Europe river cruise 2018: Vienna

Ellen Odart and I went on a Europe Cruise in October, 2019.  Dean was going, but he changed his mind and Ellen took his place.  I had designed the trip - 5 nights in Amsterdam, 14 day cruise with Emerald cruise lines on the Emerald Star from Amsterdam to Budapest (Splendor of Europe) and then 3 nights in Budapest.  This was my 70th birthday celebration.  After Ellen signed on for the trip she said she would like to go to Vienna for 2 days at the beginning and then Amsterdam for 3. That was fine with me so my first blog will be about Vienna.

We both left Phoenix on Monday, Oct. 8. Ellen flew Britsh Air and I flew to Salt Lake City on SW and then Delta from Salt Lake to Amsterdam.  This 9 hour flight was a new for me - business class.  I had a fully reclining seat and 2 very good meals. Plus we got into Amsterdam an hour early.  Then I took Easyjet from Amsterdam to Vienna where I met up with Ellen.

We took the train into Praterstein station and walked about 3 blocks to our hotel, Arthotel Ana Adlon Vienna.  Comfortable hotel with a great breakfast.  We ate dinner at the Gusthaus restaurant and I had the veal schnitzel.  To me it was a lot like our chicken fried steak.  Not my favorite.

After a good nights sleep we were up at 6, ready to explore Vienna. Ellen had picked this hotel and it was a good choice.  We were very close to public transportation.  So we took the underground to St. Stephen's cathedral. This is the city's most famous church with a very colorful roof and one tower.  Saying goes they ran out of money to build the second tower.

The one tower has a winding staircase of 343 steps which we climbed for the great views of Vienna. Our calves are still sore!

After the climb we walked over to The Spanish Riding school which is a world famous riding school and a major tourist attraction in Vienna.  The Lipizzan horses perform to the sound of baroque music.  The show is based on 300 years of training experience in classical dressage. It was very crowded and got a little boring after awhile since all the horses and riders were doing the same thing.  Ellen took a couple of pictures while they were training.

I took some pictures of the horses outside in their training barn.

The horses were exercised in this barn and behind each horse is a big conveyor to keep them moving. They are beautiful horses.

Next we tried to find the living quarters of the Hofburg Palace.  We wandered around for awhile on the palace grounds which is huge!  Finally we were told that the entrance to the quarters was directly across from the Riding School.  

The Hofburg Palace provides an authentic view into the daily life of what was once the center of the powerful Hasburg dynasty, a family that once ruled the Austria-Hungry empire.  We began with the Imperial Silver collection, a museum dedicated  to the facilities and tableware that were once used by the Royal members of this great dynasty.

The entrance to the museum of the Hasburgs

Now I know how to set a table.  There were so many beautiful dish sets and silver and gold serving ware.

We also saw the Imperial apartments that hold some impressive royal furnishings and decoration.

Then we continued on with the Sisi Museum which is dedicated to the life on their famous empress, Empress Elizabeth, married to Franz Joseph, one of the last rulers.  He ruled for 69 years then after his death his son took over for a few years until the monarchy was dissolved.  

For lunch we ate at the Augustinekeller, which is a typical beer cellar.  I had the pumpkin ravioli which was just ok, not great.  Ellen had the beef goulash which was much more hardy.

Since we bought the Vienna pass we had admission to a lot of museums and also the hop on, hop off bus.  So we took the yellow line bus to the Schonbrunn Palace.  This is a Rococo style summer palace of the great Hofburg monarchy.  The 1441 room palace as built in 1696.  The monarchy used it as a hunting lodge.  

Front of palace

Back of palace

Part of Palace gardens

After walking thru the palace and around the gardens we went to a strudel making demo in th cafe on the palace grounds.  The strudel maker was a very entertaining Austrain girl that made twirling the dough look easy. 

We rode on the yellow Hop on, Hop Off bus then the red Hop on Hop off, back to the train station and then back home.  Tired from walking over 17,484 steps today (7.7 miles) and 27 flights of stairs!  Ate at the same place as the first night.  This time I had the truffle stuffed ravioli and the dish was wonderful. 

Day two - Vienna

Another early start and we again took the train into the center of the city to the Opera house.  We wanted to enter but were told that it was closed today and tomorrow.  Thank goodness we have one day on our cruise in Vienna so we will tour it then.  But we took some outside pictures.

We went to the Albertina Art museum.  This is a fabulous art museum and holds one of the best art collections to be found.  There were some great works with familiar signatures like da Vinci, Picasso, Rembrandt, Michelangelo, Monet, Renoir just to name a few.

Outside the museum

Monet exhibit 

Picasso exhibit 

We didn't have much time left in Vienna so we rode the blue hop on hop off route which went in the modern part of the city.  I was amazed at the graffiti on the buildings and walls.

Crossing the Danube

Tower of Vienna

Ellen in front of our hotel

Once back at the hotel we grabbed our bags, headed for the train and went to the airport.  The train was very crowded today.  But you can't beat the price - $2.50 Euros compared to $25 taxi ride.

We again rode Easyjet from Vienna to Amsterdam and got in around 6.  Next three days will be in Amsterdam.

Lone Pine and Ridgecrest CA , Primm, NV

 On October 8, we left Minden, NV. and traveled down Highway 395 in California.  This is such a scenic road.  And the fall colors were very brilliant.

We had planned to stay at Lone Pine but when we got to town the roads were blocked off and there was a parade going down the Highway.  We had to detour a few blocks and, since the town was packed, we decided to drive on to Ridgecrest. It was my job to make sure the Film festival was not going on and I failed to check.  So this was one of the busiest weekends in Lone Pine.  We traveled another hour and a half to the Ridgecrest Elks.

Ridgecrest Elks

Dean knew that I was very disappointed that we did not stay in Lone Pine so he suggested that we drive back to Lone Pine for the next day from Ridgecrest.  He is such a thoughtful guy!  The next morning we drove back and had a delightful day.

The first place we visited was the film history museum.  Lone Pine is noted for being the location of a lot of westerns and even some modern day films.  

The museum had displays from all the famous western actors and their movies.

Dean with Gene Autry.

Saddles, stagecoachs, old cars are arranged in the middle of the museum.

Here is a display of all the TV westerns filmed in the area.

After going through the museum we joined a tour of Audie Murphy film locations, lead by two Aussies, in the Alabama Hills.  This is where we wanted to boondock - next time.

The Alabama Hills are  very picturesque  with  large bolders and rock formations and the Sierras in the back ground.

Dean is holding up a picture of a famous scene in one of Audie Murphy's movies.  The area looked like a bowling lane with a ball (rock) and 3 pins.

One of the tour guides is holding up a picture of a scene from the Great Race, with Natalie Wood sitting on this exact rock holding an umbrella as Tony Curtis drives by.  I'm not quite Natalie but it was nice to pretend.

Dean and I with Mt. Whitney in the background.  Mt. Whitney is not the one on the left .  That is Lone Pine Mt.  Whitney is located over Dean's head.

On Oct. 9,  I walked to the Petroglyph Park located in Ridgecrest.  The area is known for the many petroglyphs in the area.  There is one tour you have to book months in advance (next time).  But this little park is in the center of town and is very informative.  On display were petroglyphs and pictographs from various parts of our country and other parts of the world.

About a block from the park is the Maturango museum. This is a small museum about the area.  It is interesting and the workers are very informative.  

The next day we left for Primm, NV, which is just inside the line from California on Highway 15.  We parked at the Buffalo Bill casino.  My brother and sister-in-law, Kelly and Mary, drove down from Las Vegas to join us for lunch.  We went into the casino and it was so empty of people.  Very quiet and very strange.  

After Kelly and Mary left, Dean and I walked to the other casino in the area - Whiskey Pete's.  It was a little more lively and they had a display of the death car of Bonnie and Clyde.

We decided, since the winds were suppose to be bad in a few days, that we should drive home the next day.  On October 12 we returned home to Prescott.  We were gone almost 2 months.  Now it is good to be home!  But we will be looking forward to our next adventure.

Medford,OR to Minden, NV

After leaving the coast we traveled highway 42 which is a great road from the coast to Interstate 5. I have relatives in Medford and we always try and stop to see them if we are in the area.  The last time we were in Medford we had a hard time finding someplace to park, close to the relatives.  We tried Valley of the Rouge state park but it is too crowded and quite a drive to get to the cousins.  So Dean found this park which was a little pricy by our standards ($38 per night) but the park is new and well landscaped, with an adjunct pond.   It is located on the fairgrounds, and has a walking path and bike path adjoining the park.  

View of the park from across the pond.

We went to my cousins, J.B. and Evan Kell's home, in Medford and my other cousins came from Eagle Point.  Evan fixed a wonderful lunch.

Pictured above:  Evan, J.B., Me and Chica, Lenora and Dave Dell-Kell, and Neil Kell

Our next stop was in California, near Mt. Shasta, in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest.  We stayed at Cattle Camp campground ($7.50) which had big enough sites for our big rig to fit into.  We liked this campground - well spaced sites, just enough off the highway so there was no road noise, and a fire ring.

On our second day at Cattle Camp we drove to the the falls of  McCloud River.  There are three falls, Upper, Middle, and Lower.  Each had a nice walking path and information signs.

Upper Falls

Middle Falls

Lower falls

View of Mt Shasta

Next stop was Minden, Nevada.  We called our friends in Placerville, CA and asked if they would meet us for lunch.  They picked a delightful restaurant/lodge called Sorenson's.  On the lodge grounds are bear sculptures in the trees, by the pond, and laying down reading a book.  Cute place and good food!

Chica, Judy, Bill, and Lori

While at Minden, we took a hike near the town of Genoa called the Sierra Canyon hike.  Lots of uphill and switchbacks, and very shady with a little stream running down the canyon.  If we had the time, and energy, we could have hiked to the top and seen Lake Tahoe on the other side.

While in Minden we stayed at Silver City RV park which is a Passport America park (half price so we paid $23).  Nice park.  

Now it is on to Hwy  395 south.