Our first full day in Prague, Czech Republic. We started the day with an excellent buffet. Here are the Roldan’s at the buffet.
Everyone in our group joined the included tour of Prague. Above is the St. Vitus Cathedral within the Prague Castle.
Most of our group went to the optional Czech Communist Era Tour. Above is a statue of King Wenceslaus riding a dead horse.
Inside the Church of Our Lady of the Snows.
This morning, we all joined the optional Prague’s Hidden Treasures tour.
Included coffee/tea/lemonade and cream puff break.
Old Town Square at night.
We took a long bus ride from Prague to Budapest. Along the way, we stopped in the city of Brno.
They set up lounge chairs in the public areas.
View of the chain bridge from the Sky Deck.
Our group joined the Breathtaking Budapest included tour. We visited Heroes’ Square but unfortunately, the main pillar was covered with scaffolding.
Enjoying our sample of Chimney cakes at Kurtos Liget.
Fisherman’s Bastion, Budapest, Hungary
The Church of Our Lady of Buda Castle
View from the Fisherman’s Bastion.
Hungarian State Opera House
Enjoying a drink and a cake that we could choose from a selection of 20 different types.
Front view of the Szechenyi Thermal Bath.
Vajdahunyad Castle (Transylvania Castle), Budapest
Hungarian Parliament Building
Yesterday we played Hanafuda until we arrived in Bratislava, Slovakia in the afternoon.
On our included tour, we visited St. Martin’s Cathedral.
It was really cold, windy, and rainy.
Cumil the Sewer Worker sculpture in Old Town.
We arrived in Vienna this morning. We drove by Saint Francis of Assisi Church on our included morning tour.
Walk through Vienna inner city.
Jaime and Dolores braving the super heavy wind and rain.
Beautiful Kunsthistorisches Museum
We could spend all day here at the museum but opted to head back to the ship on the bus to avoid going out in the strong and chilly winds.
Due to the high river levels, the river was closed to all ships. We were unable to leave Vienna to go to Durnstein on Sunday.
We kept busy playing games and attending a Waltz class on the ship
On a shore excursion in Vienna, we visited the Hofburg Palace. Inside is the Green Giant, the world’s largest cut emerald.
The blade on the left is supposed to be the one that cut Christ while he was on the cross.
In the afternoon, we played a dance game in the lounge on board.
Dinner at our regular seats. Today, we disembarked the ship and are headed to Munich by bus.
Our stop for a tour and then lunch on our own in Linz. Beautiful, sunny day.
We went on an included tour of Munich, Germany.
We started at the spectacular BMW showroom.
We then had a stop at Nymphenburg Palace.
Linda and Darek in front of the entrance.
Our last stop was at the Rathaus-Glockenspiel (clock tower) in Marienplatz to watch the animated display at noon.
We then enjoyed lunch on our own. I took the group to Viktualien Markt to have soup at Munchner Suppenkuch.
Viktualien Markt in Munich, Germany.
Yesterday, we all boarded buses to head to the port where our ship, the Avalon Artistry II, was docked. On the way, we stopped in Passau. St. Paul parish Church was our landmark to return to our bus.
After our tour, everyone was excited to embark on the Avalon Artistry II where we had lunch. The pork with crispy skin was outstanding!
At night, we celebrated the 54th wedding anniversary of Dolores and Jaime.
Today we will be sailing all day on our way to Nuremberg, Germany. Below is the sunrise this morning.
Enjoying the beautiful weather and scenery. Burgruine Rabinstein castle from the ship.
On Saturday morning, we docked in Nuremberg and had the option of included tours to take. Above is the Zepplinfeld, Rally Grounds of the Nazi party.
We then visited the Memorium Nuremberg Trials where they held the trials for the Nazi war crimes.
We enjoyed some free time and explored the market square.
The next day, we woke up to a cold and misty sunrise.
In the afternoon, we all enjoyed an included tour to Würzburg Palace.
The main staircase at Würzburg Palace.
Just one of the many ornate rooms.
Outside the palace in the huge gardens.
The Old Main Bridge which looks similar to the Charles bridge in Prague.
On Monday, we spent all day sailing. We spent the day playing games together (name that tune, Who Dat, and Majority Rules) and eating. The crew opened the top deck and we got to do a walk after breakfast.
We made an unscheduled stop in Cologne, Germany, and was able to spend 2 1/2 hours exploring on our own. Here is the Cologne Cathedral.
The shopping street. They have Muji in addition to Uniqlo.
Relaxing on the Avalon Artistry II.
We had the farewell dinner last night on the ship, before heading to Amsterdam for our last day on tour.
Lobster tail as an appetizer.
