Czech Republic and more. Chapter 4

Today, the ride begins!!!  The whole compliment of tour participants were mustered this morning to begin our coach ride to Cesky Krumlov - the pearl of the Czech Republic. The Latlava river snakes through this part of the country where this medieval settlement began. It is complete with a castle (tomorrow we tour). 

On the bikes at last!! Oh my gosh, just imagine, getting on an unfamiliar bike, no idea how to shift stop ect, on cobblestones bumpy enough to rattle your fillings. We rumbled our way down a hill and trying to read the directions flagging off the handle bars,,,  what a trip. Miracle of miracles, we managed to dodge pedestrians, prams, cars, a rather substantial sized Japanese tour group, and navigate all the right turns. Once out of this quaint burrow, we had smooth sailing through beautiful bucolic pastures and homesteads. It was so breathtaking, forgot to get out the camera....

Did get some shots.  Enjoy!

View from our room. 

Was there any doubt....

Dinner in the catacombs. Yes, that is a real fire in the hearth. Very fun!

Tomorrow, we ride!!!

Czech Republic and more chapter 3

Another amazing day in Czech land ... Another 34,000 steps on the pedometer .... It will be nice to get a break from walking tomorrow when we start biking...  :D

Enjoy a few glimpses of today's adventures,,,,

St Wenceslas square

How in the world do they do this...???

A view from the powder tower 

Astronomical clock

Jewish cemetery 

One of many street musicians

John Lennon wall

Nightcap... 

Aha ha ha ha ha. 

Stay tuned, the fun is just beginning !!

Czech Republic and more chapter 2

The theme today- explore!

Which, by the way required a bit of walking and climbing steps (still think they should count double ...)

Enjoy the following pics:

St Charles bridge in the morning

The valtava river and one of the locks

The view tower rendered some spectacular views of Prague. 

We have to climb up!?!?!!  What ? No elevator!?!?!

Yup, that's a beer in our hands. Surprised?  Prague castle in the background. 

 Does this surprise you?

Apparently this craze/fad is not just in Italy....

What we learned today: it is cheaper to buy gelato ice cream for use of their WC than to pay for the public toilet....

Tomorrow, more walking.  Oh, yea.....

Czech Republic and more. Chapter 1

Welcome to all new and returning vicarious travelers!!  We are elated to have you all follow us and our adventures!  The line up is to begin in Prague, Czech Republic. On the third day we begin biking through the countryside towards Germany.  If we stick to the itinerary, we bike into and across a portion of Germany on our way to Austria. The trip will be capped off with a few days in Vienna. So, let the adventure begin....!

Most happy to report our flights were uneventful ..some on time ... Some early.  ...and that was the delta flight !?!!  Our representative from VBT met us ands whisked us off to our accommodations. Whatever you have heard about Prague is true and more. The mirade of multitudinous architectural styles juxtaposed everywhere you look, gives this city quite depth of character.  

Prague castle above and the powder tower below.

Thanks to modern technology (wifi) and a good ol' fashion paper map, Alice and I found Mark ( who came on a different flight itinerary).  It was a stretch and took a bit of convincing, managed to fine a beer.  :D 

Well, been up for almost 35 hours,  time for a nap. One clue that you are a little on the tired side ... Is when you respond to the immigration office in a language that is in no way your own... Like why am I responding si  ???  and than have no clue when he spoke Spanish back to me ...???

Good night all

Was Italy, now Greece, back to Italy. Days 19&20

Ah, a day at sea and time to relax. No time schedule as to when to get up or be anywhere.  It was interesting as to how slow but surprisingly fast the day went. 

The evening closed on us in a cacaphony of giggles over the most unsuspecting thoughts, concepts, and nouns. Like, kumquat, Wilson, texting (or a dirivitive thereof...).  We finally settled on composing the "unofficial blog" and a final bucket of beer. Which remains to be determined as to if or how it might be shared...  Cheers to all and to all a good night. 

Back to Venice. The ship was tugged in as it was tugged out. Right through town. That was really cool. 

Today, day 20, we awake to start the final stretch of baggage drills. Exiting the ship was quite easy, our luggage was right there in terminal.  Then, it got fun... Or not ....  Literally hoards, like thousands of people disembarking from a number of ships jammed into the water taxi and public transfer boats. It was quite the mess and lack of any organization. Perseverance prevailed and we managed to wedge ourselves onto the public transfer boat, luggage and all to our hotel.  If that was not enough fun,... The Hilton lobby was no less insane that the wharf. Ultimately, we all obtained wifi access, a room, and a free shuttle to the other side of the canal and Saint mark plaza. 

The Hilton Stucky Molino. Very nice. Very pricy, BJ finagled a deal for us. 

After somewhat getting checked in, off a few of us went back to San Marco square...bad idea. The tide was in. 

BJ and I went back to the Stucky and walked around that island. Found the best deal ever for some Italian beer. Yum!  

 Admittedly, we all are getting a bit travel weary. Enjoying every minute but ready to be home with our fur and none fur friends.  All in all, we have gotten along famously. A great set of travel companions. 

Thank you for traveling along with us!! What an adventure this had been. So glad to share it with you. 

Was Italy, now Greece. Day 18 katakolon - Olympia

Our 4th and final port of call. Also our last private tour.  We were promptly meet by Nichols and 2 other drivers that whisked us away mercifully ahead of the masses. It is about a 35 minute drive in our 3 little taxis but well worth it.  For the most part, were able to enter and wander the ruins of the very first Olympic village with very few people to contend for space. 

 

Temple of Zeus, what is left of it. 

Then, the flood gates gave way. Hoards and hoards of people wafted their way in. Our taxi drivers allotted us an hour and a half to experience/explore the ruins and a museum.... They had no idea of a portion of our group's speed at perusing historical stuff. Finally after 2 hours, our more leisurely explorers showed up and had not even stepped into the museum.  

Museum photos 

As a result, we modified our plans to skip the winery and went straight to lunch. The food was outstanding.  One of the best yet and the prices were most reasonable.  What is not to like about a $3 tankard of beer.!!!

Our last vestiges of power shopping and back to the ship we went. 
A couple of new forms of entertainment... At least to us.  Sitting our our verandas, mowing through buckets of beer and cheering in the last few passengers on to the ship. It is quite entertaining spurring them into a run or for some, stumbling their way to the gang plank. It must have caught on, yesterday nearly our whole deck had joined in on the fun. 
If that was not hilarious enough, somehow, between Kathy and Celeste, a contest started as who could keep their foot in the beer bucket of ice the longest. Trills of giggles and laughter reigned as they challenged each other .... Over and over. Carol jumped in as a late contestant to which I think she took the prize for the longest soak. Oh, we are so easily entertained.....

Off to chowing our way through the buffet, drinks with friends of Dorothy then wedge ourselves into the stage show. Which was pretty good. An abstract dance choreography and costumes involving a mixture of jazz, ballet and a magician. A bit of cirque du soleil sprinkled in. All in all, very entertaining. 

Tomorrow our last day is at sea. Rest, pack eat and sleep. 
For the day after, we begin our journey home. 

Sent from my iPad

Was Italy, now Greece. Day 17 Mykonos

LAnother day, another island in the enchanting land of Greece.  
We docked at 8:00 am and met our next tour guide.  After a shuttle from the "new pier" to old town we met our guide and off we went to walk the narrow streets. Absolutely fascinating and very beautiful. Here, all the structures are white but more than just the blue accent colors. We are in a very old land rich with history and a thriving tourist destination.  

Here there are not the steep cliffs as Santorini. The island is certainly not devoid of elevation. Dotted amongst the landscape are the clusters of white structures.  Very pretty little boroughs. We visited a monastery and then off to the beach. My goodness, there is some "scenery".  Oh my oh my...

The afternoon was spent at the beach. Ah, the art of relaxation.  The scenery was not bad either ... Oh, yeah the water was quite cool and most inviting. 

Back to the ship we hung over our railings to cheer the last few passengers as they boarded. A couple we really quite drunk and another couple who nearly were left behind.  

Off we sailed to our next port of call. 

Salute 

Sent from my iPad