The embargo froze (to a large degree) the state of transportation in Cuba. There are also a couple of oddities. While we saw a smattering of newer cars across the island, the number of cars still running and in good shape from the fifties is amazing. Many are used as taxis or are available for […]
Our last stop in Cuba was Havana. Almost as old as Santiago de Cuba, Havana was founded in 1519. There are preparations everywhere for the 500th anniversary, which will be celebrated this fall. It is the largest city, with over 2.1 million residents. It is a study of contrasts with most of the great architecture […]
Cienfuegos is a quirky city. Founded by the French as a holiday town, it has had many masters through the years and the architecture reflects it. There are a number of local streets that now house artisans selling their wares. The Cienfuegos Botanical Garden, founded by an American sugar planter named Atkins, started as a center […]
We were pleased to learn of a Cuba immersion cruise. Cuba has been a bucket list trip for a long time. I was hopeful that we’d be able to spend some time there when things opened up a couple of years ago, but unfortunately things were clamped down again in 2017 with the new administration. […]
This morning we disembarked the Viking Legend after a nice breakfast and goodbyes with new friends (actually some of the goodbyes were at dinner last night due to early morning flights). All in all we really liked Viking. We had a couple of nits but they do a good job. The only issue going forward […]
After the spectacular lights the night before I rose early (30 minutes prior to sunrise) to see if some of the magic was still there. It certainly was. Here is the Budapest Castle which is now home to the state museum. The second image is of the Chain Bridge. This was the nicest part of the […]
We were warned no less than ten times that the arrival in Budapest on the Danube at night is spectacular. We were scheduled to arrive at about 11 so we scheduled and planned accordingly. As our arrival time neared we staked out places on the deck and assumed our positions. Here is Marty acting as […]
We awoke just a short walk outside Bratislava. It is a fairly small capital city with a population just over 500,000. It is the only capital city that borders three countries – Slovakia, Austria and Hungary. That partially explains its many years of integration into Hungary and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Since WWI the history has […]
Our day in Vienna started with a bus tour of the ring around central Wien. Franz Joseph realized that expanding beyond the old fortification wall would help promote significant growth in the city. He was certainly right. We traveled past many of the city’s cultural landmarks including the opera house, parliament, the University, etc. We […]
As we travelled down the Danube we had a two stop day. The morning stop was is in Melk with a visit to the Abbey. It was founded in 1089 when the King donated a castle. In the 12th century the school was formed (today they have about 900 students from nearby attending classes there). […]
