of my future topics and an overall impression of the ship and Deilmann’s service. An illustrated version of the entire trip will also be available on our own web site in the next few weeks (I have over 1,400 photos to winnow down to something manageable!).

Next posting:

II. A list of topics to be covered in the next few days.


J

[jgnova]

Peter Deilmann MV Mozart cruise on the Danube April 2-9, 2006
Part II

Below is a list of the topics I’ll be covering over the next few days – I hope this will entice you to stay tuned….

Trip Prep – or how we spent the months prior to departure obsessing over everything from luggage requirements to other tours and concerts we could book independently for our spare(!) time.

Day 0 – or are we flying or walking to Munich?

Day 1: We got our tickets! Or why I love the Hotel Kempinski

Day 2: Our private tour and dinner – our first full day in Munich

Day 3: Fairy tale castles of mad kings – Neuschwanstein and Linderhof

Day 4: River high, bridges low – through the Vienna Woods we go!

Day 5: Crusader king held in Dürnstein cliff top castle – and a night at the opera!

Day 6: Mozart slept here (well in this building, anyway) – touring Vienna

Day 7: A subterranean tour – or on our own in Budapest

Day 8: Maria Theresa slept here, too – touring Budapest

Day 9: Another day, another country, another castle, another cathedral – Bratislava

Day 10: You think this year’s flood was bad? Benedictine Abbey in Melk.

Day 11: Passau at last – and walking through Salzburg

Day 12: The concert is only 138 steps away – up! Touring Salzburg

Day 13: It’s time to go home?

Day ??: Now that we’re home, what did we think?

Next posting:
III. Just the facts – quick description of the ship

J

[jgnova]

Peter Deilmann MV Mozart cruise on the Danube April 2-9, 2006
Part III

MV Mozart brief overview

Comparing this to an ocean cruise ship is unrealistic – this boat was built to cruise a river and fit through its narrow locks and under the bridges. There isn’t room for climbing walls, ice rinks, balconied performance rooms, etc. If that’s what you want, you’re reading about the wrong cruise category.

The best term I can use to describe this ship is understated elegance. The Mozart reminds me of an earlier age when the very wealthy were comfortable enough with their money that they had no need for the gaudiness found among today’s stars of screen, sport, or the boardroom.

The ship has 3 named decks and the unnamed top deck with chaises for sunning and watching the scenery float by. Starting at the bottom is the Dorabella deck with 49 outside and 3 inside cabins. The floor of this deck is below the water line and the windows are about 4 feet from the floor with the water level about a foot below the window bottom edge. Our cabin was on this deck. We had 3 complaints about this deck – the floor was cold, the steps leading down to the deck were steeper than those between other levels, and our view out the window was blocked when docked on our side. As most time in port was spent off the ship, this last was not too important. While moving, we could easily see the passing scenery.

The next deck up, Tamino, had 48 outside cabins identical to those on the deck below except that the windows were a bit larger (no water line to worry about). This deck also had the reception desk and the spa. The spa offers a small pool, hot tub, sauna, hair stylist, and massage services – and is located at the bow of the ship with large windows (and chaises) offering one of the best forward looking views from the boat. Entrance to the boat in most ports was through this deck.

Moving up a level is the Don Giovanni deck with the dining room, library (stocked with books in English & German along with some games), bar, and entertainment lounge. The lounge is at the bow of the ship and provided a great place to drink and enjoy the moving scenery. This was also the venue for the multiple afternoon and evening performances offered on board. This deck also had a full promenade circling the entire ship – one circuit is reported at 120m (not verified).

On top of the ship is the sunning deck with chaises, a shuffleboard court, and some awnings (not deployed on our voyage) to protect against the sun. With glass wind shields at the front, sitting on deck in the sun was quite comfortable even on cooler days. This deck was a great place to be when transiting the locks or squeezing under bridges (more on this later).

Next posting:

Cabin, dining, and ship service

J

[jgnova]

Peter Deilmann MV Mozart cruise on the Danube April 2-9, 2006
Part IV

My last posting was an overview of the ship. Now we’ll get into some details.

Cabin:

At 203 square feet, the Mozart cabins are bigger than all but the suites on most ocean cruise ships and offer a choice of a comfortable queen bed (plus a loveseat) or two sofa-beds. As in most European hotels, even the queen bed had twin comforters. Each cabin has a small TV (we never turned ours on), a 4 channel radio, and the ubiquitous mini-bar. Storage space was more than adequate with closets and drawers. We even fit our luggage in the back of the closet (instead of under the bed). The bathroom was functional, although a larger shower (with a shelf for shampoo) would have been appreciated.

Dining:

Dinners on the Mozart were an experience we will remember forever. Each night’s menu was an adventure with up to 8 courses (cold appetizer, soup, salad, warm appetizer, sorbet, main course, cheese, dessert), including vegetarian options. The meals were more like a high-end restaurant’s prix fixe menu than those normally found on cruise ships – and the service and food quality certainly met my expectations for such a setting. Each course was served like a choreographed ballet – the plates were arranged artistically and always placed in front of the diner in the correct orientation. Often two servers coordinated their delivery at each table so that pairs of diners received their food at EXACTLY the same second!! Some might feel constrained by the limitation of food choices, but I never felt the desire to phone for a pizza, and I’m a picky eater.

Services:

Our luggage was delivered to the cabin within minutes of our arrival, an indication of things to come. The staff on the ship were responsive to every request – from cabin service one evening when S was under the weather to obtaining the last 4 available tickets at the Hungarian State Opera House. The shore excursions were interesting – they seemed to use the same buses and drivers at each stop (I never found the trailer on the back of the boat J when I looked at night) and local tour guides who were very knowledgeable about their areas. Their talks included enough historical context to fill in the memory gaps for us Americans – and they had answers to my “Trivial Pursuit” questions.

Next posting:
Trip Prep – or how we spent the months prior to departure obsessing over everything from luggage requirements to other tours and concerts we could book independently for our spare(!) time.

J

[Jswen]

Hi,
Cant wait for the next installment of you trip. It's so informative, I am enjoying every detail.
JS

[nyfeds]

Excellent reports! Looking very much forward to the next installment! Thanks so much for taking the time to share your experiences with us!

[steamboats]

S&J,

Great!!!! Can´t wait to read the rest of your review!!!

steamboats

[jgnova]

Peter Deilmann MV Mozart cruise on the Danube April 2-9, 2006
Part V:

Trip Prep – or how we spent the months prior to departure obsessing over everything from luggage requirements to other tours and concerts we could book independently for our spare(!) time.

A brief note before I begin – yes, I know I left out some important details about the ship and will pick them up as I write up the daily logs. I’ll tell you all about the engine room and how the locks work and how the pilot house disappears into the ship and what we learned about crusading kings and ….. just wait!

Now we’ve committed to this April 06 cruise in August 05 – we’re a pair of hyper-obsessive baby boomer yuppies whose kids are out of the house – so let’s spend the next 7 months worrying and planning.

Getting there and luggage

So, if we’re going to Munich, and we want to fly non-stop, it’s either Lufthansa or United. Let’s go Lufthansa! Did you know that Lufthansa’s carry-on requirement is different from United’s? Or from almost everyone else’s? Lufthansa says the bag can’t exceed 22”x15”x8”, while United says 22”x14”x9”? Did you know that almost every carry-on sold in the US is more than 8” deep? Even the bags that claim to be 8” measure closer to 10”. After a bunch of searching I found a company in Montana (Red Oxx) that makes a bag that is 22”x13”x8” and weighs only 3 lbs – leaving much more of the 18 lb allowance for packable items. Guess what???!!!! No one ever measured or weighed our luggage – I can’t tell you how much time we spent in luggage stores and department stores looking for a carry-on that met Lufthansa’s requirements. And Samsonite makes a very lightweight, very folding wheeled luggage cart that will fit into a pocket of the bag and carry both of the carry-ons as we walk around the airport after we check our luggage.

We also wound up replacing our 12 year old Delsey hard side luggage with matching 29” and 25” American Tourister iLite rolling luggage. Our Delseys were fine and have taken us to Jamaica and Jersey (Isle of, not that place in the US), but we were worried about weight. If we can save 5 lbs per bag, that’s 20 lbs more of goodies we can bring home! The iLite line is light and seems OK – my only complaint is that zipper pull tabs seem to get lost in transit. Most lines reduced their weight allowances for checked luggage from 70 to 50 lbs in the past few months – check before you go to the airport!

Clothing

We’re all big boys and girls here – one does not tour cathedrals in sleeveless tops, shorts, T-shirts, and baseball caps. We decided to leave the sneakers and jeans at home. Most of the shoe companies (New Balance, Rockport, Ecco, even Reebok) make very comfortable walking shoes that feel like sneakers but look “almost” like shoes. It’s time we erased the image of the ugly American tourist and started to blend in (well, as much as we can with cameras and tour books dangling all over). We did our part. We brought layered and mix-and-match stuff and it all worked well.

Next posting:

Passports, lines of communication, and camera stuff

J

[jgnova]

Peter Deilmann MV Mozart cruise on the Danube April 2-9, 2006
Part VI:

The last posting covered luggage and clothing – now for some more prep:

Passports and other travel documents

Check requirements – some companies require that your passport not expire for 6 months after the travel date. I decided to splurge ($10) and get an international drivers license “just in case” – never needed it, but it’s nice to know it’s there. Travelers from the US don’t need visas – travelers from other countries should check well in advance. You’re going to feel awfully stupid at the border crossing when they tell you to get off the boat and stay in an EU country (I don’t know what they really do – lock you in your cabin?).

Communicating with home

The Mozart does not have internet access and we did not want to think about a computer, so we left ours home. We did see internet cafés in almost every town we visited, so had we wanted to do so, we could have read or sent email – but we didn’t. The Deilmann document packet includes phone and fax numbers for the ship, and we relayed that to our relatives at home as emergency contact information. Some cell phones (GSM, not CDMA) will work overseas – I think you need a quad-band phone for this – that’s what I have and was told it would work. I called Cingular and asked them to activate international calling. We never used it, but my phone was connecting almost every place we went (can’t remember which city didn’t).

Cameras

S had a 35mm camera, which conveniently started acting up on our 2nd day, leaving me to take the pictures. I bought a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ5K camera for the trip and was very happy. That camera was great! 5 MP, 12:1 zoom lens (Leica optics, no less), all kinds of manual and automatic settings, even shot movies (great for the Munich glockenspiel!). I even shot through the bus window while we were moving and that thing captured what I wanted. And it weighs very little and cost less than $400!

I had no idea how many pictures I’d want, so I over-prepared, bringing 3 1G memory cards (each could hold about 400 images) and 3 rechargeable batteries. And I found 2 ways to copy my pictures so I could re-use the cards – someone sells an adapter that let me copy the images on the card to my iPod. And I also found a very small portable hard drive that is designed to copy USB cards to the drive. So I could theoretically store over 8,000 pictures on each drive! Not needed as I took only about 1300 total. (Remember, I was “covering” for S and the defunct film camera. She usually takes more photos than I do.)

Next posting:

Planning things to do while there

J

[jgnova]

Peter Deilmann MV Mozart cruise on the Danube April 2-9, 2006
Part VII:

The last posting covered passports and geeky stuff – now for some fun

Things to do

We booked the classical music themed cruise, which left us few options for excursions during the cruise. The only available excursion was the day-long tour of Esztergom and I was tempted, but decided it would be nice to relax on board before hitting Budapest. But…. We had booked 3 nights in Munich pre-cruise and 2 nights in Salzburg at the end, so that left some options….

The Deilmann stay in Munich included a half-day city tour on our first full morning, so that left us 3 nights and a full day (wasn’t going to try to function the day we landed!) to find things to do. I did some searching on the web and found 2 things that looked interesting.

First, I found that Ricardo Muti would be conducting the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra in the Mozart Symphonies 40 & 41 while we were there. Off went an email to the ticket place asking about 4 tickets for either of the two nights as I could not navigate the Deutsch site. The reply arrived within a couple of days, “we’re sorry, but it’s sold out.” Now why we think we should be able to see the 2nd best German orchestra conducted by the world’s best Mozart interpreter performing his 2 best known symphonies during the Mozart 250th birthday year is beyond me – but it became something we (I) had to do. I work at a large university (with a great “Cinderella” basketball team!) and we have an excellent performing arts school and center that hosts major orchestras and other musical greats. So I emailed the Dean asking if he knew anyone in Munich – nope, he sang there but had no connections. That didn’t work – how about some professors? Nope – no connections. Back to the email system – we were booked at the Kempinski, let’s write the concierge. Reply within days – we’ll try.

Now for a day-time activity. Remember the jig-saw puzzle of that fairy-tale castle built by the crazy German king? It’s Neuschwanstein and is only an hour (or so) from Munich – and Gray Line Tours offers a trip there (and another castle) from Munich so we booked that for the Saturday.

I never got around to booking anything for Salzburg, which was fine as it left us time to wander on our own.

Next posting:

Day 0: Is it time to leave for the airport yet?

J

[nyfeds]

J

Loving your trip reports! Longing for the next chapter(s)!

[jgnova]

Peter Deilmann MV Mozart cruise on the Danube April 2-9, 2006
Part VIB:

This is an addendum to posting VI in which I discussed some routine prep items but forgot to mention 2 critical items.

Money:

Many people on these boards have asked what to do about money when traveling to Europe. The bad news is: you’ll need it; the good news: it’s not too difficult to handle, especially on this cruise. I wanted to have some Euros jingling (or rustling) in my pocket and checked my local AAA office. They sold currency packs, but their exchange rate was high by over 10% so I decided that was too much to pay. Checked my bank – no problem – but there’s a $15 service fee. As I wanted only a couple hundred dollars for tips en route, that jacked up the exchange rate. We decided to wait until we landed and find a machine – and there was a machine conveniently located within a few steps of exiting immigration in Munich. The exchange rate was honest and the only fee was from my credit union account. The commercial bank did not charge a fee. We also were able to get Euros easily at other ATMs in Munich and elsewhere. So that’s the way to handle money in Euro countries.

A few words of advice: Call your bank and credit card companies before leaving the US as most will automatically block non-domestic transactions. The ATMs in Europe did not give receipts, just money. And the ATMs pop up a window from which you can choose your language – the pictures of the button(s) to push don’t always match the text on the button – but the colors were correct.

Insurance:

We decided to buy the insurance from Deilmann as it was fairly reasonable and included trip cancellation for most reasons. We purchased medical and evacuation insurance (along with luggage loss) from Medex as their policies also seemed reasonably priced and had the medical coverage we wanted. Can’t vouch for the claims handling for either (thank you!).

Next posting:

Day 0: Is it time to leave for the airport yet?

J

[jgnova]

This is a continuation of my description of our Danube cruise. If this is the first episode you’re reading, stop and go back to Part I at the top of this thread.

Peter Deilmann MV Mozart cruise on the Danube April 2-9, 2006
Part VIII:

So the big day finally arrived. We both decided to take the day off as our flight was at 7 PM, Lufthansa said to be at the airport 3 hours prior to departure, we live 45 minutes from the airport (except during rush hour, when it’s anyone’s guess), and we knew we’d have to wait for the parking lot shuttle. Our brains would already have been on vacation anyhow, so going to work wouldn’t have been very productive.

Got to the airport a little later than planned, caught a shuttle, then had to sit and wait, first while the shuttle bus driver patiently waited for a woman who was running to the shuttle stop wheeling her bag with one hand, carrying a backpack over her shoulder, carrying another bag in another hand, and can of soda in her other hand. Yes – there are too many hands and that’s why it took so long. Then we waited at the parking lot exit while the parking lot shuttle company considered whether or not it was time to change drivers (it was). All this waiting time was eating into the 3 hours that Lufthansa wanted!! We spent the drive to the terminal watching this woman rearrange the contents of her bags – dropping shoes, losing keys, rearranging her laptop – I told S that I thought she was a consultant and that I couldn’t believe how totally disorganized she seemed for someone who must travel frequently.

Ahh – finally – the lovely Eero Saarinen designed terminal! And a convenient skycap to take our bags in for us!!! Check in at Lufthansa went smoothly – no one asked to weigh or measure our carry-ons. And off to security check. The line looked rather intimidating, but moved very, very quickly. There were many check lines with sub lines to each. We were through in minutes, having learned the importance of removing one’s shoes.

And then it was off to the gate. The last time we flew from Dulles was our trip to Jersey (in 1994) and things have changed a lot. Whereas they used to use “mobile lounges” to move passengers to the mid field terminal, they’ve now built a tunnel. I was expecting a subway like Atlanta or Denver, but no, that’s not the case here (yet). So first we go down an escalator that seemed longer than the Washington Monument. And then we got on the moving walkway … and off … and on to the next one … and off … well, you get the point. I was looking for the “Welcome to Munich” signs at the other end. So then we waited for the plane to arrive and let us on.

Boarding went smoothly – they were enforcing the boarding order once they got to economy class – those at the back of the plane went on first (that was us!) and we had no problems. The flight over was smooth and uneventful (thank you!!). The food was tolerable – dinner was warm and edible (real flatware, not plastic), breakfast was some kind of cheese sandwich. The one neat thing on both out- and in-bound flights was that the TV monitors showed flight information – distance to destination, time to destination, altitude, temperature outside, etc. – and they also showed maps with our route and position. I didn’t catch any mistakes!

Next posting:

Day 1: Munich, at last! Or why the Kempinski deserves another star.


J

[Jswen]

Ok J,
Hurry with the next installment. Its getting better all the time.
Judy

[nyfeds]

I agree. More please!

[wvufan]

What a lousy review-the least you could have done is to integrate pictures and music:D . I am anxiously awaiting your next segment to see if you can get it right this time;)

OOOEEE:D :D Bob and Phyl

[jgnova]

As wvufan so eloquently noted, my earlier postings lacked photos. I originally intended to hold all of the photos until I published the book version and could charge for it. :rolleyes:


Actually, I was going to post the full review on our own (and/or steamboat’s) site with pictures as it takes longer to incorporate picture links and I wanted to get the text up there as quickly as possible. Besides, we have over 1400 pictures from which I need to select the correct photos. But I guess that doing that would force everyone to read my prose a second time, a punishment reserved for my teachers when I was in school. So I’ll start including links to photos (or pages of photos) in future postings. Please accept my apologies if I post a little less frequently….

To recap the earlier postings, we won (http://www.thesphinx.org/DanubeCruise/pix/winner.jpg) a coupon towards a trip on a Deilmann river cruise and chose to take a cruise on the Mozart (http://www.thesphinx.org/DanubeCruise/pix/Mozart.jpg) down the Danube (http://www.thesphinx.org/DanubeCruise/pix/DanubeCruise.jpg). Having made that decision, we had to shop (http://www.thesphinx.org/DanubeCruise/pix/shopluggage.jpg) for luggage. We also had to find a way to get some Euros (http://www.thesphinx.org/DanubeCruise/pix/euros.jpg) and make arrangements to use a European ATM (http://www.thesphinx.org/DanubeCruise/pix/atm.jpg).

And then we finally got to the airport and boarded (http://www.thesphinx.org/DanubeCruise/pix/LufthansaPlane.jpg) the plane.

And now back to my regular postings about the trip.

J

[Decebal]

Loved the recaps, but the photos (especially the Lufthansa photo) had me in stiches, I can't stop laughing. Seriously, someone stop me. :D

Thanks for all your input for us future travelers, or for the moment broke couch potato travelers.

Keep them coming, and I will no longer take a sip of water when I open your photos. Hope there is one of a gypsy and a crystal ball in the bunch.

[jgnova]

Peter Deilmann MV Mozart cruise on the Danube April 2-9, 2006
Part IX:

Day 1: Munich, at last! Or why the Kempinski deserves another star.

As usual, I got little or no sleep on the crossing – that’s why I like cruising – there’s room to stretch out and relax. Humans weren’t meant to travel more than one time zone a day – a 5-6 day trans-Atlantic is about right! Got off the plane, crawled to immigration, found our luggage (no waiting!!), and skipped through customs.

We took this trip with a friend of S (ML) and her friend (M) and they arrived a couple of hours before us. Someone on the boards had identified a driver in Munich, and we had arranged for him to shuttle us to the hotel (for all 4 of us it cost what Deilmann wanted per person). He contacted us the day before departure and said he had a family emergency and couldn’t drive us, but would arrange for someone he trusted to be there for us. We were met by the sub (along with the original driver who handed each of the two women a flower and left for his family obligation) who loaded us into his van (http://www.thesphinx.org/DanubeCruise/pix/van.jpg)

and drove us to the hotel. We stopped at an ATM (http://www.thesphinx.org/DanubeCruise/pix/atm.jpg) to get some Euros (http://www.thesphinx.org/DanubeCruise/pix/euros.jpg) on the way to the parking lot.

The drive downtown was uneventful as we talked about the huge snowstorm (http://www.thesphinx.org/DanubeCruise/pix/MunichSnow.jpg) in Munich the previous week. He kept reaching for his camera and locating a photo to show us – while racing down the autobahn. :eek:


Next posting:

A bed, my kingdom for a bed!

J

[jgnova]

Peter Deilmann MV Mozart cruise on the Danube April 2-9, 2006
Part X: Checking in at the Kempinski

And finally we got to the Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten Kempinski (http://www.kempinski-vierjahreszeiten.de/en/hotel/index.htm?folding=1). We parked in the covered drive area (http://www.kempinski-vierjahreszeiten.de/en/vrtour/index.php?file=3576) and the bellhops unloaded the van while we paid off the driver and entered the hotel lobby (http://www.kempinski-vierjahreszeiten.de/en/vrtour/index.php?file=2150). Now this is a truly LOVELY hotel – the look of luxury and elegance, not glitz and gaudiness. Another couple was checking in ahead of us and I heard the clerk tell them that their room wouldn’t be ready for a couple of hours (it was before noon, after all) and I figured we’d get the same treatment. So it’s our turn now – I gave him our names and handed over the Deilmann vouchers. He looked in the computer and walked to the end of the counter (and I was thinking – “He’s going to ask someone to store our bags until our room is ready! I’ve been up since early morning YESTERDAY and I want a bed!”) and came back with someone else who was holding an envelope.

“Mr. Goldman?”

“Yes”

“You wrote us about tickets for a concert?”

“Yes!”

“We got four tickets, but they’re in two separate pairs.”

“Thank you thank you thank you” S finally had to stop me from babbling – we had our tickets to see/hear Muti and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra doing Mozart’s 40th & 41st!! I tried to walk outside and stick a sixth star on the plaque, but S wouldn’t let me.

We were escorted to our room – it was larger than that in most hotels in which I’ve stayed. It had a large closet, large windows overlooking the small street behind the hotel, and the amenities (in no particular order):

Bathrobes (M & XL), shoe shine mitts, long handled wooden clothes brush, shoe horn (also long handle, wooden), padded hangers, skirt / pants hangers, regular wooden hangers, TV w/ internet and bill viewing, safe, slippers (2 pairs), shampoo, conditioner, bath/shower gel, body lotion, scale, hair dryer, clothes line, cotton makeup remover pads & swabs, shower cap, sewing kit, umbrella, and the ubiquitous mini-bar. I loved the scale – it’s so much nicer to see my weight in kilos!

And even a switch by bed to control room lights. And those neat European windows that open out horizontally or tip in from the top.

Next posting:

Enough sleep – time to see the city!

J

[jgnova]

Peter Deilmann MV Mozart cruise on the Danube April 2-9, 2006
Part XI: Having a ball and finding dinner

Our friends called and said they were going for a walk (they must have slept on the plane) and we demurred, electing a nap. Before falling asleep, I managed to remember that the Deilmann sheet describing the Munich stay said to call the tour company to schedule the city tour the next morning – which I did and he said he would meet us in the lobby at 9 the next morning. M&ML returned around 4ish and we freshened up and joined them for a walk to look for food. They had already eaten but were willing to watch us make fools of ourselves reading German menus while they had dessert.

We walked over towards the shopping area (next to Marienplatz) and passed a giant globe (http://www.thesphinx.org/DanubeCruise/pix/P1000291.jpg) illuminated to look like a football (that’s a soccer ball to us Americans!). We learned later that it was a promotion for the World Cup (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Football_World_Cup_2006), being held this year in Germany.

We had a preview of some of the sights we expected to tour the next day (so that’s when you’ll get to see our pictures!!) and looked for a place to eat. After looking at a few menus by entrances (and getting hungrier and hungrier – remember that we hadn’t eaten since our breakfast sandwich on the plane) we found a little café overlooking the square (Marienplatz) called Woerner’s (http://www.woerners.de/_/xframes/frameset_cafe_dom.html). The waitress helped us translate the menu and S and I each found some food that looked good (salmon for me, scrumptious omelet for S). We closed the place down and walked back to the hotel – looking forward to the . . .


Next posting:

XII: Day 2 – Our first full day in Munich – city tour, shopping, and the concert.

J

[Jswen]

You've just got to love those Kempenski Hotels, they are the best all over the world.
Ok, Ok, What happened next??

[steamboats]

Go on, J! By some means one of those pictures is looking very familiar to me :D . You know which one I´m talking about.

steamboats

[jgnova]

Go on, J! By some means one of those pictures is looking very familiar to me :D . You know which one I´m talking about.

steamboats

I trust it is familiar only because you were the photographer and not because your front yard still looks that way :D

Please accept my apologies for the uncredited photo :o - I intended to credit you, but forgot to do so in my haste to get the Day 1 posting completed. The "recap" posting for wvufan took longer than I anticipated.

J

[Twice_a_year]

Great. Keep it comming.

High standards for reviews and basketball at G.M.

[jgnova]

I know everyone is sitting at their computers hitting refresh every few minutes waiting for the next segment. Unfortunately, in order to bring you the best viewing experience, the next segment will be delayed a day.

The real story is:

a. I'm tired - I've been staying up way past my bedtime working on this and my boss doesn't like it when I sleep at my desk!

b. I took 4 videos of the Marienplatz Glockenspiel (in Munich) and they're in QuickTime format, which is great quality, but may be too large or incompatible with many of your systems. So I've been converting them all to Windows Media & MPEG formats - and that takes a while, even on my neat laptop.

c. I could not remember the name of one of the places we visited (for which I had many photos) and spent about an hour searching the web trying to identify the building.

d. We took a bunch of photos that day and I have to categorize them for posting.

e. And I had some new photos (http://www.thesphinx.org/pix/Max-1) of Max (who celebrated his 2-month birthday today) that I had to upload to get printed. Did you know that digital photos are not the right aspect ratio for 4x6 prints and they have to be cropped manually or the machines scalp the subjects? That took some time.

So, please accept my apologies for this delay as I know how I felt as a kid waiting for the following month's magazine issue to arrive with the next segment in the serial. To calm everyone's nerves - the hero and heroine both survive with no life threatening injuries and make it home with their luggage intact.

J

[nyfeds]

J

All good things are worth waiting for!

[jgnova]

Peter Deilmann MV Mozart cruise on the Danube April 2-9, 2006
XII: Day 2 – Our first full day in Munich – breakfast and meet the driver

BEEP – BEEP – BEEP – BEEP

“What the BEEP is that? I’m on vacation – who set the alarm for 6 AM??”

“Oh that’s right – we have to be in the lobby for the city tour at 9.”

Remind me in my next life to declare that all hotel rooms must have two bathrooms – I’d be happy to trade the over-priced minibar for another bathroom – except they’d probably make it the same size as the minibar.

Once we’re dressed, the first stop is the breakfast buffet (included in the Kempinski rate from Deilmann). Let’s see – all kinds of juices, cereals, meats (neatly folded/wrapped), salted fish, bacon, sausage, eggs (scrambled and varying levels of boiled), fruits. Can I move in here?

Back to the lobby to meet our tour escort. We had a large van from Toni Biersack Limousines (http://www.biersack.com/), a driver, and a tour guide. The guide introduced himself as Ovi and the driver was Toni – and off we went…

You can find some general photos here (http://www.thesphinx.org/DanubeCruise/Munich_General). (I apologize for the paucity of photos; it wasn’t until later in our trip that I discovered that my camera could actually take decent photos from a moving bus.)

I am not going to bore you with lists of every building we saw – you can read your own tour guide if you want to know more. Instead, I’ll just try to give an overview and mention some thing that stuck in my brain.

Next posting:

Driving around Munich

J

[jgnova]

Peter Deilmann MV Mozart cruise on the Danube April 2-9, 2006
Part XIII: Our city tour begins

Munich was founded in the mid 12th century by Henry the Lion (which explains the lions seen in the photos). Its name in German (München) refers to the community of monks living there. The river Isar runs through the city and Henry’s goal was to collect tolls for the salt traffic passing through and he destroyed another toll bridge nearby that was controlled by the bishop.

We saw some remnants of the original old city walls and drove down some streets where the wall had been. For some reason, the various rulers felt the need to borrow building styles from all over – so there are buildings that will remind you of Athens, Rome, Florence, and Paris (among others). We were driven to the suburbs to see the Nymphenburg Palace (http://www.schloesser.bayern.de/englisch/palace/objects/ny_schl.htm) – this was the summer palace and the drive that took us minutes purportedly took the royal family two days – carrying their china, silver, etc. (Sounds like my childhood trips to the beach when I had to squeeze into the back seat for what seemed like days.) One of the kings built a porcelain works there that makes some exquisite pieces – easily on a par with Lladro and Royal Doulton, etc.

And of course we had to see the new (and old) football (soccer to us Yankees) stadiums. And the BMW offices – and Mercedes showroom (about 6 floors of automobiles visible from the highway). Most of inner city Munich seemed to be buildings of 4 or 5 stories (limited by law to allow more light to reach the streets). The first floor had shops with residences above them. This did not allow the residents any chance to be outside and play in gardens – so on the outskirts of town, they have summer plots. We have garden plots in our area for people living in apartments – and that’s what they are – small areas in which you can garden. Munich people do it better. Their properties include a small cottage in which they can live on summer weekends!

We drove by the university campus (saw a bunch of music students – yes, they do look different – engineering students usually don’t carry musical instruments), several museums, and the square on which some WWII rallies were held – it was weird to see places I’d seen only in old B&W documentaries! After an hour or so of bus riding, we got back to the middle of the older city and Ovi (from Romania, speaks 7 languages – not as good as his sister who speaks 9) asked if we planned to stay in town after the tour or wanted to be dropped at the hotel. We told him we’d stay in town, eat lunch, and walk back as it was only a few blocks. So Ovi pointed someplace and said there was a really good traditional restaurant “down that street, past the shoe store, about 100 yards on the left.” More on that topic later.

Ovi had the driver stop and we got out for some walking.

Next posting:

Frauenkirche, Marienplatz, and Glockenspiel – and 100 yards on the left

J

[steamboats]

Hi all,

I wish everyone in Munich would have a garden lot for the summer :) . To be true there are a lot of garden areas with small houses (not for living) but there´s also a long waiting list to get one of those lots.

Regarding the inner city of Munich: I doubt that all second floors up are residencies. Most of them are converted to offices. Surely because of the lack of some green there aren´t too many people living in the inner part of the city (but there still are some). The hight of the buildings is limited by law. One main rule is that no building inside the area surrounded by the highway like street called Mittlerer Ring (middle ring) is allowed to be higher than the towers of the dome (which are 99 m). That´s the reason you only find higher buildings outside that ring street. One negative effect in my opinion is that you now have a lot of sky scraping buildings like pearls on a chain surrounding the city. At least one of them is affecting the view on the historic downtown buildings. And that´s what I don´t like.

Go on J, can´t wait to read more!

steamboats

[jgnova]

Peter Deilmann MV Mozart cruise on the Danube April 2-9, 2006
Part XIV: Our first European cathedral, the square, and the chiming clock

As we were finding a place to park, I mentioned that we had tickets for a Gray Line tour to Neuschwanstein and Linderhof the next day and asked where the train station was as that was the meeting place for the tour. Toni, the driver, told us that he had us on his list to pick up for that tour. I was somewhat astonished and repeatedly questioned him – we had booked that tour independently, not through Deilmann. He said he drove for Gray Line occasionally and would pick us up. OK – that took away the worry about getting to the train station.

Our first stop on foot was the Frauenkirche (http://www.munich-info.de/portrait/p_frauenkirche_en.html) and we spent some time inside taking pictures of the great stained glass windows (http://www.thesphinx.org/DanubeCruise/Frauenkirche). After leaving the cathedral, we walked over to Marienplatz, the large square in front of the town hall (Rathaus). We had eaten dinner the night before in a café overlooking the square so we were already familiar with the most famous tourist site there. There’s a clock in a tower (http://www.thesphinx.org/DanubeCruise/Glockenspiel) of the town hall that has the famous Glockenspiel, a German term for a carillon. This is the clock with the moving figures that everyone must have seen in movies some time.

So we stood around waiting for 11 AM. The tour books all have different times for when the Glockenspiel plays – it may vary with the seasons, but 11 and noon are probably valid all year round. And then we watched the clock in person – some people have said it’s a great tourist trap and nothing to stand around for. But I think it’s something everyone should see.

You haven’t? What a shame – so watch my videos (http://www.thesphinx.org/DanubeCruise/videos/Munich%20Glockenspiel%20Videos.html). I’m not a webmaster so the files may not play when you click – just right click on them, save them to your hard disk, and then click on the saved files. And turn your sound on so you can hear the music. I shot these with my trusty Panasonic still camera which I think is a cute trick. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a tripod so they move a good bit.

We thanked Ovi and Toni and, besides a tip, we had brought treats from Virginia – small vacuum bags of peanuts, which we used as extra tips throughout our trip – and everyone told us how nice it was to get something personal like that from the U.S.

And we were now on our own as the tour was ended. We walked around and looked at some other cathedrals until the noon church bells started ringing – and, unlike back home, these were real bells, not recorded or artificial sounds through speakers. They sound great – especially when you hear bells coming from all directions. And the chimes reminded us that it was noon and lunch time. So off to find the …

Next posting:

100 yards on the left….

J

[jgnova]

Peter Deilmann MV Mozart cruise on the Danube April 2-9, 2006
Part XV: Oh that restaurant – it’s only a few steps down that way – on the left

So we went in search of the traditional restaurant that Ovi told us about – some place named after the Augustinians or something like that. And it was up that street? Nope. How about up that street? There’s a shoe store – it must be around the corner. Nope.

Now let me tell you about streets in old European cities. We live near Washington, DC (which was designed on a grid by L’Enfant) and I grew up in Philadelphia, with streets also on a grid designed by William Penn. It all makes sense. But the European cities are different. I recall reading that the streets in Madrid were originally sheep trails and they certainly wander all over – I think that one of them even loops across itself!

The only reason I can think of for building a city like this is for defensive purposes. If the vandals attack and get through the defensive walls, they can’t get any speed in one direction for more than a few steps without having to stop and turn. I guess in the US, our attitude is that the Red Coats will just keep marching in a straight line and get all the way across the town without stopping to shoot.

Oh – and in Munich, not only do the streets keep turning, but every time they cross another street, the name changes. Must be another defensive measure.

So we were walking around near Marienplatz on this lovely shopping street that’s been closed to cars and is just for pedestrians. Lots of nice shops. But no restaurant with a name that sounds like “Augustine.” So we asked one of fruit stand vendors (a very nice feature of the street – lots of very clean stalls selling fruit and other food items – fresh asparagus, raspberries, and strawberries among other things) – yup – it’s down there about 100 meters.

OK – we walked several hundred meters. Ask again. “Just down there...” We kept walking – and finally, after 3 more queries of the vendors, there it was – on the left: the Augustiner (http://www.augustiner-restaurant.com/). They had an English menu – and we enjoyed comparing the listings in English to the German names. Then I noticed something on the German menu and asked the waitress what kind of fish it was. She had to ask someone else and finally came back without an answer – we finally decided it was some kind of white fleshed fish. The dish was supposedly a traditional casserole and I decided it was worth a try. It was delicious. We had a great lunch with real beer. Yum.

After lunch, M&ML went off in search of the art museums and we went searching for department stores selling yarn so S could knit some more things for Max (http://www.thesphinx.org/pix/Max-1). We did get to one store and spent some time looking at their yarn and knitting needles, but left empty handed. By then, S wanted to lie down and give her back a rest before the evening concert, so we looked at the map, figured out which twists and turns to take, and found our way back to the hotel.

Next posting:

Some other observations about Munich and being in a country where you don’t know the language.

J

[jgnova]

Peter Deilmann MV Mozart cruise on the Danube April 2-9, 2006
Part XVI: Miscellaneous observations

Before we run off to the concert, I thought I’d drop in a few other comments.

First – cars. I’ve always liked European cars – I drove a BMW before most Americans knew what they were – I owned 1966 & 1968 1600’s – back in 1969-70. They were great to drive, but expensive to keep up. I remember thinking about trading in my 66 on one of those newly imported Datsun sedans. Went to a Datsun dealer in Evanston, Illinois, who was eager to get the cars on the road – at that time the only Datsuns you might see were a couple of their MG clones – they managed to even clone the British unreliability. So he handed me the keys and said – “go for a drive – take it on the highway, if you want. So I got in the car and drove over to the Eden Expressway and went zipping up the highway – but at 65 MPH, the engine noise was too loud. I had the same problem with my BMW, but it went away when I shifted to 4th gear.

Anyway, we saw lots of neat European models that don’t make it to the states. Daimler-Chrysler is selling something called a SMART (http://www.crankyprofessor.com/archives/PICT0003.html)car (http://www.crankyprofessor.com/archives/PICT0003.html) – a little 2-seater that is shorter than most American cars are wide – so if I had one here, I could just pull edgewise into most parking spaces and not stick out! It’s small enough that I wanted to bring one home as checked luggage – supposedly a US company will be importing them – maybe as spare cars to carry in your trunk? The great thing about them is they’re about the same size as our potholes – so you could just leave your car in one and make it easier for the other drivers.

Another thing I liked was the surface rail cars. Back when I was a kid, most major cities had trolley cars that I thought were really neat – no pollution, quiet. But they shared the road with the cars, were slow, and were very high off the ground, making them very difficult to enter and exit. The systems in Europe were much nicer. I think they had dedicated road space so they weren’t slowed down by traffic – and the entrances were much lower. And there always seemed to be another one coming – very short waits. Steamboats probably can chime in with her thoughts – I thought they were neat from my geek perspective.

Language: Neither S nor I can speak German – about the only thing I can understand from hearing my grandmother speak Yiddish is “gesundheit” – got to use that a few times on this trip, especially when the sun came out in Munich and the flowers responded by trying to propagate themselves. We experienced almost no problems communicating with anyone. There were a few situations when the person had to reach for a word when describing something – more problems with abstract than concrete. The only specific area where we had problems was with foods – I kept trying to identify the fish on the menu and the servers had problems describing it. But it was fun.

Next posting:

Mozart music in Munich with Muti

J

[jgnova]

Peter Deilmann MV Mozart cruise on the Danube April 2-9, 2006
Part XVII: Our first European concert

We picked this specific cruise date because it was a classical music themed cruise – but we wanted to maintain the classical music theme on shore as well. In researching things to do in Munich, I discovered that the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra (http://www.br-online.de/kultur-szene/klassik_e/pages/so/) was performing some Mozart works at the Gasteig with Ricardo Muti conducting. After fruitless inquiries to the ticket office and my colleagues at work, I wrote the Kempinski concierge and got our 4 tickets upon checking in at the hotel. (See earlier discussion of checking in at the hotel. :D )

The Gasteig is probably about a 20 minute hike from the Kempinki, not something we cared to try when dressed for a concert – so we took a 5 minute cab ride (only a few Euros) and were there. You can read about the Gasteig here (http://www.muenchen.de/vip8/prod2/mde/_en/rubriken/Rathaus/tourist_office/pdf/kongresshandbuch/Kongres4.pdf) and here. (http://www.munich-info.de/portrait/p_gasteig_en.html)

Once inside, we checked our coats (this was standard at every performance we attended in Europe – they charge about a Euro per coat) and wandered around the facility until it was time to enter the hall (http://www.thesphinx.org/DanubeCruise/pix/philharmonie_600.jpg) which was a completely open auditorium – no balconies to trap the sound. We heard 3 works by Mozart: the Divertimento in D-Major (K. 136) (http://www.amazon.com/gp/music/wma-pop-up/B0000027PD001001/ref=mu_sam_wma_001_001/103-0359316-9850206), Symphony 40 (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/wma-pop-up/-/B00005A8JZ002001/103-0359316-9850206), and Symphony 41. (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/wma-pop-up/-/B00005A8JZ002016/103-0359316-9850206)

Wow – not only were the orchestra and conductor fantastic, but the sound in the hall was incredible. I’ve been to many performances and have never heard sound like this. Every instrument could be heard. Even the applause sounded different – instead of hearing a roar of applause, it sounded like I could hear each person clapping his/her hands!

I even managed to negotiate the lines, language, currency, and ordering process at the refreshment stand during intermission and bought a bottle of Bitter Lemon. I first learned of this delightful taste on the flight over when I asked for ginger ale, which was unavailable, and tried this.

Too soon, the concert ended and we went outside to find our way back to the hotel. A cruising taxi took us back to the Kempinski. We had not eaten dinner as it was so late by the time we finished our 100 yards of wandering in search of the Augustiner so it was now time to search .…

Next posting:

Surprising dinner in Munich

J

[jgnova]

Peter Deilmann MV Mozart cruise on the Danube April 2-9, 2006
Part XVIII: The restaurant on the corner

We got back to the hotel, dropped our programs, etc., back in our rooms, and went off in search of dinner. Given the late hour, we decided the hotel menu offerings might be too heavy, so ventured out into the late Friday-night Munich experience. There are lots of nice little restaurants on the small streets intersecting Maximilianstrasse, where the Kempinski is. We kept walking and trying to understand the menus, finding nothing on which all 4 of us could agree. As we turned onto this other little street, we noticed something on the corner that looked like an empty restaurant. We looked at the menu and saw what might be Italian food, but as the restaurant was empty, we thought it might be closed and started to walk away in search of food.

And the door opened and out came a gentleman who, very quickly, switched to English and invited us in. He took our coats, seated us at the table in the front window, and proceeded to explain the menu and specials to us. I don’t remember what everyone else got, but I broke my string of fish dishes and ordered what turned out to be the most delicious home-made ravioli-type dish in creamy tomato sauce I have ever tasted! But first we needed salads – and he brought us each a delicious salad, which he then dressed personally for each of us. It was as if we were the only people in the restaurant and we had the personal attention of the owner/chef – hmm – that’s exactly what it was!

Shameless plug time – if you’re ever in Munich at meal time – find the Restaurant Falckenberg (http://www.munich-info.de/restaurants/falckenberg/welcome_en.html) on Hildegardstrasse.

And with that, it was time for bed so we could rest up for our trip on the morrow …

Next posting:

In search of mad kings, rococo churches, and medieval survival tales

J

[jgnova]

Peter Deilmann MV Mozart cruise on the Danube April 2-9, 2006
Part XIX: Mad King Ludwig never lived here

Toni asked us to be ready around 8 on Saturday morning so we could get an early start and beat the crowds at Neuschwanstein – another early awakening while on vacation. So we had our second delightful Kempinki breakfast and met him outside. This time, we had only Toni – and it was just the 4 of us. I honestly have NO idea how this all happened – nor do I think that if you book a tour with Gray Line, you will luck out and get a private tour to the castles. If anyone has any thoughts on this miracle and how to reproduce it, let us know. Now for the day’s excursions.

We headed out of town and onto an autobahn – and kept driving for about 2 hours during which we could see pieces of the Alps – with snow covered mountain peaks. A nice way to spend a Saturday morning! We finally got off the highway and headed down some country roads – with more views of mountains and fields and streams and … finally came around a bend, looked up at the hills – and there was the castle. (http://www.neuschwanstein.de/english/index.htm) We took a few pictures (http://www.thesphinx.org/DanubeCruise/Neuschwanstein/) of our own during the tour. They offer tours in multiple languages (at different times) with automatic signs showing the next tour in your language. As I understand it, the bus tours normally drop you at the bottom of the mountain, where you buy your tickets and then either walk up or ride in a horse-drawn carriage (I guess for an additional charge). As Toni seemed to know everyone, he just breezed right up, so we had a short walk to the entrance. Once you get to the castle, plan on walking up (and then down) over 160 steps.

Of course, there was a gift shop and we bought a few things – some postcards, a tour book with better pictures than I could take, some jigsaw puzzles, and a piece of Nymphenburg porcelain. As you’ll recall, we visited the Nymphenburg castle on the outskirts of Munich – there is a famous porcelain factory as part of the castle property still producing high quality products. As the symbol for Bavaria is the lion (remember Henry the Lion?), I bought a lovely lion.

NOTE for travelers from non-EU countries: EU countries collect something called a Value Added Tax (VAT) all along the production and sales chain. I’m not going to try to explain how this works (but be prepared to learn as various US politicians keep proposing it), but the bottom line benefit to tourists from outside the EU is that, under certain circumstances, you can get a refund. As near as I understand it, you have to buy from sellers who participate in the refund system and I learned of this when buying the lion. The vendor will give you a special form and envelope with full instructions. Don’t forget to have that form and envelope accessible when flying home as you must get it stamped at the customs office – usually after you get processed by airport security. And you can get your refund on the spot in the duty-free shop. This can add up to a substantial sum if you’re buying things like porcelain, jewelry, or complete sets of Mozart CDs.

After emptying our wallets in the shop, we got back in the van and headed down the road. Our next stop was not on the Gray Line plan, but I’m not complaining as we got to see …

Next posting:

Rococo amuck!

J

[jgnova]

Peter Deilmann MV Mozart cruise on the Danube April 2-9, 2006
Part XX: Wieskirche – the Church in the Meadow and Passion Plays

As Toni told the story, back in the 1700’s, someone noticed tears on a crucifix. The word spread about this miracle and people came from far and wide to see the miracle and pray. As the crowds grew, the local people decided to build a sanctuary in thanks – and this became known as the Wieskirche. (http://www.wieskirche.de/) We took a few of our own photos (http://www.thesphinx.org/DanubeCruise/Wieskirche/index.html) and if you’re really a masochist (or have a whole lot of spare time and a crowd of people to help), you can buy a 4,000 piece jigsaw puzzle (http://wonderclub.com/puzzles/educa/wieskriche_4000.htm) of the ceiling.

We then headed off for lunch. I can’t remember the name or location of the restaurant, but it looked like a very popular local eatery serving traditional Bavarian foods. They didn’t have an English menu, but we managed to find things to eat. S had a spring speciality, which was a cream soup made with wild garlic that she claimed was outstanding. (It’s apparently similar to “ramps,” available in the spring in West Virginia and other hilly areas near here.) The food was delicious, and we enjoyed Toni’s company while eating. Also in the restaurant were two boys and two men, wearing traditional lederhosen – Toni explained that these probably were godparents taking the children to lunch.

After lunch, we made a quick trip through Oberammergau. (http://www.oberammergau.de/ot_e/index.htm) Toni told is that this town is famous for its town wide presentation of a “Passion Play” every 10 years in fulfillment of a promise made to end the plague. The town built a huge theater to replace the original stage in the cemetery and presents operas in off years. Townspeople have also established a reputation for handcrafts, and I would have liked more time to see the workshops, but we had one more destination on the day’s itinerary …

Next posting:

Ludwig’s real home

J

[jgnova]

Peter Deilmann MV Mozart cruise on the Danube April 2-9, 2006
Part XXI: Linderhof, the dream fulfilled

Our last stop of the day was Linderhof, (http://www.linderhof.de) the castle in which Ludwig actually lived (although Neuschwanstein was his “dream” castle, he died before it was completed). (Note that you can see more photos in the link above by clicking on the bottom line of text.)

This is a much more modest sized dwelling than Neuschwanstein, although he did not spare himself any extravagance, including a very private dining room. He didn’t like eating with others in sight – so the table would be prepared in the room below and then lifted through a hole in the floor!

He also liked Wagner (a lot) and decorations from Wagner’s work can be found all over his property, including the artificial grotto. You can take your own guided tour of the house and grounds on the site linked above, and you can see the few pictures (http://www.thesphinx.org/DanubeCruise/Linderhof/) we took here.

After touring Linderhof, we headed back to Munich and the Kempinski. S and I had been following the news reports about river flooding in Europe (primarily in the Elbe system) and mentioned our concern to Toni. He told us that he had been asked to tell us to be ready the next (Sunday) morning at 10 instead of 11 – and that in his experience, an early pick up meant that we were probably not going to Passau.

Upon our return to Munich, we decided that given the need to pack and be ready for our departure on the morn, we should just return to the Falckenberg for dinner. Once again, the place was empty as we approached it, but we saw a couple standing outside and encouraged them to try it. We entered and got “our” table in the window. This time, a few more people came in, including the couple we had encountered before entering. Once again, it seemed like the server (owner?) was the only person working there – and once again we had a delicious meal (including the tiramisu for me two days running!).

And off to bed so we could wake up for breakfast and the …

Next posting:

99 bottles of beer on the bus or “17 cruisers in search of a boat”

J

[jgnova]

Peter Deilmann MV Mozart cruise on the Danube April 2-9, 2006
Part XXII: Over the (swollen) rivers and through the (Vienna) woods

As ordered, we were ready in the lobby at 10 for our ride – and the bus appeared shortly thereafter. I immediately asked the driver if we were going to Passau – nope – we’re going to Vienna! He had a list of passengers to be picked up at the Kempinski and Hilton. Our names (the 4 of us) were listed at the Hilton and not the Kempinski. The people listed at the Kempinski were not in the lobby, so we headed off to the Hilton to locate those passengers.

Let me digress here for a paragraph and explain why we were at the Kempinski when the Deilmann brochure lists the Park Hilton for the Munich stay. About 2 months before we left, someone from the Deilmann office called and said that the Hilton was booked for our nights and they could put us in the Kempinski for a couple hundred dollars more. I think the issue was that we booked for 3 nights pre-cruise and not the normal 2 nights – 2 nights are Friday and Saturday, both non-business travel nights when the Hilton would not have conferences, etc., but we were also staying on a Thursday night. So we agreed and the vouchers were for the Kempinski. However, when I looked at the vouchers later in the trip, I noticed that our voucher for the transfer from Munich to the boat showed the Hilton – so that explains why we were on the bus transfer list for the Hilton.

Anyway, after tracking down all of our passengers (some had not been notified about the early pick up), we headed off to Vienna. The drive actually took us over the Danube near Passau so we could see how high it was. Instead of the expected 2 hour ride, the drive to Vienna took about 6 hours, the last of which was in Vienna traffic. I never expected that much traffic on a Sunday evening, but it was a nice day and maybe the city collectively went for a Sunday drive?

I had brought a European road map and we were able to follow the route as we drove – I think that map got passed around the bus several times. We finally stopped at a highway rest stop about mid way and had a decent lunch. We had sandwiches – some of our fellow travelers had what looked like a cooked to order meal. The rest rooms were clean and had attendants – don’t forget to keep some coins in your pocket for tips.

The bus gave us our first experience on a European tour bus. I hadn’t been on a bus trip in years and was accustomed to seeing a restroom in the back corner. Not on this bus. But there was a restroom sign at the front of the bus so I looked around. There was an exit door in the middle of the bus (made for faster exits at tour stops), and I spotted a door just inside the exit on the “lower” level – ah – a restroom! Also, the seats had a neat feature I wish they’d put on airplanes. There was a lever on the aisle seats that, when lifted, allowed the seat occupant to slide the seat a few inches into the aisle and create some more hip and shoulder room between the two occupants of that row.

Next posting:

Why Vienna? Or why river boats have problems in high water

J

[jgnova]

Peter Deilmann MV Mozart cruise on the Danube April 2-9, 2006
Part XXIII: A brief physics lesson

Those of you who understand how boats float and rivers flood and bridge clearances become critical can skip this section. If you don’t understand the above sentence and are planning a river cruise, please read the following. River flooding in Europe occurs in early spring and also in other seasons. August 2002 saw some of the worst flooding ever on the Danube!

When I told some people at work that we were taking a river cruise and that we had booked the lower priced cabins – and that the water line outside was about as high as my waist – and that outside it was just below the windows – they wanted to know what happened if the water got higher. So I had to explain that the boat floated and would maintain about the same height in the water.

When I told them before we left of my concern about river flooding, they couldn’t understand why that had me worried. I had to explain that yes, if the river rose because of spring flooding, the boat would still float on the river at the same height. The problem is that the bridges don’t rise along with the river level. When the river rises so that the distance from the water level to the bottom of the bridge is smaller than the distance from the water line on the boat to the top of the boat – you have problems because the boat won’t fit.

S and I discussed this problem with M&ML over lunch one day and proposed several solutions. One was to put a roller wheel on top of the boat and a matching smile-shaped rail under each bridge. That way, as the boat approached the bridge, the boat pilot would align the wheel with the rail and the boat would be forced down a bit lower into the water. We also proposed having the passengers eat more food to get the boat down lower in the water. Unfortunately, none of us was willing to broach these groundbreaking concepts to the captain so we’ll never know if any of them has any practical application. :rolleyes:

Somewhere on the river between Vienna and Passau must be at least one bridge that was too low for the Mozart to squeeze under. I think that Steamboats discussed her experience on the Mozart the week before ours and the specific issues with getting upstream so you can read her comments for more details. Anyhow, that’s why we sat on a bus for 6 hours to get to Vienna.

Finally we climbed the river banks and I saw what had to be our ship, so next will be our first impressions of the boat …

Next posting:

MV Mozart, ahoy!

J

[steamboats]

J,

Just wonderful!!! I can´t stand to make some comments :D . First of all, never try to park a Smart edgewise! That´s what all Smart car owners did when the cars first came out. Then the Bavarian Ministry of the Interior (http://www.stmi.bayern.de/english/ just for those who love embedded links) stepped in and checked all laws. The conclusion was that the German law does not allow a car to be parked edgewise unless the parking lot is designed that way. So if you do it you will get a ticket :( .

That little restaurant sounds nice! Unfortunately the prices in restaurants went up since the change from DM to EUR. So many restaurants are struggeling especially when they´re located off the main roads. We had dinner in a Chinese restaurant two weeks ago for my DD´s birthday. It was only the 5 of us. Then a young lady came in only ordering a soup!

Regarding the VAT: It´s similar to your statal sales tax. But it´s much higher. Currently VAT is 16% in Germany and it will raise to 19% by next year (some other countries in Europe have up to 25%). Food and some other things have a reduced VAT.

steamboats

[nyfeds]

J

Your trip reports are tremendously informative, enjoyable and well-written. Like reading a great novel - you can't wait to see what happens in the next chapter!

[steamboats]

I forgot about the bridges. We were told that one of the bridges shortly before Budapest was too low and upriver it was the bridge at Krems.

By the way, the Kempinski is perfectly located for exploring downtown Munich. The Park Hilton is a bit "in middle of nowhere". It´s located in an office area (big bank) with no nearby restaurants (next one is about 15 min walking distance). It´ll be nice in summer as it´s next to the English Garden and within a walking distance to the famous beergarden at Chinese Tower (I think it´s the world largest? see picture here: http://www.ganz-muenchen.de/gastro/biergarten/chinaturm/biergarten.html or http://www.stadtpanoramen.de/muenchen/chinesischer_turm.html). But you have to take the bus (4 stops) to the subway and there 3 stops to Marienplatz (it´s about 15 to 20 min).

steamboats

[jgnova]

Peter Deilmann MV Mozart cruise on the Danube April 2-9, 2006
Part XXIV (Day 4 – continued): The boat at last

The (not so) magic bus exited an expressway just before it would have crossed the Danube and we drove down a road paralleling the river for a few blocks. Then the driver turned the bus and drove up what looked like a sidewalk angling towards the river – we went over the embankment and there was the Danube – and several riverboats, including something that looked a lot like the pictures over which I had been drooling for almost a year.

We pulled up, parked, and walked to the boat. For those of you accustomed to deep water ocean cruising on ships that extend for blocks, tower over you, and have gangplanks leading to lobby areas that look like something too gaudy for “Gone with the Wind,” the Mozart will seem disappointing. Deilmann’s focus seems to be providing service, not glitz. That’s fine with me.

We entered on the Tamino (middle) deck, which is the upper of two cabin decks and has the “front desk” and spa. One of the staff handed a glass of sparkling wine (Prosecco?) to each newly arriving guest (and yes, seconds were allowed!), and we ambled over to the reception desk. There was little wait and fuss as we traded our passports for cabin keys and were escorted down a level to our cabin. Our luggage was delivered within minutes of our arrival in the cabin.

Before unpacking, we went up to the dining room (on the Don Giovanni or upper deck) for our table assignment. We met Zoltan Nagy, the Maître d’Hôtel, who assigned the 4 of us to a rectangular table. He explained to us that one side was for Germans, the other side for tour groups, and the middle was for everyone else. While up on that deck, we decided to take a quick tour of the ship.

On the same level as the dining room are most of the other public areas of the ship. The dining room is toward the stern (aft or rear) of the ship. Moving toward the bow, you pass through a lobby area with the gift shop and enter the bar and lounge areas. The library is on the port side, as are public restrooms. On the starboard side is the bar. The lounge occupies the entire fore section of the ship with windows surrounding it.

Going up one level takes you to the sun deck, which has the pilot house and chaises for sunning and relaxing. There are wind screens that can be raised or lowered by the crew. (There’s also a shuffleboard court, but we never saw that set up for use.) Down a level from the Don Giovanni deck is the Tamino deck which has the higher priced cabins and the spa (at the very front of the ship). We did not use the spa during our cruise, although I kept thinking how nice a massage would feel. The spa has a small pool, a Jacuzzi, and a sauna. The front wall has full length windows with a few chaises and looked as if it would have been a great place from which to watch the river go by.

Next posting:

Part XXV (Day 4 – continued): Our cabin

J

[OhioDogLover]

jgnova,
What a wonderful review. I look forward to each installment. After your description of the concert, however, I am disappointed that we will not be there at the time they are playing Shostakovich! Oh well. . .
Thanks for writing it.
Ohiodoglover

[jgnova]

Peter Deilmann MV Mozart cruise on the Danube April 2-9, 2006
Part XXV (Day 4 – continued): Our cabin

After the quick tour, we headed back down to our cabin on the Dorabella deck and unpacked fairly rapidly. The cabin had 3 closet doors on the wall backing to the bathroom – two of the closets had 3 drawers at the bottom and a jacket length hanging area. The third door opened to a full length double width closet with only the right side easily accessible. The first piece of luggage (larger one) wouldn’t fit under the bed, so I stowed it in the hidden part of the closet. As it turned out, all 4 pieces of our luggage fit in that “hidden” area leaving plenty of room for our clothes.

The cabin décor is comfortably nondescript – bed, desk with a door covering 3 small drawers on one side and 2 larger drawers (one lockable) on the other. The cabin key chain included the key to that drawer. Each of the 3 closet doors had a key (different key for each one) but we stored anything valuable in the desk drawer – probably an unnecessary precaution as I frequently forgot and left some attractive “toys” (iPod, binoculars, etc.) unlocked occasionally.

The cabin had decent lighting, with wall mounted reading lights over the bed, a light on the desk, and lights over the closets (something S now wants me to install at home). There was a TV and a 4 channel radio over which they broadcast announcements. There was also a love seat, which was the only location from which it was possible to see the analog clock on the radio panel. One side of the bed had a small table; the other had the ubiquitous mini-bar, whose top served as a night table.

We discovered that our cabin was on the port (left) side, which also had us staring at the stone wall from the dock. Oh well, the ship won’t be in port forever and we don’t expect to spend much time in the cabin except for sleeping.

The bathroom had the normal accoutrements and recessed shelves (some with glass doors) over the toilet. The shower had the normal European sliding shower head that’s designed to accommodate people of varying heights. I wish I could say the shower could also accommodate people of varying widths – I’m not sure how anyone much heavier than I am could use that stall. The one complaint I have about the bathroom is that the shower does not have a shelf for shampoo – and it kept falling off the tiny soap dish. The terry-cloth factory was allowed free reign in the bathroom, providing the normal bath and hand towels along with wash cloths (appreciated by us Americans) and bathrobes. The hairdryer was wall mounted with a hose to the handpiece – the hand piece got a bit too warm, but the dryer itself was effective for S, whose hair is quick to dry (not sure how well it would work for thicker hair). I suspect this was because hairdryers burn more power than everything else in the cabin combined and they probably install something that won’t blow the ship’s generators (which I saw on my engine room tour – watch for the pictures!). Toiletries included Molton Brown shampoo, bath/shower gel, lotion, and a round bar of soap (all excellent quality!); of course there also were slippers, shower caps, a shoe mitt, and shoe horn.

By now it was almost 8 PM and time for …

Next posting:

XXVI: Day 4 – Our first dinner on the Mozart

J

[jgnova]

Peter Deilmann MV Mozart cruise on the Danube April 2-9, 2006
Part XXVI (Day 4 – continued): Our first Deilmann dinner

Dinner on board was served at varying times depending on the day and evening activities – sometime between 7:30 and 8:15. We found our table and our servers introduced themselves. We were served by Isztvan, Josefv, and Adam. They used a team approach we hadn’t seen on previous cruises. Isztvan took our orders (along with those of a few other tables) while Josefv took orders from another group of tables. Adam took care of beverages for all of their tables (and those of another pair of waiters) and helped clear the tables as needed.

We were told that we would be given copies of the full menu set at the end of the cruise and did not save ours. Unfortunately, the menus for a couple of nights were missing from our pack so I can’t discuss the food served at the first meal. The procedure at each meal was the same, however.

The waiters rushed to the table as we sat down and unfolded our napkins and handed us each a menu. The menus were in English – one page listed the vegetarian menu, the other page had the normal fare. Mixing was permitted. Each dinner had 6 to 8 courses, usually with one selection per course. Thus the choice was normally whether or not to eat that course rather than choosing from an array of options. Some meals did offer multiple selections. After noting each person’s order, the waiter would adjust the flatware accordingly – e.g,, if the fish course was ordered, the fish fork and knife were added.

Each course was served in a choreographed flourish. Isztvan and Josefv would come to the table with our plates, stand first behind the women, synchronize their movements, and place the plates before them at exactly the same time, announcing, sotto voce, the course. We had to stop ourselves from laughing after we caught on to them watching each other movements, but we actually did enjoy this service.

The food portions were fairly small by American standards, but I thought they were adequate given the number of courses at each meal. The food was delicious and the presentation was exquisite – each plate was prepared identically and served in the same orientation relative to the diner. The plates were arranged artistically with vegetable garnishes and sauces designed to form a picture or pattern. I have never had so many meals served so consistently with the same attention to detail. The food was always hot and cooked exactly right. I’d take another cruise on this ship just to eat the food. (We have a few photos of the dining room and the dinner platings taken later in the cruise; links to those photos will be included in the posting describing that day.)

Next posting:

XXVII: Day 4 – Another Deilmann ship – and our locks in the night

J

[jgnova]

Peter Deilmann MV Mozart cruise on the Danube April 2-9, 2006
Part XXVII (Day 4 – continued): Another Deilmann ship – and our first lock

Because the ship was docked with the port side facing the dock and the river embankment (to protect Vienna against high water) there wasn’t a lot to see on that side. The starboard view was of “new” Vienna, the section on the other side of the river to which the city had expanded over the years. This section had the large corporate and international organization headquarters – mostly tall buildings with interesting architecture. As we were eating dinner (and I was occasionally glancing out the window), another riverboat pulled alongside very slowly and came to a stop. It then started inching over to get closer. (“Oh no,” I thought, “are these the infamous pirates looking for Peter Pan – oops, wrong country.”) It was the Danube Princess, the Deilmann ship from which “Steamboats” had been “bounced” the previous week because of “technical difficulties.” Obviously, the technical difficulties had been resolved because its dining room, like ours, was filled with diners. So the passengers on the starboard side of our dining room got to stare at the diners on the Danube Princess staring at them . . . . It was a bit strange.

As we were finishing dinner, I noticed that the Danube Princess was moving and wondered why it had stopped for such a short time? Was it to dump a problem passenger? Or employee (no, they throw those into the river :rolleyes: )? Then I noticed that not only was the Danube Princess moving, so was everything else on land! We were heading up river for our first port of call on the morrow. Time for us to head off to our first night in our cabin. . . .

As we were getting ready for bed, S suddenly asked if something was happening to the boat – the noise level had changed and there were strange bumps (those pirates again?). Away to the window we flew like a flash, tore open the curtains, and threw up the sash (sorry, I let that one get away from me – the sash wouldn’t go up). Out the window was … another stone wall, just like the one we thought we had left behind in Vienna. Hmm – has the wall joined the minibar in following us from place to place? But this wall was moving – well, we were moving relative to the wall, anyway. And then I noticed mooring stanchions embedded in the wall and realized that were transiting our first lock!

Within a few minutes the ship stopped its forward movement, and we heard more clanking and other noises. And the wall started moving down – well, actually, we were moving up as the lock filled and lifted the ship (thus proving that a rising water level will indeed lift all ships :D ). So we stood at the window and watched us rise up in the lock and the dirty stone walls go down. Almost as much fun as watching paint dry, as S put it. Within what seemed like a short time, we started moving again and headed to bed as we knew that tomorrow would bring ….

Next posting:

XXVIII: Day 5 – Robin Hood’s (tenuous) connection to the Danube – a morning visit to Dürnstein

J

[jgnova]

Peter Deilmann MV Mozart cruise on the Danube April 2-9, 2006
Part XXVIII (Day 5) – Robin Hood on the Danube – or who’s that singing outside my window? A morning in Dürnstein

Breakfast on the Mozart was a bit less formal than dinner – actually, a lot less formal. In theory, it was possible to order a cooked-to-order egg dish, but we never did so. A very large buffet was available with meats, cheeses, breads, rolls, etc., displayed very nicely. They also had some hot serving areas with scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, and boiled eggs (3 & 5 minute).

Breakfast was the only meal that Deilmann didn’t get right (in my opinion). I like crisp bacon (or scrapple) with scrambled eggs or an omelet. I never found scrapple anywhere on this trip (which I found strange as I thought it to be of German origin), and the Mozart bacon was definitely NOT crisp, although the scrambled eggs were a bit overdone. This is one area in which the food could use some improvement. The hotels in which we stayed managed to serve decent buffet eggs and bacon (and some even had omelet stations). The marvelous selection of pastries, breads, and rolls, along with wonderful cheeses, an array of sausages, meats, and fish, and fruits, as well as yogurts, juices, etc., was more than enough for S.

So after breakfast, we headed ashore for our tour of Dürnstein (http://www.thesphinx.org/DanubeCruise/Durnstein/), a small village with fewer than a thousand inhabitants in the Wachau valley of the Danube. The valley is known for its beauty and vineyards, and Dürnstein is on a small flat area on the riverside nestled among the steep cliffs. Downstream from the town a little way is Loiben, site of a Napoleonic battle (he lost the battle even though he won the war), and there’s a monument to that battle on the outskirts of town.

Overlooking the town is the castle in which Richard the Lion Heart was imprisoned while Robin Hood (http://www.amazon.com/gp/music/wma-pop-up/B000000GOL001042/ref=mu_sam_wma_001_042/103-0359316-9850206) was running about at home harassing and hiding from Prince John. Let me digress yet again. In 1188, the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa promised the Pope that he would free Jerusalem from Saladin and his Islamic followers (and you thought the problems there were of recent origin?). He cajoled Richard the Lion Heart (England), Philip II (France), and Leopold V (Babenberg, Austria) into joining him, along with a few thousand “volunteers” and led the Third Crusade.

Unlike his mother (Eleanor of Aquitaine), whom everyone seemed to love, Richard flunked the Dale Carnegie course and especially ticked off a few of his peers (cheated Leopold out of his booty after one conquest, tore down the Austrian flag someplace else, sneaked off and married another woman instead of Philip’s sister, etc.). So, when his ship ran into a storm in the Mediterranean on the return from Jerusalem and was separated from his army, he had to get across Europe pretty much on the sneak. Unfortunately, he was caught in Austria and turned over to Leopold, who stuck him in the Dürnstein castle (http://www.thesphinx.org/DanubeCruise/Durnstein_castle/) (note the city wall snaking down the mountain) and held him for ransom. The romantic myth is that Blondel, Richard’s minstrel, was wandering around searching for his liege, singing outside every castle he found – and that Richard completed “his” song when Blondel serenaded outside the Dürnstein castle. Anyway, the Brits had to sell the company silver (and everything else) to raise the ransom and this virtually bankrupted the country. It was during this time that Prince John (who really didn’t want Richard saved) was running around trying to raise money and caused the ruckus that led Robin Hood into his do-gooder role. Enough history – back to touring.

So we got off the boat and Uwe Wieselmann, the Excursion Manager, divided us into small groups and assigned each group to a tour guide. She kept us engaged (and walking) for a couple of hours, spending much of the time touring the Monastery and Monastery Church (http://www.thesphinx.org/DanubeCruise/Durnstein_Monastery/), which had some ancient relicts and some nice views of the river and surrounding valley.

After the tour, we were set loose for about 45 minutes before we had to be on the boat. S & I bought some postcards and some local propolis (bee product) and a bar of honey soap before heading back. S thought we were supposed to go down some street toward the river, but I could see the boat in another direction and insisted on going that way. All roads did lead to the boat, but my semi-direct route required hiking across a vineyard and climbing over a highway and guard rail to get there.

After boarding the boat, it was time for:

Next posting:

XXIX: Day 5 – “Clear the decks!” but lunch comes first

J

[steamboats]

Hhmm, J,

I can´t comment on "scrapple" as unfortunately I don´t know this word and my online dictionary doesn´t know it either :confused: . I just can comment that bacon, scrambled eggs and omelet are not common as breakfast in Germany. We usually prefer rolls with jam, cheese or meats. More healthier eating people prefer cereals. I guess eggs and bacon are more common in Great Britain :) . Because of that it´s hard to find really good and crisp bacon in Germany (or on a German boat).

steamboats

[jgnova]

Steamboats:

Scrapple (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scrapple) is one of J's preferred breakfast meats. One version came from the area near where he grew up in Philadelphia, where there are settlements of Deutsch (not Dutch) religious groups, such as Mennonites. Here's another source of information (http://www.libraries.uc.edu/libraries/arb/ger_americana/traditions.html) J found that (about a third of the way down the page) discusses the likely German origin (and name) of this "food" (not something I'll eat, by the way). It probably fits with the (much nicer, to my view) sausage variations on the German table.

S

[steamboats]

S,

Thanks for enlightening me about "scrapple". Being a Bavarian (a very special kind of people and of course the best in Germany :D ) I´m apologized for not knowing "scrapple" or "Gruetzwurst". According to the links you´ve provided this is common in the Lower Rhine Valley / Oldenburg / Westphalia / Hanover. That´s too far away from Munich and definitely in Prussia (everything north of the Main River - some even say north of the Danube - is Prussia). As my great great aunt used to say: That´s in a foreign country! :D (which could have also meant "overseas" form her point of view).

Great, now I´m even learning something about German traditions on this board!

steamboats

[cactuslady]

Well jgnova, I am enjoying your reviews immensely. However, I was half expecting a photo of your use of the shower and so am a bit disappointed. (no, not really) ;)

Thanks for your report on the jigsaw puzzles! I'll save room in my suitcase for bringing some home as well.

By the way, jgnova or steamboats, in your shopping, have you seen any kits for making paper castles? (Kind of like paper dolls but with a lot more assembly required.) I enjoyed several of these as a kid, all of which had been imported from Germany. In fact, I think I still have one somewhere that remains undone . . .

[steamboats]

cactuslady,

I´m sorry, I don´t remember seeing paper models.

The number one company in Germany for paper models is Schreiber

http://www.schreiber-bogen.de/

The are selling online on this website

http://www.mb-v.de/versand/schreibereng/assets/s2dmain.html?http://www.mb-v.de/versand/schreibereng/ (this is one link despite the second http)

And here´s another website selling paper models:

http://www.moduni.de/index.php/cPath/10000000_10100000_10102001_10102030

I saw the Schreiber models in several shops in Germany, mainly in museum shops. So check the Schreiber website.If there´s a model you are visiting the "original" on your cruise make sure to go to the gift shop and have a look there.

I have several paper models at home but all are steamboats :D . Here´s an easy one of the Mississippi Queen (for print out):

http://www.papertoys.com/mississippi-queen.htm

steamboats

[jgnova]

By the way, jgnova or steamboats, in your shopping, have you seen any kits for making paper castles? (Kind of like paper dolls but with a lot more assembly required.) I enjoyed several of these as a kid, all of which had been imported from Germany. In fact, I think I still have one somewhere that remains undone . . .
I remember that S showed me one somewhere - maybe in the gift shop at Hellbrunn Castle?

J

[cactuslady]

Omigosh, the Schreiber websites show a couple of buildings I remember quite well. Still in print after all these decades . . . . Saw a Mississippi steamboat model, too. :)

But (I'm a lawyer so just had to look) my favorite part was the translation from German into Legalese:

"Area of jurisdiction
With contracts with buyers, with legal entities of the public right or public special estate becomes as exclusive area of jurisdiction for all from the business relation resulting in law cases, including change and cheque complaints, which agree upon seat of the salesman." :D

Thanks to both of you for all of your information!

[aagra]

Great review, with great details and a storyline, i'm enjoying reading it very much. We live near Philadelphia and my DW loves scraple even though I can eat it, I don't search it out like she does. (She was born in Philly, maybe thats the key to liking scraple).
Anyway we got back from our trip on the Danube, which we all enjoyed and reading your review just brought back memories. Will write my review in a few days but will not be as extensive and interesting as yours but may add some information for others who might be taking this trip in the future.
We were able to do the entire trip on the Mozart and I can say that I was amazed how clean and unobstructed the Danube is from heavy Industry and over development on its banks. The weather was great and the food and service on Mozart was outstanding.

[steamboats]

Cactuslady,

You saved my day! Being a German lawyer I needed to read it more than once just to guess what they wanted to say. I finally switched to the German version and believe me there are German legal terms (commercial law) which simply can´t be translated into English as they are completely unknown in your law system. Sounds like they translated the whole website with the help on some online translation software :) .

steamboats

[jgnova]

Peter Deilmann MV Mozart cruise on the Danube April 2-9, 2006
Part XXIX (Day 5) – Our first Mozart Lunch

After climbing over rails and daring the dangers of the “highway” in this quiet river village to get to the boat, we boarded and retrieved our keys. The boat staff ask that all passengers leave their keys at the desk when going ashore – this way they just have to quickly scan the hooks in the mailboxes to see if any keys are still hanging to see if anyone is still ashore. And yes, while we were in the cabin depositing our purchases and coats before heading to the dining room for lunch, we heard the loudspeaker system announcement “Will Mr. or Mrs. Late Tourist please call the front desk?” Shortly thereafter, the boat started moving, so we figured that the Late Tourist family had boarded but had not yet picked up their keys as I didn’t notice any empty seats at lunch.

Lunch on board was a cross between breakfast and dinner – there was usually one course that required the waiter to take your order, but it was mostly from the buffet. There was also a course that was labeled as being from the “Demonstration Kitchen” – this was something prepared in a wok or some other skillet right on the buffet line. There were salads, cheeses, various meats, a soup or two, and various dessert items. I don’t recall ever walking away hungry or feeling that something was missing.

Eating while under way on a riverboat was a different feeling from eating under steam on an ocean vessel. Usually the view from the dining room on an ocean liner is to the horizon with occasional glimpses of the waves. The feeling from a riverboat is different – you can see things in both directions – houses, woods, etc., and it felt to me like being on a train – constant motion with the scenery going by.

We were headed downstream towards Vienna and this was our first time on the river during daylight so it was time to head up to the sun deck with a 360° view of the surroundings. I had to detour down through our cabin for my camera while S, M, & ML headed up. When I got back to the Don Giovanni deck, I went outside and headed up the stairs – to find a crew member at the top blocking the way!

There was a bridge approaching! Well, I guess it’s more accurate to say that we were approaching a railroad bridge. The crew didn’t chase me away, so I stood near the top of the steps and watched us approach a bridge (http://www.thesphinx.org/DanubeCruise/LowRRBridge/) that, combined with the water’s height, looked rather iffy about us getting past. The windscreens were lying flat and the crew were all lying down on the chaises. It wasn’t until later that I realized that they weren’t being lazy – there was insufficient clearance for them to stand and this was the safest place for them until we got past the bridge and they could return the windscreens and side rails to their upright position. I was so excited about watching us go under the bridge that I never noticed the absence of something that should have been fairly obvious. So after taking my pictures, I went running back down to show S my great pictures. I had no idea where she was – I didn’t see her in the lounge – but there she was through the front window so I ran back outside and around to the front.

“Did you see us go under the bridge?”

“Yes – and I got these great pictures from the sun deck!”

“Oh – that’s not fair – they chased us off!”

“Did you notice what they did with the pilot house while you were up there?”

“Oops – nope”

So we all headed back up to the sun deck to sit and relax – and then watched as we headed toward the …


Next posting:



XXX: Day 5 – Where did the funnels go? Or our first daytime lock and another low bridge



J

[aneckc]

Wonderful trip report. I'm going on the Avalon Prague to Bucharest cruise on June 14. Can't wait. Thanks for sharing your experiences. :)

[nyfeds]

Like a moth to a flame, I find myself drawn to the next installment of your wonderful trip! Repetative but true - your reports are terrific!

MORE PLEASE!!

[jgnova]

Peter Deilmann MV Mozart cruise on the Danube April 2-9, 2006
Part XXX (Day 5) – The pilot house sinks – and the funnels split – and the boat goes downhill

Shortly after squeezing under the railroad bridge, we approached the first of two locks between Dürnstein and Vienna so we got to watch the entire process of moving through locks. I’ve ridden on a small canal boat on the Georgetown Canal in Washington, DC, so I knew how they worked, but it was fascinating to watch the same principle used for a big riverboat on a rapidly flowing river. For those who don’t understand how locks work, here is a flash demonstration (http://www.burgundy-canal.com/ulockit.html) from the Burgundy Canal. Other than size, another difference between the lock mechanism depicted in the demo and some of the locks we passed through was that the upstream lock gates were of the “guillotine” type – the gate lifted up from the bottom of the lock to block the water flow instead of closing horizontally. I don’t know why they use different types of gates upstream and downstream but suspect that the guillotine type is easier to control under the water force from a fast moving river.

As the Mozart was designed to be as wide as possible and still fit through the locks, there wasn’t a lot of clearance on the sides of the ship as it transited the locks – I’m guessing there was at most 6” on either side! As the pilot normally sat up high and in the center of the ship, it was hard to center the ship accurately, so the ship has a “wing bridge” on both sides of the boat about even with the pilot house. This is sort of a remote control pilot house from which the pilot can control the ship’s speed and direction. Here are pictures (http://www.thesphinx.org/DanubeCruise/Lock/) of the pilot standing at the wing bridge controls along with photos of the Mozart transiting a lock.

At the second lock, we also had the experience of going under a low bridge that was part of the lock and dam structure. For this lock we got to watch the hustle and bustle on the sundeck as the crew lowered the windscreens and the pilot house. It looks as if the pilot house can lower (into a space behind the bar and stage) so the roof is about level with the deck, but we never saw it get that low. (And no, I don’t think the crew lowers the pilot house when they want to pick up a drink from the bar! :rolleyes: ) In those situations, all of the guard rails are folded down and the crew removes all of the furniture. There are also awning structures that lie flat on the deck – we never saw them raised because the weather wasn’t warm and sunny enough to require the shade. And to make things even flatter, the funnels fold down flat on the deck as well. For the mechanical geeks out there, taking a cruise at high water levels is worth the other inconveniences just to watch the sundeck fold down and up like a pop-up book! The crew told us that we could stay on deck, (http://www.thesphinx.org/DanubeCruise/LowBridgeLock/) but had to remain seated! :eek:

And after transiting the second lock, we headed downstairs to get ready for …

Next posting:

XXXI: Day 5 – Early dinner and a zombie boat crew that sees port only once a year!

J

[jgnova]

Peter Deilmann MV Mozart cruise on the Danube April 2-9, 2006
Part XXXI (Day 5) – A night at the opera!!

We missed the “Viennese Teatime” with cakes and pastries because we wanted to rest up for the night out, so I’ll leave it to someone else to tell you how great the pastry chef’s concoctions were. The daily program also promised Crêpes Suzette and the MV Mozart Trio playing traditional Viennese coffee house music – I’m sure they were also great.

Instead of enjoying tea for two (hundred), we rested up for the opera, one of the special shore excursions included in the “Classical Music” theme cruise. This included the basic shore excursion package (tours of Dürnstein, Vienna, Budapest, Bratislava, and Melk) plus performances in Vienna and Budapest and an afternoon tour of musical Vienna. As this was to be our night in Vienna, it was also the night of the evening performance – and we were given the choice of seeing either “The Flying Dutchman” at the State Opera House (http://www.wiener-staatsoper.at/Content.Node2/home/eninfo/2172.php) or “The Merry Widow” at the Public Opera (http://www.volksoper.at/Content.Node2/en/index.php). We had seen “The Merry Widow” (http://www.volksoper.at/Content.Node2/en/spielplan/spielplan_detail_werkbeschreibung.php?eventid=4628 63) the previous season at home, so we elected to see “The Flying Dutchman,” although “The Merry Widow” would have been a better fit for our Vienna opera experience, given its setting.

Because the opera began at 7:30, those of us attending the opera were served an early dinner at 5 PM. The dinner menu for this night included:

Appetizer
Tureen of the crayfish tail and salmon coat on white tomato foam Timbales with pesto
Or
Oranges and melon cocktail marinated with Grand Marnier (vegetarian choice)

Soup
Guinea fowl essence with two kinds of Royal
Or
Shallot cream soup with flambé grapes (vegetarian)

Salad
Bouquet of fresh lettuces with sunflower seeds

Entrée
Turbot fillet with tomatoes, mushrooms under a crust of “Appenzeller” cheese on leaf spinach and potato pearls
Or
Zucchini risotto with pumpkin seed oil and parmesan cheese (vegetarian)

Sorbet
Lemon with Vodka

Main Course
Roasted saddle of veal with pine nuts and swiss chards on morel foam, summer vegetables and Othello-potatoes
Or
Lasagne with ricotta and pesto (vegetarian)

Cheese
Profiteroles with cheese mousse and kiwis

And then it was time to grab our coats, turn in our keys, and head off to …

Next posting:

XXXII: Day 5 – The Vienna State Opera


J

[jgnova]

Peter Deilmann MV Mozart cruise on the Danube April 2-9, 2006
Part XXXII (Day 5) – It’s not over until the lady dies

NOTE: I just noticed that the menu cited previously may have had the incorrect date. It said “Monday, April 4.” Given the short amount of time allowed for dinner on Monday so we could make it to the opera, I think we had a different menu – the one cited was more likely that used on Tuesday. I should probably also take the time to point out that, unlike the ocean cruise ships that cycle through the same menus every week, the Mozart (and probably the entire Deilmann line), uses a unique menu each night – perhaps based on the food available and chosen by the chefs at that time.

Back to the saga …

Off to the opera we went to see Wagner’s “The Flying Dutchman.” (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/clipserve/B0000013KQ001001/0/103-0359316-9850206) Evening traffic in downtown Vienna at 6:30 PM on a Monday night was not what I would have expected – still bumper to bumper at that hour. But we got to the Opera House with about a half hour to walk around the corner and find the entrance. We handed our tickets to the usher, who pointed to a staircase – that was understandable in any language. Next was walking up the stairs and to the auditorium door – where that usher told us that we had to check our coats before entering. She pointed to a door and said to go down the stairs, and I saw signs that said “Guarderobe” (I think that’s right) and managed to find the right place. And back into the auditorium. I stopped to buy programs (something I forgot to mention we did in Munich – and different from the U.S. where they’re free – or, if you will, included in the price of the ticket). We had tickets for seats in the 10th row of the main section of the Vienna State Opera House. (http://www.wiener-staatsoper.at/Content.Node2/home/eninfo/2172.php)

A quick read of the program indicated that this performance was presented without pause – that means no intermission – oops, better find the restroom before it begins. And then I tried to figure out the funny little electronic gizmo on the seat back in front of us. One of my (minor) worries was whether we’d understand the opera. Back home, we get “surtitles” projected over the stage so we can see a translation of the words – very helpful as they’re usually in Italian or German, neither of which I understand. What would they do in Vienna with a German (their native language) opera? The electronic gizmo was a small LED panel that, to our delight, showed the libretto in either English or German! Wow!

The performance? Oh yes – Wagner in Vienna – need you ask? Of course it was magnificent, with Alan Titus (the celebrant in the premiere of Bernstein’s Mass at the Kennedy Center in 1971) playing the lead. The singers were great. The orchestra was great. The set was … interesting. And to think that they do operas almost every night – and that some people in Vienna attend 2-3 performances a week! (Note to self: Look for job in Vienna. :rolleyes: )

After the performance, we found our buses where we had left them (how nice) and were driven back to the boat. According to the ship’s daily program, we missed hearing “The Viennese Professor of Music Anton Lang” play the piano during dinner. Oh well. It had been a long day (what with castles, vineyards, monasteries, low bridges, and the opera), so it was off to bed to rest up for ..

Next posting:

XXXIII: Day 6 – Mozart lived here

J

[aagra]

I'm still reading each installment.

[jgnova]

Peter Deilmann MV Mozart cruise on the Danube April 2-9, 2006
Part XXXIII (Day 6) – Morning city tour of Vienna

Beep – Beep – Beep – Beep

Oh no – another 6 AM wake up time. Some vacation this is turning into – getting up every morning at my regular work time so we can be on time for the morning tours. Remind me to start a cruise line with afternoon excursions. Hmm – that’s probably not such a good idea because you take the AM tour so you know what to see in depth in the PM. Oh well – on to Vienna.

We were booked for an all day Vienna “music tour” that covered different sites from the other Vienna tours. A brochure listing all of the tours is included with the trip documents you receive before you depart, and you should choose the tours covering the sites that interest you most. (You reserve the tours either as a package with your reservation or individually just after boarding.) Or just book back-to-back cruises so you can take another tour the following week! :rolleyes:


We drove around one of the ring streets through Vienna to the Theater an der Wien. (http://www.theater-wien.at/) This was the theater at which Mozart’s Fidelio had its premier, and we were given a brief lecture on the theater’s history and an opportunity to photograph the interior (http://www.thesphinx.org/DanubeCruise/ViennaTheater/).

From the theater, we drove around Vienna (http://www.thesphinx.org/DanubeCruise/ViennaCity/) and had opportunities to see several historical buildings and a statue of Mozart. Vienna, like Munich, has great public transportation, especially the small above-ground light rail system.

We then stopped at the Mozarthaus (http://www.mozarthausvienna.at/cgi-bin/mozart/home.pl?lang=en), the location of one of the apartments in which Mozart lived. The tour highlighted the events in Mozart’s life during his residence in Vienna and was an “audio” tour in which each participant had a hand-held device on which we pressed the numeric code for each room. Although Mozart is known to have lived in the apartment we toured, no one knows how the apartment was laid out (which was the bedroom, etc.) so they had some sketches with some suggestions. One wall had its paint stripped down to the layer it was believed was exposed during Mozart’s tenancy. The building had a nice gift shop, and I kept staring at the “Mozart Complete” CD package, but S dragged me away mumbling something about extra charges for overweight luggage. :(


Oh – why is Mozart mentioned so much this year? It’s the 250th (http://www.mozart2006.net/eng/) anniversary of his birth in Salzburg (more on that later).


From the Mozarthaus, we walked around the corner to St. Stephen’s Cathedral (http://info.wien.at/article.asp?IDArticle=3106). Our timing was either good or bad, depending on the perspective. Because it was just before noon, a service was about to begin, and there was time for only a few pictures (http://www.thesphinx.org/DanubeCruise/ViennaStStephen/) –but the trade-off was hearing the organ, the singing, and the marvelous acoustics.

And then it was time to head back to the ship for lunch so we could head back out for the …

Next posting:

XXXIV: Day 6 – Be seen, not to see

J

[jgnova]

Peter Deilmann MV Mozart cruise on the Danube April 2-9, 2006
Part XXXIV (Day 6) – The Vienna State Opera House – and Mozart doesn’t lie here

After a delicious lunch on board, we headed back to the buses for the afternoon portion of the musical Vienna tour. Our first stop was the Vienna State Opera House, in which we had seen The Flying Dutchman the previous evening. Because the performance had been without an intermission, we had had little time in which to see much more of the place than to find our way to the coat check and our seats. This time we were treated to a guided tour of the building, including an opportunity to see the Emperor’s suite (or tea room) and his box. Emperor Franz Joseph commissioned the building and then didn’t like it when it was completed – so the architect committed suicide. Our photos of the building (http://www.thesphinx.org/DanubeCruise/ViennaOpera/) (I think it looked nice even if the Emperor didn’t – I guess I have different standards) are here.

We walked around and got to see the Mozart statue in Burger Park – and then returned to the bus for some more riding. We drove past the railroad station (seen in several films) and the Prater (People’s Park) with the giant ferris wheel (Riesenrad) made famous in Orson Welles’ The Third Man and built originally in 1897. We headed to the outskirts of town to see the Zentralfriedhof (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zentralfriedhof) or Central Cemetery, where many famous composers (http://www.thesphinx.org/DanubeCruise/ViennaCemetery/) (and other artists and writers) are buried - and one isn’t. There is a memorial to Mozart, but no one knows where his real grave is. The Zentralfriedhof is HUGE! – it is about a square mile and has over 3 million bodies buried there. Besides the composer section, there are sections for various religions, including a Jewish section with the graves of the Rothschild family. Note that Schoenberg is buried in the section of famous people for whose graves the city provides care, not in the Jewish section.

After the cemetery, we headed back to the boat for a gala evening on board, to be discussed in the …

Next posting:

XXXV: Day 6 – Now this is the way to live on board!

J

[jgnova]

Peter Deilmann MV Mozart cruise on the Danube April 2-9, 2006
Part XXXV (Day 6) – Captain’s cocktail party and concert

The program for Tuesday, April 4, was rather full. There was the 6:45 a.m. “wake-up call” from Uwe with information for the day followed by the “early bird” café and pastries at 7. Breakfast started at 7:30 so that those on the two tours departing in the morning had time to eat. After lunch, our group (the musical fanatics) left for the second half of our tour (described earlier) and the rest of the passengers could choose a tour to Schloss Schönbrunn, which I’ve been told is magnificent, or stay on board to relax and partake in the afternoon tea with Petr Pfitzner on the piano.

The good stuff on board awaited everyone’s return from their daily activities, and the program asked that everyone be on board by 6 p.m. in expectation of a 7:30 departure for Budapest (more on that later). This was the evening of the Captain’s “Welcome Cocktail” and the official dress suggestion for the evening was “formal.” Note that the suggestion is not limited to dinner, but for the entire evening. Formal on board meant that men wore suits and that the women wore dressy outfits (many with long dresses but not what we would consider evening gowns).

At 6:30, we lined up in the cocktail area to enter the lounge and to be introduced to the Captain. As each couple met the Captain, the ship’s photographer took a photo (available in the reception area for €5 the following day – we passed) of the group. A glass of Champagne (prosecco?) was handed to each guest and we found a table in the lounge. I never noticed a time when the lounge was too crowded to find a seat, so I guess it was designed for a full sailing. The dining room staff circulated with small appetizers and drink refills. Oddly enough, there seemed to be more opportunity for drink than food, the opposite of what I’ve seen at other cocktail parties.

At 7:15, we were introduced to the Lübecker Ensemble, a group of musicians who accompanied us on our trip, and we were treated to a 45 minute performance. The program for the evening included two movements from Mozart pieces (a sonata and a piano trio), a movement from a Brahms clarinet trio, and two Beethoven pieces, a baritone Liederkreis, and a movement from a clarinet trio. The group performed well and seemed enthusiastic about the music. Ideally, by now the ship would have been gently moving down the Danube as the music wafted through our heads, but the ship movement after the performance was provided by the passengers heading off to …

Next posting:

XXXVI: Days 6-7 – Dinner – and the bad and good news

J

[jgnova]

Peter Deilmann MV Mozart cruise on the Danube April 2-9, 2006
Part XXXVI (Days 6-7) – Dinner and packing

I’ve already posted the menu (in error because the menu date was incorrect) so you can reread that posting if you want to enjoy it again. After the main course was served, Herr Alfermann, the hotel director, announced that the river authorities had closed the Danube below Bratislava and that we would all be taken by bus to Budapest. This possibility had been announced earlier and we were told that the hotel in Budapest normally used by Deilmann was booked and Deilmann staff were looking for alternate accommodations. Herr Alfermann’s next announcement, that we had been booked into the Kempinski, was greeted by applause. He also announced that all drinks in the hotel would also be covered (more applause).

When the announcement was made earlier about Budapest, we were asked to tell Uwe if we would be going to Budapest and at that time we were given colored luggage tags so our luggage would travel in our bus. We also asked Uwe if he could get us seats for the evening’s performance at the Budapest State Opera House, and he said that he would try.

We returned to our cabins to pack as we had to eat and be ready to board the buses the next day for an 8 a.m. departure. Our luggage was to be placed by the cabin door no later than 7:30 a.m. Breakfast the next morning began at 7 so as not to be rushed. We boarded our bus to find that we were being accompanied by our dining room beverage person, Adam, who was from a town near Budapest. He provided coffee, tea, and bottled water during our drive, and was excited about the trip as he would have some time off once we got to Budapest so he could visit with his brother. The trip was uneventful and included a stop at a highway rest area right after we entered Hungary. We did have to go through immigration and get our passports stamped, and this was done on the bus.

Riding through Austria and Hungary was a new experience as we saw the many differences and similarities with the U.S. There were many windmill electricity “farms” along the way, something I’ve not seen much of in the U.S. There was a definite difference in road quality among the three countries – Germany had the smoothest roads by far, followed by Austria, and then Hungary. There was a noticeable difference in bumps felt after crossing the borders. American consumerism seems to have spread to this part of Europe as we passed shopping centers and even outlet malls (with a lot of store names we recognized)!

So we sat and read and knitted and talked as we drove on to …

Next posting:

XXXVII: Day 7 – Budapest at last!

J

[jgnova]

Peter Deilmann MV Mozart cruise on the Danube April 2-9, 2006
Part XXXVII (Day 7) – The road to Budapest – a slight digression

While we’re traveling along with nothing much to do, I’d like to make a slight metaphoric detour and mention a few things that have been popping in my brain as I’ve been writing.

First, I spotted this cartoon (http://www.comics.com/comics/franknernest/archive/franknernest-20060429.html) in yesterday’s paper and thought it fit this little narrative.

And I recalled some additional memories from the boat. Before departing, we had searched the local bookstores and found tour books and maps for the cities, countries, and regions we were visiting, but not a lot specific to the Danube. The ship’s reception desk sold pull-out maps (in English and German versions) of the entire Danube. This map showed the locations of the locks and major cities and we found it very helpful. I just searched and the only site listing it (German Amazon) doesn’t have it available. I hope Deilmann continues to sell it on board.

The Deilmann staff had run off multiple copies of little notes in German and English with detailed instructions for getting to and from the boat via public transportation while in Vienna. They even had a small note to show to your taxi driver with detailed driving instructions to the boat dock!

While on board, S caught what was probably a cold, but she wanted to be sure that's all it was before our Budapest trip, so she went to the doctor. The doctor on board gave her a very thorough examination, confirmed that it was a cold and nothing worse, and gave her some medicated throat lozenges to help sooth her throat. The bill for the visit was under €35 – I told her that for that price, we should just make an appointment on board the Mozart whenever we needed a doctor!

In my earlier notes about Vienna, I should have been a little more accurate in Part XXXIII and said that the “ring street” on which we drove was the Ringstrasse, the road that circles the original “old” sections of Vienna. This very wide boulevard follows the path of the original wall that protected Vienna. Also, Vienna is split into districts and if you look at the building addresses as you drive around, you’ll notice a number separate from the street number – that’s the district. The old city is composed of districts 1 and 2.

Until we toured Vienna, I had forgotten that Austria, like Germany, was occupied and partitioned after the war by the four Allies (France, Great Britain, U.S., and USSR). The western Allies thought that Austria should have been treated differently than Germany as it had been somewhat forcefully annexed by the Germans, but the Soviets disagreed. Unlike Germany, however, Austria was given the right of self-governance in 1955 with the proviso that it remain a neutral country, and this is why it has the offices of several international agencies and is not part of NATO.

I realized during this trip how much else I had forgotten (or never really learned) about this part of the world. Traveling through these countries gave me the incentive to read the guidebook descriptions of the recent and older histories of the area. The status of many countries keeps changing as the European Community admits countries with different levels of membership. Some countries are members with free movement of their citizens, but their currency systems do not yet meet the standards for conversion to Euros, which explains why Slovakia and Hungary still use the Koruna and Forint respectively.

So I see the bus is now slowing for heavy traffic, which can only mean that it’s time for the …

Next posting:

XXXVIII: Day 7 – Crossing from Buda to Pest – the split city

J

[jgnova]

Cactuslady:
J just got some book catalogues from a place where we buy a LOT of books (they send him a handwritten holiday greeting!), and they have a bunch of paper constructions that you can build. Including some places we saw! Go to their website (http://www.daedalusbooks.com) and click on the books tab and then type in the search block: domus. Wow, a long list. Includes Prague, Venice, Florence, London, Vatican City, Rome, St. Stephen's in Vienna!, and so forth. Some of them have the workings for clocks to insert in the construction. These are not for little kids -- they have hundreds of parts.
S

[Bobblsc]

jgnova,

I thought I had seen your moniker , so I checked and there you were agreeing with me about the Budapest State Opera. Someone asked about a guide for Budapest. Your post was the last one, and the original poster never came back.

We took a Uniworld Danube cruise from the Black Sea to Budapest last October. Spent four nights in Bucharest first, then by bus to Black sea, then upriver to Budapest. The first two nights at Bucharest were on our own, and we stayed at the Intercontinental Hotel. The next two nights were part of the cruise package, and we had to move to the Marriott. If you go to Bucharest, the better choice, by far, is the Intercontinental.

We had been to Budapest twice before and stayed at hotels. Of course this time we were on the ship. I was late in buying Opera tickets on the web here, so the best we could do were third row stall for Don Carlos. But it was still just great. If we get back to Budapest, I will get on-line much earlier to get better seats. I think your seats sold at about $40 or $50. Ours were $2, thats right two dollars each. I would try for first row stall next time. If you visit Budapest independently, the subway is very good on the Pest side. So getting around is easy.

We have also been to Vienna, and to the State Opera twice. The last time I recall that first row stall was over $100 each for The Marriage of Figaro. If we get back there I'll try to get orchestra seats to have the English translation. We have that at The Tulsa Opera, which we have attended for several years. We just saw Marriage of Figaro this last weekend, and the story was indeed much more understandable.

I will get back to your excellent story soon. You make us want to consider your cruise for another time. The only problem would be that we don't like to get up early in the morning. We used to take river cruises, and then get a car for traveling in Europe. Now we tend more toward ocean cruises. We did a Transatlantic after the October Danube trip.

Hope this is not considered "butting in".

Bob :rolleyes:

[jgnova]

Bob,

No, of course you're not butting in. My detailed comments on the Budapest performances are coming in the next couple of days, but I don't think I'm ruining the suspense by saying they were great.

I don't like getting up in the morning either. We try to take at least 2 vacation trips a year - one that is hyper and active like this and then one more laid back (beach condo). Of course, with our new grandson, that schedule is now up for debate as we're both still working full time (or so our bosses think). :rolleyes:

J

[jgnova]

Peter Deilmann MV Mozart cruise on the Danube April 2-9, 2006
Part XXXVIII (Day 7) – Budapest – and the Kempinksi

The road (and river) from Vienna to Budapest is from the east to the west – until the section of the Danube called the Danube Bend, where the river turns and runs from north to south through Budapest. As we were on the road, our path led pretty much straight into the city from the west. Budapest was originally two cities, Buda on the west bank of the Danube and Pest on the east. Our approach took us through Buda and down the hill to the river. Besides the obvious signs of a major city (about 2 million people), another sign of a heavily populated area was political advertising. A major national election was coming up, and there were banners and signs from all of the light posts promoting the parties and candidates.

The bus crossed over into the Pest side and made its way through the heavy mid-day traffic to the hotel. We learned later that the traffic in Budapest was extraordinarily heavy because of the river flooding. In normal conditions, the road beside the river carries a lot of the through traffic and that road was completely flooded. We could see the river boat docks along the river as we crossed the bridge – with NO way to reach them from dry land. So even if the Mozart had been allowed to cruise down river, I’m not sure how we would have ever made it ashore!

As a result of the bus trip, we obviously missed traveling through the Danube Bend, the location of the ruins of the 1000 year-old castle of King Stephen, the founder of the Hungarian Empire. St. Stephen’s Cathedral, modeled after St. Peter’s Basilica, is also there, and I regret not being able to see that, along with the grave of the great Hungarian hero, Cardinal Mindszenty, who was arrested several times by the Fascist and Communist governments because of his opposition to their rule. He lived in the U.S. embassy from 1956 through 1971 when the Communists finally allowed him to leave the country.

We finally pulled up to the Kempinski Hotel Corvinus Budapest (http://www.kempinski-budapest.com/), climbed down, stretched our legs, and walked in to register. Although the staff was efficient, there was sufficient time for Uwe to find us and hand us 4 tickets to the Hungarian State Opera House for that evening! We checked in rapidly and in no time we were escorted up the elevator to our room (http://www.thesphinx.org/DanubeCruise/BudapestKempinski/).

This hotel is worth a return trip to Budapest. The room was huge, with a bathroom bigger than my brother’s old apartment in Greenwich Village. The bathroom had a tub AND a stall shower. And a speaker so you could hear the TV news while showering. Opening the closet door activated overhead lights so you could find the correct clothing. The only unusual thing (for us, anyhow) was the need to insert your room card into a slot by the door to turn on the room lights.

After washing up, we headed down to the restaurant for a delicious buffet lunch. They had a huge salad bar with everything anyone could want, a hot food buffet with some foods cooked there, and a wall of fresh breads and rolls. Oh – and a table of out-of-this world desserts! As I said, the hotel alone justifies returning to Budapest (well, the city itself does have a bit to offer as well).

Deilmann had us booked for an afternoon trip to a hotel-castle (http://www.budapesthotels.com/castles/Szirak.asp) for a reception and recital. As the trip would have meant another hour in the bus (in each direction) we bailed ship (bus?) and went on to …

XXXIX: Day 7 – Walking through Budapest – the synagogue and more

J

[cactuslady]

Cactuslady:
J just got some book catalogues from a place where we buy a LOT of books (they send him a handwritten holiday greeting!), and they have a bunch of paper constructions that you can build. . . . -- they have hundreds of parts.
S
Thanks, jgnova! And steamboats!
I now have access to hundreds of models, each with hundreds of parts. 'Course, there's no time to build a single one, but I can dream, can't I?
:cool:

[Judith02]

Thank you for all your posts. We've just gotten home from South America and I'll find time to sit and read them all. One question: did you buy the shore excursion package from Deilman, and what tours were not included? Judith

[jgnova]

Judith,

We signed up for the classical music themed cruise. That got us the shore excursion package (with one change - an all day musical Vienna tour instead of the half day city tour) plus evening performances in Vienna and Budapest.

The normal package deal includes the city tours/walks in Durnstein, Budapest, Bratislava, and Melk. The guides in all locations were excellent and well informed. While some people have indicated a preference for arranging for their own tours, after reading about the accident in South America, I think I'll stick to working through the cruise line.

J

Thank you for all your posts. We've just gotten home from South America and I'll find time to sit and read them all. One question: did you buy the shore excursion package from Deilman, and what tours were not included? Judith

[Bobblsc]

What a great hotel. A bit pricey if one is traveling on your own, but maybe worth it. Looks to be close to Budapest's most famous pastry café. The name slips me for now.

All this makes me want to check out the Deilman cruises. I haven't been through all your posts, but I assume they use a cruise line's river ships, and that they do not have their own. I'll check that out.

Bob :cool:

[steamboats]

Bob,

Deilmann has own river cruise ships as well as a blue water ship, the 5 star MV Deutschland (which is the boat used in the German version of "Love Boat"). Deilmann is a cruise line for two generations and still family operated (founded by Peter Deilmann and now operated by his two daughters).

And the name of the Café might be "Gerbeaud".

steamboats

[Bobblsc]

Steamboats, thanks. They also have a beer pub in the basement, as you probably know. The New York is another café we have visited. It is a few blocks east. It has been closed for some months for renovation of some sort. I heard that the building the café is in was being converted to a five star hotel. The café is the most beautiful we have ever seen.

Bob :)

[jgnova]

Peter Deilmann MV Mozart cruise on the Danube April 2-9, 2006
Part XXXIX (Day 7) – On our own in Budapest – the Dohany Street Synagogue

We finished our lunch and dessert and headed out the door (after running back upstairs for cameras and coats). We did remember to stop at the desk to pick up the nice map that the hotel distributes to guests (English language version). Steamboats had told S about a place in Budapest that sold authentic local crafts – Folkartcentrum – but I had forgotten to bring the printout with the address so we asked the concierge. He didn’t know the name – and I couldn’t find it in the phone book – but he thought there was some place on Vaci u. that had that kind of goods, and he marked on the map its approximate location. He also mentioned the Central Market as a good place to look.

So off we headed in Budapest in search of the synagogue and local crafts – with two maps, no local currency (just Euros), and no understanding of the language! We looked at the map, found the synagogue and our current location and I said, “Walk – that way!” By now it was about 2 PM, the performance that night was at 7, which meant getting back to the hotel in time to change, maybe eat, call a cab, and get to the opera house. That left us, what, 3 hours to find stuff and see the local sights!

We made our way to the main circle road, Karoly krt., and turned right in hopes I was reading the map correctly and it would lead us to the synagogue. The road veered to the right, and I was looking at the map trying to figure out where to go when ML told me to look across the street – and there it was! So much for burying my head in maps.

We made it across the street intact – a challenge as that intersection was under construction – and entered the synagogue gates. There was a guard and a metal detector – M had to leave his pocket knife with the guard – and entered the property of the Dohany Street Synagogue (http://www.bh.org.il/communities/Synagogue/budapest.asp). There was a gift shop so we bought tour books of the synagogue and for Budapest while there. We had, of course, just missed the English tour of the synagogue, so we were on our own. We walked around the grounds first and saw the Holocaust memorial and the plaque dedicated to Raoul Wallenberg (http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/wallenberg.html), a WWII hero for Hungarian Jews. We then entered the largest synagogue in Europe after paying the entrance fee and borrowing yamulkes (skullcaps) for the men. The building was heavily damaged during the war (the chandeliers were melted for cannon) and about $10 million was raised to return it to its original state (http://www.thesphinx.org/DanubeCruise/BudapestSynagogue/).

After touring that part of the complex, we walked next door to spend some time in the Jewish Museum (http://www.museum.hu/search/museum_en.asp?ID=92). The building housing the museum is on the site of the birthplace of Theodore Herzl, founder of the modern state of Israel. The building has a large collection of photos of Hungarian performers from before the N*z* era along with many Jewish religious artifacts (http://www.thesphinx.org/DanubeCruise/JewishMuseum/), presumably saved from the families killed during the N*z* occupation. Incidentally Tony Curtis, a Jew of Hungarian descent, helped lead the fundraising campaign to restore the complex.

We finished our visit to the museum and headed back out into construction equipment and traffic to go on to …

Next posting:

XXXX: Day 7 – Our mad dash through Pest in search of pepper

J

[jgnova]

Peter Deilmann MV Mozart cruise on the Danube April 2-9, 2006
Part XXXX (Day 7) – Central markets, tourist traps, and the real thing

We made our way back to Karoly krt. and continued around the circle. We came to a major intersection (with no crosswalk but lots of traffic) so we (I) decided the only safe way across was to go under – there was a staircase and we went down, walked a little distance, and went up the next staircase - and we were in the right place, across the busy street. Only now the street name had changed (just like Munich - there must be a limit to the length of a street before they decide it gets a new name) and we were now on Muzeum krt. and guess what appeared on the left, but the National Museum (http://www.museum.hu/search/museum_en.asp?ID=55) so I guess that explains the name change. I let my “charges” look at the outside and then led them on until we came to very large complex curvy intersection (Kalvin ter.). We somehow had to cross three very busy streets, only once again there were no crosswalks – but there were the stairs leading to the subway station so down we went. This was a bit more challenging as the road above followed a curve and the downstairs walkway went a little straighter – and was broken up by subway entrances and many underground shops and restaurants. I followed my nose and went up the stairs that I thought led to where we wanted to be – and my internal GPS worked, even in a foreign country – we came up exactly where we wanted to be.

So we continued on our merry way along what was now called Vamhaz korut and eventually, as we got close to the river, we saw the Central Market, Nagy Vasarcsarnok, on our left. This is a fairly large building with several floors, filled with stalls selling meats, fruit, vegetables, wine, you name it. We found a stall selling paprika (what else does one buy in Budapest) and filled our bags. I looked at the stalls selling liquor, trying to find Slivovitz, a plum brandy made in that region, commonly in Yugoslavia, but didn’t find any. So we headed out to continue our mission. (S still wishes we had had time to explore the Central Market, especially since we were told that there were arts and crafts on the second floor.)

Directly across the wide avenue was what appeared to be a shopping street closed to motor traffic and, when I looked at the map, I realized that the street was the location marked by the concierge for the probable location of the shop selling local crafts. So we braved our way across a rather busy avenue (no underground passage here) and found an area filled with small outdoor booths selling various crafts, toys, and “native” clothing. We did some shopping and headed north on Vaci u. looking for the place that sold the “real stuff.” We found Vaci u. to have a mix of tourist trap stores reminiscent of Times Square and store selling real antiques and art work.

As we walked along, occasionally stopping to see the “bargain” in the store we passed, we noticed a larger shop with the sign “Folkart Centrum (http://www.folkartcentrum.hu/)” (click on Angol in the lower right corner). This is a lovely shop with beautiful ceramic and other handcrafted pieces. Be sure to find it when you go! Note – we had to use our credit card as I didn’t want to use up our supply of Euros and get stuck with Forints. I think they charged a 10% fee for doing so – without warning us. If they had said something, I would have found an ATM and come back with cash.

We continued up the street stopping at some more stores (found an art gallery with some really nice small sculptures, but S started talking about luggage allowances again) and looking at menus, etc. We had to use another underground passage at the street that crossed the Erzdebet hid (Elizabeth Bridge) – this time the street name didn’t change. Some day maybe I’ll figure out the logic for the street name changes.

Eventually, we turned a corner as I followed what I thought was the way to the hotel and we spotted the British embassy. We also saw a sign over a shop called Café Gerbeaud – I recalled reading about that in one of my pre-trip studies – the writer said it had the greatest chocolate pastries. Put that on the list for tomorrow!

I did take some pictures during our mad dash (http://www.thesphinx.org/DanubeCruise/BudapestCityWalk/).

We found the hotel (actually S saw it while I was trying to turn us in another direction – so much for my internal GPS) and realized that we had less than an hour to get ready for …

Next posting:

XXXXI: Day 7 – A wooden prince, a miraculous mandarin, and a pirate

J

[steamboats]

Jgnova,

We bought a nice traditional dress for DD in the Folkart Centrum and DH checked his credit card slip as signing a sum of 10,000 something is not what you´re doing daily. There was no 10% fee for paying with a CC (in our case it was VISA). Sure you´re right they have to tell you in advance when they charge an extra fee.

steamboats

[jgnova]

There was no 10% fee for paying with a CC (in our case it was VISA).

I dug out the receipt this morning and stared at it a bit (which I didn't have time to do when we bought the stuff). There's a line that says 20% with an amount that doesn't match any of the totals on the receipt. So it must have been some included tax on one category of whatever we bought. Trying to read abbreviations in foreign language is very challenging!

I take back all the evil thoughts I had about them. :D They did seem like nice people and I didn't think they'd do that kind of thing. As I said in the posting, we were rushing to get back to the hotel for the evening performance so I just glanced at the receipt and spotted the line with "20%" and thought it was one of those retailer rip-off things. Guess we need to go back to buy more - they had some gorgeous ceramic pieces.

J

[jgnova]

Peter Deilmann MV Mozart cruise on the Danube April 2-9, 2006
Part XXXXI (Day 7) – A night at the (Budapest) opera

We met down in the lobby around 6 since the performance was scheduled to begin at 7 and we wanted to allow time for traffic after seeing how bad it had been in Vienna. We got a ride and were at the opera house fairly quickly as it was not far from the hotel. Having learned our lesson about coat checks in Vienna, our first search was the coat check room and I checked our coats, an unnecessary endeavor, as it turned out.

We found an usher and were directed up the stairs – M and ML were sent to the left, S and I to the right. S was escorted to a box and I purchased us both programs before heading up another level for my seat. Unfortunately, as we got what were probably the last available seats we had to sit in 4 separate boxes. I was closest to the center and had the best view of the stage; the others were more to the sides and had at least part of the view cut off. Our tickets were 2900 forints each, or about $14. Forints are about 250 to the Euro or 200 to the US dollar. I actually found myself converting to Euros in Budapest (hmm – about 4 Euros per 1000 Forints) instead of to dollars, which would have been easier (Forints divided by 2, then take off the last two digits).

I found myself in a box almost dead center at the back of the auditorium on the third level. The interior of the Hungarian State Opera House (http://www.budapestinfo.org/opera.html) is beautiful. Like the Vienna State Opera House, it was designed under orders from Emperor Franz Joseph, and, like the Vienna building, he didn’t like this one either. However, the architect who designed the Budapest building did not take it so personally as to commit suicide like the architect in Vienna!

All of the boxes have two rows of 2 or 3 seats each, and mine also had 2 more seats on one side on risers so the occupants could see over the occupants of the first rows (and these last can be rolled in back of the second row once everyone in the first two rows is seated. Each box had coat hooks on the wall, obviating the need for box occupants to check coats in the public areas. I don’t know if anyone remembers hearing that in earlier times (especially the 19th century), people attended high-brow events to be seen and not to see or hear the performance. I noticed proof of that while looking around the opera house. All of the boxes were angled to see the stage. This would have prevented voyeurs from seeing anyone not in the first row of the boxes, so the building designers hung a mirror on the stage-side wall of every box. This way people seated towards the center back of the house (like the emperor sitting in the very center!) could look around and use the mirrors to see into the boxes! (Wonder who is plotting against me tonight….)

While waiting for the performance to begin, I had time to peruse the program and read the brief synopses of the night’s selections. The program did have those in English! So even if I couldn’t understand the singing, I’d have an idea about the story. I was glad I did when the lights dimmed, the orchestra began to play, the curtains lifted to reveal …


Next posting:

XXXXII: Day 7 – Dancers, but no pretzels

J

[jgnova]

Peter Deilmann MV Mozart cruise on the Danube April 2-9, 2006
Part XXXXII (Day 7) – Bartok in Budapest

As the music began and the performers entered, I realized that we were going to see a ballet and not an opera! So much for worrying about not understanding the words – dance IS the universal language. The evening’s selections were 3 pieces by Bela Bartok, two ballets: The Wooden Prince (http://www.amazon.com/gp/music/wma-pop-up/B000002A2I001006/ref=mu_sam_wma_001_006/103-8301526-9904626), The Miraculous Mandarin (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/wma-pop-up/-/B000001GR9001001/103-0359316-9850206), and one opera, Bluebeard’s Castle (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/wma-pop-up/-/B0000026NQ001003/103-0359316-9850206).

Although I couldn’t understand the words in the opera, the description in the program was sufficient to help me understand the action. All three performances were about relationships between men and women – and the lead dancers from the ballets appeared as part of the opera’s climax, tying everything together. There was a lengthy intermission between the pieces, and I walked down to the refreshment area. There were several stands selling beer, wine, some food, and very large pretzels. As I was looking for S, I didn’t wait in line but returned to the seating area. I found out later from M and ML that they had waited to buy something (to be expected as we never ate dinner) and then discovered that the vendors accepted only forints. I thought this strange as the coat check and the program seller both accepted Euros. Note to self: get at least some forints the next time we’re in Budapest.

The productions were superb. The dancers did an excellent job, especially the one portraying the wooden prince in the first ballet as he switched from being graceful to acting wooden. The two singers in the opera had excellent voices, and they conveyed the story even though I had no idea what they were saying. (The libretto was projected, in German, above the stage.) The sets were amazing – each was very elaborately designed, and I’m still wondering how they managed to switch sets during intermission!

I was very happy that we had decided to attend this performance instead of that provided by Deilmann to Szirak – I think it provided a better insight into the cultural life in Budapest. I was told later that Deilmann had tried to book the Bartok performance but that some corporation had bought a large block of seats, leaving insufficient “Deilmann level” seats for the passengers. Since the Deilmann brochure promised an evening performance in Budapest, they arranged for a special concert at Szirak for the passengers. (Personally, I think that someone in Deilmann may have realized that many Americans, even those who like classical music, don’t appreciate Bartok and came up with the Szirak recital as a way of pleasing their clients. Of course, there are those of us who actually DO like Bartok…)

After the performance ended, we found our driver outside and returned to the hotel to rest up after a day of bus riding and city hiking, and an evening of music. We had to be up the next morning for the ..

Next posting:

XXXXIII: Day 8 – Breakfast in Budapest – and so was Maria Theresa

J

[jgnova]

Peter Deilmann MV Mozart cruise on the Danube April 2-9, 2006
Part XXXXIII (Day 8) – City tour of Budapest, but first a little food

It’s up and at ‘em time again. This time for a tour of Budapest. First, though, we have to indulge our stomachs in the Kempinski breakfast. If I thought the breakfast at the Munich Kempinski was my benchmark for hotel breakfast buffets, I was mistaken. This place raises the bar!

Two sides of a 15 foot long table were filled with fruits, juices, cheeses, and meats. The cheeses and meats were displayed as nicely as I’ve seen men’s shirts at Nordstrom’s (without the ties). There was what looked like a wall of fresh rolls – at least 6 feet long by 5 feet tall. And sweet pastries. Oh – and the hot stuff was over on the other side – with eggs and sausage and too much to describe. An omelet – no problem! And unlike other places, they used two pans to cook the omelet: they cooked the “add-ins” in one pan while cooking the egg in the other – so the add-ins go ON TOP of the egg as they’re supposed to be. And servers stopping by the table every few minutes to offer more coffee or tea. Yes, the Kempinski knows how to spoil us.

And now off to the buses. We headed out the door to see the same buses in which we’d traveled around Vienna and to Budapest (and the same drivers). We boarded “our” bus, met our guide, and set off. We drove down Andrassy ut and saw the opera house by daylight. This street has a lot of elegant houses and apartments. Our first stop was at Heroes’ Square (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heroes%27_Square_%28Budapest%29), a large expanse with a monument in the middle and backed by a colonnade of statues of Hungarian heroes. The people represented ran from St. Stephen, founder of the Hungarian empire, up through the Habsburgs, including Maria Theresa. Her statue, along with those of the other Habsburgs, was removed after a communist government took over early in the 20th century and replaced with a more proletarian hero. After the Soviet bloc fell, someone found a warehouse filled with Habsburg statues so she was returned to her place in society.

(Funny aside about statues: While under the Warsaw pact, the city was filled with statues representing the workers and common people in heroic poses. Once the country regained its independence in the early 1990’s, a local group issued an ultimatum giving the new government a deadline to remove all of the Soviet era statues or have them toppled the way the Stalin and Lenin statues had been. Another enterprising person thought the industrial statues should be saved and not destroyed so a park (http://www.szoborpark.hu/index.php?Lang=en) was erected on the outskirts of Budapest.)

Back to our tour: Maria Theresa was the wife of Emperor Francis Stephen and seems to have been not only the power behind the throne, but the power out front. Francis was happy to let her run things and, given that there seemed to have been statues of her in almost every city we visited, it seems that she was, indeed, seen as a hero by many of them. She instituted many reforms throughout the empire. Somehow, in her spare time, she also managed to have 16 children, the last of whom, Marie Antoinette, was obviously not as well liked by her subjects as was her mother.

The square was also the home of the fine arts museum (http://www.museum.hu/search/museum_en.asp?id=77) on one side and the Kunsthalle (http://www.museum.hu/search/museum_en.asp?ID=60) or Gallery on the other side. The fine arts museum has an excellent collection including works by El Greco, Velasquez, and Goya and, since our only view was of the museum exterior, may justify a return visit. We returned to our buses and drove through the city park (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Varosliget), which backed to the square. During our drive (http://www.thesphinx.org/DanubeCruise/BudapestCityTour/) through the park, we saw the zoo, an all year circus, and one of the bath houses for which Budapest is famous.

The bus drove around the circle road and we crossed to Buda (on the other side of the Danube) so we could see the ….

Next posting:

XXXXIV: Day 8 – Yup, the river really is flooded – and Maria Theresa was here, too

J

[Judith02]

We are back from our South American cruise and I am reading your posts. Do I understand that instead of staying solely on the Mozart, you were transferred to a hotel? Was this because of the high water from the winter snows? We have purchasedf the $300+ package of special tours for the October music theme cruise on the Mozart. I believe you said you did the same. What tours did you buy separately? Where there any tours that we might not care to take? Lastly, I read you had euros; what other currency would you recommend? Do they take visa or mc or amex on board or in any of the countries? I don't plan to do any BIG shopping but occasionally do buy postcards or small items. Thanks. Judith

[jgnova]

Judith02-

I think I covered most of your questions in the pieces already posted, but it's probably buried amongst all of the trivia (speaking of which, there will be a trivia quiz after I've finished with a valuable European postcard awarded to the winner!). But I'll save you the sifting and try to answer your questions ...

Do I understand that instead of staying solely on the Mozart, you were transferred to a hotel? Was this because of the high water from the winter snows?

The Danube was closed to navigation above Budapest because of the high water levels (see my posts for how tight it was to get below some of the bridges). Instead of acting like the US based cruise lines who say that their only responsiblity is to house and feed you for the duration of the cruise, Deilmann went out of their way to arrange transport to Budapest and accomodations at one of the most luxurious hotels in town. As Budapest was the highlight (for me) of the trip, I'm ecstatic that they spared no expense and I think this demonstrates exemplary customer service.

We have purchasedf the $300+ package of special tours for the October music theme cruise on the Mozart. I believe you said you did the same. What tours did you buy separately? Were there any tours that we might not care to take?

Yes, we bought the same tour package. I think they were all worth taking. The only concern is that the all day tour of Vienna leaves no time to see anything else - you're the only judge of your interests. Would you give up the afternoon tour of the opera house, etc. for something else? (We wouldn't but you choose for yourself, of course.)

Note that not all tours are as described in the brochure - and I don't know if that's because the brochure is out of date or if the tours changed because of unannounced problems. For example, in Vienna, we went to the cemetery instead of the musical instrument museum, in Budapest, we went to Matthias Church instead of the Parliament Buildiing, and in Bratislava we saw the Castle instead of the Primate's Palace. I don't know if the original destinations were closed or otherwise unavailable. No big deal as we enjoyed what we did see.

The other change was a recital at Szirak Castle near Budapest instead of the performance at the Hungarian State Opera House because the opera house had been booked by a large organization.

Lastly, I read you had euros; what other currency would you recommend? Do they take visa or mc or amex on board or in any of the countries? I don't plan to do any BIG shopping but occasionally do buy postcards or small items. Thanks. Judith
We got Euros at our first stop in Munich and they're the only legal tender in Germany and Austria. The economies of Slovakia and Hungary have not yet met muster to join the common currency and still use koruna and forints. The only places that didn't accept Euros were the Hungarian Opera House refreshment stand and Cafe Gerbeaud. Cafe Gerbeaud did accept credit cards. We only went to the castle gift shop in Bratislava (we paid with Euros there) so I can't speak for the other vendors.

J

[jgnova]

Peter Deilmann MV Mozart cruise on the Danube April 2-9, 2006
Part XXXXIV (Day 8) – Matthias Church and a gourmet stop

After touring the Pest side of the river, we crossed over to the Buda (west) side and climbed Gellert Hill to the top. For those not in a motor vehicle, the best option is to take the funicular (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Budapest_Funicular.JPG) from the Chain Bridge to the Royal Palace.

Our destination was not the Palace, expanded by Maria Theresa and which would probably take a day to explore (yet another reason for a return visit), but Matthias Church (http://www.sacred-destinations.com/hungary/budapest-matthias-church.htm), built back in the 13th century and the site (http://www.thesphinx.org/DanubeCruise/MatthiasChurch/) of multiple coronations.

We walked over to the Fishermen’s Bastion, which overlooks the river and Pest and were able to see the Parliament Building (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budapest_Parliament_Building), site of the monument to Imre Nagy (something else on the “next time” list). We took some great photos (http://www.thesphinx.org/DanubeCruise/Buda/) of the surrounding area in which you can see the extent of the river flooding.

We also drove up to the Citadel, also with a commanding view of the area and had an opportunity to walk around there. That finished the morning tour and we returned to the hotel to pack up (Deilmann even arranged for a late check out) and eat lunch before our drive to Munich. We had a little time before lunch and there were three more things I wanted to before we left Budapest. First, I wanted to take the subway to the Parliament building (our guide said it was only one stop away) to see the Imre Nagy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imre_Nagy) monument. I was overruled on that by S, who was afraid I’d get lost or distracted (more likely) and not make it back before the buses left. Number two was to find a liquor store to buy some Hungarian wines and we’d already talked to our busboy, Adam, who promised to escort me to a liquor store nearby after lunch. So that left number three – a walk around the corner to Café Gerbeaud (http://www.gerbeaud.hu/) for some pastries to take back on the bus.

So S, M, ML, and I strolled around the corner and entered the lovely premises of the best source of chocolate pastries in town (some might say the continent). We picked up some small cakes and a chocolate croissant and they were all out of this world and for which we paid a whopping $4.08 total. NOTE: The store does not accept Euros or American Express so if you’re heading there, have forints or a Visa card.

We headed back to the Kempinski for another delicious lunch and dessert so the Gerbeaud cakes had to wait ‘til we got hungry again. After filling up at the table, I found Adam sitting with some of the crew whom he had promised to take wine shopping. He took us to a small wine store around the corner (Bacchus Borkereskedés on Deák Ferenc u.) where I purchased a bottle of Slivovitz (plum brandy – an acquired taste), one of Tokaji Furming Szaraz (dry white), and an Oremus Tokaji Aszu 3 Puttony (http://www.diwinetaste.com/dwt/en2003102.php). Anyone for a party?

With our wine and cakes, we were ready to head off to the …

Next posting:

XXXXV: Day 8 – Over the river and back to Vienna

J

[jgnova]

Peter Deilmann MV Mozart cruise on the Danube April 2-9, 2006
Part XXXXV (Day 8) – Vienna again

The bus trip back was about the same as the trip down – four hours with Adam helping with beverages, a rest stop, and a quick wave through at the immigration station. I got through another hundred or so pages in Jared Diamond’s Collapse, looked at the windfarms, and took a nap.

We made it to the boat around 5, having missed about 33 hours of quality MV Mozart time. While we were gone, the crew went out of their way to arrange extra activities for those who stayed behind. This gave that group the opportunity to see more of Vienna than they would have under normal circumstance. On Wednesday they offered a morning trip to the Spanish Riding School, home of the world famous Lipizzaner stallions and an afternoon tour of the Museum of Historical Art. Tea time included music from the Lübecker Ensemble, who also gave a recital that evening before the candlelight dinner. Thursday morning’s offering was a trip to the Albertina Museum for a Mozart exhibition.

To celebrate our return from Budapest, we were treated to another performance by the Lübecker Ensemble and then a six course dinner (plus desserts and cheeses). Among items on the menu (I’ll scan all of our menus and daily programs and get them posted this weekend) were “Iced tuna fish tart with tomato jelly, prawns, and marinated vegetables” for an appetizer, a warm entrée of “Fried hoki-fish fillet in a bacon coating, fine sparkling wine sauce on saffron risotto with tomatoes and asparagus,” and the Main Course offered a choice between:

Medium grilled fillet of the Argentine beef, truffeled red wine sauce, vegetable basket and bacon-potato-soufflé
Or
Babarie duck breast in Honey-Sesame-Crust, Sauce Riche, Mocato grapes, red cabbage in Port wine and semolina strudel

(Just typing this is making me hungry and eager for another cruise. S, start packing!)

After dinner, we headed off to bed to be ready for the …

Next posting:

XXXXVI: Day 9 – Another day, another country – or Maria Theresa was crowned here!

J

[jgnova]

Peter Deilmann MV Mozart cruise on the Danube April 2-9, 2006
Part XLVI (Day 9) – Bratislava

(Note from scribe: I have just noticed that I let myself get carried away by XXXX’s in writing my part numbers! This is a horrible error and the editor is being sent away to the Coliseum to discuss this with the lions. :( The numbering in this and future sections has been corrected.)

Hmm – wake up time again. So we must be approaching Bratislava, Slovakia. Interesting – I noticed the transition from Austria to Hungary when we drove there – you could feel the bumps in the road more. But I didn’t notice anything this time, so the river crew in Slovakia must do as good a job at keeping the river smooth as the Austrians! :)

I looked out the window and saw some neat castles going by and then we went up to eat breakfast during the final approach (http://www.thesphinx.org/DanubeCruise/BratislavaApproach/). While eating, we could see the famous castle of Bratislava. I think the best view is from the river.

We were told to pick up our passports (and turn in our keys) before heading ashore and off we went into a new (for us) country. It’s actually a fairly new country for the world as well. Slovakia has had a convoluted past as part of the Austro-Hungarian empire (at which time Bratislava was known as Pressburg) and then as part of Czechoslovakia from the end of WWI through the fall of the Soviet empire. After Czechoslovakia gained its freedom from the Warsaw pact in the Velvet Revolution (led by Vaclav Havel, a playwright), the politicians in the Slovakian half of the country thought that it would be better to split off from the Czech piece. Even though the Czech portion was in better economic condition, the Slovakia piece was improving more rapidly and the politicians thought they would surpass the Czechs and wind up supporting them. There was quite a bit of anger among the population as the country went through what is known as the “Velvet Divorce” without the benefit of a public referendum – the politicians put the deal together and it was done.

We were met on shore by Uwe, who counted us out and sent us off, a group at a time, with our tour guide. She escorted us to our bus and we headed up into the residential hills. We got to see some of the houses owned by the wealthier citizens, including some of ultra-modern design that would not have been out of place in the hills of Los Angeles. We also saw the residence of the US ambassador, built to look like a miniature White House. From this vantage point, we had an excellent view of the castle (our next destination) and the Soviet-era apartment blocks across the river.

We then headed to the Bratislava Castle (http://www.slovakheritage.org/Castles/bratislava.htm), strategically located on the hill overlooking the river valley. The site has been occupied since about 500 BC by early Stone Age settlers, then Celts, Romans, and finally as the seat of the Hungarian Empire after Budapest was overrun by the Turks in the 16th century. We had an opportunity to walk around the castle (http://www.thesphinx.org/DanubeCruise/BratislavaPalace/) grounds, and the guide pointed out the corners – one corner is a true tower, isolated from the walls and more defensible, while the other corners are part of the structure. The castle was, like so much else in the areas we visited, completely rebuilt in the 1950’s. However, unlike any of the other reconstructions we saw, the damage being repaired was not from WWII, but the results of an accidental fire when it was used as a military garrison in 1811!

After walking around and making our mandatory gift shop visit (there are two on the property) we headed back to the buses and down the hill down to the …

Next posting:

XLVII: Day 9 – Is it really a flying saucer? – or Maria Theresa was crowned here!

J

[jgnova]

Peter Deilmann MV Mozart cruise on the Danube April 2-9, 2006
Part XLVII (Day 9) – St. Martin’s Cathedral

We rolled down the hill back to the city proper and left the buses, after being told to take everything as the rest of the tour would be on foot. The guide pointed out the beautiful suspension bridge with a UFO-like structure (http://www.bratislavahotels.com/bratislava-ufo-bridge-restaurant) on top and told us about the restaurant on top.

From there we headed to the site of the old synagogue, since demolished and now the location of the Holocaust Memorial and a remembrance picture of the old synagogue. This was next to St. Martin’s Cathedral (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Martin%27s_Concathedral), the location of many coronations, including that of Maria Theresa, who lived in Bratislava for a short time before moving the capital to Vienna. We were given a short tour of the cathedral’s interior (http://www.thesphinx.org/DanubeCruise/BratislavaStMartin/) and saw the various chapels, some going back to the 14th century. While walking around, I noticed some very strange animal carvings (http://www.thesphinx.org/DanubeCruise/BratislavaStMartinCarving/) on the throne-like chairs on both sides of the main sanctuary.

We exited back into the lovely sunlight and continued our walking tour of the old city (http://www.thesphinx.org/DanubeCruise/BratislavaCityTour/). We saw the old town hall and its lovely courtyard. The guide also showed us the old Lutheran church, which was allowed to be built only if had no tower and no main entrance. After an unsuccessful uprising against the Habsburgs, it was transferred to the Jesuits.

We saw some of the lovely squares and fountains and the guide told us how the city has tried to revitalize itself as a vibrant city center. To commemorate the original city gates, a laser system was built and at night one can see a laser beam shining overhead bouncing off mirrors overhead and guided down these antique alleys to the original gates.

We made our way back to the boat around noon and enjoyed seeing the town slip away behind us as we ate lunch and looked forward to the …

Next posting:

XLVIII: Day 9 – Lazy afternoon on the river and the Farewell Dinner with a musical treat

J

[Judith02]

I have been given two conflicting answers. Will we be able to charge our gratuities (stewardess, waiter, etc.) to our room or must we bring euros with us to pay them? Thanks. Judith

[jgnova]

Judith:

I think I addressed the tips question in my initial notes (http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=330583) when we returned. J hasn't gotten to that point in his review yet but he's getting there....

Bottom line: No, you can't charge gratuities to your room bill. And yes, you need to keep enough Euros to cover what you expect and then some -- you'll find that the service is worth more than the recommended minimum amounts! If you stay in a hotel, don't forget to leave something for the housekeeping staff that takes care of your room for you. You'll also need something to tip the tour guides (they do an excellent job) and folks who help with your luggage, etc.

Remember that the little vendor stalls in market squares or small gift shops where you'll pick up postcards or smaller items will not be places that can handle (or where it's reasonable to expect to use) credit cards, so you'll need Euros for that also.

As I noted (and as J mentioned near the beginning here), get Euros from the ATMs in the airport or along the way. No need to pay a premium to get some in the US.

S

[jgnova]

Peter Deilmann MV Mozart cruise on the Danube April 2-9, 2006
Part XLVIII (Day 9) – Cruising up river towards Vienna and Melk

We had a leisurely lunch after visiting Bratislava as this was the first time since we started our trip that we would be in “cruising” mode. We left Bratislava around 1 PM (not without another series of reception desk pages looking for “Mr. I Forgot to Pick Up My Keys”) and our next scheduled stop would not be until the following morning in Melk. I decided not to tour the ship’s bridge as I didn’t want any scheduled activities for the afternoon and was looking forward to just lying on a sundeck chaise and reading.

I very quickly learned one of the differences between river and ocean cruising. Beyond the obvious difference of boat size was the fact most time on an ocean liner is spent at sea out of sight of land. So I can (and usually do) plop myself on the promenade deck on the shady side of the ship with a glass of something, a book to read, and occasionally stare out at the infinite horizon. On a river boat, there’s always something going by on one side or the other (or even overhead!)

One minute it’s a quarry, the next it’s a series of fishing shacks, the next it’s a fascinating bridge structure designed not for cars or trains, but to support a pipeline. And when those things got repetitive, then it was time to pass through another lock and walk around the boat to see how tightly the Mozart fit through this one. Needless to say, my book stayed closed and the camera was open (http://www.thesphinx.org/DanubeCruise/BratislavaAfternoon/).

As the sun moved lower in the sky, the temperature dropped a bit and it was time to head in to change for the …

Next posting:

XLIX: Day 9 – Captain’s Farewell Cocktail – and no, it’s not a didgeridoo

J

[jgnova]

Peter Deilmann MV Mozart cruise on the Danube April 2-9, 2006
Part IL (Day 9) – Captain’s Farewell Cocktail, a neat performance, and dinner

Just as on Tuesday, for our welcome cocktail and dinner, we were also to be treated to a musical performance, but one relevant to the morning’s tour. After being served prosecco and appetizers (interesting note: for some reason, they kept refilling our glasses but there was only one round of appetizers), the room darkened (as much as possible, given the setting sun shining through the windows) and we were introduced to the Pressburger Duo (http://www.thesphinx.org/DanubeCruise/PressburgerDuo/), a pair of performers from Pressburg, aka Bratislava. They performed a wide variety of music from all genres, classical through traditional on several instruments, some new to me.

The long instrument, which is NOT a didgeridoo, is played like a flute even though it looks like a bassoon. And, although I had heard panpipe recordings, I had never seen one played and I was amazed at the amount of movement required. For those so inclined, a CD of some of their pieces was available at the reception desk following the performances. The CD (to which I am listening as this is being typed) covered the same range of genres performed, from Mozart and Handel to Lehar and Lloyd Webber, with some Slovakian folk songs as well. And Robert Puŝkár stayed in the lounge so we could examine the unusual flutes.

After the performance, we moved to the dining room for our farewell dinner. As always, the tables were perfectly set and we sat and waited while our waiters came over to unfold the napkins and place them on our laps (they had explained earlier that this was part of their job!). On the menu that night was an appetizer plate, oxtail soup, salad, a hot appetizer of char filet and prawns, sorbet, beef, and a cheese course. The full menus (http://www.thesphinx.org/DanubeCruise/Menus/) (those we have, at any rate) are here.

Something I forgot to mention is how they celebrate passenger birthdays and anniversaries on board, assuming one of the party tells them about it (I don’t think they pore over everyone’s passport checking birthdays, but who knows?). After dessert is served (which gives you a chance to eat the menu dessert, a group of servers marches out of the kitchen along with one of the boat musicians (on accordion) and they march to each birthday and anniversary table with a cake (and sparkler) to serenade the birthday boy or girl or anniversary couple with song (in the correct language).

Oh – so why is this relevant? As it turns out, my birthday would occur on the last day of the cruise, Sunday, when we’d eat breakfast and get off the ship. So after watching a birthday procession to the table behind us, I turned to S and asked if she thought they might do a birthday procession (with accordion and sparklers) for breakfast on Sunday. I could go for a stack of chocolate pancakes with a sparkler on top. Oh well – I thought it was a good idea. I then tried to book tickets to a concert in Salzburg the night of my birthday, and the very accommodating staff behind the reception desk found tickets for the performance (Berlin Philharmonic, Simon Rattle conducting, doing Brahms’ 2nd symphony and Alfred Brendel doing a Mozart concerto), but this was part of the Salzburg Easter Festival and seats were €150 each so we passed.

Anyway, back to the story – you’ll notice that there is no dessert listed on the Friday menu. After we finished eating, the lights dimmed and Rolf Alfermann came out to welcome us to the farewell dinner and introduced the various chefs. As each was announced, that person walked across the center of the dining room (to applause) and then stood in a line in front of the buffet table. I can’t remember them all, but I recall specialists for salads, meats, fish, appetizers, soups, pastries, and breads. The pastry chef even invited his assistant to walk with him – they got the loudest applause. And then all of the servers came marching out, each with a sparkler-lit baked Alaska and led by the Mozart trio playing marching music. A great ending to a great dinner (http://www.thesphinx.org/DanubeCruise/FarewellDinner/).

After finishing off the desserts and cheeses, we headed off to our cabins for our last day on board and the …

Next posting:

Part L: Day 10 – Melk – and Maria Theresa slept here as well (Napoleon was there on another night)

J

[jgnova]

Peter Deilmann MV Mozart cruise on the Danube April 2-9, 2006
Part L (Day 10) – Melk Monastery

As was the norm on this trip, we were up at the crack of dawn to be ready for the day’s activities. Today’s agenda originally included Melk and Grein, but we were told that we would not be able to stop in Grein because of the high water levels. The stop in Grein was to be only about 90 minutes just before dinner time anyway. Better make the most of Melk if this will be our last cruise port.

There were some nice views of terraced vineyards and the occasional castle ruin visible through the window as I waited for breakfast time. We pulled into Melk while we were eating breakfast and tied up at one of their two docks. As it was still early for our bus to take us to the Benedictine Abbey, I walked ashore to get some photos of the Mozart at the pier and lucked out with some nice pictures when the Viking Star (http://www.thesphinx.org/DanubeCruise/MelkArea/images/P1010113.jpg) pulled alongside and docked upstream from us. After looking at the map, it looked like I could walk into town and back, but the distances were deceiving so I waited around until it was time to walk to the buses, which were waiting a few hundred feet away in the parking lot of a small riverside tavern.

Note about buses: I think I’ve mentioned this before, but we had the same buses and drivers for our entire trip on the Mozart. One of the bus company manager-type people told me that they stayed overnight at some place relatively close to the next day’s location and still had to get started fairly early to be there on time and waiting for us. The only time they were late was in Budapest, and this was because of the extra traffic from the closed roads near the river. The tour guides (local in each town) were great and we always tipped them as well as the drivers. Besides the money, we had brought small bags of Virginia peanuts and gave them out as well. The tour guides (and everyone else to whom we gave the peanuts) were always very appreciative that we thought to bring THEM a souvenir from OUR home!

Anyway, once on the bus I noticed that on the wall of the tavern were markings (http://www.thesphinx.org/DanubeCruise/MelkArea/images/P1010115.jpg) that looked like years so I got out to take a closer look (http://www.thesphinx.org/DanubeCruise/MelkArea/images/P1010115%20cropped.jpg) and yes, they were markings showing the high water lines from various Danube floods going back to 1501 (the highest line) and as recently as August of 2002 (middle of first floor window). Wow! I guess we can’t complain about the flooding we saw this year.

The bus took us up past the town of Melk and then up the hillside toward the Benedictine Abbey. I noticed a small town (more visible from here than at river level) across the river and looked it up later to learn that it was another small town called Emmersdorf.

We finally made it up the hill (glad we rode) to find ourselves ready for …

Next posting:

Part LI: Day 10 – Melk Abbey – Mozart played and Maria Theresa slept here

J

[jgnova]

Peter Deilmann MV Mozart cruise on the Danube April 2-9, 2006
Part LI (Day 10) – Melk Abbey tour

The Abbey (http://www.stiftmelk.at/englisch/index.html) stands on a fairly high hill overlooking the valley below and, like so many of the fortifications in this area, was originally built as a fort in historical times. There are traces of Roman occupation in the area and signs that they built a harbor on the river. The grounds were given to the Benedictine monks in the 11th century and it has been through many fire and reconstruction cycles since then. The most valuable holding of the monks, a Gutenberg bible, was sold in the 1920’s to fund a major renovation.

In recent years, the monks have recognized the need to maintain some connection to the “real” world and have built a museum within the Abbey to help explain their role and that of religion. That museum was completely revamped about 5 years ago into a series of themed rooms, each focusing on a different part of the relationship with a supreme being. Among the themes are: The Whole Person, Heaven on Earth, To Glorify God in Everything, and The Path to the Future. After working our way through the grounds (http://www.thesphinx.org/DanubeCruise/MelkMonasteryExterior/) and seeing the complex from the outside, the museum (http://www.thesphinx.org/DanubeCruise/MelkMuseum/) was the first stop on our tour.

We then continued and saw other rooms within the Abbey (http://www.thesphinx.org/DanubeCruise/MelkMonasteryInterior/) including a long corridor with access to the fireplaces in the enclosed rooms so the rooms’ occupants could meditate with no distraction from outside visitors. The Abbey counts Napoleon, Mozart, and Maria Theresa among its guests. Two of the rooms have ceilings that were painted to create an illusion of greater height (can’t call it depth when you’re looking up) than was really there.

The last part of the tour took us to the cathedral (http://www.thesphinx.org/DanubeCruise/MelkCathedral/) with its magnificent organ, on which regular public concerts are played. The gift shop sells CDs of live performances, and I’ve enjoyed listening to them while working on this report.

Besides the gift shop within the Abbey, the monks also have created a restaurant and private gift shop on the grounds and of course, a detour through that shop was necessary as we made our way to the buses. Unfortunately, we had insufficient time to explore Melk proper (http://www.thesphinx.org/DanubeCruise/MelkArea/) – that will have to wait for a return visit.

We were driven back to the boat and, after stowing our purchases in the cabin, made our way to the dining room for lunch. I stopped at the reception desk on the way to lunch to check on my earlier request for concert tickets in Salzburg and the person at the desk confused me with someone else and asked if I was still interested in an engine room tour! Well, now I was! So I signed up and was told to be ready at 3. That certainly was an unexpected offer.

After lunch, we went up on deck to look around and take some pictures (http://www.thesphinx.org/DanubeCruise/MelkRiver/) before heading to the cabin to start packing so we’d have time to …

Next posting:

Part LII: Day 10 – Fill up the tanks please or how many miles per gallon does this thing get?

J

[Judith02]

Can I assume that picture taking was allowed in the Abbey? Were there any places that you toured on the cruise where you were not allowed to take pictures?

Our tour and dinner/concert in Salzburg are the second day. How did you find out about the concert the first evening and were you made aware of any other tours there? Judith

[jgnova]

Can I assume that picture taking was allowed in the Abbey? Were there any places that you toured on the cruise where you were not allowed to take pictures?

Some places didn't allow pictures either because of copyright or light damage issues. The only places that I distinctly remember forbidding photography were Neuschwanstein, Linderhof, and the Mozart houses. I wore my camera throughout the trip (except while eating and showering - which is why cactuslady never saw how I fit in the Mozart shower) so I took pictures EVERYPLACE, over 1,000 of them. So if you go through this thread and there are no links to photos on my personal server (www.thesphinx.org) (http://www.thesphinx.org%29), then the taking of photographs was not allowed. A long long time ago I toured the Alhambra as part of a sales trip for a photo company for whom I sold - and realized that I could NEVER take adequate photos and bought the tour book. And since then, I have made a point of buying the official tour/photo book every place I go as inevitably, they show something I could never get.

Our tour and dinner/concert in Salzburg are the second day. How did you find out about the concert the first evening and were you made aware of any other tours there? Judith
I started to look on line before leaving to see if there were any performances in Salzburg, but then realized that our only free night was also the birthday of one of our group and that we'd probably want to go out for a nice dinner. Then I overheard a passenger asking a clerk at the Mozart reception desk about tickets and decided we should try for something - until I heard the price. More about Salzburg in a future posting.

J

[jgnova]

Peter Deilmann MV Mozart cruise on the Danube April 2-9, 2006
Part LII (Day 10) – Engine rooms are very very noisy

After our last Mozart lunch, we started packing. You’d think it would be easier to pack for the return trip – after all, there aren’t a lot of options about what to pack. If it’s in the cabin, it’s going home with us. But we were heading off to Salzburg for a post-cruise excursion and we wanted to pack so we’d need to open only one suitcase each while we were there. And of course we had to pack the tour books, wines, CDs, and gifts, some in each, to keep the weight of each bag below airline limits.

Finally it was 3 p.m. and time to see the engine room. Although they thought there would be four or five of us, that was because the desk clerk thought that each of us was bringing his partner. However, there were just the two of us to meet the crewman and we headed toward the stern of the ship. As we rounded the corner toward the (secret) door into the center of the ship, a passenger spotted us and asked if we were on the engine room tour and could he please, please, please join us. Our guide couldn’t turn that request down and we were now three passengers and one crewman. We headed through the door into the crew area, down a hallway, around a bend (ssshh – we’re not supposed to divulge the real location), through a very thick door, after which the NOISE hit us, and down some stairs. The crewman tried to describe the machinery and I asked VERY LOUDLY if we could go into the control room (http://www.thesphinx.org/DanubeCruise/EngineRoom/) (which has windows) so he could be heard.

With the door closed, we could now understand him. The boat has two very large engines controlling the screws plus a bow thruster (which allows the boat to turn on a Euro). Fuel capacity is about 150,000 liters, about three times what is needed for the normal Passau to Budapest to Passau round trip. They use 115,000 liters for the trip to the Black Sea (I’m glad I don’t pay their fuel credit card bill!). There are also two generators (only two run at a time so they can do maintenance on the third) and a full water treatment plant.

The water treatment plant can produce clean drinking water from the Danube but is almost never used as they prefer to load the water in port. The ship also has a full waste water treatment plant and if you look closely at the picture I took of its plaque, you’ll see that it meets U.S. Coast Guard requirements. I guess this means that they can use this boat on rivers in the U.S. if the European market slows.

I asked about the noises I noticed whenever we ran water in our cabin. He said there is a tank for each cabin for waste water and the pump activates whenever the water level rises. One of the passengers on our tour said that he saw the cabin attendant cleaning out a filter under the shower every day – this is required SOP to keep the pumps from clogging.

One of the other passengers on the tour asked about major maintenance and the crewman told us that the ship crew did all maintenance, major and minor. They have full equipment on board to rebuild the engines and do all major maintenance in dock over the winter.

After finishing the tour, I headed back upstairs and found S on the sundeck, from which we watched some more towns float by, and then went back to the cabin to rest up for …

Next posting:

Part LIII: Day 10 – Our last dinner on board – and a cuckoo in the back room

J

[steamboats]

J,

That´s interesting to hear. We weren´t offered a pilothouse or engine room tour which we sure would have been interested in. In fact that was one thing I´ve mentioned in my comment card. Surely an engine room tour wouldn´t have made much sense with the boat lying at the Vienna dock. But a pilothouse tour could have been done anyway.

steamboats

[jgnova]

J,

That´s interesting to hear. We weren´t offered a pilothouse or engine room tour which we sure would have been interested in. In fact that was one thing I´ve mentioned in my comment card. Surely an engine room tour wouldn´t have made much sense with the boat lying at the Vienna dock. But a pilothouse tour could have been done anyway.

steamboats
steamboats,

Maybe your comment card made the difference? The pilothouse tour was announced in the daily program, but I think that one of the passengers asked for the engine room. He said he also asked about a kitchen tour and was told they couldn't do one.

J

[steamboats]

J,

A galley tour was another thing I mentioned on my comment card :D . Or at least a demonstration / recipes or a talk by the chef.

steamboats

[jgnova]

Peter Deilmann MV Mozart cruise on the Danube April 2-9, 2006
Part LIII (Day 10) – Last evening on the Mozart

Before our last dinner, which was served a little earlier than usual, we were treated to another performance by the Lübecker Ensemble, this time with an animal theme. We first heard the Schubert “Trout” Quintet, followed by one of his songs, and then the Saint-Saens Carnival of the Animals. This was the first time I had ever heard that suite played without the Ogden Nash verses and it was challenging trying to remember the animals represented by each movement. And to heighten the humor of the performance, the clarinetist sneaked off to a back room so we could hear the cuckoo’s call from the forest.

Following the concert (unfortunately, all my photos were too blurry to use), we sat in the lounge and watched the sunset and small towns through the windows. One of the towns we passed was Linz, which is where the Mozart is docked for the winter. We also passed Grein and the town did not look flooded so I wondered why we didn’t stop there. I think the issue was not that the town was flooded, but that the high water levels and river speed meant that we were moving more slowly upstream than normal and would not have enough time to stop and still get to Passau on time.

And then it was time to head off to our last dinner. For once I remembered my camera and to take some pictures (http://www.thesphinx.org/DanubeCruise/SaturdayDinner/) of the dining room and our waiters. For our last meal, we were served:

Appetizer:
Mozzarella with tomatoes and basil
Or
Cocktail of crayfish and seafood appel-vegetables-salad and rucola Pesto

Soup:
Spring onion cream soup with mango pieces
Or
Mushroom essence with mushroom dumplings

Salad:
Bouquet of fresh lettuce with pine nuts on acacia-honey dressing

Hot Appetizer:
Vegetable strudel with two different sauces
Or
Poached pike dumplings gratinated with Sauce Hollandaise on tomato rice, lobster butter, and shrimps

Sorbet:
Baked apple with fruit spirit

Main Course:
“Cordon Verde” Baked Chinese cabbage with fresh ceese, herbs, and tomato
Or
Medium roasted saddle of deer in pumpkin-seed-crust pepper apricots, poached vegetables, celery purée and potato-cakes-pastries
Or
Argentina filet of beef á la Wellington on fresh wood mushroom ragout, vegetables and potatoes, truffled sauce

I don’t remember the dessert, but I do remember that it was delicious. And this time I have pictures (http://www.thesphinx.org/DanubeCruise/MozartFood/) to show how nicely everything was served!

And our last dinner was over, except now it was time for …

Next posting:

Part LIV: Day 10 – Coffee, tea, or “They can bend the rules”

J

[Judith02]

I am looking forward to your review also of the days in Salzburg. We added this package to our cruise also. However, the Salzburg Sheraton was full and we will be staying at the Sacher Hotel instead.

[jgnova]

No posting tonight -- our niece got her Ph.D. today -- it was an all day event and we just got home, wiped out. J will have something ready for tomorrow afternoon/evening, I suspect.
S

[jgnova]

Peter Deilmann MV Mozart cruise on the Danube April 2-9, 2006
Part LIV (Day 10) – But it’s tomorrow!

So, we’re sitting at the table eating our delicious dessert and the nightly birthday and anniversary accordion and cake march began. And they went to a table at the other end of the dining room and started singing so we sang along as they handed the birthday person a cake, an envelope, and a bottle of something. And they headed toward another table closer to us and did the same. And then they headed to our table!! And I got the bottle of Champagne, a cake, and a birthday card from the hotel manager! Even though it wasn’t my birthday until the next day! Boy, was I surprised (http://www.thesphinx.org/DanubeCruise/Birthday/) (S – that’s twice you’ve done that to me! :D:D S).

As we had just finished the regular dessert, our server offered to put the birthday cake in a box so we could eat it later. Oh goody – tomorrow night’s treat!

Before heading to our cabin, we had one more thing to do. Tomorrow was the last day and we had to distribute tips. However, Adam, our beverage server, did not work mornings so we had to give him his tip that evening. People have asked about tips. It’s my understanding that workers on European ships earn more than those on American-based ships and therefore tips are really in recognition of services performed and not their primary source of income. Deilmann recommended tipping €8 per person per day in their daily program (http://www.thesphinx.org/DanubeCruise/DailyPrograms/) – so for the two of us for 7 days, we should have left €112. The ship management also puts a box on the reception desk for tips to be divided among the “hidden” workers. After listing the people we thought should be tipped and rounding up to multiples of 5 the amounts we thought they should get, our total wound up about 25% higher. I don’t think that was unreasonable.

And we headed off to our cabin to put most of our luggage in the corridor for the crew to pick up while we slept until …

Next posting:

Part LV: Day 11 – J jumps ship – Auf Wiedersehen, Mozart

J

[timmy1]

thank you for your information. we're heading to the airport now for "our" Mozart river boat cruise tomorrow.

Debbie and Herb

[Judith02]

Thank you for your informative post. I enjoyed reading the daily program. Question: I saw that some of the excursions said "pre-paid". I assume that a list of these (the $300+ per person tours) will come in advance with our documents (yes?). Were there others, not included, that you would suggest taking?

It looks as though you had a wonderful birthday surprise. Happy birthday.

[jgnova]

Question: I saw that some of the excursions said "pre-paid". I assume that a list of these (the $300+ per person tours) will come in advance with our documents (yes?).
The documents package had one voucher for the entire classical package and did not have separate vouchers for the individual items. Also in the document package is a 22 page brochure listing ALL available tours. The excursion list I posted showed as "pre-paid" those tours that were included in the classical bundle. As I said in an earlier posting, the Szirak Castle tour in Budapest was substituted for the Hungarian State Opera House performance because there were no tickets available. I don't know what will happen for your cruise, nor should you assume that, because our trip included a performance at the Vienna State Opera House, you will get the same. If there is a performance that you really want to see, I suggest carrying the information with you and asking the Mozart staff to get you seats (at your expense) if the proffered tour is not to your liking.

Were there others, not included, that you would suggest taking?

Hmm - well, if I were doing this all over again - no, wait. That topic comes in the postscript when I finish this thread! While there were other tours I might have preferred, they would conflict with those included in the package. With that restriction on choices, the only tour I seriously considered booking was the full day tour from the Danube Bend. We decided against it because we didn't want to spend all day in a bus on what was supposed to be a cruise (little did we know!) and, as it turned out, that tour would not have been available because the boat never got there. The tour lasts all day, includes lunch, and has visits to several major Hungarian historical landmarks and to Esztergom, which I think has some interesting shops. My interest in the tour was in seeing St. Stephens Cathedral, said to be modeled on St. Peter's Basilica, the ruins of King Stephen's castle (about 1,000 years old), and Cardinal Mindszenty's tomb (whom I consider one of the great 20th century heroes of Eastern Europe).

The "gotcha" to taking this tour (if available) is that you "lose" free time in Budapest. The boat theoretically gets in at 2 PM on Wednesday and, if the schedule holds, you'll have an evening performance that night. That leaves you "free time" from 2 through about 5 that afternoon and on Thursday from after lunch until the boat departs at 4:30 to see those things in Budapest that interest you. Among places we did not see on the city tour that keep dragging my thoughts to another trip are the art and national museums, Royal Palace, and Parliament. And we took an afternoon walk (hike) on our own to see the Synagogue, Central Market, and Vaci Ut.

It looks as though you had a wonderful birthday surprise. Happy birthday.

Thank you - and there were still more surprises. Stay tuned.

J

[nyfeds]

The great reports keep coming!

J, wanted to wish you a very Happy Belated Birthday! That cake looked fantasic. From the looks on yours and S's faces, it appears you both had a wonderful evening!

[jgnova]

Peter Deilmann MV Mozart cruise on the Danube April 2-9, 2006
Part LV (Day 11) – A peek at Passau and a shuttle to Salzburg

We were up at the crack of dawn (yet again) as this time all of our luggage had to be outside the cabin by 7:15. We had to eat breakfast and then get our carry-on’s and personal stuff and clear out the cabin by 9. When I looked out the window by the dawn’s early light, I could see woods going by. And then I spotted two riverboats sitting by the side of the river. (It was too dark and we were moving too fast to get a photo, but here’s a picture that I found on the web showing their neat logo (http://www.thesphinx.org/DanubeCruise/pix/a-rosa_boat1.jpg) of a rose.) I have no idea why they were there, about a half-hour’s ride from Passau – the only rationale I can come up with is that they were waiting until daylight and their passengers awakened so the passengers would have the pleasure of seeing the town come into view. I know that the Caribbean cruise liners do that – they’ll cruise around in circles at sea and start heading into port just in time for the passengers to watch the whole thing.

Anyway, we ate breakfast, gave our tips to the waiters and cabin attendant, cleared out the cabin, and headed up to the library to wait for our pickup. The pickup times were staggered throughout the morning – 3 tour groups were picked up at 8 along with the group going to Munich airport. Then the Munich and Prague hotel groups were scheduled to leave at 8:30, followed by the group scheduled to catch a 9:21 train in Passau at 8:45. And we weren’t supposed to leave until 9 – another 30 minutes to wait. And I HATE sitting around waiting. :( And the town of Passau, which we never got to see because the river was too high the week before before was sitting right there outside the window calling me. And it’s supposed to be a pretty little town with a really nice looking cathedral.

“Uhh S?”

“Yes”

“We have about a half hour until our bus comes, right?”

“Yes”

“Are the three of you going to be here?”

“Yes”

“OK – watch my stuff. I’m going for a walk”

And off into the wilds of Passau went the solitary intrepid monolingual American tourist, to be eaten by the wild beasts and taken captive by the uncivilized Teutons. Did he ever return?

So I walked off the ship (they already had my keys) and crossed the street and wandered a few of the streets of Passau. It IS a charming town (http://www.thesphinx.org/DanubeCruise/Passau/) with lots of little shops that are NOT part of larger chains (that I knew anyway). And because it was Sunday morning, it was empty. I might have seen 4 people during the entire half hour I was wandering. I saw what I think was the cathedral, but from the rear. And the streets of Passau curve and twist and go off in all different directions. And I was NOT going to lose sight of the street that I knew led to the boat (I didn’t have a map, nor a string or bread crumbs with which to leave a trail). I did find an ATM so I could replenish the cash supply. And then it was close to 9 so I retraced my steps and found the boat.

The bus was there and I could see them loading our luggage, so I went inside for S, M, and ML so we could head off for …

Next posting:

Part LVI: Day 11 – The last bus trip – and a river runs through it

J

[steamboats]

J,

The boats with the rose on the bow are of the German A-Rosa fleet. They have 4 identical boats plying the Passau - Budapest - Passau route. The boats are called A-Rosa Bella, Donna, Mia and Riva. They try to attract a younger crowd (let´s say 35+) and families. They do have a lot of triple cabins and offer more active shore tours. Compared to the Mozart I´d rate them 4 stars. They do offer a lot of amenities, especially spa and wellness. Dress and food is a bit more casual. They used to have a blue water ship called A-Rosa Blu which is now part of the Aida fleet. But rumors are that they want to be back in the blue water business.

steamboats

[jgnova]

Peter Deilmann MV Mozart cruise on the Danube April 2-9, 2006
Part LVI (Day 11) – Back on solid earth

We bid a fond farewell to the Mozart and climbed aboard the bus that was to take us Salzburg for the last portion of our journey. The trip took about two hours and our route paralleled the Inn and then the Salzach Rivers on the German side. The countryside through which we passed reminded me of the area around Lancaster, Pennsylvania – reasonably flat with some small hills, small farms, and small and medium-sized towns. Were it not for the Baroque-styled churches and the language on the signs, I could not have noticed the difference. Some people claimed to see some very small deer in the fields, but the bus was moving too rapidly for me to get a photo – the only photos (http://www.thesphinx.org/DanubeCruise/SalzburgPassau/) I did take were of a church steeple and two animals in the field – neither is very good.

After riding over hill and dale, we finally crossed the border into Austria and entered Salzburg. The city is divided into the old City, or left bank, and the newer (comparatively speaking) right bank, where the Sheraton is located. The topology of the area is interesting and is not immediately noticed when looking at the map – the city on both sides of the river is actually bounded on the south by cliffs rising about 100 meters over the rest of the city. The Salzach runs north to south through the city with a narrow flood plain on both sides between it and the cliff sides. I guess that the river punched a path through the hills in earlier geological epochs.

The bus made its way through the Sunday traffic and we finally saw signs pointing to the “Hotel District” and then to the Sheraton, an early tip off that our ride was almost over. We turned a corner and pulled up in front of the Sheraton (http://austria.starwoodhotels.com/sheratonsalzburg.html?&L=en) Salzburg, checked in, grabbed copies of the city map and various tour brochures, and were escorted to our room (http://www.thesphinx.org/DanubeCruise/SalzburgSheratonRoom/), which was on the front of the building overlooking the (not very busy) street. Some lucky people got rooms on the back of the hotel overlooking part of the beautiful Mirabell Gardens (more on the gardens later).

I mentioned in an earlier posting that Austria had been partitioned after World War II like Germany, with the country and the capital, Vienna, divided into four sectors, one for each of the Allies. Salzburg was located in and was the headquarters of the U.S. sector, and I suspect that some of the American marketing prowess was transferred to the Salzburg residents. One third of the jobs in Salzburg are based on the tourism industry and the local companies seem to never lack for ways to attract more tourists. We arrived on Palm Sunday, and the concert we decided was out of our price range was part of the Easter Festival (http://www.osterfestspiele-salzburg.at/), a week-long series of concerts and operas. During the summer, venues all over the city are used for the Summer Festival (http://www.salzburgfestival.at/home_e.php?lang=2). We saw signs promoting a marathon of Mozart operas, supposedly the first time that all 22 of his operas would be performed in one cycle. I saw some discussion of a winter festival as well.

Anyway, having checked in after the ride from Passau, we realized that our stomachs were still accustomed to boat-time lunches and were asking for their noon feeding, so we grabbed our jackets and maps and headed off …

Next posting:

Part LVII: Day 11 – In search of food – and finding Papa Mozart’s grave

J

[Livestotravel]

Not since Grumpy and Slinky's World Cruise trip report on the Holland America thread have I enjoyed a trip report so much. I leave next Thursday, Budapest to Prague on Avalon's Poetry, and many of your tips and recommendations are going to come in handy. Did you need reservations for any place you ate in Budapest or Prague?

By the way,that other trip report went on for months right from the ship, and many of us "Cruise Critics" got hooked!

[jgnova]

Not since Grumpy and Slinky's World Cruise trip report on the Holland America thread have I enjoyed a trip report so much.
I've certainly enjoyed writing this - it's almost like taking the trip again!

I leave next Thursday, Budapest to Prague on Avalon's Poetry, and many of your tips and recommendations are going to come in handy. Did you need reservations for any place you ate in Budapest or Prague?
The only meals we had in Budapest were at the Kempinski as part of the flood-caused adjustment and all of us just went into the dining room as part of the group. We didn't see Prague - our pre- and post- trip stays were in Munich and Salzburg. We just wandered into the restaurant (or allowed ourselves to be dragged in by the owner in Munich).

By the way,that other trip report went on for months right from the ship, and many of us "Cruise Critics" got hooked!
The Mozart doen't have internet access so we'd have to use a cell phone (no idea what that would cost). And, to be honest, I'm not crazy about the idea. When we took the Galaxy in 2002, S wrote notes every night - that took her about an hour each night. I have this perverse idea about vacations - I live on a computer all year at work and I like the forced break. So far, I've been able to recreate this entire trip from memory - a global circumnavigation might require me to keep some brief notes in the daily programs so I remember the details, but I'd rather leave the heavy writing until I get home.

J

I read all of Grumpy & Slinky's as-they-went-along posts and loved them! I think we should do that trip....maybe on the Deutschland? That way we could continue with Peter Deilmann! :rolleyes:
S

[jgnova]

PS to Livestotravel:
Have a great trip!
S&J

[jgnova]

Peter Deilmann MV Mozart cruise on the Danube April 2-9, 2006
Part LVII (Day 11) – A walk on the right (bank)

We walked out the hotel front door, looked around for food places and didn’t see anything. So we turned right, walked to the corner, and turned right again, onto Rainerstrasse. This took us around a building called the Congress, which is a smallish convention center with meeting rooms, etc., with a capacity of about 1300 visitors. We spotted a small eatery but alas, as it was Sunday, it was closed. We discovered a park behind the hotel and, upon reading the signs and our tourist guidebook(s), realized that it was a “back” entrance to Mirabell Gardens. That was one of our destinations for the day, but lunch was first on the agenda. There was what looked like a small commercial strip on the intersecting street (Franz-Joseph Strasse) so we crossed over and spotted a couple of places selling food. A couple of the places had sidewalk seating in honor of the spring weather. Of course we couldn’t all agree on one so we kept walking.

We wandered down several interesting little streets, past schools and churches, and spotted another street with what looked like small shops, so we continued window shopping and looking for an open restaurant on which we could agree. Eventually, we reached a T intersection with a pedestrian street. This turned out to be Linzer Gasse (http://www2.salzburg.info/sehenswertes_linzergasse.htm), a street at the base of the cliff, and because the shops on one side backed to the base of the cliff, that side had no intersection. We strolled down Linzer Gasse looking for an open restaurant. Because it was just barely noon on Palm Sunday, the street was fairly empty for the first hour or so and then the volume of walkers increased and it seemed that more stores were open.

I spotted a sign for a restaurant down an alley and walked over to check the menu. When I walked into the alley, I spotted a double wooden door in a wall on the right that seemed to give entry to a strange looking walkway. Of course I had to look in; I found a very interesting looking graveyard, surrounded on all sides by a cloistered walk. So I walked back out and called to the rest of the group to follow me.

And thus we found St. Sebastian’s church (http://www2.salzburg.info/sehenswertes_26.htm), which dates back to the beginning of the 16th century. There were interesting looking grave markers for the tombs along the walls, a beautiful chapel in the middle of the graveyard (http://www.thesphinx.org/DanubeCruise/SalzburgStSebastian/), and the grave of Leopold Mozart.

We finally left the graveyard and continued our walk down Linzer Gasse. We eventually found a small café specializing in Italian food (well, it is just over the mountains, right?) that looked interesting, so we checked out the menu. I can’t remember the name of the café, but the food was delicious (and the pastries looked good but I was reminded of the cake in our room from last night’s surprise on the Mozart) and we enjoyed an opportunity to sit and warm up after walking in the brisk spring day. We eventually finished our Sunday repast and continued down the street (http://www.thesphinx.org/DanubeCruise/SalzburgRightBank/) toward the river, where we turned right and headed in the general direction of the hotel.

Among the photos of our visit to Salzburg, you will notice that there are several pictures of differently decorated globes scattered throughout the city. These are a part of the Mozart 250 celebration, and this particular project is called “Roll On Mozart!” The balls are modeled loosely on the Mirabell (http://www.mirabell.at) (click on the Union Jack for the English version) chocolate Mozart balls sold all over Austria. Mirabell sponsored the project and funded several artists’ creations.

We walked by the Hotel Sacher (home of the Sacher Torte, and no, we didn’t stop because there was this cake in our room…) and then past the theater, where people were lining up to see La Finta Giardinera, a Mozart opera of which none of us had ever heard. (I have since acquired the CD. The music is, well, very lovely Mozart music – and he was 19! The story is very strange, but then, most opera stories are that.) From the theater, we passed through the Market Square, location of the apartment in which Mozart lived as a child (more on this later) and also an apartment in which Christian Doppler lived. (Doppler effect: the reason a train whistle changes tone as the train speeds toward or away from you).

We then moved on to …

Next posting:

Part LVII: Day 11 – Searching for Maria – and gnomes – and gardens

J

[Livestotravel]

You are writing this mostly from memory - now that's impressive. Thank you for your wishes for a good trip. We'll be taking the optional excursion to Salzburg while the Poetry cruises upriver from Linz to Passau. I think we have to do lunch on our own. I buy small dolls in native dress from countries I travel to for our two granddaughters - did you spot anything like that - I thought maybe there would be "Sound of Music" themed dolls. Anyway if you think there is something we shouldn't miss when we are given some free time in Salzburg during the tour, and perhaps where to have lunch, please add to your trip report. Did you go to the Fortress - is that a must do?

[jgnova]

You are writing this mostly from memory - now that's impressive.
Not completely from memory :D I have the ship dailies to tell me what time we did things - and the benefit of doing this at home is that I can do a lot of research on the web for historical details.

Thank you for your wishes for a good trip. We'll be taking the optional excursion to Salzburg while the Poetry cruises upriver from Linz to Passau. I think we have to do lunch on our own. I buy small dolls in native dress from countries I travel to for our two granddaughters - did you spot anything like that - I thought maybe there would be "Sound of Music" themed dolls.
I'm sure you can find dolls outfitted in authentic dress in every town you'll be visiting. That wasn't on our radar as we have two boys and (so far) one grandson so I didn't notice. When you're in Budapest, don't forget to check out the street vendors on Vaci ut. across from the Central Market - and also the Folk Art Centrum mentioned in my postings for that visit. (Steamboats got her daughter a new dirndl at the Folk Art Centrum. We bought an embroidered vest, 1 year old size, for our grandson while we were at that shop.) Also, we were told that the second floor of the Central Market might have interesting arts and crafts, so you may want to try there. In Salzburg, I think you can find almost anything on Getreidegasse in the Old City.

If you have time in Budapest, the synagogue, which is the largest in Europe, is very impressive and runs tours in English at certain times. The museum beside it is interesting and the grounds, including the Holocaust memorial, are well worth a visit also. (There are photos and links in my posting about this part of the trip.)

Anyway if you think there is something we shouldn't miss when we are given some free time in Salzburg during the tour, and perhaps where to have lunch, please add to your trip report.
I have most of Salzburg written but am not sure if my editor (S) will have it all posted before you leave. (Yes, they probably will be. S) I'm not sure how much time you'll have in Salzburg if they're taking you on a Sound of Music tour - some of them run to locations out of the city so you can see the mountain scenes. If you do have time, I suggest lunch at the Gablerbrau on Linzergasse on the Right Bank (our meal was delicious and traditional with a modern flair).

What shouldn't you miss? Depends on your interests. The Mirabell Garden and Palace? Walk through the Old City? Have an authentic Sacher Torte? Check the links I've included in my postings to see pictures of most of the sights.

Did you go to the Fortress - is that a must do?
That's a tough question. We saw only one room - from reading the web articles, it's worth seeing, not only for the decor, but for the history.

You may want to verify once you arrive (because things change) exactly what your tours will take you to see so you can plan your free time to see whatever is important to you that won't be included. One of our tours was described as seeing something we were interested in but we never made it there and could have used our free time to visit it. We also might have skipped one of the other tours so we could see more interesting (to us) sites. So if you have figured out some "not to miss" places for yourselves ahead of time, you can confirm what your tours will visit and make better plans for your free time.

J

[jgnova]

Peter Deilmann MV Mozart cruise on the Danube April 2-9, 2006
Part LVIII (Day 11) – Mirabell Gardens

The Mirabell Palace was built during a time when Salzburg was ruled by Prince Archbishops as opposed to secular rulers. The Palace was built at the beginning of the 17th century as a residence for the Prince Archbishop’s mistress (remember, they couldn’t marry), and at that time it was called Altenau, for his mistress, Salome Alt, the daughter of a merchant, and was erected outside the city walls.

I find this interesting (not because of the relationship – read William Manchester’s A World Lit Only by Fire for a great discussion of the practices of the church fathers of the era) because Salzburg is a tiny city. We walked everywhere! Our route from town to our hotel took us past the Mirabell and we didn’t think anything of that distance. So to imagine a time when the city walls enclosed an even smaller area is amazing.

Back to our tour …

We entered the Mirabell Gardens (http://www2.salzburg.info/sehenswertes_72.htm) from the Market Square after looking at the Mozart residence. Even in early April, the beautifully designed gardens (http://www.thesphinx.org/DanubeCruise/SalzburgMirabellGarden/) were a feast for the eyes. We walked around a bit looking at the arrangements and the statuary. Those of you with good eyes and memory may recognize the statue of Pegasus (hint: think Vermont ski resort) as well as the views of the mountains from the gardens. There was also a statue of Copernicus and if anyone can tell me why a Polish astronomer is represented in Salzburg, I’d sure appreciate knowing the reason.

One shaded part of the gardens is the home of a collection of gnome statues (http://www.thesphinx.org/DanubeCruise/SalzburgGnomes/). It’s believed that the sculptor modeled the faces after various court figures of his time. Some of the original statues have disappeared over time – they’re fairly small, about 3 feet tall. We had a good time walking around and watching some children playing around them.

Behind the Pegasus statue is the actual palace (http://www2.salzburg.info/sehenswertes_23.htm), which we never had a chance to tour. We also didn’t know about the regular concerts (http://www.salzburger-schlosskonzerte.at/en/index.htm) performed almost every night in the palace, available with dinner at one of the nearby restaurants, including the Sheraton restaurant.

We walked up the steps next to the palace and could see that we were on the other side of a small park from the rear entrance to our hotel. We could also that next to the hotel was a building housing a huge indoor pool and spa complex. It was kind of chilly walking around that day and the pools looked inviting, but we decided that a cup of tea in the Sheraton restaurant while sitting near the window (right on the park) would suffice.

As I was tired of walking around with the camera, I decided to go back for …

Next posting:

Part LIX: Day 11 – Another surprise and a good dinner

J

[Jswen]

Hi, S&J,
I must tell you how much I am enjoying reading your excellent Trip Report.
I am also taking copious notes to take along on our riverboat trip (may 24) Hopefully I will have time to consoladate them into an organized notebook, other wise I will be standing on some dock sorting through stacks of computer printouts trying to find the right notes for the place we have landed.
Thank you so much, can't wait for the next installment.
Wonderful pictures too, especially love the gardens.
JS

[Livestotravel]

The gardens look so beautiful. I hope we have an opportunity to see them. Thanks for all the info.

Jswen, are you being offered the Salzburg tour on your trip? We'll be there June 1. I too am adding to my trip notes from this excellent trip report - I'm up to about 20 pages, but they are separate Word docs by town, so I won't have to carry the whole mess with me every day!

[jgnova]

Peter Deilmann MV Mozart cruise on the Danube April 2-9, 2006
Part LIX (Day 11) – Dinner in a brew house

I went up to our room to drop off S’s coat and my camera while the three of them went to get a table. Upon entering our room, I felt like the bears in the Goldilocks story – someone had been in our room (no, it was too early for the turn-down service) and instead of eating our porridge or sitting in the chair, had left … another bottle of champagne along with birthday greetings from the hotel. While S confessed to alerting the Mozart staff to my birthday, nobody admitted to telling the people at the Sheraton. We can only assume that the 5-star Mozart crew wanted to ensure that I had a celebration on the actual day of my birthday and, as we had booked the Sheraton through Deilmann, someone from Deilmann (Uwe, we suspect) may have arranged for this. I love nice surprises.

I went downstairs (smiling from the surprise) for our tea and told everyone that we now had one cake and two bottles of champagne to drink. We sat and watched the garden under the darkening (it was getting late) sky until we finally decided to head upstairs to our rooms so we could search the tour books and locate a place for dinner.

After our lengthy walk and late lunch, followed by tea, we really didn’t want anything too elaborate. The Sheraton had a pub-type restaurant, but it wasn’t open on Sunday that early in the season. The regular restaurant had a delicious selection, but the meals looked like too much for us that evening. Se we grabbed our tour books and started looking. There’s a restaurant that dates back about 500 years in the old city (I am assuming they’ve updated the kitchen, etc.), but that was not open on Sunday. We found another one that looked interesting – also closed Sunday. We finally located one place, the Gablerbrau (http://www.gablerbrau.com/), that is part of a hotel and brewery and also seems to date back to before Columbus left Spain in his quest for new paths to riches.

We agreed that we would walk there in hopes that it was (a) open and (b) had a menu that would satisfy our various desires. If not, we would just walk down Linzer Gasse and find something else. We managed to walk there in a few minutes and found a pub that managed to look both very modern (including wireless handheld devices on which the server entered our orders) yet very old. The food was delicious, the service was great, the prices were reasonable. It looked like many of the diners were regulars who barely glanced at the menu before ordering, the mark of a good place to eat. The menu (available on their website) even has vegetarian listings. But we couldn’t have dessert, even though the selections looked delicious, because there was a bottle of champagne and a birthday cake sitting in the room.

So we had a leisurely walk back to our room and the four of us finished off the MV Mozart cake and the bottle of champagne. And then it was time for bed as we had a morning tour and evening concert on …

Next posting:

Part LX: Day 12 – Our last full day in Europe

J

[Jswen]

Whew, I'm sure glad you guys finished off the cake.....you were sure missing out on some tasty desserts.
Livestotravel,
Brendan/Amadagio is offering a Salzburg-full day excursion, includes a walking tour of the city. We are planning on taking it.
Best I can tell it happens on Tuesday.

[jgnova]

He was whining just a little, wasn't he? :rolleyes: I have to tell you, though, that Mozart cake was out of this world. Chocolate and champagne. Doesn't get much better than that, does it? :D
S

[jgnova]

Peter Deilmann MV Mozart cruise on the Danube April 2-9, 2006
Part LX (Day 12) – Still searching for Maria

I awoke without a hangover from the champagne ;) and we headed downstairs for our first Sheraton breakfast. As at every breakfast buffet we enjoyed on this trip, the selection, quality, and display surpassed anything I’ve seen in this country. I guess I don’t stay in the right hotels in the U.S. Unfortunately both days we ate breakfast at the Sheraton, we got to the dining room too early to enjoy the fresh-made omelets (is that a good reason to return?).

After finishing breakfast, we gathered in the lobby along with the rest of the Deilmann crowd (14 of us, all told) and waited for the tour bus to arrive. The tours were arranged through Panorama Tours (http://www.panoramatours.com/Shop.fc) and they brought two small vans, each seating 8 passengers plus the driver (well, we did need him, right?). We could not use the larger buses from the other cities because of the narrow streets in the old city – and while a smaller group is better in principle, these buses were way too small! Because the van wasn’t very tall, the view for the people sitting in the middle was limited to whatever could be seen in a straight line out the window. Even sitting on the outside wasn’t much better – you could at least see out your side, but were still unable to see anything above the first story!

The bus took us down to and across the river into the old city, and we headed “out of town” – through the tunnel and a short drive south of town to Leopoldskron (http://www.schloss-leopoldskron.com/) (website is in German but there are some nice photos), a castle built in the early 18th century by one of the Prince Archbishops (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopoldskron) and later owned by the founder of the Salzburg Festival. Those of you with good memories may recognize some of the vistas from the photos (http://www.thesphinx.org/DanubeCruise/SalzburgLeopoldskron/) I took during our brief stop. (Hint: Think of a socialist who later became a nun.)

Leaving Leopoldskron, we headed further out of town to see Schloss Hellbrunn (http://www.hellbrunn.at/hellbrunn/english/start/index.asp), a castle built by, you guessed it, another Prince Archbishop, Markus Sittkus, at the beginning of the 17th century. He had a great sense of humor and included all kinds of trick fountains that would dampen the unwary visitor, regardless of that person’s rank! Unfortunately, we had only enough time to take a few pictures (http://www.thesphinx.org/DanubeCruise/SalzburgHellbrunn/) and buy some souvenirs in the gift shop. This is another place on the “return visit” list. On the grounds is a gazebo made famous in a movie about the other well-known Maria from the area, Maria von Trapp, who, after fleeing Austria, eventually started a ski lodge (http://www.trappfamily.com/) near Stowe, Vermont.
(http://www.trappfamily.com/)
Besides the gazebo at Hellbrunn (relocated from Leopoldskron because it was getting too much traffic for the area), fans of Sound of Music can take special tours highlighting the scenes shot at Leopoldskron and around the Pegasus statue I mentioned earlier.

From Hellbrun, we had a quick drive-by tour of the old city with glimpses of Mozart’s birthplace, a bathing pool for horses, some narrow alleys, and the theater used for the Salzburg Festival operas (and also the scene of the “sneak away” performance sequence in Sound of Music).

We then headed back across the river to the right bank where we were dropped off to visit …

Next posting:

Part LXI: Day 12 – Mozart’s apartment and lunch on a street corner

J

[jgnova]

Peter Deilmann MV Mozart cruise on the Danube April 2-9, 2006
Part LXI (Day 12) – Mozart lived here – and we ate here

The driver dropped us off around 11 AM in Market Square right outside the entrance to Mozart’s residence (http://www.mozarteum.at/02_Museen/02_Museen_WohnHaus.asp?SID=45496072920056) and gave us all vouchers for free entrance to the museum, including the audio tour. This building housed the apartment to which Mozart’s family moved when he was about 17 and in which he lived for about seven years. Like much else in Europe, it was heavily damaged during the war and was completely rebuilt only after first being converted into office space. The museum houses many original and facsimile instruments and manuscripts and the audio tour introduced me to the music from La Finta Giardinera, which was composed while Mozart lived there.

By the time we finished the tour and contributed to the local economy in the gift shop, it was getting close to lunch time. Our next commitment was a dinner and concert that evening so we had a free afternoon to revisit some of the sights we glimpsed on our morning drive-by tour. But first we needed to deposit the gift shop loot in our room and get some lunch. As we were walking back to the hotel, M (who had been stationed in Germany earlier in his career) spotted a sausage stand. He had told us earlier that he had two gastronomic goals for the trip – spargel (white asparagus), which he had ordered a few times so far, and sausage from a street vendor. So, here was his chance for sausage. We stopped and enjoyed a hearty lunch from an immaculately kept street wagon and then walked the remaining couple of blocks to empty our bags so we could head out again.

We walked the few blocks to the river and crossed the pedestrian bridge near the Sacher Hotel. From there we meandered around the old city, walking down the major shopping street (http://www2.salzburg.info/sehenswertes_28.htm) and looking in shop windows. The house in which Mozart was born (http://www.mozarteum.at/02_Museen/02_Museen_GebHaus.asp?SID=45496072920056) is located along here and we decided to skip that. If you ever go there, don’t forget to look for the four bell pulls going up the outside of the building from the entrance – you can barely make them out in my photos (http://www.thesphinx.org/DanubeCruise/SalzburgOldCity/).

During our morning tour, we had seen the Horse Trough, a fountain designed so that horses could walk down a gentle slope and get a foot bath while viewing the lovely paintings on the walls (or so claimed our guide) – ML wanted photos, so our walk was also a search for this interesting sample of early bathing facilities, which we eventually found. We continued on to see the Salzburg cathedral (http://www2.salzburg.info/sehenswertes_20.htm), construction of which was begun under Markus Sittkus (remember him from Hellbrunn?).

Just past the cathedral we entered a large square (Kapitelplatz) with several street vendors selling souvenirs. I wanted to buy a pretzel, not having managed to eat one yet on the trip, but the vendor was sold out of plain pretzels. For those who haven’t been to this part of Europe, a pretzel there is a meal – at least six inches across and at least an inch in diameter. Too late – she was sold out of the traditional pretzels and I didn’t want multi-grain or chocolate. From the square I could see the funicular line going up the Fortress and walked towards it to take a photo – and spotted the entrance to another interesting looking graveyard, that of St. Peter’s (http://www2.salzburg.info/sehenswertes_33.htm) so of course I gathered the group and we walked around there a bit. As I hadn’t really studied for this trip, I didn’t realize that this was the final resting place for Mozart’s sister and Michael Haydn, among others or I might have tried to photograph their gravestones.

We then headed over to Mozartplatz to see the Mozart statue and for a quick visit to the official Salzburg tourist office. By then it was getting late and colder, so we headed back to the hotel to get ready for the …

Next posting:

Part LXII: Day 12 – Dinner in the sky

J

[Judith02]

When we booked the add on for Salzburg, all the Sherator hotel rooms were taken. We will be at the Sacher Hotel instead. From your posts, it appears this is an excellent location for walking around. Is that so? Did your van only take people from the Sherator on the tour or were there other people from other hotels? I have been told by the Deilmann representative that we will have all the same tours; I just don't know if we will be alone or with the group from the Sheraton. Also, you mention both a restaurant and a show the first evening (that was nearby) that you did not attend. Is that something we could book ahead of time through the hotel concierge?

Thank you for your posts. I really feel know that I know what to expect on our riverboat cruise and in the various cities. Much more information than I have been able to get anywhere else. Judith

[jgnova]

When we booked the add on for Salzburg, all the Sherator hotel rooms were taken. We will be at the Sacher Hotel instead. From your posts, it appears this is an excellent location for walking around. Is that so?

Yes, it's actually right on the river next to the pedestrian bridge and across the street from the theater and market square. So you're really in a better location - and in closer proximity to those Sacher torts. :)

Did your van only take people from the Sherator on the tour or were there other people from other hotels?

All 14 of us from the Mozart were at the Sheraton and the tour was just for us. If you are the only ones at the Sacher, I guess that the bus will pick you up along with those at the Sheraton. If there are more from the boat at the Sacher, you'll probably get your own bus.

I have been told by the Deilmann representative that we will have all the same tours; I just don't know if we will be alone or with the group from the Sheraton. Also, you mention both a restaurant and a show the first evening (that was nearby) that you did not attend. Is that something we could book ahead of time through the hotel concierge?

Posting LXVIII has a link to the site describing the Mirabell concerts. If you're interested, I would suggest printing out the info and asking one of the MV Mozart desk staff to get you tickets. You could also contact the Sacher Hotel concierge before you leave, mention your reservations through Deilmann, and ask that person to book your tickets. That approach worked for us in Munich.

Thank you for your posts. I really feel know that I know what to expect on our riverboat cruise and in the various cities. Much more information than I have been able to get anywhere else. Judith

I'm glad I was able to provide useful information - one of my coworkers told me I was too wordy, but I think having more info before leaving allows for more enjoyment during the trip. And there's so much to see and do in all of those cities.

J

[jgnova]

Oops - I seem to have problems with Roman numerals - obviously time for a trip to Italy for a refresher course. ;) I should have referred to posting LVIII and not LXVIII (which hasn't been written yet). You can find information on the Mirabell concerts here. (http://www.salzburger-schlosskonzerte.at/en/index.htm)

J


Posting LXVIII has a link to the site describing the Mirabell concerts.

[jgnova]

Peter Deilmann MV Mozart cruise on the Danube April 2-9, 2006
Part LXII (Day 12) – Still searching for Maria

We strolled down some more shopping streets and eventually made our way back to the pedestrian bridge over the Salzach (but not without stops in a handcrafts shop and a large toy store), walking yet again right past the Sacher Hotel Salzburg without stopping for a Sacher Tort. We walked up a different street and past the other side of the gnome garden and finally made it to the hotel. As it was kind of cold, we again stopped for a tea in the restaurant and then went upstairs to get dressed for the concert.

Dinner (http://www.mozartfestival.at/fortressconcerts.html?&L=) and a concert in the thousand year old Hohensalzburg Fortress (http://www.salzburg-burgen.at/en/hohensalzburg/) were included in our Deilmann booked stay at the Sheraton (as was our tour that morning), so the fourteen of us again gathered in the lobby to await our ride. Once again, thanks to the narrow streets, we had two buses to take us to dinner. We were taken to the base of the cliff, shown the entrance to the funicular (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Funicular), and given a voucher for the evening’s activities. There’s a little ticket office just inside the entrance and I bought the tour guide (this is your only chance to get the guidebook, unless you’ve found time for a separate tour of the Fortress).

We entered the funicular for the ride up the hill – about 100 meters straight up or about 100 meters of track distance – which took about a minute. For those who have never seen a single track funicular, visualize two rail cars on a steep incline with a cable connecting them through a pulley at the top. When one car is at the top, the other is at the bottom and when the car at the top starts down, it pulls the bottom car up. About the midway point, the tracks split so the two cars pass each other.

So after the one-minute zip to the top, we walked out of the little “station” area and walked a few feet around to the restaurant entrance. We were escorted to a pair of tables in a back room and enjoyed the views of the surrounding area while waiting to be served. I’m sure glad we looked then, because the clouds came in and the view went out. We did get to see the Nonnberg nunnery (http://www2.salzburg.info/sehenswertes_67.htm) and I just learned that there’s another funicular going up the “back” way to the Fortress from the Nonnberg nunnery. That funicular is over 500 years old (http://www.funimag.com/funimag10/RESZUG01.HTM) and is the oldest railroad in the world.

For those interested in the Sound of Music story, Maria von Trapp (http://www.trappfamily.com/familystory/history.php) (born Maria Augusta Kutschera) was raised by an older cousin after her mother died when Maria was about 2. She was actually raised as a socialist and “discovered” religion while in college. She then entered the same Nonnberg nunnery visible from the Hohensalzurg Fortress – a nunnery founded 1400 years ago and the oldest one north of the Alps.

Back to the story – dinner was delicious – you know, I don’t recall a single meal we had on our trip that wasn’t delicious. The Fortress meal was four courses ending in a delicious dessert (http://www.thesphinx.org/DanubeCruise/SalzburgHohensalzburg/) (yeah! I finally finished the birthday cake!) along with the other photos I shot that evening.

After dinner, we headed out for the …

Next posting:

Part LXIII: Day 12 – Mozart on high – or it’s only 138 steps

J

[jgnova]

Peter Deilmann MV Mozart cruise on the Danube April 2-9, 2006
Part LXIII (Day 12) – Mozart on the mountain

We followed the directional signs for the concert around the base of the fortress – we were able to see some of the city lights below through the mist. The signs led us up a staircase and around a corner and up another staircase and down a hall and up another staircase and … well, after climbing 138 steps (yes, I counted them on the way down just to be able to report it to you!) we finally reached the top floor, checked our coats, exchanged the voucher for tickets, and entered the concert room. This was the “prince’s” room and had a marble pillar that was damaged (and never repaired) during a peasant uprising in 1525.

The all-Mozart performance included the Serenade in G-Major (“Eine Kleine Nachtmusic”), the Piano Concerto in F-Major, and the Symphonie Concertante in E-flat major and was performed by the Mozart Chamber Orchestra of Salzburg. This was the first time I had ever seen / heard chamber music in a “chamber” and not a performance hall. What a difference in sound and connection to the musicians! And hearing a group of this caliber made it even better.

Refreshments and CDs are available during the intermission – we bought a couple of the CDs and they are superb. If you think you want the CDs, buy them then because they lock everything away so they can empty the place quickly after the recital. If you wait until afterwards, you’ll have to act like a hopeless stupid tourist and hope they’ll open the locked cabinet and find the change box and the CDs (yes, that’s exactly what I did).

After getting my CDs, we went back down the same 138 steps to the base of the fortress and had to make our way around the base to the funicular entrance. By now it was cold and damp. Actually, it was really damp. Salzburg’s damp is so well known they even have a formal name for it, the “Salzburg drizzle,” and for the only time on this trip, we had neglected to bring an umbrella. Well, it was only a short walk to the funicular. We caught the next car down and our buses arrived within minutes to take us back to the hotel.

We thought about stopping for something warm to drink, but we were so tired from walking all over the old city that day that we just headed off to bed so we’d be rested for the …

Next posting:

Part LXIV: Day 13 – Beginning of the end of the journey

J

[aagra]

I'm still reading every word. Did you go on the Sound of Music Tour? What did you think of old Salzburg? I hope you got to try a pretzel. I had one in Munich and they are very large.

[jgnova]

I'm still reading every word.
I hope you're not an English teacher :D

Did you go on the Sound of Music Tour?
No, we took the morning city tour and then walked our ^%$ off in the afternoon.

What did you think of old Salzburg?
That's where we walked our ... I loved it and want a couple more days to see everything we missed.

I hope you got to try a pretzel.
Nope. Did you bring one back for me? :)

I had one in Munich and they are very large.
So be honest - how did it compare to the pretzels they sell off the oilcloth tables on every corner in Philly?

J

[jgnova]

Peter Deilmann MV Mozart cruise on the Danube April 2-9, 2006
Part LXIV (Day 13) – Salzburg to Frankfurt en route to Dulles

We had packed almost everything during the previous afternoon before heading out to the concert. We were a little concerned about weight limits and M and ML had asked the front desk for a scale – so we wound up adjusting a few things to keep each bag under the 50 lb limit. The next morning, we had another Sheraton breakfast while looking into the park and watching the snow flurries. I guess it got a little too cold for the Salzburg drizzle – wonder if there’s a name for the Salzburg flurry?

We went to our rooms one last time, and had the bellhop take our bags down for the airport pickup. M had already arranged for a van that would hold four people and luggage for ten so we just waited for the arranged pickup time.

We wanted to make one last restroom stop before heading off the airport, so we found the public restroom, which is down a flight from the lobby. I suppose you’re wondering why a restroom stop is worth mentioning in this travelogue – after all, if I bothered to list them all, I’d still be typing :D. So ML came back up and said “Did you catch the towel rack?” OK – I had to go down to get a photo of this (http://www.thesphinx.org/DanubeCruise/SheratonTowel/). Paper towels are not good enough for the users of the public meeting area restrooms of the Salzburg Sheraton. And, unlike the upscale (art deco) Delano Hotel in Miami’s South Beach, which puts out disposable-grade cloth towels about the size and half the weight of a cheap face cloth, the Salzburg Sheraton wanted to provide real towels, but not lose them. They have a stack of freshly laundered towels with a hole through them and run a chrome pipe in a loop so after someone uses the towel, it just drops into the laundry bin.

The taxi finally came and we headed off to the airport. The Salzburg airport is on the left bank side – we had to cross the Salzach, go through the tunnel, and drive only about 5 minutes through a low-rise residential and commercial area to get to the airport. We checked in – there might have been one person ahead of us in line – and, with 2 hours to wait for flight time, wandered the length of the terminal building. The Salzburg airport is small – one news stand, a coffee shop, and a bank. So that walk took all of 5 minutes. We spent some time in the gift shop helping M and ML spend their last few Euros and then headed through security so we could wait in the secure zone.

I had some business to transact. Luckily, I had remembered that I needed to get a customs stamp on my VAT refund form. And managed to do so before handing over the bag containing said form. I had the form for my (rather expensive) purchase at Neuschwanstein but not that for the smaller purchase of toys in Oberammergau. So I found the customs office window to one side of the duty free shop and then had to go to the currency window at the rear of the shop to get my refund, which covered the cost of a purchase later in the day.

As I noted, the Salzburg airport is on the small side. I’ve seen smaller (like the airport in Sterling, Illinois, in 1967 when the guy talking the plane down on the radio then left the radio microphone to go out on the tarmac to wave the pilot to the right place to stop), but this was a more human size than most that I’ve seen recently. It didn’t have jetways. Instead, they had buses. When our plane finally arrived (about 20 feet from the terminal building) they pulled a covered staircase (remember the Salzburg drizzle?) and then a bus pulled up to carry the passengers to the terminal. When it was our turn to depart, we walked out the door of the terminal and onto the bus, which then drove a big circle around the plane to deposit us at the base of the stairs – 20 feet from the terminal!

So we boarded the plane (Tyrolean Airlines but booked as a Lufthansa flight on Austrian Air – this shared ticketing gets confusing after a while) and had a comfortable short flight to Frankfurt. I think we could have bought a sandwich, but they had time to give us coffee, tea, or soda. And we finally made it to the …

Next posting:

Part LXV: Day 13 – Frankfurt airport and home

J

[Judith02]

Our flight from the Salzburg airport is at 7:30 a.m. If we are to be there at 5:30 a.m., what time would you suggest that I arrange for our transportaiton from the Sacher Hotel?

[jgnova]

Our flight from the Salzburg airport is at 7:30 a.m. If we are to be there at 5:30 a.m., what time would you suggest that I arrange for our transportaiton from the Sacher Hotel?
Based on our experience - the trip to the airport from the hotel shouldn't take more than 15 minutes (it's only 2.5 miles!) - which is what they say on the airport site (http://engl.salzburg-airport.com/). Also, you might want to check with the airline on how early you really have to be there. The airport site says 90 minutes before flight time.

J

[steamboats]

J,

Don´t tell me you missed a real Brezn! And don´t tell me you really wan´t to compare your pretzels with our Brezn! These are definitely two different things. No kid can grow up without lots of Brezn over here. On our first visit to the US with DD (then 1 1/2 years old) we though we do her something good and bought a pretzel. Let´s say it like this: she didn´t eat it :D .

To learn more about the real thing, see

http://www.food-from-bavaria.de/en/reg_spez/einzelprodukt.php?an=23&display_lang=en

And yes, we have different sizes. The small ones are the regular size which you can buy in each bakery. And there are the big ones sold in beergardens and on the Oktoberfest (which are 5 times the size of a regular one).

And don´t fill them with cheese, chocolate or any other stuff. If you wan´t to have cheese than put it on the Brezn and put it in the oven to let it melt. The saying is "they don´t taste with salt, but they don´t taste without salt either" (meaning you have to bake them with salt on top and for eating rub it off). If you don´t like it plain then slice it (very difficult!) and spread butter on it, that´s the Butterbrezn :) .

steamboats

PS: DD last thing she need when we fly to the US is a Brezn. They used to have some shaped like an airplane at the airport but they don´t make them anymore. And of course the first thing she needs is a Brezn when we come back home.

[jgnova]

Nope - never had a brezn. :( The lines were too long at the opera in Budapest and the vendor in Salzburg was sold out of the plain ones - she had just chocolate and other "exotic" flavors. So that's another reason to get back over there ;) (I also wanted chicken paprikash), besides seeing all the places for which we didn't have time.

J

[jgnova]

Peter Deilmann MV Mozart cruise on the Danube April 2-9, 2006
Part LXV (Day 13) – Frankfurt to Dulles

We got to see a bit of Frankfurt from the air – looks like any other modern industrial city – and then we had a guided tour of the airport tarmac – it felt as if we spent less time in the air from Salzburg than riding from the runway to our parking spot in the airport suburbs and then on the bus to the terminal building. After skipping through immigration, we walked around a bit and hit the duty-free shop looking for an excuse to spend our left-over Euros. After all, we’d lose too much converting them back to US$ so we might as well get something useful. So a box of teabags, a chocolate bar (large), and a bottle of Asbach Spezialbrand (http://www.asbach.de/) used up almost all of the left over cash. We did want to save some for one more acquisition.

Although we had gone through security in Salzburg, there was another security checkpoint on the corridor from the main airport section to the section with the gates for the U.S. flights. They checked everyone with a wand and X-rayed the carry-on baggage again. And, because my carry-on had a cell phone, PDA, wireless PDA keyboard, and digital camera, they pulled me aside and took all of my toys out of the bag and wiped them down to check for explosives.

Once we got to the gate and handed over the boarding pass, they announced that our flight home was delayed a bit while they fixed something the pilot noticed on the way over. So we had to cool our heels an hour or so while they did their thing. They never tell you what it was – don’t worry – we found something wrong, they’re working on it – they’ll finish while you board and before we take off – it’s all safe and fixed. Well, we made it home so I guess they fixed it. As we were now “checked in,” they had to loan us our boarding passes if we wanted to leave the corral for refreshments or a pit-stop. At some point they got a little angry at people going back and forth – you had to say “please” and “thank you” real nicely to get out a second time.

We boarded the plane and lucked out – while the flight over had been full (they tried to fit the last passenger into the overhead compartment), the return flight was empty. People were sacked out across the middle section seats with the arm rests up. I wonder if the people who went over ever got home? Don’t the numbers have to match eventually? :rolleyes:


On the flight over, S had noticed an interesting educational game in the in-flight magazine – a memory game made of wood that asked players (ages 4 and up) to find opposites – oh well, whatever it was, we couldn’t find it in any toy shop we searched while wandering around. So we bought a couple on the flight home and came close to finishing off our Euro collection.

The one weird thing was the route we took. Every flight I knew of from northern Europe heads over Britain and skirts southern Greenland, Labrador, Nova Scotia, and comes south off the U.S. coast – I like standing at the back door window and watching the coast line go by and trying to recognize Halifax and Bar Harbor and Cape Cod and so on. This time, the pilot announced that there were cross winds so he was taking a detour. According to the TV screen maps, we crossed the coast near St. Malo and went south of Jersey (I asked if we could stop to see the zoo, but nobody listened) and stayed out of sight of land until we got to the New Jersey coast (that’s cool – Jersey to New Jersey! :D ).

So we made it home, got through immigration, found our luggage, got a free pass through customs (whew!), and headed outside. I guess I paid more attention than S to the TV screens with the distance and temperature, because when I stuffed my jacket into the carry-on, she asked if I wasn’t going to be cold. When we got outside, she understood. We had crossed six time zones and moved from snow in the morning to typical DC area spring weather – about 75°F in the afternoon. I think I even put on the car A/C on the way home!

We walked out to the parking shuttles. And waited for the blue lot shuttle. And waited for the blue lot shuttle. And the attendant decided that we had waited enough and told the next driver to change colors and take us to our car, which he did.

So we drove through DC rush hour traffic, got home, and spent the next day decompressing so we could return to work refreshed and start writing up this lengthy discussion. And now it’s time for thinking about …

Next posting:

Part LXVI –What would we do if we did it all over? Would we do it again?

J

[jgnova]

Peter Deilmann MV Mozart cruise on the Danube April 2-9, 2006
Part LXVI – So what would we do differently?

Some of the correspondents on this site have asked for advice – “What should I do in city X?” or “What tours would you skip?” or “What tours should we take?” I can’t tell you what you should do – only you know your interests and thresholds of boredom in different settings. For example, as much as I loved the movie Sound of Music (I even saw it in a downtown Philadelphia theater with reserved seating!), I don’t think I’d go out of my way to see a particular place in the Salzburg area because, “you know, that scene where Julie Andrews sang …” was shot there. But I would go out of my way to see a setting that inspired a composer or artist to create a masterwork. So having said that (and hopefully not chased anyone away), I think I need to discuss two options: (1) What would I do differently if I were taking the identical trip (well, without the river flooding problems)? And (2) What would I do if I could take the trip again having already done it once? And then answer the question everyone always asks: “Would you take another Deilmann cruise?”

Let’s start with the first – It’s March 30 and I’m landing in Munich for the beginning of my very first trip to central/eastern Europe – is there anything I would change?

Munich: I’d try to get more sleep that first night so I could spend the afternoon of the Munich city tour seeing a museum or two – and ask the driver on the castle trip to find time so we could see some of the crafts shops in Oberammergau.

Vienna: I’d try to arrange my own full day tour of Vienna so we could squeeze the opera house tour into the morning and skip the cemetery in favor of seeing Schloss Schönbrunn (http://www.schoenbrunn.at/en/site/publicdir/) which a co-worker visited several years ago and still remembers vividly.

Budapest: I’d confirm the sites to be visited and find time to see the Parliament and Royal Palace plus everything we visited.

Salzburg: I would skip the city tour in favor of a morning trip to Hellbrun and our own walking tour of the old city – and hopefully have time to visit the Fortress – maybe arrange to be up there before the dinner.

Now for option 2 – what would I do if I took the same trip having seen everything I’ve described over the past 60-odd postings? That is, besides seeing the sights in the towns we missed this time because of the high water.

Munich: Tour Nymphenburg, and some of the castles in town – and at least one art museum.

Durnstein: Climb to see the castle ruins.

Vienna: See Schönbrunn and the palaces in town – and a museum. And walk around for an hour sampling at least one Viennese coffee house (including pastry – maybe the Sacher?) Go to the Public Opera House also.

Bratislava: Walk around the town and see the shops.

Budapest: Get off the boat in the Danube bend and take the day trip to see the cathedral, castle ruins, and Mindszenty’s grave. In Budapest itself, see the Parliament, Royal Palace, and the art museum. And walk around with time for coffee and pastry at Gerbeaud. Attend another performance.

Melk: Walk around the town.

Salzburg: See Hellbrunn, the Fortress, Mirabell Palace (including a concert), and walk around some more.

And now it’s time for the …

Last posting:

Part LXVII – Parting is such sweet sorrow

J

[jgnova]

Peter Deilmann MV Mozart cruise on the Danube April 2-9, 2006
Part LXVII – Is it the end or the beginning?

This concludes my description of our one-week cruise on the MV Mozart (with pre- and post-cruise stays in Munich and Salzburg). What I expected to be a few postings with brief descriptions of some of the highlights ran away from me and became much more than I ever expected to write (especially after all the papers I had to write for the MBA I completed in December!).

Now that we’ve taken the cruise and then re-lived it through this writing, would I (we) take this or another Deilmann cruise? Tough question. Yes, I’d definitely take another Deilmann cruise. As near as I can tell, most of the other European cruise lines cater either to a different generation or to Americans. I don’t think we’d like the noise (excuse me, music) level on those catering to a younger crowd, and we travel to experience different cultures as well as places. So yes, I’d take another Deilmann cruise.

Would it be the Mozart or somewhere else? Well, if we’re doing the Danube, it has to be the Mozart because, after all, we like the cabin and ship size. I’d love to take this exact cruise again so we can see the sights we missed on this one – or maybe take their two-week variant with a little more time in some of the towns. And then hit another river – the southern France cruise looks interesting with Lyon and Avignon.

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading this as much as I’ve enjoyed re-living the entire trip. I’ve certainly learned a lot more about the region while researching some of the postings. One thing I’ve definitely learned is to do a lot more reading before I go on another trip like this so I know what to look for and try to see.

If you’ve enjoyed reading this enough to want S and me to accompany you on a trip so we can photograph and chronicle it, please contact us. We’ll be more than happy to do so for a small fee (plus expenses). (I think we might waive the fee. ;) S) For those of you who have no time to take a vacation, we’ll be happy (for a slightly higher fee) (Nope, just expenses, no fee. :rolleyes: S) to plan the vacation you’ve always wanted, then take the trip, chronicling it as we did this one, and tell you how much you enjoyed it. :)

Happy cruising!! :D

J

[Judith02]

Thank you for all your posts. I have made all sorts of notes in my travel notebook. I've also contacted the concierge in Salzburg about getting Maribell tickets (something I would not have known about if not for your posts). We will be doing the music-themed cruise in October and can't wait. By the way, until 2003, I had lived in Montgomery County, MD my entire life. One thing I don't miss is driving home from Dullas Airport in the traffic at rush hour.

[nyfeds]

J&S,

I want to thank you so very, very much for sharing your pre-cruise, cruise and post-cruise experiences with us. Reading each and every report has been tremendously informative and enjoyable. I've so looked forward to your daily installments. Anyone wishing to visit these ports and cruise this itinerary has a fantastic journal to consult for a vast array of touring information and suggestions.

You've both packed a huge amount into a fairly short space of time. I can see that another (if not many, many more) trips are on the agenda for you in the future. So much to see and experience!

We hope to visit Budapest, Prague and Vienna in 2008. I will certainly refer to your very fine trip report to guide our way!

Our Cezanne, Paris-Paris cruise is a week from Sunday! My trip report will not nearly match the fantastic job you've done! The time and thought you put into every report you've posted is beyond commendable!

THANK YOU!!!!

[aagra]

Great trip report. It was fun comparing our trip to yours. Thank you.

The German Pretzel was much larger and tasty (more Doe I suppose) and the large German beer I had with it was also very good.
But Fresh Philly pretzels are the best, however I may be biased. They have to be fresh though, unfortunately some street venders sell stale ones.

[steamboats]

S & J,

Thanks a lot for your great trip review! I guess you definitely have to come back for the Brezn :D !

Seems like your experiences at Frankfurt airport were similar to ours last year. We flew from Munich to Frankfurt and connected to Portland. We had nearly two hours. First we had a 15 min delay leaving Munich. Arrival in Frankfurt was like yours, a sightseeing tour by plane, a long long bus ride. Although we didn´t make any stops for shopping but rushed to the security for the US flights we nearly made it. Arriving at the security we found a non ending line. Suddenly we heard that our flight was called for boarding. We finally made it through the passport control (not by any border control officials but by some airport employees) but still had to pass the security. With a little desparation we asked the guy at the security if we can pass the line by using the first class line as our flight has already been called and he agreed. We finally made it to the gate where they were waiting for the last passengers to come (like us). Instead of boarding the plane we boarded another bus! And waited and waited (o.k., this was the last bus and we had to wait for the very last passengers). Then we got another sightseeing tour of the airport by bus and ended up close to the place we left our plane from Munich!! If I don´t have to I won´t use Frankfurt again. I love our Munich airport!

aagra, saw your review was featured as member review of the week :) ! But I still have to disagree about the pretzels (even without having tasted a fresh Philly pretzel). There´s nothing better than a Bavarian Brezn :D !

steamboats

[carlmm]

I really enjoyed reading your cruise report. For me as German it was especially interesting to get to know your view of some of our European sights and customs.
Thank you very much.
One question: Was the package you had booked with all the music performances on land available only for Americans or did Germans take part?

[steamboats]

Carlmm,

- sorry folks, but I can´t help answering in German - die Reise von jgnova bzw. judith02 wird auch im deutschen Deilmann-Katalog als Themenreise angeboten. Leider gibt es auf der Website keine vernünftigen Aussagen. Ich habe das Sonder-Prospekt zu Hause und kann nachsehen, ob es Ausflugspakete gab. Wir waren eine Woche vor jgnova auf der Mozart und waren überrascht, dass die Fahrt ebenfalls als Klassik-Reise tituliert wurde. Es gab allerdings kein Ausflugspaket, nur zwei sonst nicht im allgemeinen Ausflugsprogramm befindliche Ausflüge wurden zusätzlich angeboten.

steamboats

rough translation:

jgnova´s and judith02´s cruise are both offered as themed cruise in the German brochure. The website doesn´t say much about those themed cruises. I do have the German brochure at home and will return to Carlmm´s question. Our cruise was themed classic music (not in the brochure) and only offered two additional classic themed shore tours but no package.

[aagra]

I did say I might be biased on the Philly pretzels but I did enjoy the Brezn and plan to get another one in the future with a German beer of course.

Thanks for noticing my review on CC, I normally don't submit reviews and just post them on the boards for that trip, but I noticed few member reviews on river cruises and non on Mozart. I though it might help others who are thinking about trying a river cruise or Peter Deilmann line.

[jgnova]

Was the package you had booked with all the music performances on land available only for Americans or did Germans take part?
carlmm,

The only tours that were specific to the "classical music" themed cruise were the two evening performances (Vienna and Budapest) and the all day tour of Vienna that was focused more on music-related topics. As Deilmann runs separate tours for German and non-German speakers we never had any Germans on our tours. I don't know what they did for the German-speaking group. As near as I can figure out, what differentiates the classical cruise from the others is the presence on board for the entire cruise of a group of classical musicians who give several performances during the cruise, and the 3 special tours I mentioned earlier. Obviously, everyone on board gets to enjoy the performances of the group.

There is an online brochure (http://www.deilmannkreuzfahrten.de/htmlr/pages/kataloge_c.html#) on their German-language site describing the German version of the cruise we took (which covers that date and the October cruise). I can't tell what, if any tour options they include in that listing. Please note the little slide bar above the page - you MUST slide it to the right (above 100%) to make it larger and readable.

J

[steamboats]

J,

You found it! I have to admit that I didn´t :( . The US website is much better than the German one (especially navigation on the website). The German brochure doesn´t mention any package. It mentions one of the extra shore tours which were offered on our cruise (concert at Castle Szirak in Budapest) but not the one in Vienna (Vienna´s Composers). We were not offered any evening performances but maybe that´s because our cruise was more or less "upgraded" last minute from a regular to a themed cruise. Sure there was the extra entertainment featuring classic music (but some of the entertainment seems to be "regular" as aagra mentioned this in his review too like Afrodite and the Pressburger Duo and Professor Anton Lang).

steamboats

[Judith02]

Does anyone have any knowledge of Deilmann's 2007 schedule? Will there be any other "special" riverboat cruises -- e.g., a music or art tour other than the one we are taking on the Mozart this year? I saw on their German website a cruise from 2005 that was a different classical tour (I think, since I don't read German).

[steamboats]

Judith02,

Deilmann´s 2007 river cruise schedules isn´t out yet. We received a 2007 brochure for the blue water ship, the MS Deutschland. But no river cruises so far.

steamboats

[jgnova]

The 2007 music cruises will be 15 April and 7 October (if I read my writing correctly) according to Renee Mouras in the U.S. office. There will also be golf, equestrian, and cycling themed cruises. So should we try to get a Cruise Critic group cruise organized for one of these?

J

[Judith02]

We'll be in southeast Asia on the Crystal Symphony in April 2007 and in the Black Sea area on the Crystal Serenity in late September/early October 2007. I am trying to find out if (and when) Deilmann will be doing a music-themed cruise on the Cezanne in France in 2007. They are doing one in 2006.

[Livestotravel]

Let me add my thanks. I added quite a bit to my trip notes. Enjoyed the pictures very much, too.

[jgnova]

I am trying to find out if (and when) Deilmann will be doing a music-themed cruise on the Cezanne in France in 2007. They are doing one in 2006.

Judith02,

I only know what everyone else does - the info on their web site. I asked about the 2007 Danube cruises today because I was calling about something else. It sounds like their tour staff here are working on scheduling things for 2007, so if you or your travel agent calls the US office, someone should be able to give you ithe nformation you want.

J

[carlmm]

steamboats, herzlichen Dank für die Antwort und den besonderen Sprachservice!
jgnova, thank you for the information. Your report really makes one want to do this cruise. Hopefully the 2007 German brochure will come out soon and include similiar events included on shore.

[Judith02]

Now that we've all read this marvelous report on jgnova's music themed cruise on the Mozart, is anyone on either the October 1st one or the one we are on (October 8th)?

Also, we are scheduled to take Deilmann's shuttle from the Munich Airport to Passau. Does anyone know of a private car and driver in the same price range (about $100 per person)?

[jgnova]

Judith:
Jag (aagra) and we, different weeks, used the same driver to get to Passau and Munich, respectively. Contact Joerg (George, he said is easier for us, which it is if you don't know German....) at webmaster@muenchen-flughafentransfer.de (he charged for the car, not per person) -- or Toni Biersack directly (link is in one of J's earlier postings -- read back). (I think we got the referral to Joerg from aagra, actually.)
S

[Judith02]

Thank you. I will email them. My problem is that we get into the Munich Airport around 8 a.m. and Deilmann's transfer isn't until 12-1 p.m. I would rather drop off our luggage and sightsee in Passau instead of sitting around (if there is somewhere to sit after getting your luggage) in the Munich Airport.

[jgnova]

My problem is that we get into the Munich Airport around 8 a.m. and Deilmann's transfer isn't until 12-1 p.m. I would rather drop off our luggage and sightsee in Passau instead of sitting around (if there is somewhere to sit after getting your luggage) in the Munich Airport.
Judith02,

When you're thinking of how to avoid that delay, please remember:

1. You may not feel like much sightseeing after the flight (I usually just want a bed and shower).

2. Don't forget that you still have to get through immigration, claim your luggage, and then do customs - that may take up to an hour. My recollection is that we moved very rapidly, but we came in on a weekday. I don't know Sunday traffic levels in Munich. I do recall feeling like we walked forever up and down stairs and escalators.

3. We never had a chance to see Passau (see my discussion re: Danube floods) and nothing was open Sunday morning when I did my 2+ minute run-around. According to the "official" site (http://www.passau.de/public_main_modul.php?bm=&ses=&page_id=438&document_id=245&unit=4384caffe4725), the stores open at 9 on Sundays from Easter to October. There's also a huge cathedral with one of the largest organs in Europe, but, as it will be Sunday, access is probably going to be limited.

4. Jag (aagra) said that George stopped someplace en-route for a tour. You might want to consider doing that or taking a tour of Munich before heading out to Passau. I'm sure that either George or Toni will be happy to drive you around "their" town for a few hours so you can see the Glockenspiel, cathedrals, palaces, etc.

J

[steamboats]

Hi Judith02,

We met some friends coming from Boston yesterday. Their flight had an delay of 1 hour (9:05 instead of 8:10 am). It took them about 45 min to clear immigration, pick up their bags and go through customs. When we saw the delay we decided to pick them up at the airport. Nontheless we haven´t been downtown prior to 10:30 am (all by car). By the way, one of our friends was able to sleep quite well on the plane and was o.k.. The other one didn´t and nearly fell asleep while we did the sightseeing part. They went on by train to Salzburg at 4 pm. Munich is one of the fastest airports so one hour is the maximum time to expect from leaving the plane til leaving the airport building.

I second jgnova: If you hire a private driver he can take you on a city tour of Munich by car or stop at Altoetting (famous church) on the way to Passau.

You won´t be able to drop your bags before noon. So there´s definitely no need to hurry. We´ve been able to walk around in Passau (although it was raining). I didn´t see many shops open. The only ones were a couple of souvenir shops at the cathedral square and some along the shore. The church is open (except for the Sunday morning service) and is "featuring" the world largest organ. Very impressive but I guess it´s even more interesting to listen to one of the half hour concerts. You might get more information on the Passau-website jgnova mentioned. We did a city tour by boat in Passau (1 hour) and walked up to the cathedral and back to the boat. We´ve dropped our bags shortly past noon (as we had some lunch in Passau).

It took us about 1:15 hours to Passau by car. But I have to add that DH isn´t a slow driver and we are living close to the interstate to Passau. It usually takes us about 25 min to the airport (without any traffic jams).

steamboats

[jgnova]

To add an interesting footnote to my earlier musical trivia: Our local classical music radio station plays a Mozart piece every morning around 8, which is usually just as I'm entering the parking lot at work. The morning host is another trivia nut. The other morning, he introduced the "Mozart in the Morning" piece, the introduction to Don Giovanni, by mentioning its premiere at the Vienna State Opera House. During his lead-in, he commented that both architects committed suicide after Emperor Franz Joseph complained about how shallow the steps were.

Our tour guide did tell us that Franz Joseph didn't like the design and that one architect committed suicide. I've searched the web for more details. Everything I've found repeats the story along with the other trivia bit about the second architect dying from heart problems shortly thereafter. But nothing anywhere gets into the level of specificity about the shallow steps or indicates that the death of the second architect was anything other than his heart. I contacted the announcer and he referred me to an online musical almanac as his source. I sent that source an e-mail and am waiting for a reply, which I'll post if anything ever arrives.

So - if anyone out there has any further details on the opera house design, Franz Joseph, and the architects' mental health, I'd really appreciate it.

And, speaking of trivia, no one has yet volunteered any further information about why there's a statue of Polish astronomer Copernicus in Salzburg ....

J

[Michael J]

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[URL="http://reverso2.com/ri45r/ASP/url/result.asp?directions=1031$1033$1&templates=General&motsinconnus=false&autotranslate=on&baseurl=http://reverso2.com/ri45r/ASP/url/result.asp&url=http%3A//www.aeiou.at/aeiou.encyclop.cp_right.image.s/s560288a.htm"]© copyright (http://reverso2.com/ri45r/ASP/url/result.asp?directions=1031$1033$1&templates=General&motsinconnus=false&autotranslate=on&baseurl=http://reverso2.com/ri45r/ASP/url/result.asp&url=http%3A//www.aeiou.at/aeiou.encyclop.data.image.s/s560288a.jpg) August Sicard of Sicardsburg. Lithography from J. Kriehuber.


Sicard of Sicardsburg, August, * 6.12.1813 plague (Budapest, Hungary), 11.6.1868 Weidling (Lower Austria), architect. Studied in Vienna; in 1835 assistant in the polytechnic; assisted occasionally also his(its) teacher P. from Nobile (http://reverso2.com/ri45r/ASP/url/result.asp?directions=1031$1033$1&templates=General&motsinconnus=false&autotranslate=on&baseurl=http://reverso2.com/ri45r/ASP/url/result.asp&url=http%3A//www.aeiou.at/aeiou.encyclop.n/n775510.htm). Stepped in 1839 with his(its) fellow student E. van of her Nüll (http://reverso2.com/ri45r/ASP/url/result.asp?directions=1031$1033$1&templates=General&motsinconnus=false&autotranslate=on&baseurl=http://reverso2.com/ri45r/ASP/url/result.asp&url=http%3A//www.aeiou.at/aeiou.encyclop.n/n962585.htm) an extended study trip in which flowed into a lifelong studio community; in 1843 Professor in her Viennese Academy. Together with his(its) partner stamped Sicardsburg crucially them Austrian ones Architecture to late-romantic Historismus (http://reverso2.com/ri45r/ASP/url/result.asp?directions=1031$1033$1&templates=General&motsinconnus=false&autotranslate=on&baseurl=http://reverso2.com/ri45r/ASP/url/result.asp&url=http%3A//www.aeiou.at/aeiou.encyclop.h/h622680.htm) and affected by his(its) pupils also the development in 2th century half. His(its) most important work with van of the Nüll is they Viennese National opera (1861-69).
This was the second Architect.

Looks like he died from the Plague.

[Michael J]

2/43.- Vienna, State Opera House

This Opera House is one of the most famous Opera Theaters in the world. Some of the best directors of all times have performed here. The list is almost endless, but to name just a few: Mahler, Strauss, Krauss and von Karajan. The origins of this Opera House are not very fortunate; one of its architects (Eduard van der Nüll) killed himself because he couldn’t stand the negative reaction of the citizens of Vienna (http://www.virtourist.com/europe/vienna/02.htm#) to his work. The other architect (August von Sicardsburg) died soon after too. The Opera House was almost totally destroyed in the World War 2, but soon after was reconstructed following the original plans (it was reopened in 1955

[jgnova]

Michael J,

Thanks for the info and links. It looks like one of the excerpts you posted is from the Encyclopedia of Austria (http://www.aeiou.at/) and then translated by an automated word-by-word system, so that the birthplace of von Sicardsburg, Pest (one half of Budapest), was translated as "plague". The Encyclopedia site has a better translation here (http://www.aeiou.at/aeiou.encyclop.s/s560288.htm;internal&action=_setlanguage.action?LANGUAGE=en) and the actual text is:

****************
Sicard von Sicardsburg, August, b. Pest, Budapest (Hungary), Dec. 6, 1813, d. Weidling (Lower Austria), June 11, 1868, architect. Studied in Vienna; 1835 assistant at the Polytechnical College; from time to time also assisted his teacher P. von Nobile (http://www.aeiou.at/aeiou.encyclop.n/n775510.htm). In 1839 he began an extensive study trip with his fellow student E. van der Nüll (http://www.aeiou.at/aeiou.encyclop.n/n962585.htm), a journey which led to lifelong co-operation in a joint atelier; 1843 professor at the Vienna Academy. Together with his partner S. had a decisive influence on Austrian architecture of late romanticist Historicism (http://www.aeiou.at/aeiou.encyclop.h/h622680.htm) and through his pupils his influence was even felt throughout the second half of the 19th century. His most important work with van der Nüll was the Vienna State Opera (1861-1869).

Further works: Vienna: Carltheater, 1847 (destroyed 1944-1951); design of the interior of Altlerchenfelder Church, 1849-1861; headquarters and barracks of the Arsenal military complex, 1849-1856; Robert-Hof, 1855; Larisch-Moennich Palace, 1868; Haas-Haus, 1868 (destroyed 1945-1951); pedestals of the monuments to Archduke Karl and Prince Eugène. - villas, various designs (cover of the prayer book of Empress Elisabeth, O'Donnell coat of arms).

Literature: H.-C. Hoffmann, W. Kitlitschka and W. Krause, Das Wiener Opernhaus, 1972.
*********************


The only citations I have found so far indicate that he died of a heart attack shortly after van der Null committed suicide. But I'm still looking for more detail on Franz Joseph's problems with the design. Some of the articles I found said that the populace didn't like the building, among the first to be built on the Ringstrasse after the Emperor took down the wall (which occupied the path of the road) and started expanding the city.

J

[carlmm]

According to (http://www.stadtbibliothek.wien.at/cgi-ma09/embed-wo.pl?lang=-de&l=3&doc=http://www.stadtbibliothek.wien.at/bibliothek/erwerb/2003/sicardsburg-de.htm) Sicard von Sicardsburg died from tubercolosis. This is the page of the Vienna public library which holds many documents about the life and from the hand of Sicard von Sicardsburg.
Other sources like http://www.wien-konkret.at/kultur/sehenswuerdigkeiten-wien/staatsoper-wien/ speak of a heartattack.

According to http://www.museumonline.at/1996/schulen/pinka/arch.htm the opera was criticised for being a mismatch of styles "gotic, classicism, renaissance - all in one/all the same". During the construction of the opera the level of the Ringstraße, the street in front of the opera, was raised by a meter, which led to further mock as "immersed or lost box".

After the death of the architects the Emperor honored them by ordering to place their images over the main staircase.

[jgnova]

carlmm,

Thank you - this makes much more sense than the other stuff I heard and read. Somehow, tuberculosis sounds more appropriate for the era than a heart attack, which is more typical of a recent tourist legend.

And complaints about mixed styles also sounds more realistic than shallow stairs.

I was afraid I'd have to learn German (starting from zero) and spend weeks in a Vienna library researching this. I can think of more interesting ways to spend any time I'd have there than in a library. :)

J

[M&T]

jgnova: I wanted to thank you for your wonderful review. I printed a good deal of it. Saturday, my husband and I sat in our sun room and took turns reading it to each other while the rain fell. It was a delightful morning. We loved your style and humor and information. Thanks again. Marlyne

[mg93901]

jgnova,

I am one of this year's First Prize winners! FedEx came ringing yesterday. I don't really remember entering the contest, so I was a little skeptical. I thought maybe it was a marketing ploy of some kind.

Great to have found your thread.

The sweepstakes' terms and conditions state "any cruise", but the cover letter Deilmann sent says the MS Deutschland. I'm wondering if you remember a discrepancy with yours. I've never river cruised, so would possibly be interested in trying something new.

Thanks for any info.

M

[steamboats]

M,

Check your papers what you´ve won! The MS DEUTSCHLAND is no river cruise ship but Deilmann´s ocean cruise ship. It´s also a 5 star ship and regarded as the best on the German and European market. Deilmann is using the MS DEUTSCHLAND on all their letters and documents (and else like our umbrellas and the pens in our MS MOZART cabin said "MS DEUTSCHLAND"). The MS DEUTSCHLAND is the boat used in the German version of "Love Boat".

steamboats

[mg93901]

... regarded as the best on the German and European market.

Well, okay... you've talked me into it! :D Thank you for filling me in on how revered the MS Deutschland is. I had no idea. A river cruise fits into my budget better, but I won't pass on the fantastic MS D opportunity!

[jgnova]

Wow. You read the letter again and it really says you won credit toward a cruise on the Deutschland??? Not on a river cruise??? Wow, that would be fantastic. Although I do understand about the budget issue, especially when you add in all the extras you end up acquiring to take your cruise. Call their US Office (there's an 800 number on your letter and the brochure) and talk to them about it.
S

[mg93901]

Yes, it specifically says "MS Deutschland". Did your letter say "river cruise"?

I went through the beautiful catalog they sent and highlighted the sub-$5k sailings and those that include free air from NYC. Combined, I have 15 itineraries to choose from.

I made a quick call to VA on Friday afternoon to inquire about the single rates. Now that I've got this narrowed down, I'll give another call soon.

I need to find a Notary Public first! :eek: :D

[steamboats]

M,

Here´s an older review about the MS Deutschland by an American

http://www.cupcaked.com/reviews/deutsch.html

Unfortunately the Deilmann sweepstakes is only for US citizens :( . So I can´t take part in it.

steamboats

[ILuvCruisin']

Hi J and S:

Just started reading but am enjoying it tremendously.

Ms. Lillie

[mg93901]

M,

Here´s an older review about the MS Deutschland by an American

http://www.cupcaked.com/reviews/deutsch.html

Unfortunately the Deilmann sweepstakes is only for US citizens :( . So I can´t take part in it.

steamboats Thank you, steamboats! I still can't decide which itinerary to choose.

[AWED23]

Peter Deilmann MV Mozart cruise on the Danube April 2-9, 2006
Part VIB:

This is an addendum to posting VI in which I discussed some routine prep items but forgot to mention 2 critical items.

Money:

Many people on these boards have asked what to do about money when traveling to Europe. The bad news is: you’ll need it; the good news: it’s not too difficult to handle, especially on this cruise. I wanted to have some Euros jingling (or rustling) in my pocket and checked my local AAA office. They sold currency packs, but their exchange rate was high by over 10% so I decided that was too much to pay. Checked my bank – no problem – but there’s a $15 service fee. As I wanted only a couple hundred dollars for tips en route, that jacked up the exchange rate. We decided to wait until we landed and find a machine – and there was a machine conveniently located within a few steps of exiting immigration in Munich. The exchange rate was honest and the only fee was from my credit union account. The commercial bank did not charge a fee. We also were able to get Euros easily at other ATMs in Munich and elsewhere. So that’s the way to handle money in Euro countries.

A few words of advice: Call your bank and credit card companies before leaving the US as most will automatically block non-domestic transactions. The ATMs in Europe did not give receipts, just money. And the ATMs pop up a window from which you can choose your language – the pictures of the button(s) to push don’t always match the text on the button – but the colors were correct.

Insurance:

We decided to buy the insurance from Deilmann as it was fairly reasonable and included trip cancellation for most reasons. We purchased medical and evacuation insurance (along with luggage loss) from Medex as their policies also seemed reasonably priced and had the medical coverage we wanted. Can’t vouch for the claims handling for either (thank you!).

Next posting:

Day 0: Is it time to leave for the airport yet?

JEnjoying your report a great deal !...I would mention to all that I believe the best way to obtain local currency is through the usage of ATM machines. BUT...USE A DEBIT CARD not a charge card....Big difference in fees...I have found ATMs all over the world.

[jim02]

We are seriously considering the music cruise Oct. 8. I need ALL the information and suggestions I can get - look forward to your advice.

[jgnova]

Jim:

If you read J's review here, you probably got everything we can think of. I also posted a short note just after we got back, which you can find here:
http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=330583.

Overall, as you can tell, we loved the cruise, enjoyed the Peter Deilmann experience, would do it again in a split second of thinking time! :D

If there are any specific questions you have that aren't answered in our reviews and notes or in Steamboats' postings (her review of the week before ours is linked in her sig), let us know. There's also a very nicely done review of a week on Mozart by aagra both here in river cruises and in the cruisecritic reviews section -- they went a few weeks after we did. For more info on the cruise line, you might also want to read the review from nyfeds of their recent Peter Deilmann cruise in France.

By the way, if you haven't already booked, you may find bookings rather hard to get. We were told that these cruises sell out fairly quickly.

S