by Jim Bellomo | Dec 14, 2023 | Photography
Vienna, Austria, is known as the city of music…and a few other things. When we first arrived here, I thought they should name it the City of Fog. As you can see from my photo above, upon arrival in Vienna, it was shrouded in clouds. But that was OK; we were on vacation, and at least it wasn’t raining, and there was no snow or ice, so after breakfast, we were off on our “included” Viking overview of Vienna.
Viking gives you one excursion per port as part of your cruise fare. I kind of find it funny that they usually call that excursion “panoramic” something (insert name of where you are. here). I keep trying to figure out how driving to someplace, getting out and walking for two hours is “panoramic.” But today’s was a little different as our “luxury motor coach” took us on a drive, not only into the city but around Vienna’s Ring Road, which pretty much encircles all the places you want to see. I should note here that in Vienna, you do not dock anywhere near the center of the city (unlike many of the places we have visited so far). The river itself is about a one-hour walk from the old town section of the city. So a ride on a “luxury motor coach” is a must.
After we drove around the entire Ring Road (which runs the exact route that the old city wall used to be built on), seeing all the incredible Hapsburg Empire buildings, you stop and get out with your guide, and you are off on a walk into the center of the old town to see St. Stephen’s Cathedral. Well, the outside of the cathedral, anyway. It is interesting to me that Viking’s included tours always seem to take you to a cathedral or church but never into it. You are left to return and go inside if you want to. That’s OK as I have my buddy Mike’s pictures of the inside of every church in Europe (or maybe the world) to look at. For instance, if you would like to see what the inside of St. Stephen’s looks like, click here to see it on Mike’s website. His pictures are gorgeous. We had 30 minutes of free time, and that was not enough to get to the restrooms, buy a souvenir and take pictures of the outside of the cathedral. If we wanted to see the rest, we would have to come back later. And if you read yesterday’s post about my feelings on the opulence of churches, you know that going inside was not high on my list of things I “have to see.”
After walking the square around the cathedral, we were walked back to the bus (Kathleen and I were taking the “easy” tour) and we drove to…a Christmas Market! Oh boy! I will say that this one was much nicer than any we had seen before—more homemade crafts, better-looking food, etc. But it was still the same thing. So far, we have been to eight Christmas Markets, and we have not spent a cent in any of them—just nothing we want or need. We kind of made a vow that after cleaning out the houses of deceased parents, we would continue to get rid of things rather than add new ones. (At this point, a little voice in my head is saying, “Shut up Jim…you are the one who took a Christmas Market cruise.”)
After an hour at the Christmas Market (where I walked around, but Kathleen was able to keep warm on the bus), we headed out of the fog-shrouded city back to the ship for lunch before we were to embark on our afternoon tour of “festive Schönbrunn Palace.”
Of course, I took some photos while we were walking around the old city so 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…
The first building our guide pointed out after we got off the bus—a Greek Orthodox church.
There is an obligatory stupid joke here but I will skip it. Vienna decorated for Christmas.
Another cool building with a statue in front of it. Used to be a home, now it’s a law firm.
St. Stephan’s Cathedral.
From every angle I can take it from.
Close ups…
Showing the dirt…
And the gold…
And the very modern building directly across the square (who approved this?).
Enough buildings. This was the perfect place for some street photography.
So I started snapping…
I have friends who love these kind of shot when I post them on my daily Instagram and FB posts.
So I shot a bunch.
There were lots of interesting…
…and animated people like this guy…
…who was really excited.
Even horses are part of the street.
These guys were eye catching…
But nothing like Mr. Good Looking in his costume selling concert tickets.Probably a scam.
This is my winner. Can you imagine a better looking, better dressed couple? I can’t.
The Christmas Market was held in Maria Theresa Square.
They had some amazing buildings and the square was built to be perfectly symmetric.
This enormous statue sits in the middle of it…
With this exact copy of the other building on the other side.
Our afternoon tour was at Schönbrunn Palace. This was the summer home of the Hapsburgs and (probably) another wonderfully opulent place to visit. Kathleen decided to stay on the ship and read while Steve, Jamie and I went to the Palace. I had almost convinced myself that I would stay behind as well, but Kathleen said I should go because I might find something cool to take pictures of. So the three of us boarded our “luxury motor coach,” and off we went.
Our guide started the tour as we drove away from the ship with three rules for the Schönbrunn Palace. I don’t remember what the first two were, but when he got to the third one, I got off the bus. Seriously, when he said, “No Photography is Allowed,” I asked if I had heard him correctly, and he said yes, so I asked the driver to pull over, and I got off the bus. I am sure the other people on board thought I was a total nut job, but Kathleen had talked me into going because I might grab a great photo or two, so if I can’t take pictures, why go?
You probably think I am nuts as well, considering this is an optional excursion and, therefore, an excursion that we chose to go on and paid additional money to take, and here I was, just giving up a $149 excursion because I couldn’t take pictures. And Kathleen had skipped it as well so we were out almost $300. But we weren’t, and we really didn’t choose this excursion. You may remember that back when I started this trip, I mentioned that this was a trip that we had planned and paid for in 2018 to take in 2020 and then got canceled because of COVID. Well, Viking offered us either our money back or 125% of our cruise fare to use on another cruise in the future. That’s kind of how most of the cruise lines survived. Enough people were willing to do that, and we were two of them (actually four of them).
But there was a catch to their 125% offer. You had to use it all on one cruise. You could not use part of it on one cruise and the rest of it on another. You also had to spend it just on the cruise itself. It did not convert to onboard credit that you could spend along the way. Any part of it that you didn’t spend before the ship left the first port reverted back to Viking. This meant that we had a lot of extra money to book optional shore excursions. Shore excursions we would not have taken it without having that extra 25%. In fact, I just checked, and the only optional shore excursion we booked on the original cruise was a visit to the Spanish Riding School here in Vienna to see the incredible Lippanzer Stallions (more about that tomorrow because we saw them yesterday). So, any shore excursion we walked away from was not really costing us money.
At this point, I am off the bus and walking back to the ship. Thankfully, the bus had just been getting out of the riverside area, so I didn’t have far to walk. Once I got back, I decided what I really needed was to take a long and FAST walk. When you tour, you walk slowly, stop and look at things, and then you walk slowly again. You might take two hours to walk a little more than a mile. At home, I walk somewhere between five and seven miles a day for exercise, and I walk them at a 16-minute-per-mile pace. So, really, I have gotten no real exercise for a week, and at that point, I didn’t realize how it was affecting me. When we do ocean cruises, I always find time to do at least a four-mile walk onboard the ship on sea days.
I know all of you have heard of endorphins. You know, the chemicals that your body produces when you exercise that can produce an “analgesic effect.” At home, I get those all the time, and it certainly improves my mood by about a thousand percent. But this week, I have gotten none of them, so part of my lethargy and tiredness comes from having done a lot less exercise than I usually do. I should add that it has also been the reason my clothes are getting tighter by the day (Viking’s food has been outstanding). So I changed into my sweats, and I was off for a quick four-mile photo walk (I never walk while traveling without my camera) and sure enough, I was right to have taken it along because I got some photos I truly like. You can see them below. Sorry, no churches, cathedrals, government buildings or Christmas decorations of any kind. Just some photography that I can experiment with and some wildlife that I encountered. 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…
First thing I found was a swan…
…then a lot of swans.
A WHOLE BUNCH OF SWANS
I hope you like swans.
I know I do.
I am under the belief that they are so graceful…
And beautiful…
And photogenic…
That I can’t stop taking photos of them.
This is my favorite. How did that duck get in there?
And there were bunnies. Everywhere.
And a big church across the road.
As well as this very modern apartment building a block away.
And some really big buildings on the other side of the Danube.
I also wanted to experiment a little with black and white. I hardly ever shoot with the intention of creating black-and-white shots as the final product. But on this day, with the flat sky and the fog, I thought it might work. So here’s my study of the banks of the Danube in black and white. If you aren’t a fan of “artsy” photography, you can skip this slide show. 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…
Lady on the shore with bridge.
Two women walking.
Woman walking
Woman walking closer
This isn’t a duplicate, it had arches at both ends.
totally falling apart…
…it was sad because it was probably something…
…in its heyday.
I found an old restaurant in disrepair…
I think that about covers the day. When I got back from my walk, we changed for drinks and dinner, and then it was back to the stateroom for bed before our second day in Vienna. See you tomorrow.
Vienna is a handsome, lively city, and pleases me exceedingly.
—Frederic Chopin
by Jim Bellomo | 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…
Until today I had not taken a decent shot of Viking Gulveig so here we are all tied up at the dock.
This is the village church. Looks pretty outside.
But inside it knocks your socks off. We never expected this.
Above the altar was the traditional ceiling art.
The organ was magnificent.
But above the main part of the church was MODERN ART???
The church had four complete relics.
I have tried to find out who these are but only one had a name.
But the interior was magnificent for such a small village.
Even the pews were hand carved.
It was quite the surprise to find this church in such a small village.
The view from the front.
And down the river. We got a great break from the rain which started again in about an hour.
The Gullveig from the front.
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
by Jim Bellomo | Dec 7, 2023 | Photography
Goodbye Lisboa, Hello Prague
When I last wrote any real content, we were still in Portugal. As I mentioned briefly yesterday, the day of our flight from Lisbon to Prague was pretty uneventful. We had breakfast at the hotel, hung out in our room until 10:45, got picked up by our driver from Welcome Pickups right on time at 11:00, and we were off to the airport. Other than a long line at security, everything went pretty smoothly.
Three hours later, we arrived in Prague. It was there that we were meeting my brother Steve and my sister-in-law Jamie, who we would travel with for the rest of the trip. They were supposed to have gotten in much earlier than us, as they were coming from LAX on KLM. Originally, they were scheduled for about a two-hour layover in Amsterdam before flying on to Prague, but the day before they were to leave, they received a note from KLM that their Prague flight had been canceled. YIKES!
But everything worked out in the end. KLM was able to get them on another flight, but with a layover of more than five hours in Amsterdam. In what might have been fate, we got off our plane in Prague, walked up two gates to the restrooms, and when I came out, they were standing there. Their flight had arrived two gates down from ours…in an airport with four terminals, each with more than 25 gates. You have to admit, that’s pretty amazing.
We were met by a rep from Viking Cruises because this is where our pre-cruise extension started. So now we (and all our travels) were their problem ?.
As we drove into the city, we noted that not only was it cold, but there was snow and ice everywhere. This would play a big part in the next day’s plans.
When we got to the hotel (Viking uses a number of them in Prague—we were at the Prague Marriott), Steve and Jamie, who had been up since the day before at home (about 30 hours), were off to bed. Kathleen and I went into the hotel restaurant and split a sandwich before we did the same.
Ice and Snow
The next morning, I had truly hoped to do my customary pre-dawn photo walk, but when I got up and saw that it was well below freezing and that the snow and ice were VERY slippery, I stayed in and wrote Tuesday’s post about our trip to Sintra.
The hotel provided a huge buffet breakfast that was part of our Viking extension, and we truly enjoyed it. My brother Steve said it passed the “Steve Test (he would eat there if it were a restaurant near his home). After breakfast, we were supposed to do a “Panoramic Tour of Prague” with Viking as part of our cruise. The tour was labeled as “challenging” in their description, but we were still going to try and give it a go with the idea that if it became too much for Kathleen’s knees, hip or back, we would bail and go back to the hotel. But now there was the problem of the ice.
I decided to put on my boots and go out to walk around and see how slippery the sidewalks were. What I found was not good. I walked from one end of the block the hotel was on to the other. Along the way, I almost fell three times, and I saw at least four other people slip and wind up flat on their butts. On some of our most recent trips, going out for a walk has not been real fun for us. A few years back, Jamie slipped and fell while visiting us and broke her kneecaps. In May of 2021, Kathleen tripped while we were doing a shore excursion in San Francisco (on dry pavement) and broke her elbow, which meant a six-hour trip to the ER and surgery a few weeks later. I had fallen two years ago on ice a block from our old condo and really hurt my back. So only Steve seemed immune.
Kathleen, Jamie and I elected to skip the morning tour and see if the sidewalks got any better as the day went on. Steve decided to brave it and headed out on the tour. At about 10:00 am, I decided to go and test again, and I walked for about 15 minutes and wound up in the central square of Prague, where their largest Christmas Market was going. This allowed me to get some photos (you can see them below) and to tell Kathleen and Jamie we could do our afternoon tour—a visit to Lobkowicz Palace.
Visiting a Palace
Our morning tour (that three of us skipped) was one of Viking’s included tours. When you do their pre or post-excursion, you get a free tour every day, so skipping it was no big deal, but the Lobkowicz Palace was a tour we paid for and included lunch, a concert and a private tour of the palace. We really wanted to go. So at 11:30, Viking transported the three of us to meet Steve and the rest of the tour he had gone on that morning at the castle, where we would do some touring around before getting to the Palace.
When it came time for the morning tour to end, it turned out that only the four of us would be going on to the palace. The rest who were finishing up the morning tour would return to the hotel. At this point, Kathleen’s knees (which she had really strained on the TukTuk ride in Lisboa) told her not to walk any further, and she headed back to the hotel with the morning tour bunch.
Jamie, Steve and I went on and did the Palace. When we got there, after only walking about five minutes, I truly wished Kathleen had come with us. We were ushered into a beautiful room and fed a delicious lunch. Then, we were escorted to another room where a classical trio (one violinist, one cellist and one pianist) played a selection of classical pieces for us. They were very good.
After the concert, our guide led us to a private balcony at the back of the palace where we could see incredible views of all of Prague. Of course, I took a ton of photos. The city looked like a Christmas dream, all draped in snow.
After the balcony viewing, we were off to see the collection of art housed in the Palace. This kind of thing usually does nothing for me, but I have to say this was one of the best audio tours of a gallery I have ever heard, and I got a lot out of it. It was thoroughly enjoyable. The entire time, I kept thinking, “I wish Kathleen had stayed.”
But then it was time to board the bus back, and we were led down what must have been a 300-yard, fairly steep ramp covered in ice and snow. It was at that exact moment that I was thankful she had gone back to the hotel. Even with a rail to hang on to, that ramp was a bit scary. And then, when we got to the bottom, we had to walk about another 150 yards to get to the bus through ice and slush.
All this would have been a real problem for her, and I was so glad she had headed back earlier when the bus had left from where we had originally arrived—a very flat walk to get to.
To top it off, on the bus trip back, there were two sets of Viking cruisers. Some of the people on the bus were just finishing their cruise. They were doing their post-cruise extension in Prague (we are going in the opposite direction and doing Budapest at the end), and because of that, they were staying at a different hotel—a huge Hilton about 20 minutes from our hotel. Because it was closer to the Palace, we went to the Hilton first, where all but the three of us got off. The only problem we had then was that the bus driver had taken his usual route through a parking lot, and someone had parked their car illegally, and he could not move the bus until that car was moved. We sat on the bus while the hotel management tried to find out who owned the car before we gave up. We went into the Hilton and got a cab back to the Marriott. It was not the bus driver’s fault, but Viking should have done a better job of taking care of us. They said that they could get us a cab, but when we got to their tour desk, they said they would need to get the expenditure (around $8 US) approved and that might take a while. At this point, it was almost 5:00 pm, and we had 6:00 dinner reservations, so we decided to pay for our own taxi and got back to our hotel in less than 10 minutes.
An amazing dining experience
Speaking of dinner reservations, a good friend we know from our Trilogy Travel Club back home had lived in Europe for a few years and either lived in Prague or visited often (I am old, I don’t remember which) had told me about a small, out-of-the-way steak place. Now, I am not really into steak, but I know my brother is, so I said great and made reservations. WOW! I am certainly glad I did. It was one of those dining experiences you only get once or twice on a trip. The place was a tiny, almost below-ground-level restaurant that had so much charm it spilled out the front door. It reminded me of a party mix…it was packed full of Czechs ? (I owe my granddaughter $1 for that one). We were the only non-natives in the place, and it was PACKED!
We opened our menus and saw a wonderful option just perfect for the four of us. It was a steak platter featuring five different cuts of steak, with three sauces and four side dishes for less than $100 USD. Add that to the two excellent bottles of a good red wine we drank, and we had quite the meal. This restaurant not only passed the Steve Test for me, but if it was near our house, I might go there every couple of weeks. The food and service were top-notch, and the prices were a great value. Especially when the servers only expect a 10% tip. We had a wonderful time. If you are ever in Prague, make it a point to eat at Bila Krava (which I am pretty sure means White Cow). You will not be sorry. BTW: That platter with the sauces and sides was plenty for us. And it was totally delicious.
Of course, after that, it was an $8 Uber back to the hotel and bed. We had a big day coming up on Thursday.
At this point, let me show you the photos I got yesterday around Prague and at the Palace. Hope you enjoy them. 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…
On my ice-testing walk. This is the view from in front of our hotel.
An old theater that is still in use.
The gate that leads to the Central Square.
Wish we had toured in this “luxury motor coach”.
I can see the main square ahead of me.
One of the tallest buildings in the old town.
A church on the square.
The Christmas Market.
Lots of celebrating.
One last church shot in the square.
Later that day we are now at the Castle. This is the cathedral.
Guarded by this ceremonial guard.
With a real policeman in between them.
Our happy group.
Our guide thinks I am taking a photo of her.
The changing of the guard. They were totally enthusiastic.
Inside the castle gates.
Which were very pretty.
More of the same
Some close-ups of the tops of the walls
The Czech flag, flying proudly.
A look back to the inside courtyard and beyond it the cathedral.
The front of the cathedral. Sadly, there was no time to go inside but I had already seen Mike’s pics.
The front door of the cathedral.
A band started playing on a balcony above the square.
Hey cell phone cameras…see if you can get this shot ?
The newer part of the cathedral, the dark part on the right is older.
Arches on the outside of the cathedral.
On the front were pagan (astrological) statues. Quite intricate.
More windows and arches from the outside.
Protected by the gargoyles who are also the gutter system for the cathedral.
On to the Palace. This is looking out the window of the room we would be having lunch in.
The menu.
The ceiling of that room.
A room in the Palace on the way to the concert.
The musical conservatory of the Palace.
Our three musicians–violinist…
Cellist…
Pianist…
She always had the most interesting looks on her face. I took about 20 photos of her animation as she played.
Now out to the private Palace balcony…
Where we were presented with this view…
Of the entire city.
It was magnificent…
Bathed in snowy white.
Best place to take pictures all day.
Then the tour of the Palace which included this bird room.
This bird is created with a watercolor underneath but you are seeing is bird feathers.
A private chapel for the residents of the Palace.
The ceiling inside said chapel.
Our Jewish Quarter Tour, then on to Nuremberg.
In the morning, after a repeat of Wednesday’s superb buffet breakfast, we were off on a tour that featured much less walking than the one Steve had taken the day before and a lot more chances to sit down during talks that Kathleen could take advantage of. Plus, we would be in and out of buildings all morning so that we would stay much warmer.
Our tour was of the old Jewish Quarter in Prague. We got to visit five separate synagogues and hear about all the horrible things that had been done to the Jews of Bohemia and Moravia for centuries.
But we also saw some true beauty in these incredible places of worship as well as some horrible sadness in the synagogue that is covered with the thousands of names of Czech Jews killed by Hitler and the Nazis.
The tour took most of the morning, and our tour guide, Eva, was EXCELLENT. In fact, all our guides here in Prague have been excellent. Steve truly liked the very nice lady who did the morning tour, and we joined him for the end of that tour. He thought she did great as well.
The Jewish Quarter tour lasted until noon when we returned to the hotel, got some lunch, walked out to find a piece of local artwork (those of you who have been in our home know where that’s going), and then we boarded a “luxury motor coach” to Nuremberg, Germany where we will spend tonight. As I am typing this, I am truly sitting in that luxury motor coach (no sarcasm intended here—it is a really, really nice bus. If it only had WiFi, it would be perfect) headed to Nuremberg. It’s 3:39 in the afternoon here, and we won’t be at our Nuremberg hotel for another three hours, so I thought I would do a little writing on the way. Next up for you are my photos from our Jewish Quarter tour. 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 first sight in the Jewish Quarter
Decoration below windows told you…
this was a Jewish household.
The New, Old Synagogue
A Hebrew clock. They run backwards. Who knew?
Both regular and Hebrew clocks.
Inside the Maisel Synagogue
Our guide Eva. She was EXCELLENT!
This saddens me greatly..
These are the names, towns and dates of birth and death…
Of the Czech Jews killed by the Nazis.
There are rooms and rooms in this Synagogue filled with these names. The horror that has been inflicted on the Jewish people should never be forgotten.
This is an arched window. A thing of beauty next to the horror of the Holocaust.
Outside in the Jewish cemetery.
This cemetery is not from WWII.
It is a much older cemetery with more than 100,000 buried here.
Inside the next Synagogue we visited.
Beautiful and sacred.
A statue of Franz Kafka I found interesting.
Inside the Spanish Synagogue.
Looking up at the dome.
And on our way to the bus, saw these guys.
As I write this, it is Thursday morning…you are still enjoying Wednesday evening…and I am up posting this at 4:45 am. We are staying at the Grand Meridian Hotel in Nuremberg. It (like our Prague hotel) is a Marriott, but a much older and historical one that they purchased. Older and historical means…strange and weird to me. The rooms are tiny, the doors open out into the corridors/hallways, the bathrooms are minuscule with tubs with high sides, and the WiFi is slow. They are passing the hotel off as a “historic, boutique hotel.” I myself like boutique hotels. The Hotel Portugal we stayed in in Lisboa was a “boutique hotel.” This one is just depressing to me, with long dark corridors and a single (JUST ONE) elevator to cover a hotel with a capacity of more than 80 guests per floor on six floors. Coming in and out with luggage can be a long wait. And that elevator holds about five people max. Needless to say, Viking picked this hotel, not me.
We had a quick dinner (if you can call it that) in the hotel bar before retiring to our cells ? for a good night’s sleep (the beds aren’t bad). The place just seems like an expensive jail or maybe an abbey or a convent (to me). We are here for two nights before we depart for Regensburg, where we. board our longboat for our first-ever river cruise. More about our Nuremberg adventures coming up soon. (Editor’s note: the quote below is my reaction to the names in the Jewish Synagogue in Prague. Sorry if I offend anyone.)
A thousand years will pass, and the guilt of Germany will not be erased. —Hans Frank
by Jim Bellomo | Dec 6, 2023 | Food Experiences, Photography
As the headline says, we are in Prague. There is snow and ice everywhere, but we still had a great day yesterday. Well, half a great day. I really want to tell you about it, but we were out late with my brother Steve and sister-in-law Jamie at dinner until late in the evening, and that meant I had to process photos this morning, so I am not writing until right now. We have to meet them for breakfast in about 45 minutes, so I need to change and shower.
But I didn’t want you to think I had deserted you. I will have more about Prague tomorrow as well as the trip we are taking this afternoon as we spend three hours getting to Nuremberg, Germany, by “luxury motor coach.”
In the meantime, here’s our group eating dinner last night at an amazing restaurant that a friend from our Trilogy Travel Club recommended to us. It was a great meal and a great experience. See you tomorrow.
by Jim Bellomo | Dec 5, 2023 | Photography
Monday was our last full day in Portugal. I am writing this at 4:08 am on Wednesday, December 6 while sitting in the conference center of the Marriott Hotel in Prague. Yesterday was fly day (we flew TAPAir from Lisboa to Prague) and we are now in the snowy north. This means no report for yesterday unless you want to know about a fairly boring three hour flight.
I regret this is the only picture I took of Miguel. He is an outstanding guide and we highly recommend him.
But back to Monday when we got up early (we were meeting our guide for the day at 8:30 so no pre-dawn walk for me) had our breakfast and were driving away (another Miguel) by 8:20. We had found Miguel through what is becoming our go-to source for tour guides—Tours by Locals. He was wonderful. We jumped in his spacious Ford, and we headed for Sintra, the summer home of Portugal’s kings and queens. Sintra is located just north of Lisboa, about 40 minutes by car, in what passes for mountains in Portugal. But it was here that the kings built their summer palaces and that we would tour that day.
The drive out is a great time for us to get to know Miguel and for him to tell us about himself and Portuguese life in general. We love hearing about what is going on in a country now, as well as picking up the historical highlights. Unlike many of our previous guides in other countries, our Portuguese guides have been very open to discussing their political systems, their current problems with their government and many other topics that most guides won’t touch. We found it very open and refreshing.
Since it was rush hour in Lisboa, Miguel had all kinds of back roads he used to get us to Sintra. He is a Sintra native and has lived there all his life, so he knows all the shortcuts. He had us there and parked in no time. Once there, we got out and walked up a short hill, and he took us to a street that looked to be something only mountain goats would climb. Kathleen looked at it like Mt. Everest, but he said, “No, I just want to take you to the first shop up the hill for a little surprise.” Sure enough, we walked into a bakery that has been open under the same familial ownership since 1862. WHOA! That bakery opened in the middle of our civil war! Amazing. He insisted we try the specialty of the house—”the pillow.” So we couldn’t disappoint him (even though we had just had breakfast about two hours before) and he got us one each with a cappuccino. He described the “pillow” as a sweet roll full of the same egg cream filling as the Pastéis de Belém we had the day before but in the same form as a maple bar back home. And of course, covered in sugar. They were delicious but I could feel my teeth decaying as I took each bite.
After our brief stop at the bakery, we were off to walk around the village of Sintra and then tour the oldest palace in Portugal. This is true because the summer palaces had not been destroyed in the great earthquake/fire/tsunami of 1755. That had destroyed the palaces in Lisboa, and the royalty moved to their summer palaces in Sintra while things were being rebuilt in the city.
I have a lot of photos from this entire day, so I am going to break them up. This first group is from the village of Sintra and the palace itself. 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…
When we first got out of the car, we were parked next to this Moorish fountain that still works more than 300 years later.
The inlaid tiles are beautiful. Had to do a close up.
The magical village of Sintra.
Off in the distance, their city hall…
…that looks like a fairy tale castle.
The hill on the way to the bakery (which is actually the first shop on the left).
Inside a bakery opened in 1862!!!
The village center in Sintra.
The oldest palace in Portugal.
From the steps of the palace you could see this Moorish castle above.
Inside the castle we found it incredibly well preserved and restored.
This is a close up of the ceiling in the previous photo.
I loved this door.
A Moorish decoration above a door.
The two spires are chimneys for the palace kitchen.
I shot some shots as we walked through to give you a since of the palace.
There was an entire ceiling of magpies in one room.
This incredible bed in another.
And tile everywhere. Truly Portugal is a country of amazing tile work..
I just liked these two. Kind of a surf and turf.
One ceiling was all mermaids.
But most rooms had at least half a wall of tile.
This fountain outside in a garden area still works.
Just like we do at home, they had a collection of plates. Ours are more colorful ?.
The doorways were decorated like this throughout the palace.
We finally enter what was the throne room and there are literally floor to ceiling tile works.
The ceiling as magnificent.
Miguel explained that the top of the dome represented the king. He was surrounded by his children.
A close up of one of the kids.
Below them were the coat of arms of the different cities in Portugal.
Below that were the different noble families of Portugal.
In a bedroom was this end post on a bed frame. The wood is not painted but is a black wood from Africa. The Portuguese were explorers and traders who found treasures from around the world.
They also did not destroy their past. This Christian crucifix was installed over a Muslim/Moorish scene from years earlier.
The tile patterns were truly unique. This is Escher years before Escher.
In the kitchen, this is the inside of the two spired chimneys.
A smoker
The stoves
More stoves and an oven. All wood burning and the smoke from the fires just went up the funnel spires.
Another elaborate doorway.
Not sure what this sculpture was about.
This was an outdoor shower in the garden. On hot days you could walk into it.
Then water would spray out of the walls…
…through the tiny holes you can see if you look close.
Another view of city hall from the palace.
Of course the palace has its own Christmas Market.
What you see that is blue here is all tile.
I need to mention here that my amazing bride climbed so many stairs to get through that palace. It seemed like they never ended, and like steps built more than 200 years ago, they were all of differing heights and widths. She did it all. I tell you this because when we were through touring this palace, our choice was to go to another palace (The Pena Palace) where there would be even more walking and climbing or heading back to Lisboa via the coast. Miguel did promise me a chance to take photos of the Pena Palace (which he assured me was much more impressive outside than inside) before we headed out of Sintra. For the sake of Kathleen’s knees (that she strained two days before getting into and out of the TukTuk), we chose the coast. But here’s the Pena Palace from the outside. Pretty impressive.
On to Cascais
After seeing the outside of Pena Palace, we headed on some beautiful backroads (where we were pretty much the only car going in any direction) to the coast. As soon as we arrived, we were blown away by the ocean. Yes, I have seen an ocean before, but where the Atlantic meets the European continent with amazing green water waves coming to the shore in one successive wave after another was somehow just mesmerizing. Check out my photos. And do yourself a favor; see them as big as you can. 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…
Amazing wave sets, coming one after the other.
I have to admit I took more than 100 shots of these waves.
The water was so beautiful.
The ruins of an old fort on the shore only made it more photogenic.
This point in the distance is the furthest western point in continental Europe.
So much beautiful greenish blue water.
Rocks below created…
…an amazing natural water show.
No surfers today.
About an. hour north is Nazare. More about that in the text.
Beautiful beaches.
But empty on a Monday.
We stopped at Boca do Inferno
The mouth of hell—a waterspout where I took about 300 photos waiting for just the right wave.
I knew going in that Portugal had some beautiful coastline but I had no idea it would be this amazing. A little further north is the city of Nazare, where the monster waves (they say they are the largest in the world) are. Check out this video to see what I mean. It is truly both scary and amazing.
After I had worn out my camera battery and filled my camera’s memory card, we hopped back into the car to head for the city of Cascais, which we thought looked a lot like the city of La Jolla in Southern California, just more charming. Here are the shots I took there.
The harbor of Cascais. I love colorful boats.
And colorful flowers. They go all out with the poinsettias for Christmas.
Miguel pointed out the beautiful tile on the city hall but it was mostly covered with Christmas decorations.
But the pavement in the square was a tile pattern made to look like waves.
Which floated right up to this civic building.
Back to Belem
After we had lunch and walked around in Cascais, it was time to head back to Lisboa and our hotel. Our tour had taken most of the day, and we were ready to take a nap. But I still had one set of photos I wanted to take. Granted, it was not the time of day I preferred to take them, but I wanted to try it. And those were in Belem, where we had gone the day before on the HoHo bus. But it was so cold and the sky so flat when we were there I didn’t have the motivation to walk to get the shots. Today, though, was beautiful, so my plan was to get Kathleen back to the hotel to take a nap and then for me to get on the HoHo bus (our passes were still good) and go all the way back to Belem. This would have taken me more than an hour to get out there from the hotel. When I was telling Miguel what I had planned, he said he could easily drop me in Belem, and then I could take the shots I wanted and take the bus back to the city center. This was a marvelous solution, and he was so great to make the offer.
So he dropped me in Belem and took Kathleen back to the hotel so I could shoot photos of two of Lisboa’s most iconic monuments—Padrão dos Descobrimentos and the Belem Tower. The first of these is a monument and tribute to Portuguese explorers over the years. There are a lot of them, and they truly opened up the world. The monument is amazing. It stands almost at the mouth of the Tagus River, where it meets the Atlantic Ocean. You will have to see the photos. I did close-ups and overviews. It is a joy to shoot. Then, I moved on to Belem Tower, a monument to Portuguese culture that sits on the river even closer to the Atlantic. Again, you will have to see the photo (that’s all it takes is one) to appreciate why I wanted to go back and shoot it in good weather. 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…
Padrão dos Descobrimentos
With people for scale.
And now a few closeups from both sides (which are different).
This sculpture is amazing.
And finally, the Belem Tower. Just beautiful and worth the trip.
That about does if for Lisboa and Portugal. We had a really incredible visit and can’t wait to go back…in October. This is definitely one of my favorite cities we have been to. Every part of this stop on our journey worked great. The hotel was wonderful, the people we met were awesome, food was delicious—as always, we ate too much of it. If you get the chance—visit this place. You won’t be sorry.
I like to dream about Portugal, and it’s less easy when you are there. —Maria de Medeiros
