We returned to Passau during the night and departed the SE Manon after breakfast. It was a lovely day, so lovely that we decided to stow...

Day Seven was our last biking day. We knew the routine well by now, and were anxious to head out on what would be our last adventure on...

We traveled all night from Esztergom, and morning found us moored about 5 km north of Vienna. The bike tour offered several...

We boarded the ship again in Budapest, and traveled overnight to Visegrad. I continue to be amazed by how well we sleep on the ship. ...

We sailed all night, arriving in Budapest at daybreak. I have seen this "scene", the entrance into Budapest, at least a hundred times in...

It was late spring when we arrived in Passau, Germany, to board the SE Manon, our home for the next 8 days. We had been in Germany for...

Ron and I leave for the train station in a few hours, where we will take a high speed train to Frankfurt. Our three fifty-pound bags...

The last ride had to happen, and what a ride it was. We took a train to Naumburg, about an hour from Erfurt. The train stopped briefly...

It is the Monday of our last week in Germany. I am trying hard not to be sad. It was not easy to make this trip happen. We encountered...

We each have unique ways of coping with the unfamiliar. The German language is somewhat familiar to me; that is to say that when I see...

On the far eastern edge of Germany, almost in the Czech Republic, lies the tiny town of Herrnhut. Herrnhut came into existence in the...

For Martin's birthday, his parents treated us all to a live performance of the musical Cabaret at the National Theatre of Germany in...

On one of our first bike rides, we noticed a sign out in the countryside advertising the upcoming Oktoberfest in Erfurt. We dutifully...

We suspect Summer has finally surrendered to Autumn. The days are getting colder and shorter. The last two days were rainy and windy,...

Unity Day is a National holiday in Germany, commemorating the unification of East and West Germany in 1990. This year, Unity Day fell...

Museums are not really my thing. Traditional, three-hour classical music concerts are not really my thing either. I do not know why...

We woke to warm and brilliant sunshine. Ah, Vienna. We started our Saturday with a traditional German breakfast at the Hotel Austria, an...

We arrived in Vienna on a Friday evening after sunset. It was a long train ride from Erfurt, almost six hours. The high speed ICE train...

The Ilm River doesn't flow through Erfurt, but we had caught glimpses of it on several rides. The Ilm starts in the same mountains as...

For years, Ron and I kept a "Wish List" of things we would like to do if we ever made it to Germany for an extended stay. The list...