Danube River Cruise - 5/1/14

Up at 6:00 today. Deb awoke shortly thereafter.  Showered and out the door soon after 7:00 for breakfast in the hotel.  Scrambled eggs, sausage, fruit and yogurt, plus coffee.

Six in our group headed for the tour of Terezin concentration camp. Deb, Ann Hosford, Judy Robison and I took the other offered optional tour to Lobowicz Castle back at the Prague Castle Hill.  An amazing castle with art works and history.  Prince Lobowicz was the nobleman who offered Beethoven an annuity so that he could compose whatever music he wished, rather than trying to appease a patron with on-demand works. This innovation was a first in the history of music and begat such things as the famous 5th Symphony.

At the end of the tour we stopped in the cafe for a beer, and then back to the music room for a one hour concert.  There were a violist and a pianist, members of the Prague Symphony, who provided a very memorable batch of chamber music.

Back at the hotel by 2:00 PM; we met the others at a nearby restaurant for a bowl of soup and glass of wine.  Then on to the Jewish Cemetery, the New-Old Synagogue and the Pinkas Synagogue, all in the Jewish quarter only 2 blocks away.  Also some shopping involved.

Back at the hotel by 6:00 and then down to the bar to discuss dinner. We decided on an Italian (non-pizza) place tonight.  However, when we trekked to the spot, the directions took us to the wrong place.  We back tracked and eventually found the correct place, but they were slammed, service was slow, although the food was good.  By the time we returned to the hotel, it was after 10:00. It is very hard to herd 10 frumpy old people around a strange city, especially with the language barrier.  Some tense moments this evening, but all survived.

Repacking all bags for all day transfer tomorrow to the river boat in Nuremburg.

Danube River Cruise - 4/30/14

We awoke in the middle of the night (2:30) as our internal clocks were out of wack.  Deb finally fell back to sleep until 6:30, but I tossed and turned, getting up at 5:00 and into a great shower.  Then caught up on this daily email.

I went down to breakfast at 6:50. Very good and a large selection. The dining room got real crowded with the entire hotel trying to eat and get out before 8:00 AM.  Deb came down about 8:15 and we were lucky to find a seat.

Our city tour of Prague left promptly at 9:00 in a total of three (3) buses.  We were the red group!  The palace tour was good, although Deb and I had done it the last time we were here.  The entire group then walked to the city center. This was facilitated by the voice vox technology.  This is a small transmitter and microphone the tour guide carries, and each of the participants has an individual small receiver with ear piece to hear.  In effect, the tour guide is broadcasting on a private frequency to each of her tour members. Very effective, as long as you don't mind her constant chatter in your ear.

We completed the tour in the Old Town Square, waiting for the clock to strike 1:00. We ate lunch at a surprisingly good Italian restaurant, enjoying pizza and wine.

After lunch, Don, Ann, Deb and I walked the old town area, shopping and wandering.  We stopped for an afternoon ice cream, and then decided to attend the concert in the St. Nicholas church in the square.  Organ and Trumpet doing KVNO style classical favorites.  An interesting experience, but, wow, were the pews hard and uncomfortable for the entire hour!  We returned to the hotel at 6:15, refreshed and then out again to a wonderful meal at Cafe La Veranda - truly top notch, I had a grilled tuna steak in a lemon reduction sauce, Deb had roast duck.

After dinner, more wandering of the old town area. We ended up back at the square to watch the 11:00 striking of the astronomical clock, finally seeing the entire sequence. 

Home by 11:30 and straight to bed.  I fell directly to sleep, but Deb tossed and turned most of the night.

Danube River Cruise - 4/29/14

Prague, the Czech Republic

We had a smooth flight from Frankfurt to Prague, arriving at 1:30 this afternoon. AMAWaterways representatives were at the airport to meet and get us to the bus for our transfer to the Intercontinental Hotel in downtown Prague. Our traveling companions, Jan and Larry Rupert (friends of the Sennentz' rendezvous with us at the airport, so now our motley crew consists of five couples.

We checked into the hotel and then all met in the bar for a drink and to coordinate plans for dinner and the rest of the afternoon. Deb cautioned all to try and stay awake until at least 9:00 in order to try to regulate and adjust for the time zone change. We selected our tours for Prague and then met back at the bar to walk to dinner at the Kolnkova restaurant. We were met at the bar by our friend Radka, who is a professional tour guide here in Prague and with whom we spent some time on our last trip. She provided a lot of insight into the area in her short 45 minutes with us, and then left us at the restaurant.

Our meal this evening was typical Czech fare, and was delicious. I had wild boar with dumplings, Deb had roast rabbit, and some had goulash. After dinner we took a short walk to the central old town square and viewed the famous clock tower, although we had missed the hourly chimes. The Hosfords and we continued for a short walk and stroll back to the hotel on what turned out to be an evening of supreme weather.  We crashed into bed at about 9:30 and were out like dead cell phones.

Danube River Cruise - 4/28/14

The adventure begins, four of the five geriatric but merry couples arrive near the appointed time at Eppley Airfield in Omaha, some by taxi, some with friends driving, some chauffeured by relatives, and one set under their own power.

There were some check-in stumbles but eventually each is ticketed with the correct name to match their current passport. On the way up to security check-in, it was quickly noted that all but me received TSA clearance - they were handed a yellow card and were allowed to prance on through with their toes covered and their soles protected. I on the other hand was to succumb to the unshod indignity of the "moose in glass cage" act.  Always a joy to my fellow travelers.

We were promised a bumpy ride to Chicago, but the pilots were not able to deliver; the flight was smooth.  There was a 45 minute layover in Chicago for the Frankfurt flight.  Certain team members did not think they could wait for dinner service, so scouted out various McDonald's and Chicago Dog offerings.

The 747 plane was not full; almost everyone had a seat between them.  A better service might have been enclosed closets for the screaming babies two rows ahead. As Business class is in the upstairs lounge of this model plane, I thought we should all chip in and buy these screamers an upgrade to business; that didn't fly.

Scheduled to land at 10:00 AM. on Tuesday morning. We then catch a 12:20 flight of one hour on to Prague where we will spend three nights and see the sights.