September 20, 2026 - Sunday - Berlin Day 1

The Hotel has an agreement with Cafe Mondo around the corner to provide breakfast so we wandered downstairs (5 floors in the elevator) and found the place and got bagels with cream cheese and coffee/tea. The cream cheese was more like goat cheese without flavor but it did have a stack of veggies on it. Very not American bagels.

Deb set up a walking tour from the Brandenburg Gate for 10 am so we walked the 47 minutes to Brandenburg Gate and got there 15 minutes early. 

Let's talk about toilets. There are way too few toilets in Germany for travelers (aka tourists). And if you find one they charge anywhere from 0.50 to 1.5 Euros to pee. This probably keeps the rif-raf out but what a pain. So of course we needed to pee after walking all the way here after our morning coffee/tea, so the advice we got from the walking tour leader guy (Jimmy) was to look confident and walk into the ritzy hotel where Michael Jackson hung his baby over the balcony and use the toilet downstairs from the lobby. We of course chose to buy a sacrificial cup of tea at Starbucks next to the ritzy hotel and used the most disgusting bathrooms we have seen on the trip. Should have moonwalked our asses to the hotel, just saying.

Jimmy is an unemployed European history graduate (aka tour guide) and he did a spectacular job. The focus was the world wars because, as we learned, everything we have ever heard about as far as Nazis go, happened right here, right in front of us. The Reichstag fire, Hitler’s bunker, the Russian army taking down Berlin from the Nazis, Brandenberg Gate, the Berlin Wall. It is all here within a few blocks  Jimmy took us on a great 2 hour walking tour.

After the tour we found a kabob place where they slice off garlic spiced beef from a huge hanging beef cow hanging in the window  (okay, a quarter of a cow) and then we walked back to Brandenburg Gate and found the tourist info center there where we bought 2- day tickets to all the transportation in town. And it will get us to the airport outside of town on Tuesday when we leave.

We took the metro back to our apartment and decided to take this new found transportation system to the Museum Berlin - Karlshorst. We took the metro, and the metro again, to a bus to the museum. Wow, this public transportation works great!

And the museum was great. This museum is where they actually signed the Nazi surrender over. The UK, US, Nazis and Soviets were there with their pens. What this museum drove home were the atrocities the Nazis did early in the war toward the Soviets and Jews. They just shot anyone they did not think looked Aryan enough. Millions of people were murdered because some nutjob (Hitler) talked them into it. Lots of people died before the US even got into the war. Very heavy but very important.

Then good old Google Maps got us back near home and we stopped for a beer (and tea) before heading home. A flamkuchen (kind of a German version of flatbread pizza) went by that looked great so we decided to eat dinner there. Nice leisurely pub to spend the evening at. Then back to the hotel to do laundry and sleep.

September 19, 2026 - Saturday - Dresden Museums and on to Berlin

Deb here. A second night of great sleeping in a king sized bed. Our hotel, Barcelo Dresden Newa, was the first hotel in our travels to offer a king sized bed. Most of our rooms have two twin beds pushed together with separate comforters. Interesting.

Today was our travel day to Berlin, but we realized that we didn’t need to leave until the afternoon. After another great breakfast we checked at the front desk and found they’d store our suitcases until we were ready to leave, so we checked out and left our belongings there at 9:30.

Emily and Alex had suggested visiting a couple of museums in Dresden, so we made our way to the Old Masters Museum. This museum is part of a palace complex that offers a second museum (Mathermatisch and Physikaliacher), so we walked the 20 minutes there. We arrived at 10 and bought a joint ticket, first visiting the art museum. So, so many beautiful paintings from the 15th through 19th centuries. What a collection! After an hour we’d reached our art museum capacity and moved on to the next museum.

The Math and Physics museum was also wonderful; four rooms filled with historic clocks and timepieces, old earth and astronomical globes, and scientific instruments (calculator, burning instruments). A lot to simply wonder at and think about how far technology has come. 

By the time we left there and marveled a bit at the beautiful grounds it was time to pick up our belongings and head to the train station for a 12:53 train to Berlin. I have to say that Dresden is a beautiful city with lots of spectacular buildings.

We picked up sandwiches along the way and walked to the train station, only to learn that our Berlin train was held up for almost an hour. Nothing to do but wait, so that’s what we did. When the train finally came it was pretty full, but we found seats.

We arrived in Berlin by 3 something and decided to walk to our accommodation (Limehouse Schonhauser), about a 40 minute walk.

This was when the fun (not really) started! There was a huge police presence in all directions, meaning our walking route was blocked and we needed to make a big detour. Apparently there was a right to life protest going on and we had to walk right through the big group of marchers. In hindsight public transportation would have been the way to go but we were stubborn.

Anyway, long walk through not very savory parts of the city to reach our apartment, which once we arrived we found to be quite nice. By this time we were wiped out, so rested a bit before venturing out to eat dinner nearby at Pastabar Gianni Gillone. A plate of pasta carbonara (me) and pesto pasta (John) made all things better, along with the realization that google maps had taken us to our place via back streets. We’re actually right near a busy street with lots of goods and services.

Showers and bed after a long day.

September 18, 2026 - Friday - Hiking in the Saxon Switzerland National Park

Alex offered to take us hiking today which sounded great after being on trains and in cities the last couple of weeks. We had breakfast at the hotel and found a nearby bakery to buy sandwiches for lunch. Alex picked us up at 8:00 in front of the hotel and we drove for 50 minutes toward the Czech Republic border to the park. The park resides in both Germany and the Czech Republic.

There are a lot of trails but not much parking so Alex got us there early enough to find a spot. He said you can get there using public transportation but it’s a combination of trains and ferry and bus. This park has rock formations like our Chiricahua National Monument at home. We climbed 1,200 ft through a maze of rocks, ladders and metal stairs. Like everything we have found in Europe, everything is built to last. Very rugged steel structures and fairly safe. Alex used his Garmin GPS to keep us going in the right direction. He’s hiked a lot here but there’s a maze of trails. And the trails are very sandy probably because of all the sandstone.

We made it to the top and had a toast of eggnog schnapps in chocolate cups with a couple we met from New Zealand. Then down down down, more ladders and stairs and rocks. At the bottom was a restaurant where we had beers (and tea for Deb) then walked the road to the car. We walked a total of about 10 km today. Deb and I ate our sandwiches in the car while Alex crossed into the Czech Republic to look for cheap gasoline. There was a huge line so we headed back to Dresden. Gas is over $10 a gallon here (compared to $4.25 back home). The war in Iran has driven prices up all over the world.

We arrived back in Dresden at Alex and Emily’s apartment and got a tour. They live on the fifth floor in a nice apartment with a great view from the fifth floor (91 steps).

Their children, Jakob (12)  and Ellie (10) called and said they had a table at the outdoor restaurant/biergarten around the corner. What impressed us was how young kids here can just hop on the tram or bus by themselves and feel completely safe.

We had a wonderful outside afternoon dinner and then the kids showed us to the tram stop and told us which tram to wait for and where to get off to get to our hotel.

We ran out of Euros today so we found an ATM on the walk to the hotel and got a few more. We go home in a few days so ww’re trying to end up with no Euros by the time we leave. The Euro is equal to $1.15 right now. You always need some euro coins in your pocket because there are pay toilets here (.50 to 1.50 Euros). Alex said tipping here is just starting but it is 10% or so unless you are in tourist areas.

Hot showers and bed.

September 17, 2026 - Thursday - Fulda to Dresden

Deb here. This week feels like the German friends and family part of our European trip! After our great day with Fix and Foxi and their family yesterday, it was time to head to Dresden today and meet up with John’s niece Emily, her husband Alex, and their two kids Jakob and Ellie. We had breakfast at our Fulda hotel (B&B Hotel-Fulda City), checked out and walked to the train station for a 10:15 train to Dresden. Once at the train station we learned our train would be delayed 20 minutes, so we took the time to buy sandwiches (2.90 euros each for salami sandwiches) and have coffee and tea while we waited.

No problem finding seats on the train and we settled in for the 3.5 hour trip between Fulda and Dresden. We were due in at 1:45 originally, but due to the delay we didn’t get in until after 2. It was all a bit confusing at the end because the train ended up dumping everyone of
f at a Dresden station further out of town from the main station, since they were behind schedule. A bit of grumbling from passengers but we all got off the train.

It was a nice day so we decided to walk the 40 minutes trek to our hotel, Barcelo Dresden Newa. At first we walked through a rundown part of town, but as we walked further we entered the old town and it was really lovely. We crossed the Elbe River and lots of people were out and about enjoying the gorgeous afternoon.

By the time we reached the hotel and checked in it was 3:15, and we’d made plans to meet Emily at a tram stop in the old town by 4:10. We met Emily, Alex, Jakob and Ellie and had a great walk through the old city with commentary from all of them about the various buildings. They’d been to a place for dinner that they liked, so we wandered back over the river and had a fun dinner outside, eating some good German food and drinking German beer and Austrian wine. All very fun to catch up and get a glimpse of their lives in Dresden. The kids are 12 and 10 years old and it was nice to hear about their schooling, as well as hear about Alex and Emily’s jobs. After dinner and some more walking we wandered to their tram stop, said our goodnights, and ambled back through the city to our hotel. 

September 16, 2026 - Wednesday - Day with Fix and Foxi

Another great hotel in Fulda with free breakfast to kick off the day. Today we caught up with Appalachian Trail co-hikers Fix and Foxi (Severin and Ariane). We tried to get a train to their town but it was hard to figure out the connections so Foxi offered to pick us up in Fulda. She arrived with her father and they took us on a beautiful ride through the countryside. We drove to a nearby mountain, where they launch gliders. It was a bit foggy but being from Arizona, it was a treat to see the green meadows and farms and trees surrounded by a little moisture. And a wonderful contrast with all the cities we have been in. Their family has been in the area for many generations which felt a little like our roots in the Northeast as well.

We first stopped at Foxi’s house for coffee and tea and had the chance to meet her two oldest sons. We then drove into Bad Kissingen, a nearby spa town and had lunch there and checked out the beautiful spa town with the healing waters. 

After our time there we traveled 15 minutes away to Foxi’s parents’ home (which has been in the family for a long time), and we met most of the immediate family. We can now see where Fix and Foxi get their great sense of fun and humor. We laughed and wrestled with language a bit but we made it all work out. What wonderful people! 

We had coffee on the back patio with cheesecake and a strudel and got acquainted. Foxi’s father, Winifred,  is an amazing man. He and Foxi’s mother built the house forty-two years ago and they seem to have the knowledge to do anything. They burn wood for heat and I got a tour of the woodpile (a very typical thing to inspect back in my hometown in Vermont) and Winifred showed me his blacksmith shop in the basement. 

Foxi is a cook and she made wonderful goulash soup for supper. I’ve discovered Radler beer which is half beer and half lemon soda. Very light and not much alcohol. 

After dinner we had to say our goodbyes and Fix drove us back to Fulda to our hotel. This was a very enjoyable day spent with these remarkable people.

September 15, 2026, Tuesday - Munich to Fulda, Germany

Deb here. Another super hotel breakfast, then we checked out in time to catch an 8:45 a.m. train to Nuremberg. We were there early enough that we hopped on the 8:28 train instead. Wow, this train travel is so easy.

Last night we realized that we’d be going through Nuremberg on the way to Fulda, our final destination, so we thought we’d stop there and check out the city. I signed us up for a free walking tour at 11:30, which gave us time to take the train there and make our way to the tour meeting spot.

We arrived in Nuremberg about 9:30 and found a locker to stash our suitcases for the day. We had a nice walk into town and found a spot for coffee and tea (of course) before the tour started. It was a gorgeous day, and we noticed lots of organized Viking Cruise tours in town as we were sitting on the square.

Andreas, a local guy, was our tour guide and it turned out to be a great tour. Nuremberg has a rich history dating back to medieval times, with the first documented record in the town’s history being in the 11th century. We saw a castle, the old parts of the city, learned about the local food specialties and even discussed the “dark times” (Andreas’s words) of Nazi history. Something on the order of 90% of the city was bombed in 1945, but the city reconstructed itself in its authentic roots. All very interesting with a lot packed into 2+ hours.

By the time it ended it was 1:45. We picked up some Lebkuchen (a traditional German baked treat similar to gingerbread) at a shop Andreas recommended, then stopped for Nurnberger Rostbratwurst at a cafe and polished that off with local wine and beer. The pork sausages are small, and three are served in a crusty bun as a sandwich. All very delicious.

Back on the 3:30 train to Fulda. We arrived in Fulda at 5 and made our way to B&B Hotel Fulda-City, our home for the next 2 nights. After checking in we walked into the old part of town and found it really charming, with lots of cafes, pedestrian walkways, old buildings and people out enjoying the beautiful weather. We ate at Chumbos Mexican Grill (no more pork or sauerkraut for the day!) and sat outside eating a taco salad (John) and mango chicken salad (me). We wandered all through town and then headed back to our hotel.

Sep 14, 2026 - Monday - Munich Day 2

Up a little early today and awesome breakfast downstairs. We met Ralph and Teri at breakfast and they were packed and ready to fly home today. It’s been really great to travel with them. They will fly out today around noon and be back in Monkton today. Wow. The wonders of the airline industry.

Deb signed us up for a 2-¼ walking tour in Munich focused on the history of the Third Reich. Our tour guide, Jake, was a very fun guy from the U.S. who moved here 15 years ago, married a German woman and is sending his twin girls to school tomorrow. Great tour guide with good info and a fun personality.

It is cool to be standing in a village square, the same square that Hitler held rallies. Germany seems to keep their history exposed so that they will never make the same mistakes and also that other countries can never let these kinds of atrocities happen again. A very good tour.

After the Nazi tour, Deb and I split up and I walked across town to the Deutsche Museum, which is a huge museum highlighting the history of all things technical. There are 4 floors with rooms representing bridges and structures, aircraft, rockets and space vehicles, trains, chemistry, physics, optics, photography, musical instruments, mathematics, moving pictures, electronics, health and agriculture. I was there for about 2-½ hours and I would love to go back again some day.

Deb went to the  Residenz museum which showcased the huge building that was the home of the insanely wealthy Wittelsbach Dynasty.

After the museums we met at the huge outdoor food market and split a sandwich. We stopped at a little church and then went back to the hotel to rest up a bit. Later we found an Italian restaurant a few blocks away and had pizza and a salad. We are finding that we are getting burned out on all the heavy German food and need a break. Last night we had Lebanese food which is also a bit heavy. We are longing for French food again! Then back to the hotel to bed.

Sep 13, 2026 - Sunday - Munich Germany Day 1

The breakfast here at Hotel Mirabell is fantastic. I almost don’t need lunch. We met Ralph and Teri in the lobby and asked Google Maps to walk us into the center of town to meet Noel who will lead us on a 2.5 hour walking tour of the city. We met at the Glockenspiel at 10:45 a.m., which is the bells and animated church steeple thing that we saw last night at 5pm (17:00 here). They all use the 24 hour clock system which is pretty normal after a week or so. Noel was from Ireland but has lived here 23 years and still has a nice Irish accent and talks pretty fast, mostly because he has a lot to tell us in 2.5 hours.

He explained the Glockenspiel and the families who ran the country, why Bavaria seems like a different country, various former kings and other royalty, and quite a bit about Nazi Germany and Hitler. He took us to places where Hitler stood and gave speeches. He pointed out which buildings were bombed and which ones were not and why during World War 2. This was a free tour but the expectation was to tip him whatever amount you thought his tour was worth. We had 30 people or so and he does this twice a day so I think he does okay. He also teaches adult English classes and gives beer tours and food tours. Ours was the Munich Walking Tour.

After the walking tour we tried to find lunch but a lot of places are closed on Sunday so we decided to head to the English Garden. We ended up at the Chinese Pagoda Beer Garden where there was plenty of beer and plenty of food and 6,000 seats so no problem finding a seat. It was very fun and it seemed the majority of people here were locals with their family and friends.

We next walked back toward the historic district via the huge English Garden. We saw the place on the river where people can surf a continuous wave. There were actually a couple of places you could surf the river like this.

Next stop was the Toy Museum which was not too expensive and not too big. They did have some very old toys but it seemed barely worth the admission. And they had kinda creepy old dolls!!

We looked for Asamkirche, the church Noel had mentioned as worth a visit, but it and others were closed for Saturday night mass. So back to the hotel where we got a recommendation from the hotel receptionist for dinner just around the corner. This turned out great as the food was very good (Lebanese) and it was an easy walk in the rain. Our dogs were barking since we had walked basically all day. Back to the hotel and off to bed.

Saturday, September 12, 2026 off the ship to Munich

Deb here. Sadly, all good things come to an end and this was our final morning on the boat. We had coffee/tea and breakfast, then finished packing up our stuff. Our suitcases needed to be packed and in the hall by 8 since the boat has a tight turnaround. This crew worked really hard to make sure we all had a wonderful trip. The ship docked about 9:30, then it was time to pick up our luggage and load the bus for the train station. 

We had a bit of confusion at the train station since we’d thought we’d go on the 1:30 bus (train tracks were under construction) but realized we could take an earlier option. 

Dana and Nancy opted to take the same 11:18 bus to Plattling that we did, then we all transferred to the train heading to Munich. In Munich we said our final goodbyes to Dana and Nancy (who were traveling on to Garmisch), then made our way to the Mirabell Hotel, checking in by 3:15. We all took a break and reconvened at 4:15 to walk to Marienplatz in time for the 5 pm glockenspiel show. A beautiful afternoon and so many people out and about. The glockenspiel show was really fun, with life sized characters in motion. 

Following that we all went to the Hofbrau Haus, which was quite the raucous scene. We scored an outside table and had beers, wine and traditional German food. A very fun time. We walked back toward the hotel, stopping for great gelato along the way. John and I decided to do laundry at a nearby laundromat, so said our good nights to Teri and Ralph and did laundry before crashing for the night.

Sep 11, 2026 - Friday - Grein Austria to Mauthausen Austria

Our last day biking! Today was supposed to be 36km and ended up in the mid-40’s, for good reasons. Deb and I were up early so we walked into Grein and wandered around the cute little ancient town. They know how to mix the new world with the old world. Things are built to be permanent here and they respect their history. So to see a telephone line on a thousand year old wall is not unusual and tastefully done. The streets and many roads are narrow but if there is a little room they have a bike track and a walking track. They are looking beyond the automobile. And if it’s a skinny road, the cars always are respectful of pedestrians and bikes.

Today we leave the river to climb into the hills. It’s a bit longer than the river route but very different with many farms and rolling hills. A lot of crops like corn and hay, some vegetables like pumpkins and squash, some tractors here and there and some old stone buildings and bridges. I decided to wear the e-bike out today since I have been babying it all week. I set the control to give me maximum power and it did. We had a couple of really steep sections that it (and I) powered up. I use Google Translate when there are roadside signs and it works great. I actually used it live on Claudia’s talk in German tonight and it was very good.

We stopped once for coffee (a national pastime here) with the folks from the midwest and ended up splitting a “farmers donut”. We stopped after that to eat our sandwiches. Dessert before breakfast but a great progressive lunch.

We descended the hills back to the river and had a pretty good breeze, e-bike still on max. We got to Mauthausen before the boat today so we added a trip to the Mauthausen concentration camp to our day. It was up a very steep hill so Deb was able to pedal up but Milo walked.

The consensus is this is not a fun or cheery place to visit but it’s an important one. The Nazis gassed people, tortured people, shot people, hung people, did experiments on people and worked people until they died. What state of mind can good people be brought to to do this kind of thing? A warning to everyone everywhere.

Back to the ship down the long steep hill. We removed all of our stuff from the bikes and said goodbye to them. Then back on the boat. Tomorrow’s changeover day on the ship which means out with us smelly old bikers and in with another batch of good smelling new bikers. Caudia gave us all the gritty details, paying any bar tabs, marking luggage for the train station, filling out evaluation forms, staying out of the way while luggage and people exit and enter. Quite a little dance these guys do every week. We had a send off toast and thanked the whole crew, drank some bubbly and had Baked Alaska for dessert tonight.

It’s been a great week and my legs are a little sore and my butt hurts.

Sep 10, 2026 - Thursday - Krems, Austria to Melk, Austria

Some time last night the boat made its way from Vienna to Krems. Looks like it was going to be cooler today, which was welcome, and a little drizzly this morning. It did sprinkle a bit but not enough to trouble us.

Breakfast as usual with our table mates. They assign you to the same table every morning and evening (probably for lunch as well but we were never on board for lunch). We grabbed a couple of sandwiches for today and packed up some fruit and veggies as well.

We docked last night in Krems, which is a small town on the Danube. We had the briefing at 9 am (no briefing last night because lots of folks were off to concerts in Vienna) and it looks like this morning we will bike through small villages with interesting things to look for, as well as vineyards and apricot trees along the way. We got pleasantly turned around in Krems and finally made it out and went up river on the bike path.

We stopped in the town of Durnstein where Claudia had instructed us to stop for an apricot pastry famous around here. We did and it was. Durnstein had quite a few other tourists so it was kind of busy. And when 100+ bicycles leave a boat and all head in the same direction there is a big slug of us at the same place at the same time. Not as bad as Vienna..

Apricots are a big deal here. There are all kinds of apricot based things to eat and things to drink. We saw them all day.

We rode through beautiful vineyards with grapes ripe and ready to pick. We did see small tractors with one meter square containers transporting grapes. Not sure when the full harvest happens but it should be soon. We stopped and bought a bag of fresh grapes for 1 euro. Very sweet but not seedless. Nice addition to our lunch.

At the town of Spitz we crossed to the other side of the river on a unique ferry. It’s a cable ferry but uses no energy other than the current of the river. Very clever indeed. They can’t carry cars since the river is so low, so it was just us bicycles crossing.

On the other side of the ferry we sat on some stones and ate our lunch. It never really got sunny today but it was very comfortable with the lower temperature, in the 70’s.

The other side of the river did not have any traffic to speak of and it had very few towns so it was quick and quiet. We have gotten to know quite a few of the other bikers and today we ran into the two California guys and the mid-western folks.

We pulled into Melk around 4:00, found the boat and managed to just catch the coffee and cake setup in the lounge. The four of us walked into Melk and walked around the old town. A very small tourist town with old cobblestone streets and alleys. It’s great how they combine the modern world with the century old cities. And they have a huge abbey on a hill just behind the city. Spectacular!

We returned to the ship, showered and went to dinner at 7:00. After dinner we had to pay the diesel up-charge ($45) and then we sat with Teri, Ralph, Dana and Nancy while the “Flower Power” music and dancing took place in the lounge. Called it a night and off to bed.

Wednesday, September 9, 2026. Free day in Vienna.

We had the day to explore Vienna, so developed a strategy to visit a few sights. After breakfast our first challenge was navigating the tram ticket station, but fortunately we connected with the Midwesterners, who’d done recon the night before and figured out the system. We all walked to the station, bought our tickets and hopped on the D Tram going into the city, about a 30 minute ride since our boat is docked on the outskirts of the city.

Our first impressions were that Vienna is a big city with really big old buildings. Everything seemed on a grand scale, including fountains and statues. A very different feel from the other cities we’ve experienced on this trip. We were also struck by how many people were everywhere… this is a city overloaded with tourists. 

Our first stop was a visit to the Wien (Vienna) Museum, which Teri had located. It turned out to be a great museum, with three floors of Austrian history, starting with the 16th Century on the bottom floor and ending with the 20th Century on the third floor. There was lots of good information and artifacts, most original. Austrian history is dense and complex, but the museum gave us a better feel for the major flow of history here.

After 2 hours or so we all hit museum overload, so our next goal was to visit the Naschmarkt, an old and huge open-air food and gourmet market that’s also home to numerous bars and restaurants. We spotted our friends Dana and Nancy at a restaurant table and they recommended their lunches, so we stopped there for lunch and drinks. Really good chicken-topped salads, apparently a specialty in the area. 

Following lunch we wandered through the market, then decided to walk to St. Stephen’s Cathedral, about 15 minutes away. The walk took us down Karntner Strabe, a large pedestrian street that’s packed with shops and people. So many people! The cathedral is massive and was also packed with visitors.

By this time we were all hot (upper 80’s today) and tired of the crowds, so made our way back to the tram and back toward the boat. Teri and Ralph had tickets for a concert in the city tonight, so they headed to the boat and John and I stopped in at Zum Renner for a glass of wine and a beer before heading back. Zum Renner is a “heurige”, a wine tavern that’s considered something special to this region.

Back to the ship for coffee, tea, showers and a quiet dinner since our tablemates all ate at the earlier seating so they could attend concerts.