There was something to write about yesterday…who knew?

by | Dec 11, 2023 | Photography

 

I fully realize that yesterday’s post said I would not be back for a couple of days because we would be “taking a sea day” on the river. For those of you non-cruisers, that means we didn’t go on an excursion, and I really thought we would not get off the ship. I also thought I had nothing I wanted to write about. But I was wrong!

It turns out we (Steve and I) did get off the ship, and it turns out we did find some interesting stuff to take photos of, and it turns out I thought of some other things to write about. So here we are.

Let’s start today with the photo at the top of the post. That’s a panoramic photo I took from our verandah from where the ship was moored yesterday in Engelhartszell an der Donau, Austria. I have been told that “an der Donau” is German for on the Danube. So this is Engelhartszell on the Danube. We let the general population of fellow travelers head off to Passau and Salzburg, and we stayed behind to do…nothing. When the buses first left, and we were four of about 20 that stayed behind, it was raining pretty heavily. Soon enough, the sun came out (as you can see in the photo), and Steve and I decided to take a short walk in the village. The village itself wasn’t much, but there were photos to be taken and a lovely church that was quite interesting. I will let the photos tell the story of this little village. Don’t forget; if you click the first shot, you can then scroll through with your arrow keys or by swiping…and PLEASE…don’t look at my photography on a phone. Please…

I did a little further research on the church because we were truly shocked to find such a magnificent church in such a small village. It turns out there has been a church on that site (either as a church or as a monastery) since 1045. It has gone through many great changes to become the building it is today. If you don’t mind doing translation by the paragraph, you can read about it by clicking here.

That was about it for yesterday, but I do want to address some other general topics about this cruise.

Am I really that negative?

First, I am not understanding some of the comments I have been getting. Am I making this trip sound that bad, or is everyone (including me) just focusing on things that are bugging me? This started from the very beginning when someone said, “Thanks, I will try to avoid Delta Airlines in the future.” I went back and read what I had written about Delta Airlines, and I said I thought that the flight was very good.  Here is what I originally wrote about the flight:

We are on an older plane (in this case, it turns out that’s a good thing as the newer ones have harder seats), and the food was pretty darn good. The service was excellent, and I am actually looking forward to going home on their service from here in Paris to Seattle.

Does that sound bad? Does it sound like I didn’t like the flight on Delta?

Yes, there have been times that have been a challenge. Yes, in Munich, we had to sit around for three hours while others shopped. But that’s the point…others really were shopping. We just aren’t into that.

Yes, the weather has been sucky. But who doesn’t complain about the weather? We chose to take the cruise in the winter.

Yes, the Christmas Markets are boring and have the same stuff. But I fully admit to being the person who fell for the marketing of those same Christmas Markets. The photos on Viking’s website look awesome. And the same is true for every other river cruise company—the photos make it look like everyone is having a great time. And they might be. I had different expectations. And those were in my head. I, in no way, blame Viking for any discomfort I may be experiencing on this trip. Well, it would have been nice if they had let us sit on a warm bus in Munich. I would have happily read a book or played games on my phone for three hours while others shopped and partied if I could have been someplace warm and comfortable and the “luxury motor coach” could have been that place.

But other than that, Viking has done a great job. We have a Program Director from Wales who is an amazing woman. Can you imagine having a job where the level of a river dictates what you will be doing the next day and where you will be doing it? Talk about a logistical nightmare. Our program director, Debra, went to bed on the first night of the cruise thinking she would wake up the next morning in one place, and all the prep she had done (like getting buses and arranging walking tours) would be taken care of. In the middle of the night, the ship (due to the weather) went to another place entirely, and all of a sudden, she had to find a way to get ground transportation for 180 people back to the place we were supposed to have docked. And this can happen to her every single day. YIKES! I honestly don’t know how she does it.

I think that any complaints I have had on this entire trip have had to do with my expectations. We have been planning this trip for so long (remember, we bought it in 2018, and we were canceled in 2020 and 2021) that the idea of being in Europe at Christmas really appealed to me. And if I were a shopper and a partier, I would LOVE every single second of this cruise. Every trip you take is all about expectations.

Maybe part of it is the river cruise industry’s marketing. Yesterday afternoon, we were in our cabin, and I turned on the TV to watch Downton Abbey (you can watch every episode of Downton Abbey on every Viking ship). I told Kathleen if they were really great at customer service when I went to watch it, it would restart from the same episode we stopped watching on our 2022 Med cruise ?. Now that would be something!

If you watch much PBS television (we do), you know that before most of their programs, there is a little ad for Viking. Usually, it shows the river ship sailing through these idyllic valleys with castles around every turn. Those views are what I was expecting. But if I really think about it, I can never get those views unless I am in a low-flying airplane or take a photo with a drone.

Let me tell you something great that happened yesterday. Our thermostat didn’t seem to be working. We like it cooler at night, and it seemed stuck at 72 (22C). We asked our stateroom attendant to show us how to use it, thinking it was a user error. She checked it and then called the maintenance guy, who arrived in minutes. He checked it and asked us when we would be out of the stateroom for about 30 minutes. We said we hadn’t planned on going anywhere but to cocktail hour at 6:00. He said, “No problem! I will be back at 6:00.” Sure enough, we went to cocktails, and when I came back to the stateroom between dinner and drinks to use the facilities, it was working like a charm. He had pulled a panel out of the ceiling, done some work, and fixed it for us in less than half an hour. Amazing.

I also need to mention that the beds are great. On our Viking Ocean cruise, I found them way too hard. On this cruise, I pre-ordered a mattress topper, and I have slept great every night.

Have I mentioned the food? It has been marvelous. And there is too much of it. I want to try it all. Great breakfast, lunch and dinner. Last night was a German-themed meal, and the entire service crew dressed up in their best traditional German costumes. I will write more about the food later on the trip.

I have to go now. Kathleen just texted me that she is up and in the shower (we don’t have breakfast today—it’s brunch and it doesn’t start until 8:00 am), and then there is the scenic cruising, and I will want to be out taking photos. Tonight we sleep in Vienna. And before that, we have a concert in a Vienna theater—Strauss and Mozart. Full report tomorrow—I hope.

When you have expectations, you are setting yourself up for disappointment.  —Ryan Reynolds

Trains, “Luxury Motor Coaches” and Boats

by | Dec 9, 2023 | Photography

We are finally onboard our Viking Longship, the Gullveig. Yesterday was kind of a little bit of everything day. We woke up in Nuremberg, had breakfast, I went across the street to one of the largest train stations in Europe to take some pictures (below), and then at noon, we boarded a “luxury motor coach” (which really was very nice) and headed to Regensburg, Germany to board the ship.

Here are the photos I took before we left Nuremberg. Don’t forget; if you click the first shot, you can then scroll through with your arrow keys or by swiping…and PLEASE…don’t look at my photography on a phone. Please…

 

I need to take a second here to thank someone. When you do a pre or post-extension, you have a tour coordinator who is with you the entire time. That person just takes care of you. They know the schedules; they tell you when and where you need to be; they schedule buses and organize tours, and so much more. They even wind up loading luggage. Being a tour coordinator is all about logistics. And ours was amazing. Our tour coordinator was Victoria, and she always had a smile on her face. One of the nicest and, for sure, the most organized person I may have ever met. We just want to thank her here for taking such good care of us.

We arrived in Regensburg around 2:15 and were met by our Hotel Director, JP (that’s what he told us to call him because his name is amazingly hard to say) and his wonderful staff. This being our first river cruise, we were kind of expecting that embarkation would be easier than an ocean cruise, but we never knew how much easier it would be. In the space of 10 minutes, they got us off the “luxury motor coach” and onto the ship, looked at our passports, had a crew member escort us to our room, and we went up to lunch. We could have done it in five if we hadn’t chatted so long with Natalia, who took us to our room.

The chef and his staff had prepared a “light lunch” for everyone. We were not impressed. It was sad that this would be our initiation to Viking food. Lunch was just OK. Not a lot of food. There were salads, but the empty bowls were not being refilled when 30% of the incoming guests had not had lunch yet. The food was fine but not really that great. There was a broth with very little in it, half a Rueben sandwich that was grilled but sitting out so long it was cold, and that was about it. I am happy to say that dinner was much better.

After lunch, we went back and unpacked in our stateroom. If this trip has made one thing perfectly clear to us, it is this: WE HATE LIVING OUT OF SUITCASES. This might just be the biggest reason we cruise. We like getting someplace and unpacking, and that’s our home. And it moves every day. It was so wonderful to be able to put things away. And what really amazed us is the amount of storage in our fairly small stateroom. We put all our clothes away and still had empty drawers.

Speaking of the room, it is incredibly well-designed. It is (I am sure) smaller than the room we were in last night in Nuremberg, but it is so well-designed it actually feels bigger. The lighter colors help as well. Here are some pics of stateroom 213, our home for the next week.

After our little lunch and unpacking, there was a short, free, guided walk around the old parts of the city by a guide named Hubert Koenig. He was under the impression that he was not only a guide but a comedian and Olympic sprinter as well. He made the worst (and in some cases very sexist) jokes about everything, and as soon as he would tell one, he would race off, leaving most of this group behind—the EXACT opposite of all the guides we had had in Nuremberg and Prague.

He also just walked us to the middle of the city and left us. That was fine for me, but others got totally lost and ended up taking some strange and mysterious routes back to the ship. And the spot he left us was right next to a department store. If he had walked us up a half of a block, we could have seen one of Regensburg’s Christmas Markets (which I am glad that I found). Here’s the photos I took following this “wonderful man” around Regensburg.

After getting back to the ship, we had a wonderful dinner (the food was excellent for dinner, and there was just enough of it). All the tables in the dining room are for groups of six or eight, so you always have someone to have dinner with. We were joined by Carol from New Hampshire who is cruising alone after losing her husband since they purchased the cruise. She is a hoot. We look forward to sharing more meals with her in the coming week. Our server took a photo for us, and at the last minute, the head chef stuck his head in as well.

After dinner, we were off to bed as we had a full-day excursion into Munich tomorrow. The ship was scheduled to stay in Regensburg overnight, but changing river levels forced them to move us down the river during the night, and we are now south of Regensburg. Excursions to Regensburg will still go on, but they will have to be bused back to Regensburg. Right now they are scrambling to bus folks back that way. I will see you tomorrow with a report on Munich.

You’re thinking of Europe as Germany and France. I don’t. I think that’s old Europe.  —Donald Rumsfeld

Let’s look at Vista: Decks 5 & 6

by | Oct 15, 2023 | Food Experiences, Photography

We are home, and I am sitting in our living room after a very late flight, a good ride home with Century Car Service of Seattle and a fairly decent night of sleep. So, as promised, I am bringing you (between taking a walk, helping Kathleen with loads of laundry and sorting through our mail) my virtual tour of Vista with my comments on the different parts of the ship.

Going up! Let’s start on Deck 5

Unlike any ship we have ever been on before, Vista started with public decks on deck five (there is the infirmary on four). Most ships start at two, three or at least four, but Vista starts on five. And only about half of deck five, is open to passengers. Starting from the very front, there’s the Vista Lounge, Vista’s main showroom. I would love to say that I saw a bunch of shows there, but sadly I didn’t. If you want to read about the shows, make sure and check out my buddy Mike’s review in a few weeks. He saw them all. I saw one—a hilarious comedian—Cory Kahaney. We had seen her on an old show called Last Comic Standing and truly enjoyed her, so I joined Mike and Cathy at the show.

BTW: The reason I don’t attend shows is not because we don’t like shows. It used to be (on Celebrity) that we stopped going to shows because we had seen them all after so many cruises on the same line. We stopped going because, in case you can’t tell from the description on my photos, I get up REALLY early to take photos and to write posts REALLY early, like 4:30 a.m. (See what I give up for you my readers ?) So, by the time it rolls around to show time (usually 9:15 or 9:30), I am out of it. Cory’s performance was hilarious, and I really wanted to go back when she did her second show a few days later; I was wiped out and had to skip it. I should also say that I did attend some of the lectures by our two excellent enrichment speakers held in this lounge.

The Vista Lounge is a nice theater, but it needs more height. If you are at all of a diminutive stature (short ?) then you will be moving your head from side to side to see anyone on the stage. Part of this is due to Vista’s size. On most cruise ships, the theater is much larger, but on Vista, they don’t need the large number of seats that a 6,000-passenger ship needs. There is nothing that can be done about it, but this is just a heads-up. Here are some pics. For all of these shots, feel free to look at them on your phone. Nothing artsy here. Don’t forget; if you click the first shot, you can then scroll through with your arrow keys or by swiping.

Shops and Customer Service

Also, on Deck 5, you will find the Oceania Shops and a reception desk, a concierge desk and a Destinations desk (shore excursions) midships. Not being a big shopper, we walked through these once, just for me to get photos. And I only had to visit the reception desk once. And I almost forgot, these shops and desks are placed all around the grand staircase in the Atrium, where there is a beautiful glass sculpture. Here are some pics.

Two specialty restaurants

I am going to review the dinners we had at these two restaurants in an upcoming post on food. But I did want to show them to you. Vista has four such restaurants, and deck four has Red Ginger (Asian food) and a new restaurant to the Oceania fleet—Ember. (We heard it referred to as this shipboard version of Applebees.) Either way, here are some pics.

Going to Deck Six—climb the stairs–the elevators suck

Before I go on to Deck Six, I want to take a moment to talk about the elevators. There aren’t enough, the ones they have aren’t big enough, and many of the people on them are beyond rude.

First, let me say that other than walking on with carry-on luggage at embarkation, I NEVER take an elevator on a cruise. But Kathleen does, and she encountered so many problems she reminded me that I had to mention them.

First, there are only two elevator banks on Vista. One aft (nearest our stateroom) with two full-size elevators and the other at midships with four elevators. Of those four, two are full-size elevators, and two are small, oddly shaped glass elevators that hold fewer people. Just about every day, at times when people would be moving around (usually meals or before shows), those elevators were slammed. Going to lunch in the Aquamar Cafe on Deck 12, I would leave her at deck nine and climb the stairs. Many, MANY times, I would climb the stairs to deck 12 and have to stand and wait for 5-10 minutes for her to arrive. It was even worse at the dinner or cocktail hour. It got REALLY horrible when one of the elevators would go down. This is ridiculous on a six-month-old ship. By now, they should have fixed any problems and they can’t chalk it up to the ship being old.

At disembarkation, I had to carry my carry-on and my 35lb computer/camera down a flight of stairs because one of the aft elevators was out…during disembarkation—when people are trying to get down to get off—are you kidding me? Every floor had at least six to eight people waiting to get on an elevator. And many of these people were elderly or handicapped.

Deck 6—you got here—let’s eat and drink.

Deck 5 had started at the bow and went back to the Atrium. Deck six starts at the Atrium and goes to the stern. Basically, decks five and six are one deck. This is because the theater on deck five needs more space above the theater, and when you enter the Great Dining Room (GDR) at the stern, you walk down into the room. That gives the GDR some very nice high ceilings.

Starting from the Atrium, you have the Oceania Club (people who have sailed with Oceania before) and future cruise sales. This sits right above the Atrium. If you are interested in purchasing a future cruise, please keep in mind that there are only two reps selling them (they give you GREAT incentives for booking on board), and that means a lot of waiting. They also have limited hours because they have so much paperwork, so be cognizant of that when you are planning your time. Sea days are the worst—big lines.

Moving aft, you run into Martinis, a very nice lounge—especially early in the morning—this is where I did most of my writing and photo processing between 4:30 and 7:00 a.m. We only went there for drinks once or twice because of the live music they play that makes conversation almost impossible. Otherwise, it is a very nice lounge. Here are some pics.

Further on beyond Martinis is a long hallway with a beautiful floor that runs on the outside of the casino. We are not casino people, so the only time we walked through was when I was taking photos. I did walk by a few times when it was open, and since the wall between the hallway and the casino is glass, I could tell that things were hopping and people seemed to be really enjoying themselves.

Further down that hallway, you walk into the Grand Lounge, which is really just a long, wide room leading to the Grand Dining Room, where they serve you drinks prior to dinner. It is also where the wonderful classical string quartet plays every night. We had cocktails here a few times (which were great), but this, too, was not a place where we could converse. The quartet were excellent musicians, and the people who were there to hear them deserved to be able to hear them and not us talking, so we continued to search for a place where we could have a nice cocktail and talk.

On the other side of the ship from the Grand Lounge, in a much smaller space (with a VERY low ceiling, as my brother found out), is the Founder’s Bar. This was the place for truly special cocktails. The kind that cost a bunch but are often smoky (with real smoke). But this one didn’t work for us because there were only tables for two. It’s a kind of an out-of-the-way bar, and their main job is providing the cocktails for the Grand Lounge.

And lastly, at the stern is the aforementioned Grand Dining Room. This room is drop-dead beautiful. It is everything I like in a dining room, lots of space but divided into smaller spaces. It reminded me of a nice restaurant instead of a banquet hall. My only quibble with the design was that the only two tables we ever had dinner at were in the corners with no windows. When I go on a cruise, I want to see the ocean. More about this in my final round-up but I will say that this dining room is beautiful. Here’s my final set of pics for this page.

 

Whew! NYC wore me out…but it was GREAT!

by | Oct 11, 2023 | Photography

So much to tell you. I hope I get this done before I have to go upstairs to do laundry (If I’m not the first person there on a sea day, I will never get it done.)

So, to go back what is now three days, there will be no report on Martha’s Vineyard. After a fairly bumpy ride on Saturday night, the Captain made the decision that the seas were too rough and the swells too high to use the tenders safely, so we skipped the Vineyard and floated around out at sea for most of a day. But that worked out as early Monday morning, we sailed under the Verrazano Narrows Bridge into New York Harbor. We got incredibly lucky with the weather for both of our days in NYC. From the sail-in until the sail-away, we had either sunny or partly cloudy skies. Temps in the 50s and 60s, so I was loving it.

Day 1—we sail in

My day started at 4:45 a.m. when I headed up to the Horizons lounge at the front of the ship to watch the city get closer. Then, around 5:45, we sailed under the aforementioned VN Bridge, past Lady Liberty and all the way up the Hudson to Pier 88. We arrived at around 8:00 a.m., and the captain made what I thought was a miracle turn into our berth… I came back in from shooting photos to warm up. Even though the temps weren’t that bad, the wind on the deck made it feel a whole lot colder. But I got some great pics, and here they are. Don’t forget; if you click the first shot, you can then scroll through with your arrow keys or by swiping…and PLEASE…don’t look at my photography on a phone. Please…

Day 1–The Whitney and a High Line walk back

After a quick breakfast, the entire group (minus one who was still not fully recovered) set out to the Whitney Museum of American Art. We had pre-purchased tickets to see their collection. We had planned this because we were on the East Side of Manhattan, and the gigantic Columbus Day parade was on the West Side. We would head that way tomorrow. The main reason I wanted to go to The Whitney was that they have the largest collection of paintings by my favorite American artist, Edward Hopper. Sadly, not a lot of them are displayed (BOOH!). But we still enjoyed our two-hour visit. Then we walked across the street to see The Little Island up close and personal.

The Little Island. Taken from the outdoor viewing area of The Whitney Museum

The Little Island is one of the newest parts of the waterfront. It is entirely man-made and very reminiscent of the Gaudi architecture in Barcelona. The entire island sits on what looks like flowers coming out of the water, but once on the island, you would never know it. We walked all over the island. There’s an amphitheater, food stands and some incredible views up and down the Hudson. You will see them in a few minutes when I get to the midday slide show.

After our visit to the Little Island, we grabbed a quick bite of pizza in front of the Whitney, and Kathleen, Mike and Cathy took an Uber back to the ship while Steve and Jamie did a little shopping, and I set off to walk back to the ship via the High Line. If you are not familiar with the High Line, it is an elevated platform that runs from just outside the doors of the Whitney up Manhattan’s west side to just about where Vista was berthed. It used to be an old elevated railway but is now a beautiful pedestrian walkway.

I had previously walked the High Line on our last trip to NYC in 2018, but that was before sunrise when it was empty. This time was midday, and it was jam-packed with people out for a holiday (Columbus Day—which is still celebrated in NYC) stroll. As I walked north towards the ship, I shot a bunch of pics…and here they are. You know the drill. Don’t forget; if you click the first shot, you can then scroll through with your arrow keys or by swiping…and PLEASE…don’t look at my photography on a phone. Please…

Our evening—sorry, no pics

After I got back and gave my legs a rest, we all met up at 4:15 to go to dinner at Kellari Taverna. Kathleen and I had eaten there on our honeymoon in 1999. We loved it then, but not so much now. Their menu had gone from traditional Greek to pretty much seafood, and we had all come with dreams of a great Greek feast. The only truly Greek dish on their menu was mousaka, but it was a vegan dish (are you kidding me???). They did have a tasty octopus that I liked and a nice Greek salad. At least their baklava was excellent.

Almost forgot to explain why we were going to dinner so early—we had tickets to a Broadway show! Come on, you can’t come to NYC without seeing a Broadway show. When we booked the cruise, one of the highlights was this overnight stay in New York. But one big problem—most Broadway shows are dark on Monday nights, and we were there…on Monday night. But thankfully, a few still run, and we were lucky enough to snag tickets to Six. If you have not heard of Six, it is the story of the six wives of Henry the Eighth. I know, sounds boring, right? But what a high-powered, amazing musical that turned out to be all about feminine empowerment. Each of the wives sang in the style of two of our current pop stars—for instance, Catherine of Aragon sang in the style of Beyonce and Shakira. And she and the rest of the Six could sing. Grab the cast album from your favorite streaming site and have a listen—an uplifting and energizing show. It is on a national tour currently, so if you get a chance, go see it. You won’t be sorry—we weren’t. By the time we were done with Six, we were exhausted, and it was back to the ship and bed. I needed to be up for Day 2’s predawn photo walk. More about that in my next post.

“I would give the greatest sunset in the world for one sight of New York’s skyline.”    —Ayn Rand

 

Please Stay Tuned…NYC got in the way

by | Oct 9, 2023 | Photography

Taken very early today as we sailed by.

Good morning, all! Just a quick note: your favorite travel blogger will return in a few days. I usually write in the mornings before dawn, but today, I took this photo (and a lot of others) as we sailed into NYC. We will be here until late tomorrow night, so I will be using tomorrow morning for a long walk on the Highline before the sun comes up. Thankfully, we have a sea day after we leave here so that I can catch up. Until then…stand by.