Italian Symposium 2009 / Veneto

I was invited and had the opportunity to attend the Italy Symposium in the Veneto region of Italy. It was a jammed-packed itinerary as we saw the cities of Verona, Home of Romeo & Juliet; Vicenza, the home city & Villas of Andrea Palladio; and the romantic city of Venice. Not enough time spent in each, but I'm looking forward to returning in the near future with Tod.

View my slideshow of the Veneto region

Thursday, Aug 13 - Vienna, Austria

We woke to cloudy skies and some rain this morning; it cleared some by the time we departed the ship for our included city tour.


We first had a ride around the Ringstrasse, the broad thoroughfare around historic Vienna, surrounded by many imperial buildings and monuments. On foot, we walked from St Stephen's Cathedral to Mozarthous - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart lived in this home from 1784-1787, composing his most famous opera here, THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO.





Departing our group, Tod & I did our own sightseeing tour, including the Vienna Opera House, Museum Quarter, Parks, and the amazing Hofburg Imperial Palace, which was the winter home to the royal family.




Hofberg Palace - we saw the Sisi Museum and Imperial Silver Collection and Copper Display. We also toured the Imperial Apartments, the home of Emperor Franz Joseph & Duchess Elizabeth of Austria. It's quite amazing to see the vast wealth that was amassed!!

It rained on and off during the day, so we had to "duck under" a few times for cover. We had lunch at a local outdoor restaurant - the food was good, and portions were huge; it was a little different, as we were charged for each individual piece of bread -- I've never run into that before!

In the evening, we went to the outdoor music festival that was taking place and watched a part of an opera on a huge, outdoor screen. The Vienna Outdoor Music Festival was just like being at the Minnesota State Fair - lots of people, food, & drinks.

Vienna at night is beautiful; all of the historic building are lit up; and, we found a water fountain towering into the air, changing colors.



On our way back to our river boat, we heard live music at what appeared to be a local bar and we decided to stop for a cocktail. There was some sort of private function happening, and the center of attention was "the lady in the red dress" -- we never did find out what the party was for, but everyone was having a great time!

There is so much to see and do in Vienna; one day was a great introduction, but it would be easy to spend a few days just in Vienna.

Wednesday, Aug 12 - Melk & Durnstein

Arriving early into Melk, we left for our tour of the Melk Benedictine Abbey. The Abbey is a massive structure, built between 1702 and 1736; it is now home to a school for about 900 students.

The church is stunning; "over-the-top" is how it was described!







After visiting the Abbey and the small town of Melk, we sailed thru the Wachau Valley, rich with vineyards & castles, to Durnstein, said to be the Wachau's most picturesque town.



Tod & I went on a bike ride, with fellow passengers, Ken & Robin. We rode thru a few small & lovely "wine" towns, made a few wrong turns, but ended back; and, in time to stroll thru the winding streets and have a glass of wine/beer overlooking the Danube.

Tuesday, Aug 11 - Linz/Salzburg, Austria

We left in the morning from our port in Linz for a full day in Salzburg; the drive was about 2 hours thru the Austrian Alps. We made one "rest" stop and we able to see a beautiful lake in the base of the Alps.

Arriving in Salzburg, we walked into the historical part of the city, and into the Farmer's market.


Tod & I left our city tour shortly into it, as we wanted to hike up the the Hohensalzburg Castle, the largest fully-preserved fortress in Central Europe, rising 400 feet above the city. We hadn't realized that this castle was so popular. After waiting in line for at least 30 minutes -- without moving very far -- we decide to take advantage of a private tour guide. She took us into some rooms of the castle that are closed to the public, including the bakery & smoke house,and the wine cellar.





Back down the hill into Salzburg, we ran into the biggest crowds, yet; we did find out that August is vacation time for Eastern Europeans, so there are many, many people/families traveling!

Monday, Aug 10 - PASSAU, GERMANY

Passau is one of Bavaria's oldest cities and sits at the confluence of 3 rivers - the Danube (which is the river we will be sailing down), the Ilz, and the Inn. The old part of the city is actually on an island between the Danube and Inn Rivers.

In the morning, we did a walking tour of the city. Our first cathedral of this trip was Italian-made St Stephan's, which is very elaborate and houses the world's largest church organ, with over 17,000 pipes! Walking through the cobblestone streets and medieval alleyways, we made our way to the town hall, with it's famous paintings, grand atrium, and stained glass windows.

After leaving the tour, Tod & I hiked across the Danube River bridge and up to the Castle Oberhaus. The views over the city were marvelous and we could see from high above where the 3 rivers met.

One of my reasons for choosing to sail with UNIWORLD was due the to fact that they had bicycles on board for the guest's use; in the afternoon, we took the bikes and rode about 15 kilometers - each way - into the countryside and along the river.




So far, it's a wonderful trip! We've met great people; the staff is very friendly and the ship is all that I could ask for . Our room on UNIWORLD'S River Beatrice is compact, but it's nicely done and the bed is VERY comfortable - I would say the best we've had on any river cruise.

Sunday, Aug 9, 2009 - Arrive FRANKFURT, GERMANY

We had late departing flights on Aug 8, first of all from MSP -- however, when I knew we were bound to miss our connection in Chicago, I called the flight attendant over -- come to find out, they were our flight crew to Detroit, so "no worries"!!

Arriving on Sunday morning, Aug 9, into Frankfurt, we had to get train tickets and take the train from Frankfurt to Passau; it was quite easy, as I knew what we needed. The clerk at the train station wanted to sell us a 4 day rail pass -- of course, no need, as we were boarding our Danube River Cruise in Passau.

Upon arrival into Passau about 230pm, the rest of the day was at leisure to move into our stateroom, unpack and relax.

DANUBE RIVER CRUISE, Aug 9-16, 2009

Tomorrow, Aug 8, 2009, we are flying to Europe and will be cruising on the Danube River, with UNIWORLD, on their new river boat, the RIVER BEATRICE.

I am going to try to keep our blog updated as often as I can, depending on the availability of internet connections along the way.

Previously, we have cruised on the Rhine River in Europe, Yangtzee in China and Nile in Egypt; river cruises are a wonderful and relaxing way to see the countries and I expect to thoroughly enjoy this one, also!

(p.s. as stated in the previous entry in our blog, this was Tod's choice of a trip!!)

Back Home!

We are back home in Minnesota; it was good to see a green landscape, again, particularly after being in Jordan.

We had a great trip, made new friends and enjoyed every minute we were gone.

There is so much to see and experience in this world - take advantage when you can and broaden your horizens. You might just get the "travel fever" as we have!

I thought I would be ready to "stay home" for a while -- but, once I get back in the comforts of home, I'm ready to go again. Tod really wants to see Antarctica, but I don't know if I ready for the cold...we'll see!

As Egypt was my choice and a place I've always wanted to go to, and Petra, Jordan, is one of the "New 7 Wonders of the World", I guess it should be his choice next time!?!?

Wednesday, May 20, 2009 - Goodby to Jordan

This morning we rose early for a sunrise camel trek into the desert.



It has been extremely hot & windy in South Jordan -- highs over 100 -- and I am ready to see some "green".

Overnight tonight in Cairo, before our flight home on Thursday, May 21, 2009.

Tuesday, May 19, 2009 - Overnight at Wadi Rum

We spent the night in a tented(?) camp at Wadi Rum -- I'm not sure how Tod talked me into this one; at least we had a bed and didn't need to sleep on the ground!!




The sunset was beautiful.

Tuesday, May 19, 2009 - Wadi Rum

About noon we left Petra for Wadi Rum, the largest and most magnificent of Jordan's desert landscapes -- we witnessed the vast silence and stark beauty of the desert.



It was here that Lawrence of Arabia strategized his attack during the Arab Revolt of WW1.

More Views of Petra

Monday, May 18, 2009 - "Petra By Night"

Our 2nd walk into Petra on Monday to see Petra light by approx 1800 candles - spectacular!

Monday, May 18, 2009 - Petra

Tod & I left the Crowne Plaza about 8am to walk into Petra and climb - approx 800 steps - to THE MONASTERY, which is another impressive site. It is not as busy, due to the long climb up,
but definitely worth the effort! The Monastery is a gigantic first century monument, carved into the mountain; perhaps a tomb or temple built in a style similar to The Treasury.




Walked back to our hotel by about noon to get our of the afternoon heat and tonight we will see "Petra by Night."

Sunday, May 17, 2009 - Petra

We met our guide for a 1/2 day, Abdullah, and told him we didn't want the typical tour - we wanted to see some of Petra's hidden secrets, and we had time to explore the other sites on our own. He took us on an alternate trail thru the mountains to a cliff that overlooked The Treasury-it was an incredible sight and we were the only ones there.




After going down the mountain to Petra, we did a short tour thru the rest of the sights and then back to our hotel to avoid the afternoon heat.
Late afternoon, we walked back down The Siq and into Petra. We climbed about 650 step to see THE HIGH PLACE OF SACRIFICE, which again, overlooks Petra below.

Saturday, May 16, 2009 - Cairo/Amman/Petra

Tod & I flew early morning to Amman, Jordan, and transferred by private car to Wadi Musa, which is the city that borders the ancient city of PETRA. Along the way we saw many Bedouin homes -- tents! We checked into the Crowne Plaza Hotel,
which is at the entrance to Petra.
About 3:30pm, we walked down THE SIQ, which is the entrance to PETRA: the legendary lost city carved into walls of a hidden desert canyon, the most famous of Jordan's dazzling sites. The Siq is a 3/4 mile long narrow and winding fissure between the cliffs, leading to a sudden turn that reveals the most famous structure in Petra, THE TREASURY. Petra is one of "The New Seven Wonders of the World"; it is beautifuland amazing and we were "in awe"!