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Day 17 of 18: Paris

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We have been to Paris a few times, but it's such a large city with so much to see and do, that it provided a good transition from the cruise back to home. We chose a more leisurely agenda for Paris than that on the Viking cruise. But we also needed to walk off some of the extra pounds we put on during the 3 meal-a-day cruise feast. So we walked a total of 10 miles around Paris today, admiring some famous Paris landmarks, plus lesser-known monuments and neighborhoods, many for the first time. It was a fun day and the weather was beautiful. We started our walk in the general direction of Notre Dame cathedral in order to see the restoration progress. From our hotel near Gare de Lyon, we walked along Esplanade du Quai Saint Bernard, a  waterfront promenade on the Seine with an impressive outdoor sculpture museum and well-manicured gardens.  According to Google, this sculpture from 1980 "parodically depicted the poet Arthur Rimbaud. Ipousteguy had Rimbaud resting upon someone’s sol...
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Day 15 & 16 Budapest / Paris

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Day 15 (Monday, July 31), the final day of our Viking Grand European Tour, and Day 16, travel to Paris.  Our ship approached Budapest before breakfast, passing the landmark Hungarian Parliament Building as we approached our city center dock next to the Liberty Bridge. Across the bridge is the Gellért Thermal Bath and one block from our ship is the Great Market Hall, both on our list of places to visit. Towering over us is Lady Liberty at the top of Gellért Hill at the Budapest Citadel. Hungarian Parliament Building Liberty Bridge and Gellért  Thermal Bath Lady Liberty atop Gellért Hill  Budapest was formed in 1873 after the unification of Buda (west side of the Danube), Óbuda (Old Buda) and Pest (east side of the Danube) and is pronounced “boo-duh-pesht." Budapest is a modern city of 1.8 million, with great public transit and 40 colleges and universities. It's a popular tourist destination, with sights such as the Buda Castle, Fisherman's Bastion, the Chain Bridge, S...
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Days 13 & 14 of 18: Vienna, Austria

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Days 13 and 14 (Saturday-Sunday, July 29-30) were both spent in Vienna. We have been to Vienna before and were quickly reminded of its artistic and intellectual legacy, elegant buildings, rich history, cleanliness and the wide-open green spaces. We started our day with a combined bus and walking tour "Panoramic Vienna."  Hofburg, 13th century imperial palace of the Habsburg dynastry Auberes Burgtor, outer castle gate built in 1821 to replace the one destroyed by Napolean Auberes Burgtor Josephsplatz, Austrian National Library Sisi Museum, a collection of artifacts from Empress Elisabeth St. Peters Catholic Church St. Stephen's Cathedral was consecrated in 1137 and under construction for 300 years. At the time of its completion, it was the tallest building in the world for the next 100 years. Above the roof is one tall spire at 450 feet, surrounded by 12 smaller spires representing the desciples. St. Stephen's Cathedral, primary spire St. Stephen's Cathedral St. St...
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