Life's a Stitch

Sept 22nd and 23rd

 

Our first port in Scotland was “Potteresque” Edinburgh, full of history and charming architecture. I appreciate urban areas devoid of high rise buildings. 

The ship required a tender to ferry us back and forth to the dock. Then we spent the day on the Hop On Hop Off bus, which we’ve found to be an excellent way to tour a new city if the weather cooperates. One of my goals was to shop for a scarf from Scotland. When I went to pay for it I noticed the clerk unpacking more from a large box that had arrived from China. I asked where they were made and it was confirmed, they are not products of Scotland at all. I was directed to one small bank of shelves with locally produced scarves at an exorbitant price, so I put off my quest until we arrive in the Shetland Islands. It made me laugh, however, to think of our past trip to China where everything is "locally made," and we bought things we wouldn't buy elsewhere because they were made in China.

 

A disadvantage of a large ship is the tendering process. Although we had priority boarding for the tender in, due to our “loyalty” status, it was not so for the return. We arrived at the dock on time, with a couple of thousand others and it took a good hour to board. With so many in the same boat, so to speak, we knew the ship wouldn’t leave without us. 

 

We sailed 482k (300 miles) to the Shetland Islands and landed in Lerwick, where it’s inconceivable that I was unaware that the Shetland Wool Week conference was happening.

Home to Jamieson yarns, Lerwick is a knitter’s paradise.

We were able to attend the exhibition at the main museum as well as the meet and greet.  As if that wasn’t enough of a treat for me, I was invited to a geocaching meetup later in the afternoon. Afterwards I found my UK made lamb's wool scarf as a significantly lower cost than in Edinburgh.

 

Back on board waiting for me was one of my favourite loyalty benefits, a free “bag” of laundry, delivered back in a wicker basket and tissue paper. You quickly learn how to roll clothing tightly to fit more into that small paper laundry bag. 

The next day was a sea day. You know it’s going to be rough when the wine glasses are placed lying down on the tables and barf bag dispensers are positioned at each landing on the stairwell.

On to Iceland.

September 19 and 20, 2023 (once again, catching up).

If it’s Tuesday, this must be Belgium. That was the name of a 1969 movie about a whirlwind 18-day sightseeing tour of Europe. Apparently I’m living the plot of that film, as it’s Tuesday and we are in Belgium for the day.

Not a fan of large cruise ships, we disembarked in Zeebrugge on a grey windy day with about 4000 others. There are two types of people on a cruise ship: those who don’t care how much they spend on organized excursions and those more adventurous, determined to spend less and see what they want to. Today the group was split maybe 50/50 and I’m sure you can predict which side we’d be on. 

Our half went to the tiny grocery store to buy a day’s transit pass that would take us into Bruges. What the clerk failed to mention was that there was only one bus per hour, which held 50 passengers. That combined with the short amount of time at this port, would have given us 90 minutes max in Bruges. Combined with the fact that it was a dark and stormy day, we elected to stay put and explore the seaside town of Zeebrugge, where there was a geocache situated on the pier.

We arrived back at the port with enough time to visit the Belgian chocolate factory store located near the ship.

On Wednesday it was LaHavre, France. I was so looking forward to this port, our only stop in France, for one, albeit strange reason. France has a version of Nescafé decaf that is as good as decent brewed coffee. I have tried the Nescafé decaf in a number of countries and none are as good, so it was my opportunity to stock up. Dear friends, if you ever find yourself in France, with space in your luggage, I would appreciate any that you can carry home. 

A group of five of us walked the city of LaHavre, which was nearly totally destroyed in the war, and rebuilt with designs by architect, Auguste Perret. We met a local, who truly loved her city and gave us a private history lesson. We took the funicular for a city view 

then back down to board the Bee Bus to the village of Honfleur on the other side of the intimidating Normandy Bridge.

Rosemary and I had the required French meal – Moules Frites, mussels and fries, mine with chenin blanc, hers with rose. Chuck went off to find a bar with what he describes as the best hard cider of his life.

C discovered my rain jacket had fallen through a hole in his backpack, so a trip to Decathlon, our favourite sporting goods store of our Camino days, was required on the way back to the ship. Storms are in the forecast.

 

September 15 – never say never, I always say. We swore we would NEVER cruise again with NCL (Norwegian Cruise Lines) after our disastrous sailing in 2019, when we received an "upgrade" to an unacceptable cabin, which was eventually changed, and worse yet, had C's prescription meds stolen from their hiding place in our cabin. The final blow was the customer service we received after reporting the theft, being told to keep it quiet or the captain could throw us off the ship at the next port. Ultimately they did nothing for us, hence our vow. Forewarned is forearmed, readers. That being said, everyone has their price. And this time the price was right, a 92% discount on a 15 night Northern European cruise, including drink package, tips, internet and shipboard credit, some of which was refundable in cash. When I fessed up to the kids that we had broken our promise, they assured us that we were getting the better end 0f the deal on this cruise and that we should enjoy it to the max. 

So off we went, Ubering to the port with guesthousemate, Rosemary, a solo traveller from California. We boarded NCL's Getaway, in the easiest process ever, as our loyalty points allowed us to do so several hours early.

C started his max level enjoyment.

With the bike trip behind us, we appreciated the downtime of the sea day plus the decision not to disembark at Hamburg as we had just spent two weeks in Germany and had previously visited Hamburg. I participated in a behind the scenes tour, which I've done in the past, but always find fascinating. This one included the back of the theatre, the kitchens

and my favourite, the laundry, where this machine dries and folds the sheets. These guys work hard as the laundry runs 24/7.

One of the benefits of this itinerary was the ability to geocache in six new countries and the first was the best, as it could be accomplished from the ship. As we entered the locks that would take us into Amsterdam, I checked my phone for available caches. Sure enough, there was one on the side of the lock that required a photo with the ferry terminal in the background. Voila:

Once docked, it was a reasonable walk into the centre of Amsterdam, where we booked a canal tour with Rosemary. It was explained that the covered boats had tours that are prerecorded and delivered through earbuds, and only the smaller, open air boats had a live guide. I commented  on the increasingly greying skies, but we agreed a real guide would be a better experience. It was an excellent tour with an interesting and engaging guide, however the clouds caught up with us. Our clever captain/tour guide provided us with umbrellas parked under a bridge for the worst of it.

The storm passed quickly, leaving some interesting clouds. 

Tonight the ship heads to Zebrugge, Belgium.

 

When we first arrived at the "central" rail station in Vienna from Klosteneuberg we discovered we were nowhere near the "new" station close to our hotel and the train to the airport. Note to self – not all websites contain current information. So we bit the bullet and Ubered. We’re finding as we get older and less willing to walk miles pulling our luggage, we need to create an Uber line in the travel budget. So worth it.

Fortunately we saw the hop on hop off sign right by the hotel and knew we could complete the second route, including the walking tour, in the one day we had left. Again, the weather was beautiful, ideal to take in the sites of this elegant city. It did have the somewhat packed feel of similar tourist destinations like Barcelona and Venice. We appreciated the history, especially during the guided walking tour, but agreed that our ideal destinations are smaller cities.

That night it poured, a torrential thunder storm. We were grateful we were off the bikes.

We took an early morning train to the airport and off we flew on Hungary's Wizz Airlines. Interesting name. It looked like some passengers dressed to coordinate with the plane.

We were greeted in London Gatwick Airport by Maggie, whom we met on last year’s South America trip, to hand deliver my painting of Machu Picchu. It was a wonderful reunion. That painting travelled through six countries, surviving five flights, nine train rides and time in hotel storage. 

 

 

Next was the train to Southampton, which we’ve taken previously. We arrived on the proper platform ten minutes early and boarded the train. It felt good not to have the extremely too close connections that we experienced in Germany. The train left five minutes early. Hmmm, that should have been a clue. Next one was when I didn’t see the castle on our right that we saw the first time. Finally we hear we were at the final destination: Brighton, and all should leave the train. Oh no, wrong train. 

We had two choices: return to Gatwick or take the milk run to Southampton, 90 minutes later. Rather than wrestle the baggage we chose the latter, which added a bit of time. I have to say the railway staff were quite accommodating, all smiling, on the edge of laughing when I explained our predicament. 

Ok we should have Ubered, but we slogged the bags 20 minutes with a barely reasonable uphill segment to our Victorian Air B&B in the Shirley area. It was clean and adequate for a pre and post cruise one night stay. BUT do not go to the nearby Italian restaurant, Puccinis, the worst meal of the trip. Possibly the worst meal of many trips.

Tomorrow we board the ship!

Sept 12th – Klosterneuberg to Vienna 14.76 (8.76 miles)

It was time to ride the bikes to our final destination. This was definitely urban cycling, some underneath a major roadway. Vienna, is a pristine city on the surface, but down by the river it is a blanket of graffiti, some quite beautiful.

Crazy enough, we hit the only stretch of unpaved slippery gravel of the trip. Then we walked our bikes for the last few blocks as there was no bike lane. We were ready to end this part of our adventure.

 

The bike shop was close by and run by a man, coincidentally also an artist, who used to live in Vancouver. We finished the trip with 388k (232 miles) on the odometer. The average wasn't too bad, 55.42k (33.25miles) per day, but we had several days with up to twice the distance averaged with the final short days.

After an interesting conversation we went to his recommended restaurant for a celebratory wine and cheese lunch, followed by one full route on the hop on hop off bus. We passed a church with a statue of St. James, the patron saint of the Camino de Santiago, the one with the scallop shell on his hat. Uh-oh are we being called back to being pilgrims?

 

We took the train back to Klosterneuberg and chatted with a local couple. They asked if we were camping and were surprised when I said we were staying in a hotel. We must have looked as if we spent the last eight days outdoors. I guess we did.

 

We walked to dinner at a nearby sports complex and shared a HUGE amazing rib meal. Meanwhile mosquitoes made a meal of us. 

 

Afterthoughts:

C and I have walked long distances three times on the Camino de Santiago and both agree we prefer it to cycling. When you walk you can get into a meditative rhythm, soak in the scenery or chat with another pilgrim. On a bike you have to concentrate on your riding and safety 100% of the time. The path is narrow and heavily travelled. You have to be careful to hug your side as local riders don’t have bells and I never heard anyone call out “on your left” as we do here. 

 

The trip was good but painful. I think I would bring my own bike seat next time, one that I’m used to. Even with added seat pads, the issue was the pressure not the softness. I felt like I birthed a ten pound baby. 

 

We lucked out with the weather although we carried rain gear. Thank goodness we didn’t have to use it.

 

It was a very expensive trip between the bike rentals, shipping of two suitcases to our ultimate destination and the high cost of accommodation and meals in Europe. For us, travelwise, there are more efficient ways to spend money for a good experience. We were asked recently, with all our travels, how we decide on destinations. The honest answer was we look for the deals. It has to be an exceptional value.

 

Bottom line: a bike ride along the Danube – not as romantic as it sounds. 

What’s next? A full day and a night in Vienna, then a flight to Southampton, England, where we will start a 16 night Northern European cruise, booked via a last minute sale. We had four European spots on our list for future travel, but airfares are so high we managed to accomplish three on this trip: visiting friends, biking down the Danube and a cruise that included the British Isles. We still have a longterm European goal to achieve – a trek down the Haervegen trail in Denmark and related visits in the Copenhagen area. 

Sept 11th – Zwentendorf to Klosterneuberg 44.83 (26.89 miles)

We said goodbye to our hosts, packed up our bikes and we headed off along the river, getting closer to the big city of Vienna.

Our cycling days are getting shorter, but the biking is a bit more complicated as we get closer to more populated areas. Urban cycling means traffic and convoluted city bike routes. We spent quite a bit of time today consulting the GPS.

It was Monday and many restaurants were closed, so we were happy to see one riverside patio with customers.  They were serving their limited Monday menu: cake, grilled cheese sandwiches or hotdogs. C indulged in a generously sized piece of poppy seed cake. It’s a taste I haven’t acquired. We were visited by one of the Danube's "ugly ducklings," a y0ung swan.

We made the decision to stay two nights in the last town before Vienna, Klosterneuberg, as there was an event in Vienna that had driven up hotel prices. Tomorrow we’ll ride our bikes into the city and turn them in at the rental place that will transport them back to Passau, and we’ll take the train back to our comfortably air conditioned hotel with an "interesting" view of the patio of the apartment next door. I wondered how these people felt about having dinner on their balcony with new hotel neighbours every night or two.

Tomorrow is the big day, the end of the bike portion of our trip. I admit I'm not as disappointed about this as I was on the last nights of our walks on the Camino.

Right in time for holiday shopping, Chuck and I are participating in a ten person art show November 4&5. Hope to see you there. I'll be featuring smaller framed original paintings, cards, matted prints and more. Chuck will exhibit wall hangings made from wood, metal, epoxy and items found on the beach.

And I received the 2024 Multifath Calendars that feature my sunflower painting representing the month of August. Published by the Multifaith Action Committee, it has a circulaion of 30,000 throughout North America. This year's theme is "reclaiming our happiness."

I have two pet portrait commissions so far for the holiday season and have room for one or two more. If you're interested let me know.  Available in two styles, colourful and realistic.

 

September 10 – Krems on Der Doneau to Zwentendorf 27.84k (16.7 miles)

It was a quick and easy ride along the Danube to Zventendorf. With so little left in the trip we finally were able to adjust the handlebars perfectly. The Danube cycle path, catering to cyclists, has many places providing bike garages with charging facilities for e-bikes. We also passed a couple of tool stations.

As we arrived well prior to check in we went geocaching at the gate of the Romanian Cemetery for prisoners of war. One of the reasons I like geocaching, it brings you to interesting historical points of interest that you might not have taken the time to visit.

Lunch was next. I ordered the traditional “pancake” soup, a rich beefy bone type broth with strips of thin crepes. Comfort food.

Arriving at our pension, we were delighted to see a pool and took full advantage of it. The feeling of lightness in the water compensated for that heavy feeling on the bike.

Our room 

We researched local restaurants and decided on one a couple of kilometres away. We were surprised it was just a snack shack on the bank of a swimming lake, with few menu choices, but a woman from Thailand made delicious food. 

Sept 8th and 9th (rest day) Pochlar to Krems on der Doneau 65.58k (39.34 miles)

I had a rough night from something I ate, but there is no choice other than to pedal on. I wouldn’t have chosen anything else, not wanting to miss a thing. This was reminiscent of a Camino day under similar circumstances. 

Thinking there might be a more direct route from the village to the cycle path we started off. We stopped at one dead end and decided to press on. C took off not noticing I had bike troubles and by the time I had things straightened out he was long gone. I knew we needed to cross a major bridge, the problem was finding the access point. I followed a confident looking cyclist who knew a short cut along a first path. Back on the main route I crossed the bridge, and stopped in the shade underneath to check my email. Sure enough there was one from C and we arranged a meeting point. Two important lessons here: buy two SIM cards for emergency purposes and a rear view mirror.

We were rewarded by the most beautiful part of the trip: vineyards, castles, farms and views of the river cruise ships passing by. 

We reached our destination for two nights, a farm stay at the home of a fifth generation vintner for a rest day, whose wife greeted us with a glass of their white wine.

She explained that sadly they are the fifth and last generation to run the winery, their grown children preferring traditional jobs in larger cities. It was the same story we heard from farmers on the Camino.

We were so tired we settled for a dinner of backpack food: boiled eggs, cheese, bread, an apple and a bottle of wine. 

Well deserved rest day: we started with breakfast that included red and white grape juice from the vineyard. What a treat. I generally prefer red wine, but in the case of the juice, the white was better.

Laundry followed as we were only carrying two panniers and a medium backpack for eight days on the trail. There is something satisfying about hanging laundry on a hot breezy European day. 

It was just what a rest day should be. We hung out in the garden then walked to locate the restaurant where we planned dinner, stopping in the town’s tiny grocery for lunch items.

Dinner was on the patio of the restaurant. We ordered fish, but no matter how nice the place, a side order of veggies usually meant the frozen kind. There were a few other lost in translation menu items along the way. Roasted chanterelles and potatoes = scrambled eggs with various mushrooms, boiled parsley butter potatoes on the side. Baked emmenthal cheese = deep fried breaded cheese like mozzarella sticks, served with tarter sauce.

We watched the sunset over the Danube with a glass of decent Austrian red wine. 

 

Sept 7th  Saxen To Pochlar 66.46k (39.87 miles)

We set out after a wonderful included breakfast. We weren’t sure where to turn off but met an English speaking couple who said they were headed toward the river, so we followed them. They took back roads, much better than the stint on the highway last evening. 

We went through very hilly farm country in high winds, with a castle and mountains in the background. We eventually ended up in Grien, took a couple minutes to decide our route and followed where the couple had gone – onto the left bank trail. 

We stopped after 7k in the bike lane of a busy highway with no separation other than a yellow line, having been passed by oil trucks, semis and a loaded logging truck. 

We met two nice women facing the same decision: continue for 13.9 k more on that road or return 7k back to town and take the bike ferry to the calmer path. They had a great attitude saying we all survived and it was time to be happy with our choices. We took each others photos then chose the path of least resistance and turned around lol. They continued on. The bike lane was much better on that side of the highway. 

As we approached the bike ferry it had just shoved off, but came back for us and we were rewarded with quiet road and bike trails with scenic villages across the ricer, until we reached our stopping point in Pochlar. We stayed across from the train station, in the older Hotel-Restaurant Moser Pochlarn, where we had a quiet room overlooking neighbourhood gardens.