Category Archives: Time flies when you’re globe trotting and river cruising
Reflections and memoirs on recent travels through Europe including Munich, Bad Gastein, The Austrian Alps, Hohenwerfen, Amsterdam, Keukenhof Gardens, European River Cruising, Windmills, UNESCO World Heritage Sites, Castles along the Rhine, Wurzburg Residence, Schonbrunn Palace, Melk Abbey, Budapest and a day with Hungarian cowboys and gypsy musicians.
I’ve begun humming a favourite old song of mine again lately:
“You are my sunshine,
My only sunshine.
You make me happy,
When skies are grey!”………
Well today I’d like to say a BIG thank you to Tails from Paris for this new Sunshine Award they sent my way a few weeks ago. I really appreciate your nomination of my travel memoir blog at Kidazzleink.com…. Yeahhhh. Please everyone, do make sure you shoot over and check out the wonderful little comic sketches and jokes that are regularly posted on the Tails from Paris Blog site.
Sunshine Award
Now for 10 Interesting things about me (well I hope they’re a little bit interesting):
I love taking photos and I love my D7000.
I’ve just started travelling a lot more in recent years and love it way too much. So much so that D.B. recently asked if I’d like to get another puppy!
I look forward to retiring soon so I can travel even more.
My name should be Michelle Stuhmcke by now but I haven’t got around to changing it from Michelle Davies yet despite being married for more than a half a decade…some things just seem to take a bit of time you know!
Blogging is becoming a passion at the moment because everyone in the blogosphere is so positive and so very entertaining…just love you all
I live on the beautiful Gold Coast in Australia – you should come on over a take a look sometime.
Crème Brulee Chocolate from Lindt is very delicious and I think my absolute favourite.
D.B. and I hope to visit China in 2014.
The older I get the younger I seem to feel.
I’m loving learning to write creatively all over again…Haven’t written anything but work reports etc for many years.
Now for my list of “Sunshine” blog nominations.
These bloggers continue to add their wonderful little rays of sunshine to my own life on a fairly regular basis. I believe they can help to positively and creatively inspire all of us in this wonderful blogosphere. And they’re all such wonderfu people as well. Hop on over and take a look at their entertaining WordPress sites.
I would like to thank wonderful Dawny Hosking for nominating me for this award.
Please do go over and check out her entertaining and informative blog.
This is what the Blog of the Year 2013 – Two star Award looks like.
Blog of the Year 2013 -2star
The idea as always when you receive one of these lovely awards is to choose some other blogs to nominate for the same award.
Well here are my nominees: there is really just such a plethora of blogs to choose from, it was indeed very difficult for me to choose again.
Once again I should also let you know that I do still have several other awards to give out over the next week or so as well ….so please do keep dropping by. If I haven’t nominated you for this I’m still very likely to be nominating many of you for another different award.
Well here are my new nominees for round 2 of “Blog of the Year 2013:
1-Select the blogs you think deserve the Blog Of The Year 2013 Award.
2-Write a blog post and tell us about the blog(s) you have chosen- there are no minimum or maximum number of blogs required- and ‘present’ the blog(s) with their award.
3-Let the blog(s) that you have chosen know that you have given them this award and share the instructions with them – (please don’t alter the instructions or the badges!)
Share your blog posts with an even wider audience.
6-And as a winner of the award- please add a link back to the blog that presented you with this award-and then proudly display the award on your blog- and start collecting stars!
Yes – That’s right-There are stars to collect!
Unlike other awards which you can only add to your blog once-this award is different!
When you begin you will receive the ’1 star’ award- and every time you are given the award by another blog- you can add another star!
There are a total of 6 stars to collect.
Which means that you can check out your favorite blogs- and even if they have already been given the award by someone else- you can still bestow it on them again and help them to reach the maximum of 6 stars! You can either ‘swop’ your badge for the next one each time you are given the award- or even proudly display all six badges if you are lucky enough to be presented with the award 6 times!
You can find all the badges and banners and information you need via this link: ‘Blog of The Year 2013′ Award Badges.
Congratulations to all the nominees! Best of luck to every one!
And of course a very big thank you once again to lovely Dawn for nominating my blog a second time for this Award. Hugs to everyone.
This is what the Blog of thre Year 2013 – One star Award looks like.
Blog of the Year Award 1 star
The idea as always when you receive one of these lovely awards is to choose some other blogs to nominate for the same award.
Well here are my nominees: there is such a plethora of blogs to choose from, it was very difficult for me to choose. I should also let you know that I have several other awards to give out over the next week or so as well ….do keep dropping by. If I haven’t nominated you for this I’m still likely to be nominating you for another different award.
1-Select the blogs you think deserve the Blog Of The Year 2013 Award.
2-Write a blog post and tell us about the blog(s) you have chosen- there are no minimum or maximum number of blogs required- and ‘present’ the blog(s) with their award.
3-Let the blog(s) that you have chosen know that you have given them this award and share the instructions with them- (please don’t alter the instructions or the badges!)
Share your blog posts with an even wider audience.
6-And as a winner of the award- please add a link back to the blog that presented you with this award-and then proudly display the award on your blog- and start collecting stars!
Yes – That’s right-There are stars to collect!
Unlike other awards which you can only add to your blog once-this award is different!
When you begin you will receive the ’1 star’ award- and every time you are given the award by another blog- you can add another star!
There are a total of 6 stars to collect.
Which means that you can check out your favorite blogs- and even if they have already been given the award by someone else- you can still bestow it on them again and help them to reach the maximum of 6 stars! You can either ‘swop’ your badge for the next one each time you are given the award- or even proudly display all six badges if you are lucky enough to be presented with the award 6 times!
You can find all the badges and banners and information you need via this link: ‘Blog of The Year 2013′ Award Badges.
Congratulations to all the nominees! Best of luck to every one!
And of course a very big thank you once again to lovely Sweetness for nominating my blog. Hugs to everyone.
My favourite, a Global City of Enchantment, Vienna.
If you think Mozart, or Strauss, Freud or Adler, Buber or Wagner, Zinnemann or Menger…… if you think any of these great people, well of course…. you’re probably thinking pure Vienna. So many astoundingly gifted minds of the 20th century were either born in, or lived close by Vienna.
Vienna, Beautiful Imperia Architecture.
From music, to philosophy, from architecture to psychiatry, from 20th century film direction to pure mathematical tables, this magical city has been called home by many of the world’s greatest thinkers in all areas of human endeavour.
Classical Buildings
It’s operas, universities, theatres, and cultural pursuits have continued to be at the cutting edge of human endeavour over the past couple of centuries.
Culturally, aesthetically and academically, Vienna has always been at the forefront of visionary thought and cultural advancement.
Personally I just simply continue to love everything about Vienna.
Grand Vista’s, Vienna.
Ask me why….and sadly I won’t be able to tell you. Perhaps it is buried deep within my early inner layers, or maybe even perhaps behind a past life’s door!
But one thing I can tell you for sure, I’ve been mesmerized by Vienna for far longer than I care to remember….for some reason it has always held a strange romantic appeal which I believe must have seeded in childhood, if not, perhaps a long time before!
Just as the diamond sparkles and radiates its crystal inner beauty, so too does Vienna radiate its mesmerizing and spellbinding magical aura for me…and in the most enchanting of ways. Yes everything Viennese continues to attract and even intrigue me…..right down inside my own secluded inner core.
Promoting the arts in Vienna, 2013.
It was now day 12 of our wonderful river cruise and for the first time in my life we were able to tour this most enchanting of cities…..first by bus, then later by foot.
The architecture was everything I thought it would be. I’d heard so much about it. Some people love it… some dislike it’s grand decore.
Yes it’s so very ornate, so decorative and so classically imperial. There’s the early Romanesque, the Gothic, the captivatingly, beautiful Baroque and the oh-so-pretty Rococo. And of course as well there’s the ultra modern, architecturally pleasant modern contemporary.
I was most certainly not disappointed by the short few hours we had there. I only wish there had been more. I REALLY THINK AN OVERNIGHT STAY in Vienna and a SECOND DAY of sightseeing in this Imperial City would have been so very wonderful.
More of Vienna’s architectural loveliness.
Dearly Beloved (D.B.) probably still doesn’t fully understand my par amour and neither do I in fact.
But we had a lovely day. We saw the sprawling, majestic palaces such as The Hofburg or Imperial Palace, The Belvedere Palace and Schonnbrunn Palace.
The Magical Schonbrunn Palace, Vienna.
There were so many ornately detailed stately buildings such as the famous Vienna Opera House, the Kunsthistorisches Museum, The Natural History Museum, the Albertina Museum, The Parliament Building and the Seccession Building and of course the classical Rathaus.
There were the beautiful Gothic and Baroque churches interwoven through the streets of the city center; architectural marvels such as St Stephen’s Cathedral, St Peters and St Charles along with many other wonderful kirche.
St Stephen’s Cathedral, Vienna.
Then of course there were also the many many highly decorative statues and the neo-classical fountains scattered throughout the city.
Ornate statue, Vienna.
A real highlight of Vienna that continues to add immensely to it’s captivating imperial enchantment is of course, its beautiful horses.
Beautiful Horses, Vienna.
The Spanish Riding School in the centre of Vienna houses the most exquisitely trained Lipizzan dressage horses. These beautiful animals regularly entertain the public with morning performances. If you would like to experience some even more personal equine adventures, there are also the captivating horse and carriage tours that can also be hired to transport you in style as you take a look around the this lovely city.
More of Vienna’s beautiful horses.
Vienna is such a timelessly beautiful city.
I do so LOVE..yes truly LOVE LOVE LOVE it all…
So much so I often tell D.B. to just look for me in Vienna if I decide to go on a little personal sojurn.
Promoting music and the arts in modern Vienna.
.
Shop front, Vienna Style.
Contemporary architecture, Vienna.
More of Classical Vienna.
A different angle St Stephen’s Vienna.
One last photo of beautiful Vienna.
Video Link: Absolutely beatiful Piano combined with ENCHANTING VIENNA:
After a wonderful morning spent exploring the magnificent Melk Abbey D.B. and I had walked down from the hill overlooking the little township and then back towards the river through the little shopping precinct. We had stopped to browse and buy a couple of souvenirs along the way.
Melk Abbey sits on a rocky outcrop in Austria.
Soon back on board our longship, the Viking Tor, we set sail towards Vienna in the early afternoon. We were now passing through the emerald green landscape of the UNESCO protected Wachau Valley.
Emerald Green Wachau Valley, Austria.
The valley itself is famous for its rolling hills, old monasteries, castle ruins and fertile grape growing soils. We spent much of the early afternoon just relaxing on the lovely glassed-in aquavit terrace of our riverboat, enjoying the scenery of this wonderful picturesque countryside as we sampled a glass or two of the local produce.
Viking Tor tied up at Krems, Austria.
By about mid-afternoon we’d tied up in a little riverside township called Krems (population about 23,000).
Krems, Austria.
Dearly beloved D.B. and I decided we’d like to do a little bit of exploring on our own this time rather than joining the optional winery tour group.
Spotting a smart little red and green sightseeing train, we thought we might be able to get some bearings on this little place by boarding it for a short tour around the small township. Unfortunately it was already 4.00 p.m. and the train was in fact returning from its final run for the day. D.B. decided to have a bit of a chat to the rather friendly local train driver while I encouraged them both to pose for the camera. D.B. being in a teaching frame of mind, decided to give the friendly local train driver some good old Aussie lessons on how to signal a thumbs up! It made for a fun photo anyway.
Red and Green Sightseeing Train, Krems, Austria.
D.B. and I then continued on our way, exploring the beautiful old cobblestone streets in pretty little Krems on foot.
As we wandered around we saw;
The cobblestoned streets of the old town area.
Some long avenues of flowering horse chestnut trees.
A most beautiful rambling wisteria.
The Pfarrkirche or Parish Church of St Vitus.
The Dreifaltigkeitssaule or Holy Trinity Column dating from 1738.
A delightful old vine-covered building.
Nicely renovated little frontages to very old homes with showy little flower boxes to attract attention.
And lastly some beautiful purple bearded iris.
After about an hour or two spent just wandering we ambled back to the comfort of our ever comfortable floating hotel for yet another sumptuous dinner. Life on board was so relaxed and carefree. Not even a bed to make come morning. D.B. and I just wish we had someone to spoil us like this all the time!
Dining Room onboard Viking Tor.
Here are some video links to see more of the beautiful Golden Wachau Valley and Krems:
After all, we had already explored a little of the Salzburg Provence just three short weeks ago before even boarding our Longship Tor on this amazingly wonderful river Cruise.
For those of you who have been travelling with us, you will know I’d already fallen in love with the wonderfully mesmerizing blues and greens of the Austrian landscape. I’d been totally drawn in by our sightseeing around this wonderful country and its glorious snow capped alps, beautiful alpine spa regions and pristine lakes districts. You may or may not recall that this had been one of initial destinations earlier on in this, “Our Grand European Sojourn” in the Spring of 2013.
Docking in the little town of Melk (Population approx 5,000), D.B. and I were soon busing our way up to the rocky outcrop at the top of the hill which overlooks the small township. Indeed, we were off to see the magnificent Melk Abbey in all its historical monastic glory. Belonging to the Benedictine monks, Melk Abbey is just simply brim full of the most incredibly ornate historical treasures. It was truly another of those most notable and stand out sightseeing ventures of our holiday.
Exterior of Melk Abbey, Austria
Do watch this video below if you would prefer a night time view of the Magnificent Abbey.
Initially built in the 10th century A.D. as a castle and home for King Leopold 1, it was later gifted in around the 11th century to the Benedictine order of monks by King Leopold 2. Melk Abbey has been home to the Benedictines ever since.
However as we well know, the course of history rarely runs smoothly. Much of the original castle section of the abbey burnt to the ground in the 13th century. Different smaller sections were rebuilt in centuries following. By about the 15th century it housed the most remarkable library and scriptitorium. The churches often controlled the printed word at this time and held huge collections of books.
Library, Melk Abbey, Austria
It was much much later…….. in around the 18th century that another rebuild and further remodeling saw it establish its current magnificent baroque style.
Today, tourists continue to travel from all around the world to visit the tiny little township called Melk; most come so they can visit and view this truly remarkable abbey. Housing a very eclectic monastic mix of the most wonderfully guilded treasures from throughout Benedictine religious history, Melk Abbey continues to be a drawcard for both Christians and non-Christians alike. There is just so much opulence….and so much grandeur……..at times sensory overload but oh so ….WELL YES ….MAGNIFICENT.
The Painted Ceilings, Melk Abbey, Austria.
Once again as one area led on to the next and then to the next……. each seemed to surpass the other for both its storehouse of treasures and its magnificent architectural features. Truly again all D.B. and I could say was WOW, WOW, WOW and WOW!! What a truly amazing place.
Opulant historical treasures, Melk Abbey, Austria
The splendid staircase, Melk Abbey, Austria.
The Chapel, Melk Abbey, Austria
The Summerhouse, Melk Abbey, Austria.
The Township of Melk, Austria.
And for those of you who are really interested in the absolutely magnificent Melk Abbey please also check out these links as well:
I have to say that it is with great delight and humble privilege that I now accept the award of “Most Influential Blogger” from lovely Dawny Hosking. She is a wonderful writer and fellow WordPress member who posts about yoga, poetry, and so much more. I have to admire Dawn as she does all this even though she suffers from much pain in her life. Do hop over and visit her blog at dawnyhosking.wordpress.com/
Pink
I’m sure you’ll find something there to interest you too.
I believe Dawny originally received this award to pay forward from Shaun over at his headquarters Looking for reasoning to a complicated world I’d recommend checking his stuff out well — very worthwhile, interesting and cool.
Here’s what the award looks like:
Now I’ve been lucky enough to receive it as well….Yeeehhhh!
Well here are the rules which I must take note off:
1. Display the Award on your Blog.
2. Announce your win with a post and thank the Blogger who awarded you.
3. Present 10 deserving Bloggers with the Award.
4. Link your awardees in the post and let them know of their being awarded with a comment.
5. Answer each of the 11 questions that your awarder asked, and then write 11 for your awardees (or use the same ones up to you !)
That’s fair enough, and on to the questions:
1) What makes you happiest? Relaxing with family and friends and taking photos.
2) Do you love the Oceans or Mountains more? Absolutely adore both and also love photographing them both along with everything else that’s in between.
3) What has been a special moment in 2013? Globe Trotting and River Cruising in Europe in Spring and now writing this blog Memoir….wonderful experience.
4) What’s your favourite quote? “Don’t worry, Be happy”.
5) Do you like yourself? Absolutely.
6) Do you stay up till midnight on New Year? Sometimes yes, sometimes no. Love fireworks though.
7) Something you wish could be done ASAP? Peace for all and an end to suffering. (I’m with Dawn on this one.)
8) What was your favourite class when still at school? Dance.
9) What musical instrument have you tried to play? Piano –not well!!
10) Anything you had wished to have learned earlier? Well I guess photography of course but I sort of think that the doors open when you yourself are ready to learn!
11) Do you like to do Crafts, Drawing or Painting? Sorry but I have to say photography again. And I’d love to learn to use Photoshop if I can.
I’ll just stick with these same questions for my nominated bloggers as well — saves time and they are as good as any I could ask.
My new nominations for influential blogger awards are: Oh don’t make me choose, really — so many.
During the morning info-walk on Day 10 of our river cruise, we saw a wonderful array of large colourful love heart collages strung high above the cobblestone streets in the city centre of Passau.
I have posted some in this blog. But this is really only a smallish sample of them. They added such a cheerful quality to this already picturesque little township. I’m not sure why they were there in the early Spring of this year or even if they are still there. Although I do doubt they would have survived the devastation caused by all of the rain and flooding that occurred just one short month later. If anyone does happen to know the reason behind them I’d really love to hear from you.
Love heart banner, Passau Germany 2013 #2
Love heart banner, Passau Germany 2013 #3
Love heart banner, Passau Germany 2013 #4
Love heart banner, Passau Germany 2013 #5
Love heart banner, Passau Germany 2013 #6
Love heart banner, Passau Germany 2013 #7
Love heart banner, Passau Germany 2013 #8
Love heart banner, Passau Germany 2013 #9
Love heart banner, Passau Germany 2013 #10
Love heart banner, Passau Germany 2013 #11
Love heart banner, Passau Germany 2013 #12
I’ve also added a link to a Youtube video on Passau at the top of this blog and I pasted again here for anyone who would like to view it. Just click on the video to watch it.
How could this be I had to ask? We did still have one more day in Germany after all. I’d thought Passau was in Austria but no…I find it’s actually in Germany but sitting right on the border between the two countries. It’s also only about 30klms away from the border of the Czech Republic.
Sailing down the Danube to
So with yet one more day in Germany, we were soon off to explore lovely Picturesque Passau (Pop approx 50,000), which sits rather poetically on the confluence of three rivers – The Ilz, The Inn and The Danube.
It’s also sometimes referred to in German as the Drieflussestadt which translates to “the Town of 3 rivers” and at other times as “Barvaria’s Venice”.
View from high on the hill overlooking the confluence of the 3 rivers, Passau, Germany
Another photo of the beautiful view in Passau, Germany
Veste Orberhaus, Fortress on the Hill, Passau, Germany
We’d decided to catch a little sightseeing bus and travel up to the top of the hill behind Passau in order to take in it’s picture perfect views. Needless to say there were watery vistas everywhere below…..indeed such a pretty little place.
Our bus driver was talking to all of the other passengers on board in German; hence we couldn’t understand a word he was saying for most of the journey. Many on board actually seemed to be participating in a little Trivia Quiz and some were even winning little prizes for their correct responses.
Then all of a sudden, the bus driver turned to us and directed a question in English.
“Passau is famous for its three rivers,” he said. “Can you tell me the names of all three?”
Well thankfully I’d actually read the little news letter delivered to our stateroom the evening before just as I always did. And I think I must have read it far more carefully than Dearly Beloved (D.B.) for I quickly rattled off my response ….”The Ilz, The Inn and The Danube,” I replied with quite some pride in my newly acquired knowledge.
Interesting doorway Passau, Germany.
“Wonderful,” replied our rather friendly bus driver. “You have won yourself this little voucher for some cake and coffee at a little café in Passau. I will show you where to go when we get back down into the town.”Indeed, I was quite excited by all of this! I’d actually won something.
Passau township, Germany
But as you are probably aware, the rivers of Passau have also caused its Town-folk much grief at various times throughout history. Sodden and waterlogged as it was yet again early in June this year (and just one short month after our own visit). Record high floods had again triggered a massive cleanup to remove all of the smelly mud and silt from the cities roads and buildings as the water receded. If you have time, you might like to click on the video links below and take a closer look at the havoc it caused.
Of the 50,000 inhabitants of Passau, 10,000 of them evidently include a revolving residency of students who attend the Passau universities. As such, this lovely little Town does have a rather youngish feel to it. There were love heart banners across its streets and young people out and about just enjoying the sunny day.
Yellow Rose display, Passau, Germany
According to Wikipedia, Passau was first settled by some displaced Roman tribes way back in about the 2nd century A.D. Later, it was called home by the “Batavi” an old German tribe. By the 8th century it had become the largest dioceses of the Holy Roman Empire.
Door on St Stephen’s Passau, Germany
St Stephen’s Passau, Germany
Detail inside St Stephen’s Passau, Germany.
One part of the organ, St Stephen’s Passau, Germany
Gold statue, St Stephen’s Passau, Germany.
More Statues inside St Stephen’s Passau, Germany
More detail, St Stephen’s, Passau, Germany
Last photo, St Stephen’s Passau, Germany.
For us, today’s wonderful little sightseeing gems included the Alstadt (Old Town area) and the majestic, Gothic and Baroque St Stephen’s Cathedral, which was built in about the 17th century A.D. With its beautiful white interior and its Carpoforo Tencalla, Ceiling Frescos, St Stephen’s is truly a stand out piece of architecture. The cathedral houses eight bells and lays claim to the largest organ in the world outside of the United States of America. We were lucky enough to hear it play as we were treated to an organ concert at the end of the morning’s info-walk. Just wonderful…….and yes yet another interesting and enjoyable day. But this one really was our last in Germany!
Spring Flower Display down near the river, Passau, Germany
Passau Resident, Germany.
Apricot Rose in Passau, Germany.
Pink rose in Passau, Germany.
Children’s traditional clothing for sale Passau Germany
This is the story of a young student bear, some clever, sparkly gnomes, a rather large bag of magic fairy dust, and a somewhat disoriented Viking River Cruise tourist who loses her way in Radiant Regensburg! (P. S. Dearly Beloved (D.B.), continues to tell a similar (but perhaps far more colourful version to all who will lend an ear!) Do beware though as it is a rather looong story!
Well here goes…..
Once upon a time, there was a, not so young, Aussie couple who had found themselves lucky enough to have saved all of their pennies over many years. With all of this saved up treasure they’d been able to purchase a most wonderful Viking River Cruise in exchange for their “Penny Gold”!
This magical river cruise was now taking them through some five countries (The Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Slovakia and Hungary) and up and down three main rivers (The Rhine, The Main and the Danube). It was a truly grand European Sojourn. They were travelling in the early Spring months, as the trees were unfurling their emerald-green leaves and many of Europe’s prettiest blossoms were again bursting into their rainbow of Spring colour.
Spring Blossoms.
Everything had been going so well, just as it always seems to, right at the very beginning of a really great Fairy Tale! The couple had been wined and dined, cocktailed and trivia quizzed, entertained and nurtured, pandered, mothered and totally spoilt. They were meeting lots of new friends from all around the world. There were lovely people from England, Wales, Scotland, and America, travelling with them. The couple even met some 22 or more new friends from their own land down under called Oz.
They had been sailing for nine days so far. Today they were going to visit Radiant Regensburg.
Regensburg, Germany.
The sweet (but not so young) girl with her beloved Nikon D7000, heartily vowed to try to take some of the very best photos she could on this day.
After all, she really wanted to remember this interesting little city. It was also going to be the couples very last day in Germany for many more years to come. And added to this, the sweet, not so very young girl, knew that Radiant Regensberg was quite well known for its amazingly old architecture. She also happened to know it held a rich place in European history. How did she know all this you may well ask? Well she knew it because she’d spent quite some time in the mid-morning hours quietly surfing around Google on the wonderful internet of the 21st century, just looking at many of the places they would soon be visiting.
After docking in Radiant Regensburg just after the sun had reached its highest point in the cloud filled sky that day, the happy couple quickly disembarked for their afternoon of sightseeing and info-walking. There were so many interesting things to look at….things that they simply didn’t have back in their own young country.
There were archeological diggings, stone-aged roman walls, a beautiful arched stone bridge dating back to the time of the crusades, a 900 year old sausage kitchen that smelled simply divine, and the most wonderfully ornate Gothic Dom.
Archeological Diggings, Regensburg.
Photographer living dangerously to take photos of Archeological Diggings
Well the girl with her beloved Nikon D7000 got busy taking lots of joyful happy snaps. She was most careful to try to minimize the number of people in her shots so that they looked more like the professional ones she’d seen on the Internet and in the glossy travel magazines.
In fact, she would often hang back for considerable amounts of time just waiting until the others had taken their photos and moved on again. At the very least it often took her some time to get all of her manual settings just right on her beloved camera.
Green Leaves and Horse Chestnut Blossom.
More pretty Spring Blossom.
So she was often lagging behind all of the other sprightly sightseers in her tour group. On several occasions, her concerned and kindly husband had come back to get her. He tried to warn her that she needed to hurry along and keep up with the rest!
Waiting for someone else to take a photo!
Taking a photo after the other person had finished!
But then it happened…..
The sweet, not so young girl, with her beloved Nikon D7000 turned around from taking a particularly time consuming shot and found herself all alone in Radiant Regensburg……..a city that was actually thousands and thousands of miles away from her home in the land of Oz.
“Crikey”, she thought…Where’s everyone else gone now? (She may well have said far worse than this you know! Being polite company it shall not be repeated here!)
She rushed outside but there was no one to be seen. Not even her wonderful Dearly Beloved (D.B.) They’d all suddenly vanished into the ether of the atmosphere. A whole river boat full of nomadic sightseeing tourists had gone “poof” and were now nowhere to be found!
She turned to look this way.
She turned to look that way.
Her gaze swept hurriedly up the street and down.
Ah….thankfully it wasn’t too long before she spotted a small group of tourist’s a long way up the street in front of (what was now looking to her like the most beautiful) Viking info-walk tourist guide she had ever seen. And yes…the guide was holding one of those lovely round lolly-pop signs that she recognized so well. Oh thank goodness she thought to herself, “THERE THEY ALL ARE”!
The sweet, not so young girl, rushed as fast as her little old legs could rush, as she raced along hastily to rejoin her group way up yonder on the horizon.
But something was still very wrong.
As she drew nearer the tour guide, she noticed that her audio head set was still not picking up this lovely Viking Tour guides radio signal as it should. Then suddenly it dawned on her…she realized there were no familiar faces in this group at all. No, not a one. Here she was in Radiant Regensburg such a long way from home and there was not one familiar face to be seen! Starting to panic now she knew deep inside that this was not her tour group after all.
She had to admit it.
She was lost.
She had no idea which way to go or where to start looking.
She was lost in this historic old German City of Radiant Regensburg and some thousands of miles away from her home in Oz.
But wait…..way up yonder at the other end of the street she could see some most impressive main-street looking buildings. Don’t panic she told herself resignedly. Panicking just won’t help at all.
Immediately she headed for the main street.
When she finally got there, she could see strangers everywhere. There were singles strangers, couples strangers and small groups of strangers. But sadly all appeared to be just that ….STRANGERS! Many appeared to be out and about enjoying a day’s shopping.
But there were no lovely familiar Viking Lolly Pop signs and there were absolutely no familiar Viking faces.
Adrenalin now pulsing through her body, she stooped to think…what to do?
“Ah”! She now recalled hearing that her tour groups were going to meet back at the Dom when the clock struck three!
She quickly looked at her own watch. It was now just ten minutes away from three. If only she could just find the Dom she could hopefully get back there by three o’clock and meet up with her group and her wonderful D.B. She now couldn’t wait to see his face again.
But where was the Dom? Which way to go? Surely the spires would have to be a dead giveaway. The sweet, not so young girl, scanned the horizon. But no, not a spire anywhere to be seen.
She stopped to ask a young student bear, “Excuse me kind sir, could you please tell me the way to the ornately beautiful Regensburg Dom?
Young Student Bear.
“Ah but no I cannot”, said the young bear sadly. “I’m from Munich and only here in Radiant Regensburg visiting for the day”.
“Oh no”, thought the girl with a sinking heart.
Then she saw some pretty sparkly green and gold magic gnomes. “They look wise and very kindly,” she thought to herself.
Kind Sparkly Gnomes.
She stopped to ask them, “Excuse me you pair, you look like a very wise and helpful pair of young gnomes, Could you please tell me the way to the beautiful Regensburg Dom?
“Ah but no we cannot”, replied the sparkly gnomes. “We’re from Ireland and we’re only in Regensburg visiting for one day”.
The girl’s heart sank further.
“Oh but wait”, said one of the kindly gnomes….….we do have some magic gnome dust with us.”
Magic Gnome Fairy Dust!
With a wonderful woosh and a whirl, the sparkly gnomes threw their magic glitter dust high into the air. It billowed around in a little whirlywind.
All of a sudden the girl spied the very familiar faces of a lovely Welsh couple who were also travelling on her longship.
With heart racing quickly she ran up to them.
“Hello are you with the group from our river boat sightseeing tour today she asked.”
“Why no”, they said.
“We’ve decided to just do a little of our own sightseeing and shopping today. We didn’t take the tour as we’ve both been here a few times before,” they said.
Relief flooded through the sweet girl’s veins. Surely they must know their way around.
Back to the Dom before the clock struck three!
And so all ended well. This lovely Welsh couple were able to direct the poor lost, not so young girl, right back in the direction of the Dom where she was able to rejoin her group yet again.
Strangely her D.B. appeared rather angry with her when she returned. How could he be so angry when she was now so very, very happy she wondered?
Well it turned out that he’d mistakenly thought she’d been absconded by the Gypsy’s. He’d been searching and searching and couldn’t find her anywhere.
She wondered what he thought the Gypsy’s might want with a sweet, but not so young girl? She couldn’t work that one out. Not at all!
Ah but the tale has a very happy ending as all good fairy tales do and nothing could spoil the sweet, not so young girls, deliciously happy frame of mind now that she had found everyone once more.
Well the motto of this story is obvious I think:
Never take too long to take your travel photographs for fear you may find yourself all alone and a long lost way from home!
Happy Endings!
Did you know that this is most certainly not the only Radiant Regensburg Fairy Tale ever written. I’ve recently read a news story that said there were some 500 lost Fairy Tales rediscovered in Regensburg just a couple of years ago. They’d evidently been hidden away for over 150 years. You can read all about them by clicking either of the two numbered links below. If you can read german, you can even buy a book containing many of these lost fairy tales from Amazon. For a small sample of these tales just click here: http://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/mar/05/turnip-princess-discovered-fairytale
Oh and lastly, I wanted to tell you all about another wonderful blogger in our blogosphere called Brenda who writes lots of lovely modern fairy tales for the whole family. Do go over and check out her blog as well. You can find out more about her at: http://friendlyfairytales.com/about-2/
I love to read her stories…….I’m sure many of you will too. And for those of you who would like just one more Halloween Story you might like to go over to her blog and read about “Crankypot Halloween”. Click on this link here to read the tale: http://friendlyfairytales.com/adventurous-fairy-tales/crankypot-halloween/
European Holiday and River Cruising Memoirs 