Getting to the end of our vacation — we have really been enjoying Switzerland.  If we could only visit one country in Europe, we have both agreed on Switzerland being the one.

The Swiss train system is arguably the finest in the world. The trains really leave on time. Exactly. There are different choices, like this express train that only stops at the bigger cities and goes faster. Other trains stop more and go slower. If you take the fast thru train, you can get almost anywhere in the country faster than by airplane if you count the security check and waiting and transit to and from the airport.

Dave had really wanted to do the Glacier Express Train ride — 5 hours long — and we had been trying to figure out how we could fit it in.  We “turned in Geneva” for the day and came up to Zermatt so we could start the Express tomorrow at 9 am and still get  to Zurich for our trip back to the US on Monday.

The last hour of the ride was some spectacular scenery.  A lot of waterfalls, and a white water river carry down the glacier melt.  We gained a lot of elevation and the train was built to zig zag around the mountains on the side of some very steep cliffs.

Jungfrau with strong winds on top, but shirtsleeve weather in the alpine meadows below.

When we got off the train in Zermatt it was amazing.  It looked just like a Swiss Village full of Chalets with snow covered mountains not far away — and here it is the middle of June.  Our hotel was just around the corner, and it too was the most amazing hotel we had ever been to.  All the walls, ceilings and closets are carved wood — we have a great balcony, and a jacuzzi tub.  Before long the rain started, and we just left the door and windows to the balcony open and enjoyed the rain.  It never got very cold, but it did rain quite a while.

We walked down to the end of the main street, checking out all the restaurants along the way.  It was easy to imagine what the village would be like during the winter with the snow and skiers all around.

Dave took this picture for our friend Greg Frasher who is a leader of the Black Sheep Motorcycle Club.

We ate outdoors as we have most every day.  This was the first time the servings were so big that neither of us could finish.  Very good.

Back to the Hotel Alex to enjoy some really good internet connections and the start of the World Cup.  The Best Channel we could get in English was from Britian.  So naturally they were routing for England to win the match against the US.  It was interesting to watch it from their point of view, including the commentaries at the end.

Here are some more pics … We’ll add more commentary when we get a chance.

Wow! this is really clean water in the river running right thru downtown Zurich. The Swiss are not allowed to dump anything in their rivers or lakes. So the water is all "near drinking quality" (but they still process it)

Ferry boat on Lake Luzerne

Pretty Nice on Lake Luzerne and it's only the beginning of June

The really important stuff from Switzerland

Alpine meadow. This is what those sheep were munching on. How come they get all the good views?

The Cogs on the railway that are required on the steepest part of the railway to the highest locations.

Pretty nice panorama view on the Glacier Express. They are proudly the slowest express train in the world with over a hundred tunnels and over a hundred bridges. Luelle has everything she needs....

Looking back out of our train window. The bridge pilings are over 150 feet tall.

The Matterhorn. This is what we wanted to see at Zermatt, but it stayed behind a cloud while we were there. We found out from the locals that Mid September and October are the best months for weather if you really want to see the peaks. Or climb them in the sunshine.

Luelle is checking out a piece of Rose Quartz inside the Alex Hotel in Zermatt.

Gypsy dancers put on an outstanding performance on board, replacing the Vienna Concert which we had to cancel in order to escape the flood.

.
We have found that Uniworld is very good at being flexible and having not only Plan B but also plan C, D, E & F and does a good job of execution to ensure the best possible passenger experience.     Once the river peaks, it can go down really fast,  several meters in a day.

The Heros in Hero Square were all horsemen, skilled in war on horseback.

Horse Racing & Archery From Horseback
There is a big annual festival going on today and tomorrow.  The highlight is the horse racing around Hero’s Square.   When we visited yesterday, they were hauling in the dirt for the horses to run on and also make for a little softer landing for any unseated riders.   Both yesterday’s and today’s guides have children on horseback and were cheering for “their horse.”

Our guide has recently taken up horseback riding, a dream she had been denied growing up before the Velvet Revolution

Each town is allowed to enter it’s horse and rider and there is a double elimination competition.   One of the boys was competing in Archery From Horseback, which is a Hungarian specialty.   The Hungarians love their horse riding traditions which are thousands of years old.   The Soviets banned horse competitions, seeing them as wasteful.  Now, since the Velvet Revolution of 1989, the horse riding culture is being brought back and people are embracing it universally.    Yesterday’s guide is a woman in her 30’s who is now realizing her childhood dreams of horse riding.   City dwellers can rent horses by the hour or day or have partial or full ownership with boarding expenses.

St Andreas,  Artist Colony & Escape From Soviet “Block” Housing
The Soviet building program from 1945 to 1989 consisted of building “Block” housing.

Soviet era Block Housing. About 450 square feet each.

These are 8 to 12 story tenement apartment buildings.   They are about 50 meters or 450 square feet, made of concrete and all the same.    They built about 800,000 units in Budapest, which has about 2.5 million total population.   They were built for controlling the inhabitants with no room to store (or hide) anything.   The controls for heat, water & lights were kept in the hands of the Communist bosses, so any uprising or divergent opinion could be put down quickly.
These housing blocks were built in all of the Soviet countries and everyone hates living in them, both for what they are and what they represent.  In addition to being dingy, tiny boxes, the windows, doors, and insulation are miserable.

Remains of a Roman aquaduct running along the freeway route.

There have been attempts to get them torn down, especially in (East) Germany.    It was decided, however, that the cost of destroying and rebuilding would be too great and none have been taken down so far.

It seems they should have an architect’s challenge to build attractive renovations using two or three units to create energy efficient and well designed new floor plans.   Kind of like the contests they have to turn shipping containers into housing.  Google it.

There is very little new residential construction, so one option for young professional couple who dont want to live in the Blocks is to move to the little town of St Andreas about 15 kilometers away.   It’s a small agricultural town that now houses many artists and artisans.

This area has many churches, mainly Roman Catholic and Serbian Orthodox with a few protestant (Calvinist) Muslim and Jewish thrown in.

A log floating by the Hungarian Parliament, one of the largest in the world, over three football fields long and one field high. (The Hungarian Empire was much larger at the time it was built.) It is almost on the waterline at high water and is supported on Larch timbers from Russia, like the Cathedrals of Venice. When this wood is sealed away from oxygen, it becomes harder than rock.

The only Protestant Church we saw. The guide explained that protestant churches have no decorations because it would be distracting and you are supposed to listen to the sermon and find God in your heart instead of looking up.....?

This Roman Catholic Church once served as a Mosque ... and retained the Arabic decorations when it changed hands with the bargaining and dealing of European countries over the last thousand years.

Austria had more windmills than any place we've been except the Baltic countries

Vienna, Austria, was the center of one of the largest countries of Medieval Europe and the opulence that remains speaks of the massive wealth of its rulers.   The tour guides explanations were great, as this was a part of “World History” that had not really computed so clearly in high school history classes.    But to look at the balcony from which Adolph Hitler told the Austrians that they were now part of the Third Reich and that there would now be more jobs … to cheers,   put the whole thing in perspective.

The Vienna National Library, One of the largest libraries in the world. Ladders are needed to access the books.

What looks like a secret passage is one of dozens of access points to small reading rooms on the perimeter of the library. These were required because of lack of light inside, especially in the dark winters.

Austria and Hungary were Hitler’s “pantry” both being rich agricultural producers.   Unfortunately that put them on the wrong side and set them up for Soviet domination after WWII.   (All of Hungary, only the divided part of Austria, until the Velvet Revolution of 1989)

This pedi-cab was amazingly fast. The driver told us that it had a small electric motor to assist in acceleration as he took us to find an internet cafe which he knew of. He

Heldensplatz Square, Dedicated to the victory over Napoleon

Roman Ruins under a street excavation. It turns out that there are Roman Ruins under almost all of these cities. For a long time, the Danube was the northern border of the Roman Empire and it was well fortified and populated.

There are hundreds of these Prayer Towers located all around Europe. Some are less ornate but the message is always the same, The leader praying to God for the people to be spared from the Black Plague. The promise was to build a monument when the plague relented.

Cinderella was there with her golden slipper

Creative use of draping. Most large buildings are always in some stage of renovation. Previously the scaffolding and drapes kept people from seeing the monunent. But the drapes on this Vienna Cathedral, show what's under it. Smart.

The little town of Durnstein, on the north bank of the Danube in the Wachau Valley was our next stop.

The Danube is really moving. No downpours, but continual off and on showering.

As we approached the town of Durnstein, you could see the ruins of an old castle, high on the hill, overlooking the river.   It turns out that Richard the Lion Hearted of England was held captive there for 6 years.    He was returning from Crusading in Palestine and while there,  had replaced the Austrian flag with the British flag.   News of this rudeness reached the Austrian monarch, who captured Richard and held him prisoner until his family raised the required ransom.  

The grapes are grown on terraces and each field receives a slightly different combination of sunlight, moisture, and nutrients from the ground.   So the wine from each plot is bottled separately, even if it is the same variety. This allows the Co-0p of growers to all maintain their own brand and build its value.   The wines are all sold out and our guide let us know that none of them were available in a Super Market.   Good Marketing!

This Church was different from all the other European churches I’ve been in.   It had a different “feel.”    I couldn’t figure it out, thinking that it might be something spiritual.    Not denying the spiritual component, I noted that this church had a lot more wood and warmer colors than most which are stone and cold.   Also the saints depicted on the roof were specifically bestowing blessing to the fishermen and boaters of the Danube which runs a few feet from the church.   So the warmth of wood and the patron saint being concerned for boaters plus this church being much smaller … made it a unique stop for me in Durnstein.   Come to think of it, I’d say it felt more like a church and less like a cathedral … to me.

It was interesting to learn that Salz means Salt and Salzburg has been famous for many centuries for Salt.

Luelle tasting a natural salt crystal, straight out of the Salt Mines.

There are salt mines near there  that exported salt, both to the East and West,  making Salzburg a center of commerce.

The city was also the home of Mozart and Hayden and other famous musicians and artists, coming behind only Vienna as a cultural center.   Linz is the actual town on the river that we stopped at in order to visit Salzburg.    Linz was a business town and had little or no cultural roots until about 30 years ago.   The town leaders saw that they could not compete with Vienna or Salzburg for the classical music cultural market, so they decided to start inviting “Modern Artists” to their festivals and exhibits.

Modern Art Museums of Linz have become one of the most desired venues of Contemporary Artists. Good marketing by the Linz Chamber of Commerce!

This has grown every year and now Linz has become a world center of Modern Art with the two museums that light up the night with 50,000 LED lights that change color, making the whole museum a piece of art, especially with the reflection when observed from across the Danube.  See photos

Salzburg was the scene of the movie, “Sound of Music,” which was a “Feel Good” movie for sure.   It was interesting to hear the “Rest of the Story” from our tour guide.

The core of the movie is the true story of the Trapp family and Mr Trapp who declined to serve in the Nazi war machine.   It was his need for a new mother to replace the children’s mother who had died and then the families defection that form the plot.

Some of the discrepancies were: When he pointed and said, “If we walk over those hills we will be in Switzerland” Over those hills was actually Germany.

Herr Trapp, portrayed as the champion of democracy, believed in no such thing,  He felt politics should be reserved for the Nobility, but could just not abide with that uneducated

ruffian &  commoner, Adolph Hitler.

The Church was actually one a few miles from the nunnery, because it had more beautiful decorations.

The Cemetary was pieced together in the film editing rooms in Hollywood from two separate cemetaries, but at least one was St Peters in Salzburg. (see photo)
Finally was the socio-political purpose of the movie,  at least in our guide’s explanation:

Austria didn’t have too good a reputation right after WWII.   “We didn’t know about the camps” was wearing thin with so many Austrians high up in the Nazi organization, so there was some anti Austria sentiment that was hindering the Marshall Plan of rebuilding Europe.

Essentially Austria needed a facelift in the eyes of the world.    The Sound Of Music,   which has no Austrian Songs and is rarely shown in Austria, gave the country the boost it needed … and everyone felt good and lived happily ever after … sort of.

St Peter's Cemetary, part of the combo scene in the Sound Of Music. You can still be buried here but not if you're a newcomer. You need to have family here for at least 400 years to be eligible for this prestigious real estate.

Well, the trip from Dresden to Passau was uneverntful and went as planned (for Luelle, who went by plane and then the Uniworld provided transfer)   Dave chose to stay later and participate in a PassivHaus field trip and take the train.    All was going well until there was a medical emergency and the train stopped for 16 minutes.   Since there was only an 8 minute wait for the next train, we missed it.

Compared to sleeping in a train station, this hallway to my stateroom looked VERY nice at 2 AM!

There was one more way to get to Passau that evening but it went all over the countryside, stopping in dozens of small towns.   It was a wonderful adventure.

The first part I sat with an architect who had put on the PassivHaus conference.

Then after moving to plan B, I wound up in Passau, arriving on the board the ship about 2 AM.

My first thought walking down the hallway to our room was, “Wow!”  they’ve really outdone themselves on this latest addition to the Uniworld family of river ships.

Our Guide explained the door within the door was for food delivery to quarantined Black Plague victims. The food was delivered on the end of a long pole thru the small door. She also rooted the children's rhyme, Ring Around The Rosie in that same time. Posies were herbal flowers which had curative powers. Of course Ashes, Ashes, All fall down, was the fate of 25% - 50% of the population of Europe every time the Black Plague hit.

One thing that makes a difference in the daily walking tours is the guide.   Guides who feel their job is to impress you with facts and give you lots of them are actually rather boring.   Our guide on the Passau walking tour was the opposite,  She described herself as a “storyteller.”   The good guides weave the facts and figures into stories.   And the best guides do all that with humor and transparency that shows their love of the area.      So we agree on what’s a good tour guide.    But because you are given a radio with a number that corresponds to the guide who is waiting for you on shore, it’s like, as Forrest Gump said, “a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re going to get.”   So it becomes part of the adventure.

The date on that building is 1499. The funny second digit is half an 8 = 4.

And I would have to say that all of the River Cruise daily tour guides have rated at least “Good” … But it sure is nice when you get one that is “Great,” like our guide on the Passau walking tour.

Passau is at the confluence of 3 rivers,  The Danube, The Ills and The Inns … which comes from Innsbruk.   They all continue on as the Danube, a mighty transportation  and business corridor all the way to Budapest and on to Bucharest at the Black Sea.

Once used by Maximillian, this chamber is now available for rent for social or business affairs.

Today I (Dave) finished the Passiv Haus conference at the outstanding Congress Convention Center, here, right on the Elbe River.    I’ll write more about that over at GreenEarthEquities.   But here I’ll note some difference between this convention center and the typical ones in the US.

1.  As a 3 story venue, there was only one elevator, mainly used by handicapped.   Everyone else tramped up and down the stairs, many times as the sessions changed.   No wonder there are almost no overweight Europeans.

2.  Standing around tables is the way they eat here.

3.  There was more thought put into design than in most US convention centers which are just big.

Once again, we were impressed with buildings that are centuries old rather than decades.

Luelle said …  the downtown shopping area of Dresden was very interesting.  As it was Saturday, there were a lot of people and families

enjoying their day off.  There were several  big (5 story) department stores in the area, and a large mall.

Most of the mall was similar to what we would find in any US city, a lot of clothing, shoes, sporting good stores, etc.  But the thing I always like about European Malls is that they have grocery stores in them.  There were two in this Dresden Galleria, and I checked them both out.  I like to see the different ways they package and sell food in other countries.  The food prices seemed very reasonable, I’d say less expensive than at home.  But I may not have taken into account the difference between the dollar and the Euro.

Most of the clothing, shoes, other necessities seemed more expensive.  I had thought with the Euro going down in value against the dollar that things would have appeared less expensive.  Two years ago we were in Scandanavia, when the dollar was low, and everything was very expensive.  The restaurant food here was been reasonable, and very tasty.  Although I have only been to Germany once before, I anticipated rather bland food — but that was not the case.

We are looking forward to the other countries we will be visiting — Austria, Hungary and Switzerland to see how they compare.

Tomorrow will be an adventure getting to our ship.   I am going by plane to Munich and then catch the transfer provided by Uniworld.   That shouldn’t be a problem.   Dave is doing a final field trip with his Passiv Haus conference.   He’ll need to leave a little early and cab to retrieve his bags and then get to the train station.   He’ll (hopefully) make three transfers and get to our ship about midnight.    I dont know why he likes those trains so much, but he does…..