We set out earlier as Jen wanted to get to the Charles Bridge before the crowds. Good call as we got there not long after 9am and were able to photograph things without too much competition. Having said that, nowhere is far in the old part of the city so it wasn’t a long trek. […]
Day 35: Prague Tuesday 14 July
We had a relaxed start, which was nice, and then off on a tour of sights selected by Jen. We had a look inside the church next door first. We had a bit of a wander through the streets, then it was coffee and snack at a nearby cafe. Next was watching the clock in […]
Day 34 To Prague via Saxony: Monday 13 July
I drove us from Chemnitz to Prague and Jen had mapped out a route that took us to a coffee stop in a cute German town and then lunch somewhere else. On the way, she revised the plan to 2 different stops which included a visit to some scenic bridge in the Saxony-Switzerland National Park, […]
Days 32-33: MotoGP, Saturday and Sunday 11 and 12 July
Jen drove us to the Sachsenring via an ATM on Saturday. It’s annoying that all the food and drink stalls are cash only. When you get beer or shandy you pay an extra €2 per plastic glass and get a red token. You then get your €2 back when you return the containers and tokens. […]
Days 30 – 31: Budapest to Chemnitz Germany, Thursday/Friday 9th and 10th July
We had an earlyish start with a 7.30 taxi to the airport. Check in was fine and we were set to arrive in Prague about an hour before Jen, who was coming from Istanbul. All good to Frankfurt but unfortunately (for a bird) the incoming flight hit the bird and then had to be checked […]
Day 29 Budapest: Wednesday 8th July
It was an early start to get packed with our bags outside our cabin in order to be loaded onto the buses. Still time for a final breakfast, though I always have an identical breakfast so it was not particularly special! We all slept for a good deal of the 2.5 hour journey to Budapest. […]
Day 28: Pecs Hungary – Tuesday 7th July
We had 2 optional excursions, both of which involved a bus ride. Pauline and I opted to do the trip to Pecs (pronounced Petch)which has a church, organ recital, world heritage archaeological site and pretty town. Mike opted to chill out on the boat. The boat is very low in the water and we needed […]
Day 27: Ilok and Vukovar Croatia – Monday 6th July
In the morning we had an excursion to Ilok which is a rural village up on a fortress. Following a short stroll around the fortress we went to a local vineyard, Hungary’s 3rd largest, for wine tasting. As they say, it’s always wine o’clock somewhere. The church at Ilok was nice. A Catholic Church this […]
Day 26 Novi Sad, Serbia – Sunday 5 July
Another beautiful sunny day and not too hot. We first had a quick bus tour of Novi Sad, which is Serbia’s second largest city and then a walk through the central town. Novi Sad was rebuilt in the late 1800s after the town was flattened by the Hungarians that were occupying the fortress across the […]
Day 25 Belgrade Serbia: 4 July
We had a morning bus and walking tour of Belgrade in the morning and free time on board in the afternoon. Our guide in Belgrade was excellent. He had a great sense of humour, laced with irony, but was able to provide context to many of the characteristics of Serbia and the Balkans more generally. […]
Day 24 The Iron Gates and Serbia: Friday 3rd July
It was a spectacular sailing morning as we went through the Iron Gates and a narrow gorge before the Danube opens into a large artificial lake beyond. We still had Romania on the right bank until we got to Golubac in the afternoon. More importantly, it rained the previous evening so the daytime temperatures are lower […]
Day 23 Vidin Bulgaria: Thursday 2 July
Another hot day! We had a morning on the boat and then a trip around the town of Vidin in the afternoon to see a fortress combined with castle. The only castle in Bulgaria in fact. Then it was back on the bus and off to see some rocks. We were not sure what that […]