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. Stephen's Cathedral, spire stair climb
St. Stephen's Cathedral, near the midpoint in the 343-stair climb
St. Stephen's Cathedral, midpoint in the 343-stair climb
St. Stephen's Cathedral, view north from the top of the public climb area
St. Stephen's Cathedral, view west capturing the colorful architecture
St. Stephen's Cathedral, showing our climb about 1/2 way up the spire
St. Stephen's Cathedral, returning down the spire's narrow spiral staircase
Another look at the spire's narrow spiral staircase
Fun fact: Wolgang Amedeus Mozart lived in Vienna from 1781 until his death in 1791. He and Constance were married and baptized their two children at St. Stephen's Cathedral. It was in Vienna that Mozart composed many of his most cherished works.
Quick subway ride back to our ship for lunch
After lunch on Saturday, I visited one of the many public parks with a variety of swimming and recreation options. I chose open water swimming in the lower Old Danube river at Gänsehäufel Strandbad.
Open water swimming along the clean Old Danube, separate from the high-traffic 20th century New Danube river
Gänsehäufel Island recreation area, just 5 euros for a day pass
After dinner on Saturday, Viking hosted a trip to a Mozart & Strauss concert at Auersberg Palace by the Vienna Residence Orchestra. It was a fun "greatest hits" concert, with added selections by Haydn and Vivaldi, accompanied by opera singers and dancers. Upon return to the ship, our Viking chef served Goulash Suppe as a late-night snack.
Best of Vienna concert at the Auersberg Palace
Sunday morning we selected a special excursion to see Vienna's countryside by e-Bike. It was a ~20-mile trip along bike paths on the Danube, through many open green spaces.
Getting fitted for our e-Bikes
Celebrating Otto Wagners flood-prevention project 100 years ago with locks and the re-direction of the Danube River
Kloster Neuburg Abbey, founded in 1114 by Saint Leopold III of Babenberg, with 17th century Baroque style additions
Our bike tour stopped for refreshments at Uferhaus midway through the morning
Ready to load our bikes on a ferry across the Danube
Our 17-member e-Bike group, plus three guides, taking a river current-powered ferry across the Danube
Vienna headquarters of the United Nations, home to UN activities related to nuclear energy, space and "alien contact"
Crossing back over the Danube at the end of the bike ride
On Sunday afternoon, we were invited to visit the Captain's Wheelhouse to view the ship's navigation controls. Throughout our river cruise, there were occasional low bridges, which required the crew to limit access to the ship's rooftop terrace and lower the captain's wheelhouse down into the ship. For some bridges, we were allowed to stay on the terrace, as long as we did not stand up as there was less than 6-foot clearance to the bridge.
Captain's Wheelhouse tour
Captain's wheelhouse lowered into the ship to pass under bridges
Captain's wheelhouse in normal cruising position
View from the upper deck when passing under low a bridge, with crew member standing watch at the left to be sure nobody stood up
Video showing the Viking Gefjon passing under a low bridge on the Danube in the Wachau Valley
On Sunday night after dinner, we passed through Slovakia, including sunset passage of Bratislava, the capital city.
Bratislava Castle
Sunset on the Danube in Slovakia
Sunset on the Danube in Slovakia
The evening ended with a "Name That Tune" contest in the lounge. Our team took 2nd place thanks to Keith and our new friends Mickey, Cathy, Ben and Tina.
We will continue cruising down the Danube until morning when we will arrive in Budapest, Hungary for our final day of shore excursions.
We started our day docked in medieval Koblenz, Germany, heart of the Middle Rhine region, and made our way by bus to a walking tour of the nearby 13th century Marksburg Castle towering 500 feet over the river. Viking Ve in Koblenz, Germany Marksburg Castle was the only Rhine fortress to have never been destroyed. Difficult to reach and built with strong fortifications, it was never besieged by enemies. The tour included the living quarters, kitchen, torture chamber and former prison cells, and a collection of life-size figurines detailing changes to armor and weaponry through the ages. Today, Marksburg Castle is home to the German Castles Association, which works to preserve medieval fortifications all over Germany. Guide Marc holding the key to Marksburg Castle Carriage entrance to Marksburg, inside outer walls Passing the 4th level of castle Marksburg fortification Marksburg cannon battery Wine cellar Marksburg kitchen Marksburg food pantry Marksburg castellan family living quar...
Today is day seven of our Viking Grand European Tour (Sunday 7/23). Würzburg is a university town in northern Bavaria and a jewel of baroque architecture. It is home to the former residence of the Würzburg prince-bishops, who wielded great power and wealth. The UNESCO-listed Bishops' Residenz is one of largest and most ornate palaces in Germany. The Würzburg Residence and Court Gardens Before visiting the sites, I enjoyed a 10k run through the Würzburg Ring Park, a 19th-century ring-shaped greenway featuring fountains, monuments and 220 species of trees. It spans the baroque old town, starting and ending at two historic bridges on the river Main. Würzburg Ring Park Keith and I walked to the Würzburg Residenz to tour the Bishops' Residence and Court Garden. Würzburg Residenz was constructed over a 25-year period, beginning in 1719, with interior decoration finishing in 1780. Near the end of World War II, Würzburg was subject to a massive 17-minute allied bombing campaign that r...
Today (Saturday, 7/22) our Viking ship wound its way along the narrow Main River, through numerous locks and low bridges in the Spessart region. This legend-rich forest area, 800 square miles of wooded hill country, is home of the actual Snow White. The Grimm brothers also used Spessart as the setting for many of their fairy tales, which locals insist were not all fiction. The Viking Ve upper deck was "flattened" to queeze under the bridges across the Main. The viewing terrace, putting green and shuffleboard court were all closed while the crew folded down the deck railings. Even the Captain's bridge was lowered into the vessel by hydraulic lift to ensure safe passage. Mid-afternoon, we docked in Freudenberg in preparation for a walking tour of nearby Miltenberg. Viking Ve with its convertible top lowered Freudenberg, Germany Viking Ve in Freudenberg We took a short bus ride to Miltenberg, our first stop in Bavaria, known for its half-timbered houses and Germany’s oldes...
.jpg)
Comments
Post a Comment