Traveling back to Cape Town today 26/10/2017 another great holiday!

Having left the Penta hotel at around 10:00 we caught the tram - loaded with backpacks, the tram doors close so quickly after people exit that we missed our tram stop and had to walk back. Once my backpack is in its bag (yes the backpack has a bag to stop all it’s awkward straps catching in the rollers of the baggage conveyor belt) it is awkward to carry 🙈 Michael took it off me and I carried his backpack - not too far but still, I suppose that is how the trams stay on time - allocate only a small time to people getting on and off. After walking back one stop we then walked to the main Prague station where we caught the bus to the airport. Not a very orderly queue - definitely the person that pushes the most/ hardest gets onto the bus. The bus is full and some people couldn’t get on. Interesting though that having used the brilliant public transport system throughout our trip, trams, buses, trains - we saved R4000 and saw a lot more of the cities, had to use our brain ☺️ - wow it can be difficult when the streets are in a different language and WiFi (google maps) is local only to static places. Definitely more interesting than just catching a taxi. Note to self - only put backpack in bag at check in. Prague airport is small in comparison to other EU airports but very efficient. I am now in the gate waiting to catch the plane to Dubai at 15:33 landing 23:55 and catching plane to CT at 03:50 tomorrow and landing CT 11:35 Friday 27/10/2017 at the end of a very different holiday. Mixture between a cruise and say our stay in Paris with lots of movement between countries. We saw a lot in each of the cities - yet I think I prefer the one day as the second day almost feels like an anticlimax. You cover all the main sights on the first day and the second day you feel a bit at a loss on what to do, as all the other sights are a bit far away to get there and come back on the same day. The traveling days particularly are a bit of a write off as you have your luggage with you and most places would not allow you to take it in to the attractions. Once again I packed too much. I must come back and read this if I am blessed enough to go on another holiday. I will pack less as I wore my leggings, boots and layers of vest, long sleeve fleece and wet weather gear most days. I had lovely evening dresses thanks to mom and Aunty June which I wore in the evenings of the cruise. I wore every outfit that I packed, yet it is a lot to carry. Only 15.5kg which includes what I bought in the various places. Yet still too heavy. So another ‘so long’ until I start another adventure which I hope will hopefully be very soon!!! Life is short and there are so many places to see!!! Thank you for reading 😘

Day 11 - 26/10/2017 the black light theatre

Yesterday we went back into Prague after Michael had his hair cut at a local barber, very impressive. Then we continued to see the sights we had missed like the astronomical clock and the Jewish synagogue. We followed the path we are taking today to the airport so that there are no surprises. The number 24 tram, and the AE bus to the airport - got the tickets so all is ready. Last night we went to a dinner at a beer garden and then onto a black light theatre at 20:00 so very interesting and fun.

Then the walk back to the hotel. I was not so keen on that at 21:00 - all turned out well. We pack tomorrow after breakfast ready for checkout at 12:00. Our flight is at 15:30 but with trams and buses one never knows. Best to be early.

We ate the local delicacy of a pastry bun in the shape of a cone, Michaels had ice cream and mine had strawberries and cream. Dinner was ribs with mustard. A lot of the local food is smoked pork. Delicious, knuckle (they call it pork finger) and ribs or pork steak no starch and no salad, just mustard, gerkins and horseradish. Michael ordered extra chips and salad.

Day 10 - 25/10/2017 Prague

We walked from the hotel to old town, to the torture museum and then onto the Prague Castle, with all its history, it is an amazing city. We stopped inside the Castle for a coffee and apple strudel. Going places is always easy but finding your way back to the hotel is a lot more difficult. So we backtracked our steps to the main station and then followed the tram successfully back to the Penta Hotel. 

We stopped at a gallery by Reon, surrealism.

Day 9 - 24/10/2017 the Penta Hotel Prague

Prague is apparently where all the stag nights and hen parties come from the UK to celebrate their last nights of freedom 🙈

Out hotel the Penta Hotel Prague is very unusual. 

Now we are off to old town to see the monuments. 

Day 8 - 23/10/2017 a traveling day.

Got up early and out at breakfast by 7:30 as the hotel gets really dull for breakfast at different times. Today was full wet gear jacket and ants. We went to the shops and got Michael a second pair of jeans at an inexpensive shop called Dressman. Does not exist in SA. Then we got our bags and caught a tram to the main train station which is really bigger that most airports. Our proper train to Prague came at 13;10 as per schedules and 4:30 hrs later we were at the station in Prague. Another team to the Penta Hotel in Prague. A very different hotel. Reception at the huge bar.

Day 7 - 22/10/2017 Second day in Vienna

It rained through out last night and one can see that winter is here. The trees are all different colors of yellow and red and it is definitely colder. Today we move out of the boat and back to the Hotel Mercury Wien - so we leave early and catch the underground back to the hotel. Drop our bags and go and catch the hop on hop off bus. We went to Madam Toussauds, the Ferris wheel and then the highest observation tower in Vienna where we had Strudel and coffee.

We decided to walk the ring road around Vienna and got lost so after a two hour walk a kind person in a restaurant guides to the underground. We get to the hotel very tired and go across the road where we eat at the oldest billiard house in Vienna. No pockets in the billiards table so very different rules. Food and wine are great.

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Day 6 - 21/10/2017 Vienna using the Vienna Card hop on hop off bus

We climbed the yellow hop on hop off bus right off the cruise peer. Joined the blue route in rainy, misty weather so attractions like the 200m tower and the big wheel were impossible - so we got to the UNO city. Guess what they are not open on weekends. So world wars, plagues, all the things that they supposed to look after, better not happen on weekends. So waited in the rain for the next bus and made our way passed Albertinaplatz and the Spanish ridding school, the huge library to Wien time ztravel a 5D experience - Vienna through the ages. Lots of fun. Then joined the yellow route to the Shonbrunn palace - wow beauty and opulence difficult to imagine life in those times.

Day 5 - 20/10/2017 Bratislava Slovakia

Beautiful place with an old wall partways around the town. We have seen the old town hall, Michaels gate which was the entrance in front of the moat where the castle bridge used to be lifted, St Martins Cathedral and are having lunch at the Hrad restaurant on Bratislava Castle wall - the castle has been here since the Stone Age.

Day 4 - 19/10/2017 Second day in Budapest

Gym, breakfast and then a walk to the Catholic Church built in a cave that was set up in the 13th century by the Polish and Hungarian Catholics. Climbed to the Statue of Liberty and the castle all on the Buda side of the Danube river.

We crossed over a bridge to the Buda side and walked to the parliament buildings, stopped at a Coffee shop that served Manuel’s coffee, very nice, we carried onto st Stephens basilica a beautiful Catholic Church. Onto the Hard Rock Cafe, Disigual - missed the Synagogue and carried onto the market. The market has everything from every kind of food to table cloths and t-shirts. The WiFi is so slow that i cannot upload any pictures so will upload at a later stage. An amazing pic of statues of all of the influential people that improved people’s lot in life via peaceful means. Gandi, Jesus, Buddha, etc Lovely day, learned so much!

Day 3 - 18/10/2017 Budapest

Arrived in Budapest at 14:00 today and went on a bike ride sightseeing - beautiful buildings and so bike friendly - I could see the efficiency in the other riders of our group - German ladies used to cycling in traffic. The bikes with weird, if you moved your foot backwards the bike automatically breaked. It certainly is a huge city with Buda on the one side of the river and Pest on the other. We cycled back to the ship and after a couple of Pina Coladas it was dinner time. The food is so good that we are eating breakfast, lunch and dinner. Gym in the morning, a run at midday and a cycle later in the afternoon, we are using up the calories. We went out to see the lights at night and watched an impromptu dance show on the side of the building. 

Wow!

Bridge of chains designed by the same engineer that designed the Eiffel Tower.

Day 2 - 17/10/2017 boarding A-Rosa

No address, no reference, no boarding time for the ship. After emailing imagine cruising we got an address nothing else. After we boarded we found out it’s a common problem with imagine cruising communications. We took the underground to Handelskaai, a 2km walk along a park where Michael found a solar flower. Eventually we found the boat. Lovely to be full board includes all drinks all food. Except some - so weird excludes orange juice?? Euro 2:90 for 2 glasses. Good amenities. A small Gym - no running before 8:00am. Bavarian dinner buffet but the red German wine is very acrid, leaves a very weird taste in your mouth.

    

Day 1 - 16/10/2017 arrived in Vienna airport

A different tour in that it has no transfers. We discovered this quite late in our planning so explored different options of getting to and from the various places without finalizing any.

A bus journey from the  airport to the hotel Mercury Wien, walked down a street with multiple Zara, H&M, Spar Europe, Disigual (my favorite shop) until we reached the museum quarter and old town. A beer in a park in Vienna, after which Vienna schnitzel at a traditional vianese restaurant - thin and crumbed,  it covered the full plate and hung over the sides. Huge but very tasty. Another beer and exhausted (maybe a little drunk) slept so well.

Dubai on the way to Vienna

31’C at 4:30 am in Dubai International - it just seems to get bigger - more building in progress - so many flights and yet it just works. Starbucks yay Mike orders a Frappuccino and a Cuppaccino for me. Always the same dependable great taste!

Getting ready for Terrance to take us to Cape Town Airport.

Vienna here we come. 

Chat before our ride to the airport ✈️🛳