European Tour, 2017

In the summer of 2016, I came to the realization that Cathy and I had a pretty big wedding anniversary coming up. I wanted to do something big. We were going to be empty-nesters soon.

Cathy and I love travelling and it had been over 20 years since we were "over the pond" to Europe. I wanted to some friends to come along as well. Once I honed in on the type of trip I was interested in, I contacted our friends Mitch and Jen, then our west coast friends Daryl and Annette. All are good travelers and interested in a European adventure. I figured out a Danube Cruise on Viking River Cruises. First one week on the cruise, then a week to Prague and Berlin. This turned in to a 16 day trip.





Blog Note

You can see more photo's on our shared Google Photos album for our Europe, 2017 trip. If you want to see where a photo was taken, you can click on the Info icon to see a map of where the picture was taken.





My Funny Wedding Story
Cathy and I were married in the summer of 1987, in Nuevo, California. A very nice backyard ceremony at a friends house of my mother's. This was a rural setting, with a small animal farm behind the yard where our wedding took place. Our ceremony was set to take place in the late afternoon. Turns out that the farmer next door normally feeds their animals around the same time as our ceremony. The owners of the farm were being nice and waited a bit to feed the cows, goats, sheep and various egg laying fowl. Unfortunately, we were running a little late on starting our ceremony and the animals got anxious. The started making noises to remind the owners it was feeding time. I bet there aren't many folks that can claim to have had a chorus of moos, bleats, neighs and clucking, while taking their vows of the heart and admonitions of love and commitment to one other. Needless to say, we have enjoyed 30 years of love, raising two wonderful boys.

17 Day Trip Overview

Day 1 - Home to Budapest (Travel Day)

Our group decided to arrive in Budapest a day earlier than the cruise to do  little sight seeing. We traveled in the afternoon. A common friend picked up Jen and Mitch, then came to get us. We got to the airport and on board without incident. We fly overnight, arriving the next morning in Amsterdam, then on to Budapest.

Day 2 - Budapest (Hotel)

It's a long flight to Europe. We had a short layover in Amsterdam. Eventually we landed in Budapest. Oddly enough, there was virtually no security. We walked off the plane grabbed our bags and out of the airport. 



Since we were a day early, we setup to stay at Lart'otel Budapest Hotel (by Park Plaza). I had arranged a van to pick us up at the airport to take us to our hotel. Very clean, no breakfast buffet, but available for cost. 

This afternoon we walked along the Danube, going south about 2 miles. We crossed over the beautiful bridges, enjoying all the sights and headed back. We had a great Hungarian meal at Horgásztanya Restaurant, just around the corner from our hotel. It was a great meal.

Travel Note
Be aware of the ATM's while traveling in Europe. Not for security reasons, but for confusion on how the operate. The Hungarian Forint is about 2670 HUF to 10 USD. The ATM shows 200, 500, 1000, 1200, 1500. I picked 1500. Turns out that was 150,000 HUF, or about $560 USD. They chop off 2 zeros for the ATM display.

Day 3 - Budapest (Viking)

We had to relocate to the ship this day. I booked another taxi/van to get from hotel to cruise ship. Last minute booking was confusing for the desk folks. It appears you need to book hours in advance, if not the day before. They were able to get a van for us.

Romantic Danube 7-Day Viking River Cruise

We got to the ship and they were very accommodating, even offering us lunch. We left our luggage and explored the local area. The first night on the ship, they un-dock and sail up and down the Danube, north and south of Budapest. It was a beautiful evening.

The Viking Longship Var was our accommodations for 7 days, taking the Romantic Danube cruise. The ship has about 50 crew and can handle upwards of 190 passengers. Very clean and easy access around the 4 decks. Our meals were business casual for dinner and casual for other meals. Meals had continued flow of beer or wine while at the table too. 

Day 4 - Budapest (Viking)

The tour offers an included excursion each day. You have the option to go, obviously, or to do something else. They offer additional paid excursions as well.

Tour Note

One thing we didn't know was the ship leaves it's docked location on this morning. The ship relocates after we leave on our included excursion. We had planned on going to one of the famous baths, but had to pass. Jen and Annette had enough energy to go out early this morning, before the excursion, and get about 40 minutes running around Gellért Thermal Bath. Fortunately our ship was docked very close to this location.

I was in Budapest in 1980, but had a very different experience this time. I was young and Hungary was still behind the Iron Curtain. I noticed a very modern city with happy people. I felt very safe and welcome.

The Budapest area we stayed in is a great "walking city." I would go back. 

Day 5 - Vienna, Austria (Viking)

Our first morning we docked outside of Vienna. They had a great morning excursion. Once it was done, we decided to leave the tour to run around on our own. Figured out the subway and went out to Schönbrunn Palace. This was a very interesting place to walk around for a few hours.

On the ship the night before, we had heard about an Oktoberfest going on at Kaiserwiese Park. Large beer tents setup with great music, beer, sausages and pretzels. We only spent about 2 hours, but had a crazy fun time.

Tour Note

Unfortunately the only bad "happening" on the ship is one of our couples had problem with drain back up in shower in their room. Got pretty gross. One crew member mentioned this could be an issue with being on the lower cabins. The ship has a sump pump in the wall to evacuate the liquids from shower and stuff. Made a lot of noise while running.

Day 6 - Krems, Austria (Viking)

We went on the included morning tour to Göttweig Abbey. This was a great historic place.

Tour Note

We wanted to ride bikes in this valley. The add-on excursion was about $120pp and seemed very expensive. We had the idea of doing this on our own in the afternoon. Unfortunately the ship needed to leave again.

Day 7 - Passau, Germany (Viking)

Annette and Daryl took the Passau included excursion and said it was mildly interesting. Jen, Mitch, Cathy and I didn't take it. Instead, we took an add-on excursion to Salzburg, Austria. Cost a good amount of money for this tour. I didn't know we'd need 2 hours to drive there and 2 hours to return. I love Salzburg, but 4 hours of commuting for 4 hours of visit wasn't a good exchange. I'd probably not do this excursion again. There just wasn't enough time to see everything.

Day 8 - Regensburg, Germany (Viking)

The morning excursion was nice. 






We also signed up for the Weltenburg Abbey and the Danube Narrows tour. This was a very cool add-on.
 

Day 9 - Nuremberg, Germany (Viking)

Got in a little late due to river lock problems. The tour was previously scheduled in the afternoon, so Viking probably knew of this problem. I really enjoyed the free time at the end of the tour though. Cathy and I walked around the Imperial Castle of Nuremberg. Lots of walking areas.

I would go back to Nuremberg. I brought up AirBnB while walking inside the historic castle walls. Room costs were very reasonable.

Day 10 - Nuremberg to Prague (Travel Day)

It was now the day to leave the Viking Longship Var and head out on our own. Viking offered a 3 night stay in Prague for $750pp, so I thought we could do it on our own. 

I arranged to have a private van service pick up the 6 of us at the ship. The owner Chris is from Detroit and really nice. I only communicated with him via email. He has several English speaking drivers available, with vans or cars. Site is here. He suggested the Pilsner Urquell brewery tour. Very flexible on pickup times.

On our way to Prague, we stopped at the Pilsner Urquell Brewery for a tour. Much better that I anticipated. I made tour reservations ahead of time, so that was taken care of. Our driver mentioned they had a restaurant on premise. We called but they had no openings available for a group of 6. Instead we found a small restaurant Brewery taproom Parkán, walking distance from the brewery. We ate quickly and walked over.

Our driver took us directly to our Hotel Clementin Old Town. I wasn't sure what I reserved for all of us, but was pleasantly surprised. The hotel is centrally located, right down from the Charles Bridge. Very busy area with lots of sightseers, due to it's location. The hotel is on the way from the Charles Bridge to the Town Square. Very clean, great breakfast buffet. Beds comfortable, full bath for the shower.

Day 11 - Prague, Czech Republic (Clementin Old Town Hotel)

This morning Cathy and I decided we need to wash a few items. Spent the morning relaxing and washing close at a public laundry mat we found in old town Prague. In the afternoon we saw a few more sights. One of my favorite discoveries was a place called Choco Café U Červené židle. Actually our van driver recommended it. Amazing cups of melted chocolate. Cathy got one with cream and nuts, I got some cyan pepper with mine. Annette ordered a drink using chocolate from Venezuela. It did have a slightly different flavor.



Travel Note

BTW - I ran in to the confusing Prague ATMs again. Chopped off 2 zero's from the value. They were easy to find though.

Day 12 - Prague, Czech Republic (Clementin Old Town Hotel)

All 6 of us loved Prague. Great food and people watching. Today was Cathy and I jumping on the Hop On-Hop Off tour around Prague. Good bus route coverage, with audio description while driving around. This also included a 1 hour boat ride up and down the Vltava River. For the old town Prague, this town is so walk-able. There are roads and some walking areas that a few daring cars drive through.

Day 13 - Prague, Czech Republic (Clementin Old Town Hotel)

Today was a biking day. Daryl, Annette and Cathy found a great bike shop to rent from. The owner was from the US, so asking questions about our ride was easy. The shop is Praha Bike. Bikes were fine and safe for riding, but a little noisy in the bearings.

Day 14 - Prague to Berlin  (Travel Day)

Today we said good-bye to Prague, and to Daryl and Annette. They returned to the US. I ordered the same van service to pick us up at our hotel so we could get to Berlin. A little longer ride this time, but more room in the van since there were only 4 of us. The ride was uneventful and we only made one break after 2 hours.

Hotel 38 was very functional. Rooms were a bit odd with glass block wall to separate shower from sleeping area. Great breakfast buffet. Do have a bar downstairs where breakfast is served. Didn't know that and brought in a bottle of sparking wine we won on the cruise. Desk clerk let us know it wasn't acceptable to bring in our own wine, but would let us this time.

Day 15 - Berlin, Germany (Hotel 38)

Today we decided to purchase our Hop On-Hop Off tour again. Mitch, Jen, Cathy and I hopped on for an hour or so. Cathy and I got off at Checkpoint Charlie for a few shots, and decided to walk around the area. Lots of interesting museums in the area. Mitch and Jen continued on with the riding tour.

Day 16 - Berlin, Germany (Hotel 38)

Mitch and Jen decided to hit some museums this day, but Cathy and I wanted to finish our hop-on hop-off tour around Berlin. Cathy and I saw several existing samples of the Berlin wall and we got to the Brandenburg Gate. Across is a park we walked across to get back to our hop-on, hop-off tour.

Day 17 - Berlin to Home (Travel Day)

Today was our day to head back to the States. Had another great breakfast at Hotel 38, and got in our taxi to the airport. Had a problem at the airport though. Our tickets had reservations, but were never ticketed. I ended up having to purchase our change in tickets to get on the plane. Just a note about that. I'm still following up with Viking to get our compensation. 

Summary

We had a great trip. Good friends made it even more special. Lots of great conversations.

Lake Superior Circle Tour, 2015

June 15-19, 2015

My friend Jason and I took off on a motorcycle trip around Lake Superior for 5 days.  In total, my motorcycle odometer registered 1,831.8 miles, starting at my house and returning.

We were inspired by our stops by following the Ride Lake Superior website.  They have a great route planned and we saw almost everything we were hoping for.

Day 1 - 425 miles

New Brighton, Minnesota to Sleeping Giant Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada

Jason and I got going around 8am.  I was packed and ready the day before, so I only had to get on the bike and go.  Jason had a few last minute things at his place to finish up, but he was ready.

Teeny Split Rock Lighthouse behind us

First we just headed straight up 35W to Duluth.  It was a good time for a stop so we stopped at the Aerostich factory in Duluth, MN.  We got a tour of their facility and I ended up purchasing a throttle lock for the trip.  This really helped with the long distances.  Once north of Duluth, we made a quick stop for a photo with Split Rock Lighthouse in the back ground.  This is a must for me.  For lunch we stopped at the Northern Lights Roadhouse.  They have a great Hunter's Pie for good rib sticking food.

Palisade Head, Minnesota

After we got going again, a quick stop at Palisade Head is nice, and Jason had never been here before.  This has about 300 ft drop to Lake Superior.

Kakabeka Falls, Ontario

We skipped on our way up to the US/Canada border.  Nothing significant to report there.  From a person in the Ontario visitor's center gave we got a short cut to Kakabeka Falls.

It was getting late after all this driving, so we grabbed a quick bite in Thunder Bay, a six pack of beer, and headed to Sleeping Giant Provincial Park where we stayed the night.  We got the tent up by night fall, had a few beers and hit the sack.

Day 2 - 476 miles

Sleeping Giant Provincial Park to Sault Ste. Marie

Funny Story During the night, I was sleeping soundly when I awoke to having Jason on his knees looking at the edge of the tent.  Took me a second to figure out it was him and I asked what was up. He said his face was up against the tent side and he awoke getting his face pushed from the outside with loud deep sniffs, and there was a great stench. Probably a bear? We made some noise and turned on flashlights and it eventually went away.

In the morning we had a few campsite visitors while we made oatmeal and coffee.

After packing up gear, we headed to the end of the road down to Silver Islet, Ontario.  Small town area with a few homes and a general store. I saw a website said it was a ghost town, but looked alive to me.

We headed to Ouimet Canyon.  This is a very cool geographical anomaly in the area with a few theories on how it was created.







Along the north shore of Lake Superior are many beautiful vistas.  There were lots of places to stop for a photo op.  Fewer places for gas, so we topped off our tanks often.  This also gave us a short break on our way for a cup of coffee or snack.

The most interesting thing is how cold it gets from the north side all the way to Sault Ste Marie. Small canyons off from the lake were easily 10-15 degrees colder than up above.

Aguasabon Falls, Terrace Bay, ON, Canada

Agawa Rock Pictographs

We did find Aguasabon Falls and some Agawa Rock Pictographs to see on our way.

Young's General Store

Pictographs are right on the water - watch your step

Flurries were predicted for the next day along the east shore of Lake Superior (our destination), so we decided to drive on through to Sault Ste Marie and get a hotel. The weather was cold, but we both had enough to wear. This was our longest riding day at 476 miles.

Day 3 - 399 miles

Point Iroquois Lighthouse

Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario to Copper Bay, Michigan

Breakfast was in the hotel so it was easy to get going.  Got a little lost in town trying to get to the U.S. border, but the crossing went off without a hitch.  We headed to the Point Iroquois Lighthouse.

Tahquamenon Falls

After the lighthouse, was Tahquamenon Falls State Park.

Jay Flying

We ran into a little rain in the afternoon, but no big storming.  This ride was beautiful, but uneventful.  We found that long rides make for a few shenanigans.

The path to follow on the Ride Lake Superior map was a good ride.  It's not the Google maps most efficient route, but probably better.

Day 4 - 296 miles

Copper Harbor, Michigan to Little Sand Bay Campground, Bayfield, Wisconsin

Wednesday night I was starting to get sore and grumpy.  I was looking for a restaurant/bar close by our sleeping area.  Since it was cold again, and the campground appeared to have nothing next door to it, I pushed for a motel again.  We stayed at The Pines for the night.  Clean and a bar right next door.  A good restaurant was across the street too.

Copper Harbor is a small fishing type village on the coast.  It appears that winter is big for this town, providing lots of sledding information.  Summer is 4x4 oriented.








In in the morning we head east on the Keweenaw Peninsula to Fort Wilkins Historic State Park.  It cost $9 per bike to get in, but we could explore the area. Hint: The pass is good for other parks during the day, btw.

Family Housing outside Fort Wilkins

This Fort advertises as being the most complete Fort representation from it's day.

Copper Harbor from Brockway Mountain Drive

The night before, a local told us about taking Brockway Mountain Drive when we headed out of town.  We rode west along the coast, popping up on the highway going up over the hills.  Very cool ride.  It was  a great site where we could get some shots of Copper Harbor from above.

Wide picture of Copper Harbor

Jason the Photo Guy

An area close by called Eagle Harbor has a great perspective on where other parts of Lake Superior.

Jason was pretty interested in the Delaware Copper Mine.  I was impressed with how much is left still.  Walked down steps to be about 100 feet below ground, with 1400 ft of tunnel to explore.  Hint: Bring a flashlight.  I didn't get pictures here, but Jason snapped a few up top.

I was impressed with the Michigan Upper Peninsula in how much is not developed, with vast forested areas and coastline.  We set a route that closely matched the suggested Ride Lake Superior route.  Once over the border in Wisconsin though, there appeared to be almost instant population.

We got to our destination at Little Sand Bay Campground on the northern peninsula across from Sand Island.  $25 a night for power, grassy areas, nice.  This is not officially on the RLSuperior route, but Jason knew about it.  We forgot to stop and grab food on our way past Bayfield, so we setup camp and headed back to town for food and a six pack.

  We took a few photos while enjoying our beers on the dock.

Day 5 - 235 Miles

Little Sand Bay Campground to New Brighton, Minnesota

Oatmeal and Coffee Breakfast

Shorter ride today. We made such good time/mileage of the last few days, this was going to be easier. Since Jason gets up at like 5:30AM, we got a good start on the day. There was a RLSuperior stop on the map at Ehlers General Store, but they weren't open yet. We decided just to ride on to Superior, Wisconsin. We stopped for coffee in Superior, then decided to take a nice final ride down Hwy 23. We were home by 1pm, which was nice.

Little Sand Bay Campground

Travel Days; June 15-19, 2015
Total Mileage: 1,831