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We got off to a rather rocky start by finding out when we arrived in Prague, Czech Republic that our return connector flight from Budapest to London had been cancelled due to the British Airways strike. Also, that part of Europe had an exceptionally rainy season, coupled with more rain after we arrived, that kept falling onto the Danube River causing a bit of a panic.
We were able to email Tim & Eniko to put us in touch with Eniko’s brother Samuel who lives in Budapest for a backup in the event we had to make train or bus connections, and Anthony who jumped right on contacting the dog/house sitter to stay an extra day and keeping me laughing with his return emails in the midst of all the confusion. We were finally able to get in touch with our travel agent who made arrangements for us on a later flight adding another night stay in London.
The rain continued to pour down in earnest the 2nd and 3rd days causing the Danube to rise to the point where they closed the river to boat traffic as the boat couldn’t make it under the many bridges. So, unfortunately, the balance of our Scenic River trip Down the Danube was primarily by bus. We traveled with fantastic people mostly from Australia, England, and Canada with only 8 Americans in the group. Wine was included with our meals and let me tell you, these people did themselves proud! One more round of singing
“Dancing Matilda” would have sent us overboard. Incredibly friendly and lighthearted travel companions.
In addition to Prague, there were stops in Nuremburg, Regensburg, and Passau in Germany. Then on to Salzburg, Vienna and Melk in Austria, and ending our trip in Budapest, Hungary. Highlights were the tour of Nuremburg visiting the site of the court house where the WWII Nazi crime trials were held and Hitler’s parade grounds seen in so many newsreels and movies. The Documentation Center is a huge museum of WWII Nazi, Hitler and actual footage from the trials that was outstanding. Salzburg, of course, famous for the Sound of Music which the tour guide proudly pointed out all the sites from the movie. We went to the small town in Germany to see the tiny church where the first Silent Night was composed and performed, but it was flooded out, so we could only see the outside between raindrops from the bus. In Vienna we had a tour of their magnificent Opera House, backstage and all, and a private concert at a palace featuring ballet dancers performing to the Blue Danube Waltz with a 12 piece orchestra. Budapest was a beautiful old European city where we ended our tour. The check-in at the Budapest Airport will remain in our memory forever!
As I’ve told you the most memorable times, I will tell you also the most hilarious. We left on our 4 hour bus trip from Prague to the boat in Nuremburg and were told that once in Germany we would stop for lunch. In my mind I saw a wonderfully quaint Bavarian Inn, polka music in the background, with ladies in Dirndls serving beer and sausages.
However, when the bus driver pulled in for the stop we found ourselves at a McDonald’s!! Norm said “Chicken Sandwich $2, the look on my face - Priceless”. Sometimes the unexpected things are the funniest. All in all, despite the bumps in the itinerary, it was a good time.
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