Our visit to Budapest started on the Pest side. It seemed logical because this was the side we were staying on.

Pest is the more "modern" and "urban" side but it has tons of old world charm.

Our first pictures were of The Chain Bridge built in 1849 and the first bridge over the Danube in Hungary.

From there we strolled down Vaci Utca to The Great Market Hall - the oldest and largest indoor market in Budapest. Oh, the sausages!

Then we walked around a few more streets on our way back to the hotel. Naturally we stopped for coffee and a nosh. You just can not get a bad cup of coffee here.

Stephen was the first king of Hungary so many things are named for him including this basilica. His right hand is actually housed here - we did not see it because mass was being held. The basilica is 96 meters - and nothing can be built taller than it.

We walked to it up another of those wonderful pedestrian boulevards.

The Buda side of the city has more of the old buildings and the Castle Complex. The Buda Castle dates back to 1265 and has gone through a few renovations over the centuries. The last was after WWII.

This was where the Nazi and Hungarians made their last stand. The palace was pounded by Russian guns destroying much of the facade and interior. After the Germans and Hungarians fled most of the furniture and art disappeared. Hmm wonder where that went.

During the Communist times it was further denuded of anything relating to the past. It was not until 2006 that the real work to try to restore some of the original splendor was attempted.

Today the Sendor Palace, a small palace on the complex, is residence for the president.

These caves go way back in time. Half a million years ago they sheltered prehistoric hunters. In later days they were expanded and have been used for wine storage, torture chambers, jails and treasuries.

In the 1930s they served as a military hospital. Then during the cold war it was reinforced with concrete and used as a military installation.

The attempts to turn it into a tourist attraction have had some pitfalls. In 2011 it was closed, but somewhere along the line it has reopened. Based on the past the future may be in doubt, but at least we had the fun of overpaying to walk through the halls of history.

Viking seems to own a good portion of the river cruising industry. There were usually several of their ships docked at each port, and they double park. Pretty weird but it works.

So here are some shots of our ship, the Idun. It holds about 200 people and I can honestly say they did a great job of keeping us fed, full of liquor, and entertained.

The Danube has lots of locks, and we went through quite a few. Some we were awake for, and each one seemed to be an occasion for celebration. On this cruise at night that means free schnaps and other warming toddies.

Most of the locks we passed through while we were sleeping. We would not know it except for the bumping or when going down, the squealing sounds ans the water dropped down.

If you are not a fan of man-made wonders skip this section. We, however, found them totally fascinating.

We docked in Vienna and took the metro into town.

This is gonna take a few tabs so bear with us. So much to see in such a short time.

This first group is the Winter Palace or Hofburg Palace. This has been the seat of government in one form or another since 1279 and part of it is still the residence and workplace of the President of Austria.

Just in back of it are some Roman ruins discovered in 1995 during road repair Typical of a city of this age you dig and you hit ruins.

We also went to the Jewish Square and saw the Memorial to Austrian Jews killed in the Holocaust. This was also the site of the medieval synagog that was destroyed.

Vienna part deux, or should I say zwei since we're in Austria.

We had a great time walking around a small section of the city looking at all the nice, neat streets, wonderful architecture, and cafes.

Coffee - you have to stop in a coffee house. We went to one that has not changed since the 1930s. Small, crowded but quite welcoming. Coffee was amazing. And the strudel - oh yeah.

The Imperial Crypt is located beneath the Capuchin Church and is looked after by the Capuchin Monks. Here is where members of the Habsburg family have been laid to rest since 1633. It is a prolific family. We saw a date of 2011 on one tomb.

Most of the family are in a sarcophagus of some type but 4 were cremated and their hearts were placed in urns and put in the heart of the crypt.

Anyone who appreciates history will enjoy this rather amazing museum but I will admit it is somewhat odd at times.

St. Stephens is the most important religious building in Vienna. Built on the remains of 2 older churches it was dedicated to St. Stephen - the first martyr of Christianity - in 1147. It is a mix of Romanesque and Gothic, lots of spires and magnificent interior.

After we wandered around inside admiring the craftsmanship we squooze ourselves into the teeny, tiny elevator for the ride to the roof. From here you get some great views of the surrounding city of Vienna as well as the roof tiles and stonework.

The Wachau Valley is located along the Danube between the towns of Krems and Melk.

Its very picturesque and had it not been so foggy and overcast we might have gotten better pictures, but you go with what you have.

This valley has seen tons of history and much of it is still there to enjoy. Castles, churches, towns and tons of vineyards. Did I not mention Austria has some great wines? Well, they do. Also great beer, but I digress.

The nice thing was we could sit on our little balcony, sip coffee and watch the old world pass by as we headed for Melk

Melk is one of those amazing old towns dating back to the 800s or so. Yes, that is 800. I did not drop a 1.

It is most famous now for the Melk Abbey, although the town itself is quite wonderful. We walked around quite a bit and enjoyed the nice, clean cobblestone streets and shops.

The Abbey dominates the town and you can see it quite well from many of the streets.

The Melk Abbey is a castle that belonged to Leopold II, Margrave of Austria. Ya - who gets to say Margrave now-a-days? Gotta use it when you have the opportunity. Anyway he gave it to the Benedictine Monks in 1089.

The Abbey we saw today was built in the late 1700s. You can see one of the original old towers on the outer wall at one point.

Today it is houses holy relics, magnificent frescoes, a school and much more. It contains the tomb of Saint Coloman of Stockerau and the remains of several members of the House of Babenberg, Austria's first ruling dynasty

We cruised on down the Danube and into the town of Passau.

Here the Danube, Inn and Passau Rivers meet. Yes it does flood as you can see by the water lines on some of the buildings.

Passau is also home to the University of Passau which is renowned for or its institutes of economics, law, theology, computer science and Cultural Studies. In fact one of it's students was our guide. And tuition is free.

Up on one of the hills overlooking the city is the Veste Oberhaus. It is a fortress founded in 1219 and, for most of its time, served as the stronghold of the Bishop of Passau, Germany. It is currently the site of a museum, a youth hostel, and a restaurant, as well as an open-air theatre dating to 1934.

The site of the present day cathedral has had a church on it since 730. The current baroque style church was completed in 1693.

Like the other baroque cathedrals we visited it is very ornate, lavishly done and it is an active church.

This is a fortress founded in 1219 and for most of its history was the stronghold for the Bishop of Passau.

It is a nice walk up the hill. Probably not so nice if you were storming the castle.

Today it is a museum, restaurant, youth hostel and open air theater. We did not have time to enjoy a coffee and nosh - silly boat was going to sail.

After Passau we sailed on to Regensburg, another very old town in Bavaria.

The first settlement here dates back to the stone age and then the Celts. The Romans came about 90 AD and put a fort here.

The history has been quite varied and at times bloody. In 1069 some of the Crusaders joined with townsfolk to force the Jews here to convert or die. Many died.

It was also a major trade hub. The Stone Bridge was built in the 12th Century and was the only one to span the Danube. Then in 1245 Regensburg became a Free Imperial City - meaning it was free to rule itself.

Druing WW II it was home to Messerschmitt factory and an oil refineries. Both were bombed but the town sustained little damage.

Today there is a BMW factory, trade and of course us tourists.

We had a short tour of Nuremberg with the group from the ship - bus tours are not my favorite but it is a large city and at least we saw a few sights.

Our first stop was The Kongresshalle - or Congress Hall. This is unfinished but was to have been the site of all Nazi rallies and all world Olympics under the 3rd Reich.

Hitler wanted it to be twice the size of the Roman Coliseum but the war got in the way of both the building and his plans for world domination..

Today it is mostly a parking lot and tourist site

The Imperial Castle dates back from the mid 11th century. Since we were with the large group we stayed in the courtyard area and looked over the ramparts down into the old quarter.

The square is full of interesting old buildings, quaint streets and reminders of history.

From the Imperial Castle we walked down to Market Square. This is the site of most festivals, gatherings and open-air markets depending on the season.

The Square, or Hauptmarkt in German, gives a great flavor of the city. Lots of restaurants and shops, including Lebkuchen Schmidt which dates back to 1610 and sells gingerbread. Nuremberg is famous for gingerbread.

There is also the Beautiful Fountain and a couple old churches. St. Sebald is the oldest of Nurembergs churches. We did not have time to go into it, but we did visit The Church of Our Lady.

So much to see, so little time. The trouble with tours is you are on their schedule not yours. Bummer, but at least we got a taste of Nuremberg.

And yes, the gingerbread is really good.

We bade goodbye to Germany and flew to Paris. We figured we were in Europe so why not take a couple extra days by ourselves.

Paris - OK it is huge and amazing. We only saw a small portion of it - just could not get to all the main attractions in 3 days.

Our hotel is on the corner of Rapp Ave and just a couple blocks from the Eiffel Tower. Although it was late afternoon we had plenty of time to visit this amazing structure.

Neither of us speaks French but what little I remember from college, added to some interesting hand signing and the varying degree of English from locals helped us get along.

We must not have looked too much like tourists because we were stopped on several occasions by folks asking us if we spoke English.

Today we plan to walk to the Arc de Triomphe for our first adventure.

From our hotel it was easy. Just cross over Pont de Alma and take one of the main streets to the Arc.

It sits in the center of a round-about and at first we were not sure where the crossing was, but we eventually located the underpass.


Built between 1806 and 1836 it is Frances memorial to their fallen heroes. Inscriptions of famous generals and battles from wars - especially the Napoleonic Wars - are carved into the pillars.

The memorial to the WW I Unknown soldier is here, along with tributes to every major military action in French history.

We did not go to the top because the wind was blowing at quite a clip with huge gusts. Maybe next time.

After the Arc de Triomph we wandered down the Champs Elysses toward The Louvre. It is a bit of a walk but fortified with a nice lunch we made it easily.

Yes, this place is massive. Just getting across the grounds and to the entrance is a joy in itself. The buildings simply reek of history and architectural detail.

Then there is the pyramid. Still not sure if I like it or agree with Captain Bezu Fache - "a scar on the face of Paris".

The museum is amazing even without the paintings and exhibits. I could spend a couple days just looking at the floors, walls and ceilings.

Running out of time but not places we opted for Sacre Coeur and Montmatre.

The Basilica of the Sacred Heart was conceived and dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus after the defeat of France by Prussia in 1870. You see the defeat was due to spiritual misfortunes, not political, or so the Bishop said.

Whatever the reason the result is a truly beautiful church which sits atop a rather high hill above Montmatre. Montmatre was a low rent district which drew many artists like Dali, Monet and Picasso to name a few.

We tried to see as much of the Basilica as we could - the exterior town, the interior of the church, the crypt and the dome.

The Crypt is located on the left of the main entrance. Inside are tombs for various cardinals, dedications to saints and several chapels.

The lighting is quite low and our cameras were not up to the task but the visit was quite rewarding.

The dome is another great place to get a feel of the building. Apparently this is not very popular because there were only a few other people up there with us.

The stairs are quite worn and very narrow. Imagine climbing this in a monks garb with sandled feet in winter.

As you go along you can really appreciate the workmanship that went into the construction, and the vistas from the top are amazing.