MAY 9 

 Our neighbors drove us to San Francisco for our flight. There was no traffic, an easy
drive. We got to the airport early. We got in the back of a long line, but an agent, noticing David's cane,
soon moved us to a much shorter one. We got our tickets and sat down to read the Sunday paper. After
a light snack we were soon on a flight to Frankfurt. The flight to Frankfurt was great. We went
premium economy (as part of Viking's routine package) and experienced great service, vast expanses of
leg room, (well that's not too hard to make happen for me), good food and drinks and a very smooth
flight. The Frankfurt airport was much more eventful. The plane did not land near our scheduled gate
and we were bused off to an airport area far from where we were supposed to be. At that station, there
was only one wheel chair for at least 8 people who needed it. There seemed to be no airport employees
around who knew what was going on or where we needed to be. Ultimately, an airport employee put
David in a borrowed chair, wheeled us to an exit and told us we needed to wait for a bus. Then, after
receiving a phone call, she took the borrowed chair away from David, told him to sit on a bench and
left. The bus came before that young woman returned, so we got on the bus and took it to another gate
– where nobody seemed to know where or how we were supposed to get to where we needed to be to
make our connecting flight. The young woman who had left us, finally found us and after scolding us
for not waiting for her, put David in another wheel chair and wheeled us by a convoluted route
including lifts and alley ways and back doors with a quick run through immigration to the gate where
we met our connecting flight to Budapest. Luckily, this flight was delayed. We were stuffed into the
very last seat but it was only 1.5 hours, fairly smooth, and we soon landed in Budapest. The wheel
chair assist quickly took us through immigration to baggage where we were met by Viking staff. The
Viking crew members at Budapest airport were very efficient and organized. They popped us in a taxi
that took us directly to our hotel. The taxi driver spoke good English and was very sympathetic and
informed about the plight of the Ukrainian peoples (which was true of almost all those we met in
Budapest). The hotel was great.  Right on the river separating Buda and Pest. We were on the Pest side.
We checked in, and our distinguished elderly valet took one look at David and then at our hotel keys,
mumbled something to himself and immediately proceeded to the concierge where he requested a
different room closer to the elevator. It turns out when we opened the drapes to our room, we had a
premier view of the river and the beautiful castle buildings on the Buda side, We couldn't have asked
for a better room. It was so comfy with great lighting, nice easy chairs. We were tired so we just ate in
the hotel restaurant. It had a middle eastern menu and the food was really good. I almost had a heart
attack when I first saw the bill - before I realized it was in Hungarian currency where their unit was
1/5th of an American dollar. Our table looked out on the promenade bordering the Danube. The
weather was perfect and it was relaxing to view the traffic on the promenade and the river in front of
us. We got to bed around 10:30 (Budapest time) on that first night (May 9). wiped out but excited to be
starting our trip. When I got up in the middle of the night I noticed the view outside our window .
MAY 10 The old Buda castle was lit up and its reflection shimmered in the Danube. It was
beautiful. We got up early for a very nice breakfast at the hotel and relaxed until meeting our tour group
at 8:45.  We did not experience much jet lag at the beginning of the trip. We hopped on a tram and rode
to the parliament buildings on the Pest side of the river where our hotel was. The tour of the parliament
building was extensive, but somehow we managed to make it through. The parliament building is huge
and beautifully decorated. Neo-gothic, stained glass windows survived WWII bombings by being taken
down and hidden under sand in the basement. Our guide Tuszie was wonderful. She related the more
recent history of Hungary in a very personal way. We continued touring Pest and some of it's
landmarks, memorials etc. It was especially moving to see the memorial to the 300 students murdered
in the 1956 uprising to obtain their freedom from the Soviets. The movement was not successful
initially but Hungary did become a republic when the Soviet union fell apart in the 80's. The memorial
of the 1956 rebellion maintained 300 bullet holes in the building adjacent to the square where the
students were massacred. We also visited Liberty Square where a memorial showed a vicious eagle
representing Nazi Germany victimizing Hungary. Our guide was quick to correct this misinterpretation,
reminding us that Hungary entered WWII as an ally of Hitler and only left that union in 1944. But our
guide then told us about her family's history. Her grandfather, as a supporter of the 1956 students'
rebellion, was sent to a gulag for 4 years and was never the same after he returned to his family. Our
guide related the fear and secrecy underlying even family relationships during the Soviet occupation.
People who said too much were sometimes disappeared, never to return. (Our guide also pointed out in
the distance the Liberty Statue or as she put it “the huge bottle opener”  ( Some research indicated this
statue was erected by the Soviets to commemorate their “liberation of Hungary”. Later revolt against
the Soviets by the Hungarians led to editing the script under the statue to leave out any reference to the
Soviets at all but instead to honor those “who sacrificed their lives for the independence, freedom, and
prosperity of Hungary".) On our walk we visited a beautiful modern fountain and a citizen erected
memorial to the Jews who had been deported from Hungary to the camps in Poland during WWII. We
went past the US embassy and the nearby Monument to the Soviet Red Army. After the fall of the
Soviet Union, an attempt to dismantle this monument was prevented by the claim that there were
Soviet soldiers buried beneath it. (Later excavation to put a parking garage underneath proved this
claim to be bogus) Our guide took us for a snack, similar to the French gougeres but very very common
in Hungary, and then for a lunch of Hungarian sausages which were delicious and goulash and then a
very rich dessert of cream and nuts and sponge cake. David and I then made it back on our own to our
hotel where we immediately fell asleep for quite some time. (This return trip was eventful in that I put
the directions into google and had it tell us how to get back to the hotel) David did not believe these
directions and led us his own way, because he could see the funicular which was across the river from
our hotel. After backtracking from dead end streets that led nowhere, we did return, in the rain, to our
hotel. The guides did seem a bit concerned when we finally meandered back into the hotel. That
evening we made it to an Italian restaurant just in back of our hotel and had a wonderful meal. The staff
was so friendly. We went back the next day for lunch and spent quite some time talking with our server
Adam.  We took a few pictures with Adam and the restaurant maitre d.  
MAY 11  We had a nice breakfast the next day, packed our bags, and checked out at 10am.
David hung around the lobby and I walked along the river , taking pictures.  We went to lunch at the
same wonderful Italian place called Mercantile at which we had eaten the night before. We returned to
the hotel lobby about 1pm and relaxed until being transferred at 2pm to our Viking boat. We found our
vèry nice cabin (the cabin was bigger and more comfortable than we expected) and familiarized our
self with the boat and it's facilities and procedures. We had a group meeting where we were told how
everything worked and the plans for tomorrow, a quick fire and sinking drill and then dinner. The staff
at dinner was really friendly and attentive and we enjoyed talking to our table mates, introducing
ourselves, telling where we were from,  etc. After dinner it was shower and bed early to get ready to
awaken at 6 the next day.
May 12 Breakfast and then a bus tour of the city, both the Buda and Pest sides. We first toured
various parts of Pest and then headed to Buda and the old castle district.
We walked to Mathias church. This originally Christian church was taken over by the Turks and then
retaken by the Catholics. The tiled roofs were spectacular and, on the inside, the stained glass windows,
decorated pillars, side alters and walls were all elaborately decorated. Immediately adjacent to the
church was the Fisherman's bastion, a wall of eight turrets that overlooked the old city. We left the
church and bastion to return down a cherry tree lined walkway that overlooked much of the city. It was
cool under the trees with a pleasant breeze and the sound of chirping birds. We made it back to the bus
and boat for lunch and a nap. The boat took off about 6pm for our upstream cruise to Vienna. Dinner
was wonderful.
We went to bed early.
May 13 We woke early next morning  to a gentle rain and our passing through the largest of the
68 locks we would traverse before the end of our cruise. This lock was really deep as you can see by
the pictures. In mid-morning, there was a talk on board about  Viennese coffee and coffee houses and
then Mozart. The sun came out and it warmed a bit before our lunch and a promised afternoon tutorial
on strudel making. As we cruised up the river we saw many small very neat little cabins on stilts lining
the river. This was a sight we were to see often during our cruise. There were also times when there
were no structures, bridges, houses  - only signs of reeds and birds, trees and flowers. It was really very
peaceful. Dinner was early this night but maybe the best meal we had on our cruise, Vienner schnitzel.
We sat at a table of liberals from Malta and their friends who had recently emigrated to Australia and
had a great political conversation. We sailed into Vienna in early evening and disembarked to attend a
concert of Mozart and Strauss. There was music and dance and song but I was a little disappointed to
find out it was not at the Vienna opera house. I was hoping to take a picture of the steps where our
friends Barbara and Julius first met almost 60 years ago.  Instead the concert was held in the old
Viennese Stock Exchange building. It was a late night and the next day in Vienna was to be very busy.
May 14 We took a bus tour this morning with only a little bit of walking through some of the
town. The sculptures on the walls reminded me of what we saw in Florence and the little towns in
Tuscany. The old cathedral had two iron bars embedded in its walls that the townsmen used as
measuring devices to ensure they were receiving the right amount of cloth or bread. I had an amusing
adventure walking into a pharmacy and trying to buy some cough drops. Sign language and acting out a
cough and dripping nose actually were successful and got me what I needed. It was also amusing to
find the stores selling marijuana products. It was legal to sell these products but not to use them.
Interesting how several of the towns and countries had strangely contradictory laws involving CBD
products that nobody seemed to worry about. We visited the Schonbrunn Palace later in the afternoon.
This was the most disappointing tour of the whole cruise. The palace was very ornate but also very hot
and very crowded. It was frustrating because my audio equipment did not work. It was hard for David.
There was a huge amount of walking and no place to sit or rest. Because of the crowds and ensuing
scheduling, we did not have enough time to visit the gardens which looked extremely inviting. (Of the
whole trip, this was really the worst of all our tour experiences.  Most experiences overall turned out to
be quite wonderful.) We sailed out that night towards Melk.  I woke up in the middle of the night,
looked out the window and saw the moon shimmering on the water as we floated along. There were
several nights when I woke David up taking pictures. But the night of the 14th/15th was special
because there was a lunar eclipse and the moon glowed bright orange in the sky and water.
May 15 we sailed through the beautiful Wachau Valley towards the Melk Abby. The tour of the
Abby was great. The guide was clear and well informed. She was a very young woman who used to
attend school at the abby. It was not at all crowded. The temperature was perfect. The rooms were
beautiful. Not overly ornate or busy, they gave a picture of what life must have been like for the monks
who lived in what was once a thriving community. The grounds were beautiful and the audio
equipment worked and there were plenty of chairs and benches to rest our weary feet. No complaints
here at all. I could easily go back on this tour again. 
May 16 We arrived next day at the small town of Passau. David and I rested this morning but
took the excursion to Scharding that afternoon. Our guide was great. Very sensitive and very informed.
We bused for about an hour through the countryside where we saw up close the small towns and
villages and how people lived today. We got on a small two decked Bavarian boat and slowly
meandered up a small stream while sampling several wonderful Bavarian beers. All quite good .So
relaxing and fun. We got off the boat to tour the beautiful little town of Scharding. The town's buildings
were all color coded just like in the olden days so people might know what sort of establishment was
housed in the buildings. e.g the banker's building might be gold while a produce seller's building might
be green etc. It was interesting to see the town's Maypole. These were also seen in many of the small
towns we passed through. There was also a special memorial, a decorated pole, that marked the town's
gratitude for its safe passage through the third pass of the plague that made its way through the rest of
Europe. We visited the shop of an herbalist in this town and sat down with mortar and pestle to make
our own blend of spice to use on our next home cooked meal. Later, back on board the boat we soon
departed for Regensburg.
The next day Tuesday May 17, we went on a full day excursion to Munich. The bus ride again
was really interesting. I didn't bring my camera and its a good thing because our tour through Munich
was quite eventful. There was a lot of walking down cobbled streets past very old buildings and parks.
David attempted to enter an old building with two stairs. There was no railing and he fell. He was able
to get up and walked a bit before his legs gave out. Fortunately David wasn't hurt but we were far
behind our guide. I borrowed David's audio equipment (Mine wasn't working again) and headed off in
the direction I last saw our guide. Eventually I heard her voice and by moving around was able to
figure out where she was. I informed her of what had happened. She seemed a little baffled on what to
do. At first insisting we call an ambulance. Well I said no and returned to David. In the meantime
another Viking guide who recognized David stopped to see what was going on. Miracle of miracles.
David had collapsed right in front of the Rathskeller where we were to soon have lunch. He was able to
get up and walked to the restaurant where he waited for the rest of our tour group. We did have a great
German lunch of sausage, sauerkraut, potato salad. Beer of course. After resting, David and I made it
(after walking only a short distance) to a little cafe across from our fish fountain meeting point. ( I am
sorry I wasn't able to snap a picture of the fish fountain. It was really cute.) David was revived by a
gigantic ice cream whipped cream dessert at the cafe. We were able to make it back to the ship with
difficulty but without further incident. Richard gave an interesting talk that night on the Rhine Main
Danube canal. We would go up and then down some 1300 feet through many many locks as we made
our way from the Danube to the Rhine.
The next day, May 18, we took an afternoon excursion to Nuremberg to look at the Nazi rally
grounds and then the courthouse of the infamous trials following WWII The guide was again great. So
knowledgeable and so personally involved in the history she was relating to us. Our guide concentrated
on how the media was used to sway the Germans to permit significant evils to be perpertrated in their
name. The power of film, speeches, mass rallies created a hysteria that went beyond reason. And these
efforts were so deliberately planned. Without regard to cost, Hitler spent millions to build a coliseum
three times bigger than that in Rome and to be used only once a year. It was this building that was
restored to house the museum documenting Hiltler's propaganda efforts. It was a bit scary to see the
similarities between those days in Germany and recent happenings in our country today.  When we
visited the courthouse, our guide was able to reenact for us some pieces of the trial and the men who sat
there being tried. As our guide described the individual stories of some of the men being tried it was
clear that justice is and was not perfect despite the efforts of the Allies to create a fair environment.
Soon after we got on board after returning from Nuremburg, our ship departed for Bamburg.
We enjoyed resting on the boat on Thursday May 19. Reading and napping, chatting with other
passengers. Just having some down time to prepare for the rest of the cruise. The boat left the Danube
and entered the Main Canal and most of the day was spent on the water. As you can see the scenery was
a lush green with abundent wild flowers. There were birds such as the commorant and grebe and coots
and indian geese (which are not seen in the us). We sailed past castles new and old and well kept lock
houses with their dainty translucent curtains.
On May 20 we arrived in Wurzburg and then disembarked for a bus drive along one of Bavaria's
prettiest roads to Rothenburg ob der Tauber. Again the bus tours were a really great way to see what the
current towns and life were like. Everything is so well kept in the little towns, villages and farms. Solar
panels are everywhere (they are heavily subsidized by the government) and the farms are adjusting to
growing yellow flowered canola and wheat because of the war in the Ukraine. Most farmers live in
villages and towns rather on their farms. They work in factories and industries and farm on the
weekends and evenings. There are no pictures for this day but the online sites for Rothenburg
accurately portray a well preserved midieval town with its fortressed walls, coblestoned streets, narrow
alleyways, ancient churches and wood paneled houses that overlooked a river where commerce
especially in wool products was once very important. David and I took our time after lunch to relax and
wait for the rest of the tour group and continue our tour to the outside of the fortressed walls of this old
town.
Saturday May 21 we spent the whole day on the modern aristocracy tour. We first visited a
castle, surrounded by a moat, where we had a sparkling wine and smoked trout treat in the family's
living room. The castle is still family owned and supported by tourism as well as the wood and boar
products that comes from the forests surrounding its estate. The castle was bordered by its beautiful
garden which was in full bloom with azaleas, rhododendrons and other plants. A family of ducks and
swans are permanent residents of the moat and did not appear too disturbed by our tour of visitors. We
had lunch at the rathskeller in Miltburg and lastly visited an updated castle winery where we tasted
Rhine wines and special boar pate and sausage. This estate supported itself through the winery as well
as first class hotel incorporated within the castle. Also on the estate was the original chapel which is
still in use. The chapel was ornately decorated with a magnificent pipe organ. It was clear the upkeep of
the chapel was a continuous and very expensive process but very important to the family who still
operated the estate. Dinner on board that night was a very special German feast. Similar to every other
meal, it was very delicious with lots of good choices from which to select. Its only the fair amount of
walking we did that kept us from gaining more weight than we did on this cruise.
The next day Sunday May 22 was spent early in the morning sailing along the middle Rhine. In
the afternoon we had a tour of the Ehrenbreitstein fortress. Again a great tour and a great tour guide.
Our guide acted the role of a spy diplomat in 1840 who mapped the fortress for England. Like many of
the other guides we spoke with, the pandemic had severely impacted their jobs and security and many
were now either working as guides only part time or training for some other possibly more stable
career. Our spy diplomat was training to be a kindergartner teacher and would be leaving his guide
work soon to begin his full time teaching career. He was such an entertaining guide. It will surely be a
loss for those visitors who tour the Ehrenbreitstein fortress in the future. As on many of our other tours
we walked our feet off but it was well worth the effort. It was amazing to see how well planned this
fortress was and how well built without the advantage of modern technology or equipment. That
evening we heard a classical duo on board, a husband and wife team who provided great music some of
it being sing along which was fun. David and I missed most of the other  evenings' entertainments
because we were honestly too tired and just needed some quiet and time by ourselves.
Monday May 23 was spent docked in Cologne or Koln as the Germans call it. David was very
put off by the restoration of an old municipal building next door to the cathedral. The bottom three
stories were 17th century. The top three stories were a modern glass monstrosity. I was overwhelmed by
the cathedral. It was so beautiful and so complex and had such a long and eventful history. Our boat
was docked across the river from the cathedral and we had to walk across a long bridge full of
pedestrians and bikes. Like the bridge over the Seine near Notre Dame or the Great Wall in Beijing,
there were thousands of locks that young marrieds had installed as a symbol of the permanence of their
union, with the key thrown into the water below. The cathedral has scaffolding embracing it because of
ongoing repairs like many of the other castles and churches we had seen in our float down the great
rivers. Surely the people honor their past history and art and I think it says something about them that
maybe we Americans need to learn. The walls and towers and nooks and crannies, the doors and
windows and floors of the cathedral were all carefully crafted and then reconstructed after successive
invasions and destruction. One of the worst destructive events was the bombings of WWII. The
pictures showed only rubble left behind. The bombing was from both sides. Our guide showed a picture
of the cathedral after the allies had arrived in Cologne. Most of it was in shambles but a part of the
church was standing and some of the allied soldiers were attending a service in it. The cathedral was
soon off limits as the Germans began bombing it and the nearby bridges. I was left with the thoughts
about what it took and still takes for the Germans to forgive themselves and us for the destruction that
was all around them. It will take the Ukainians the same ability to forgive if they ever are to rebuild
after the war and its destruction now occurring in their country. In general, I felt a sense of
responsibility and willingness to face their past in the natives in the countries we cruised through. I
wonder a little if our guides and taxi drivers, bus drivers etc were chosen because of their political
views but I don’t really think so. Its hard to know if you are just passing through if this is a Potemkin
village or an accurate picture of what really is. We left that evening for the
Netherlands. 
Tuesday May 24 was spent with the windmills. It was also the day before we left the ship so
David and I just stayed on board and packed and then relaxed. We sailed through Rotterdam that
evening and I was impressed by how big and modern it was. A big port city. Exxon had a division in
Rotterdam and some of my closest friends went there. So it brought back memories not at all associated
with this cruise and this lifetime.
We disembarked in Amsterdam the next morning May 25. We took an easy walking tour that
wiped both of us out. So it as an early dinner at the hotel that night. The next day May 26 we decided
not to do the original tour we had signed up because we felt it would be too strenuous. What a good
decision. Instead we took off on our own. We took a taxi to the wonderful RUKS museum and were
amazed by the art we saw. We had a great lunch at the little cafe in the museum, did a little more
touring and then headed back to our hotel fully satisfied with this last day of our vacation. That evening
we strolled just a little ways to the Italian restaurant recommended by our Viking guide. The evening of
May 26, we learned that our flight to London had been cancelled but decided to deal with it at the
airport. That was a big mistake.
Viking sent us in a taxi to the Amsterdam airport early next morning May 27. Yikes. The airport
was chaos. Car and taxis everywhere and inside was worse. Huge crowds milling about. There was no
one to be found at the British Airways counter. No one in the airport seemed to know anything. We
finally were referred to the bottom floor where there were agents from different airlines, but not British
Airways. Finally someone said that British Airways left their office at the airport a month prior. That
person handed us a piece of paper that had a telephone number and email address to contact British
Airways. Accessing both were impossible. As a last resort I found the emergency Viking number and
tried to dial it but received a recording message saying no such number existed. MELTDOWN!!!!!
Desperate I looked for a younger person with a phone and asked them to dial. They got the same
message but then realized we needed to put an 00 in front of the number to dial internationally. IT
WORKED. After going through an extensive menu I finally reached a real VIKING person who
listened and then said she would help us find a flight. But she said it might take a while and “Never to
HANG UP” So of course during the next 45 minutes my phone kept on disconnecting every 8 minutes
or so and I had to do the whole redialing process again. But Victory at last. The Viking rep was able to
get us a direct flight to San Francisco that landed 10 minutes before our originally scheduled flight. It
was a wonderfully totally uneventful flight home. We got into San Francisco, found out that there was
no longer a shuttle to our hotel. But we took a taxi, checked in, went to sleep and had our neighbors
pick us up the next day.
So It was a good vacation in general. I was prepared for the worst and so when we had a few
misadventures it wasn’t so bad. To be honest both David's and even my mobilities limited what we
could do and see and I was a bit disappointed. David will claim we did many moderate tours. The truth
was we did the easy tours and even then had trouble keeping up. I could see David concentrating so
hard on just staying upright he really couldn't look around and see where we were or listen to the
guides descriptions of the history behind what we were seeing. He says he really only wanted to see the
castle of Richard the Lionhearted and to see Nuremburg and he did meet those goals. The Viking cruise
was worth every penny. The food and drink on board was wonderful and the staff just great. We met
many interesting people. Emma was by herself. A Farmer from South Africa she had been on this
particular cruise just a few years before with her husband. She had a walker but seemed to manage just
fine without any complaints. David the 78+ grandfather who was accompanied by his grandson Harry.
This pair was a riot and it was just wonderful to watch Harry’s care for his granddad. We met a
wonderful liberal couple from Malta and their best friends who had just recently emigrated to Australia.
An 85 year old matron from Kansas (who looked 65) accompanied by her niece and her son and his
partner. There were people from the east coast and west coast, Florida, Georgia, Virginia,
Pennsylvannia, Texas, New Hampshire and California, some Aussies, a few Brits and Afrikaneers. We
also enjoyed eating several times with two retired couples from Minnesota. Both husbands were former
Lutheran ministers and they and their wives were very liberal and accomplished intellectuals and very
warm and inviting people. We had some great conversations with them. We would sit at a different
table every night and most of the time enjoy the conversations. But sometimes it was just nice to sit by
ourselves and not have to be so sociable. It was also  nice to just cruise and watch the world as we
floated by. A few nights with full moonlight and then a lunar eclipse was pretty magical. I got to finish
reading a wonderfully mysterious and strange book ‘the wind up bird chronicles’ and sneak hot
chocolate or tea and madelines from the coffee/cookie bar. I had a great time catching some birds along
my journey. Some new ones I had never seen before. I was especially happy to get a picture of some of
the swan families I saw. There were many swans all along our water routes which I had not expected to
see. There were some disappointments on the trip. I did worry about David lagging behind and us
loosing our tour guide and ourselves in a strange city so I always couldn't pay full attention to our
guides or what I was seeing and there were some days that this consideration along with the weight of
my camera prevented me from taking as many pictures as I normally might have. There were a few
tours that maybe I should have gone on by myself but maybe I made the right decision in staying with
David both for him as well as my tired body. Overall I would call this vacation a success and am glad I
did this it. Maybe the last one David and I would do together so i am glad I left it with a happy memory
in my mind. David and I experienced significant jet lag coming home but it gave us a chance to ease in
gradually to “normal” life and routines and maybe a chance to think about the people and their history
and their future that we had glimpses on our float up the river.