CHAOS for CHRISTMAS
On vacation...overseas.
Canceled flight...luggage lost
Our clakety train to Nuremberg
glides along snow-packed rails
rapidly...silently...steadily,
dulling travel trauma anxieties:
Naked tree limbs droop heavily to the ground
readjusting to weighty, glistening layers of their
wet, white blankets- an easier adjustment for rooftops, cemetery stones,
cars coated white...hints of original hue revealed,
snow-quilted fields punctuated with rusted tractors...
pillows of snow on the seats...
Winter in Germany, Austria and Slovakia.
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| Train from Frankfurt, where we landed, to Nuremberg | |
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| View from the train |
December 29, 2010
Europe's major cities were halted by what they called "major snow storms." Who are they kidding? London's Heathrow Airport was stymied by a mere FIVE INCHES! In our own Upstate New York, that's called a DUSTING of snow! We flew through Frankfurt, Germany with the expectation of flying on to Nuremberg... ALL flights were canceled.
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| Plane landing (Frankfurt, Germany) |
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BONUS: I'm sure we saw Santa leaving the Frankfurt area as we were landing
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| Can't see our bags in this pile...perhaps in another pile??? |
We jumped aboard the next train to Nuremberg sans luggage and to this day, our luggage is somewhere between Frankfurt, Germany (maybe) and our home! We shopped for basics... undergarments, pants, tops and toiletries...survival items...and the snow kept falling.
We saw some beautiful sights from the windows of our riverboat cabin as we navigated the Danube River through Germany, Austria and Slovakia…
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| Our extremely looooong riverboat, the Viking Legend | | |
the locks of its river canals…
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| Definitely a GUY THING...I thought the locks were greasy, filthy and a bit scary...Michael had a childlike fascination with them- (must be the engineer in him...) |
and we explored the cities and villages by whose waters we docked.
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| Our riverboat at night, waiting as we explored ... |
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| Vienna |
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| A bridge built in medieval times |
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Right out of the Harry Potter movies, this library is part of a large Abbey... one of my most favorite sites
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| In Linz... |
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| Notice how this trolley comes right to the street's curbside...many of the cities and towns have trolleys, busses, and special, small trains for public transportation |
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| Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia- don't you love the tribute to Andy Warhol, the Campbell's Soup can? Actually, there was quite a lot of art in this developing nation's city |
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| Vienna, Austria |
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| Also Vienna... |
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| I DO love graffiti that is true artistic expression. Along the canal in Vienna, there was quite a bit to feed my artistic soul... |
Finally, the Christmas Markets, better known as CHRISKINDEL Markets, were most important, colorful, quite beautiful...unique to this time of year. The handcrafts sold at these markets were kitchy and fun. But we really enjoyed sampling some of the country's traditional food and drink...the 1/2 meter hot dogs or sausages with mustard and sauerkraut, langos (frisbee-sized discs of fried dough with garlic butter and salt,) gingerbread and the fabulous hot, spicy mulled wine. There was something to excite ALL our senses! Everyone, locals and travelers alike, were in the spirit of the holidays...
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| Small Chriskindel Market before opening for the long hours ahead... |
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| How I'd love one of those 1/2 meter hot dogs with sweet sauerkraut RIGHT NOW... |
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| Michael, warming up with some hot, mulled wine...Yummmm! |
The sights, sounds and smells of this riverboat Christmas trip were dreamlike... sometimes very fairytale-ish…gothic and baroque churches ranging from the very ornate to the quietly decorative...all different and all unique to their periods.
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This is a very special church for us as it's where we spent Christmas Eve's Midnight Mass, 12/24/2010. Located in a tiny village of 600 residents, DURNSTEIN, it was magnificent...rivaling any major cathedral in Italy!! The paintings, intricate carvings, sculptures...all very baroque, ornate and yet ANOTHER feast for the eyes... and the SPIRIT. There was a local choir before the actual service and they were wonderful. During the service, the "professional choir," organist and individual musicians along with the priest's soothing voice swelled my heart and indeed, made me thankful for my loved ones as well as just for... BEING!!!
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| St.Peter's grand cathedral in Vienna |
Finally, houses, were sights to behold- many, hundreds of years old and maintained in their individual styles, pastel colors and origins. Most of what we saw dated back to the 16-17th centuries…the streets, too… primarily cobbled. All in all, it was a magical time. I must admit that for me, the huge snowflakes drifting down on us, creating feathery crowns for our heads, added to the beauty and magic of this season's Christmas trip on the Danube. (The hot, spicy mulled wine didn't hurt the images, either :o) ! XOX, Abbyj
