Prague Food Tour

We had an interesting food tour for our last night in Prague. We stopped at four places and tried a variety of things including Pho which was a surprise. The Vietnamese and Czech food cultures actually mesh very well, especially Pho and bao buns. Czechs seem to like brothy, consomme-style soups and steamed, bready bites. We also had another variation of Svíčková na smetaně, this time with a more vegetable forward gravy and a drizzle of creme fraiche instead of whipped cream.  

Today we are headed to PRG for a flight to BCN. If the current flight schedule holds we should land about 1:30. We'll stay a couple of nights in Barcelona and then start the next leg of this adventure: A fourteen night transatlantic sailing to Port Everglades.

Cesky Krumlov and a Prague Beer Fest

Yesterday we were bussed from Linz and stopped in Cesky Krumlov for a tour. This is the second largest city in the Czech Republic. We walked around a castle and then through the city center.

 Wonderful lunch in a restaurant right next to the river.

 I had roasted duck leg with bread dumplings and Angie had Svíčková na Smetaně which is essentially "creamy beef" in English. Sounds odd but it was delicious roasted beef tenderloin in a carrot gravy served with cranberry sauce, whipped cream and of course bread dumplings. So good!!! After lunch we had some free to explore a pivobar (Czech for brewery) for a local beer and then a small museum. 

Then we boarded the bus and headed to Prague. We had some traffic but made it to the Marriot by 5:15. We quickly got our room keys and brought our bags to the hotel. We had a short mandatory rest period, recharged our phones and then arranged an UBER for our evening activity. Angie had found a beer festival a few days ago and booked tickets. It was called Sibeeria & Friends. Sibeeria is a local brewery. If you have ever been to the Great American Beer Festival in Denver, it was like that except on a smaller scale. 

 They had about forty breweries from all across Europe and even one from the United States. Some really fabulous beers. My favorite was Mahavishnu which was from Tuletorn Brewing in Tallin. It was a pastry sour which is a bit like a smoothie. It has mango, curry and cumin flavors. The first time I've had all three of those on a beer. 

Today we had a walking tour of the Prague Castle area. It's massive!! 

We go to see the changing of the guards!! We also got to the main square and saw an incredible astronomical clock with moving figures. 

Quite impressive since it still uses the same mechanism when it was built in 1410.

After our tour we had lunch at Restaurace Červený jelen which is Czech for "red deer". You just follow the red deer down the alley!!

 We tried a bunch of things including some tasty and creatively plated beef tartar. 

After lunch we walked to the CExh Beer Museum. It's a very small museum but has some interesting exhibits. I learned some things about Czech beer including the different pouring styles and the "battle of the Budweisers". If you want to read an interesting story, Google that and you'll find Augustus Busch "stole" the recipe for his beer when he brought it to America. 

After the museum we had some people watching in the square and then walked back to the hotel for a mandatory rest period. We have a food tour tonight at 5 PM. Tomorrow we have an early transfer at 7:45 to the airport. We'll be flying to BCN!! More on that later. 

Linz, Austria

We had a fun afternoon as we headed up to Postlingberg to enjoy the views. We took the number 50 tram from the city center which cost €9 round trip per person. We were able to buy tickets from the tourist information center. Same price as if we had bought them at the train station. It was a twenty minute ride up to the top. Once there you are immediately greeted by a gnome!! It is foreshadowing!!  

We walked a short distance to the lookout point where you could see the city of Linz and all the bridges crossing the Danube. 

We walked a bit further and found a restaurant which also had great views. It was time for a snack. Angie had a beef risotto and I had fig carpacio with wild boar ham. Both very tasty with a local beer that they brew exclusively for this restaurant.  

After our snack we walked to the nearby Grottenbahn. If you have a fear of gnomes, never come here!! It's a very small amusement park attraction which prominently features gnomes. We took the dragon train ride which goes around in a circle three times, but each time different gnome displays are lit up. It was quite imaginative!! And the final trip around, all the lights are on. 

After our ride, we went downstairs where they have a small version of the town facades. And in between some of them are fairy tale scenes that have signs effects that you activate. 

Quite a quirky place but we like things like that. Dinner tonight will be at the Courtyard. Tomorrow we will head to Prague.

Melk Abbey

Yesterday we had a tour of Stift Melk which is one of the oldest abbeys in Europe having originated in the 11th century. Fascinating buildings and a church plus libraries with books in many languages.

 There are monks who still live and practice here. No pictures allowed inside. We had a nice lunch here of a traditional Austrian salad with potato salad and grated carrots and a main of roasted pork with bread dumplings.  

We arrived at the Courtyard in Linz about 2:45. Our rooms were ready and we settled in and had a mandatory rest period. Dinner was a decent buffet at the hotel where they had really tasty creamy polenta.

After breakfast this morning we boarded a bus to the city square in Linz for a short walking tour.

 We're now on a tram that will take us to Pöstlingbergkirche which is the famous church in Linz. Only €9 per person round trip. There will be some great scenic views on this sunny day. Lunch plans are TBD but likely back in the city center. There are a lot of cafes and beergartens. 

Durnstein

Good morning!! We're back in Durnstein after a sail to Spitz yesterday. We visited a fifth generation wine barrel maker. It's quite a process. After harvesting the best quality wood, the large staves are then seasoned for five years before they will be used for a barrel. And they are all made outside, with a small fire built inside the barrel to warm the wood. This makes it possible for the wood to be manipulated into shape. It can take several days to make one barrel. They make approximately 100 barrels a year at an average selling price of €2000.  

Afterwards we headed to a wine cellar in a village and met one of the winemakers, dressed in his traditional clothing.

 Each village had several wine cellars and or tasting was inside one of them. Some delicious wines. And the last one we got to go even further into the cellar where the wine was pulled straight out of the barrel.  

We got back onboard Avalon Tranquility and the sommelier had another wine tasting at noon. This is definitely a wine cruise!! Then we had a nice lunch onboard. There were several ship excursions but we decided to stay onboard as we sailed back to Durnstein and enjoyed the beauty of the Wachau valley. Some gorgeous fall colors and so many vineyards.  

Dinner was a wine gala with a wine pairing for each course. We had a variety of wine from each of the countries we visited on this trip (Hungary, Slovakia and Austria).  

Today we will disembark the ship after three nights onboard. We'll be bussed to a nearby abbey for a tour and then lunch. Then we will head to Linz for our next two nights. We'll be staying at the Courtyard by Marriott. 

Vienna Military History Museum

Today while most of the 65+ guests on board were on a ship excursion, we did our own thing. Before we could leave the ship, we had to stay onboard while our ship switched places with another one. It's quite common for river ships to be "stacked" next to each other. This means that you might have two or more ships together and you need to pass through each one before you can get to the dock. It was fascinating to see the caption maneuver the vessel. Once that was complete, we left our cabin and headed outside.  

We arranged an UBER from where we were docked and took it to the Heeresgeschichtliches Museum (aka Museum of Military History). It's a very inexpensive museum at only €9 for both of us combined. For starters, they have the largest collection of military uniforms, swords, bayonets, hats and helmets that I've ever seen at any museum in the world. And all in very good condition. And that's just one whole floor. On another level one side is dedicated to World War I. It starts with the actual car that Archbishop Franz Ferdinand was travelling in when he and his wife were assassinated in 1914.

 That event by itself didn't start the war, but it did set off a number of events that led to the war. Each section focuses on a different year and highlights all the major events from that year. They have these cupolas (I'd call them turrets) that were used during the war. You can see where artillery shells hit the roofs, but were sturdy enough to not be destroyed. The one I took a picture of was used at the Siege of Antwerp in 1914. And they have a howitzer. 

I've only seen pictures of these massive weapons. To stand next to one you really understand how big they are. This particular model weighs 90,000 kg when fully assembled and requires 12 men to operate.  

One other section focused on the lead up to World War II. It was interesting to see how fascism was so easily embraced by the people of that time. Austria essentially just rolled over and became Germany's puppet. Echos of what's happening today. History does repeat. Make sure you get out and vote to help stop it. 

After the museum, we walked about five minutes to a nearby restaurant called Klein Steiermark.

 Angie thought the outside looked like what Hansel and Gretel's house would be like. We had a great meal of potato soup, pumpkin ravioli and vegetable strudel. Can you tell we needed some veggies? The pumpkin ravioli was my favorite. The ravioli had a slight savory filling. But it was the sauce that brought this altogether. It was a creamy herbaceous sauce with chunks of pumpkin, scallions and fennel. It all worked together so well. We shared a piece of chocolate nougat cake for dessert. 

We arranged for our UBER back to where the ship was docked. As we had witnessed earlier, our ship was "stacked" behind another one which is quite a common occurrence when the rivers are busy. So we entered the CroisiEurope and crossed onto the Avalon Tranquility.  

Later tonight there is a happy hour at 5 PM, followed by our nightly briefing. Dinner will be earlier than usual because most of the guests are attending a concert and leaving at 7:30. We're staying onboard and will likely try the Dinner Bistro which is a buffet they set up in the main lounge. It features most of the items from the evenings dinner menu, just in a more casual style. After dinner we may walk down along the Danube. All aboard is 10:30 and we are expected to sail at 11 PM and be in Durnstein tomorrow morning. We spoke to the captain earlier today and he confirmed there will be a couple of locks the ship will go through. We both love locks so we'll plan to be up for those. The first one is at ~1:30 AM and the second at ~ 5:30 AM. It will just be nice to sail, at least a little bit. 

Budapest and Bratislava

 Let's catch everyone up!! We had a great last couple of days in Budapest with a food tour one evening and a city tour the next day including a visit to the Citadella to see the Liberty statue. It's symbolic of the liberation during the Hungarian Revolution. Our visit was during the anniversary of the Revolution - a national holiday. They replaced the Hungarian flag with the flag during the Revolution. The Soviets had replaced the center of the Hungarian with the wheat during the occupation. During the Revolution, the Hungarian people cut out the wheat and used a flag with a hole in it.  

 

We then had a wonderful wine tasting deep in a wine cave. Four local wines, great pairing of sausages, cheese and langos which is Hungarian fry bread. Yesterday we disembarked the Avalon Expression and were bussed to Bratislava Slovakia (new country alert!!). There we had a city tour and had a wonderful lunch including the signature dish of Bryndzové halušky. This is best described as a decadent macaroni and cheese. It is small dumplings similar to spaetzle in a rich sheep's milk cheese bechamel topped with bacon and chives. So tasty!!

 In the afternoon we boarded the bus and arrived in Vienna. Yes - we're back!! This time we boarded the Avalon Tranquility. They made the embarkation process very easy and we were able to have the same room number as the Expression. The ship is a little bit smaller, but the same general layout. Make sure you are following Trips with Angie for more information about the ship experience.  

After settling into our new cabin, the ship's sommelier had a wine tasting at 5 PM which was followed by happy hour and then the daily briefing. We learned that we actually should be sailing tonight at about 11 PM!! The Danube apparently has a high enough level of water. We'll depart our docking location in Vienna and head to Durnstein Austria in the Wachau wine region. 

Today there are several ship excursions available but since we were here last week, we're going to have a day on our own. Angie has some work to catch up on. Then we will likely visit the Military Museum a bit later.