Jeanne and Dave

What a wonderful tour guide we had for this large, bustling city of Prague with population of 1.2 million.  We heard personal stories of how children were taught to show no emotion and to pretend to believe in the Communist propaganda when they were outside their homes.  They still show little emotion in their faces but are very polite and most are fluent in English.  Although education is free, children must choose whether or not to continue education at age 14.  At that time, they may choose a trade or to persue arts.   The most notable architecture is the Charles Bridge which was started in 1357, when Charles wanted to connect the lands on either side of the river to visit his elderly father.  King Wenceslas was a beloved ruler here and a wonderful Christmas Carol was written about him.   The famous and beautiful castle of Prague had the Czech Republic flag flying which indicated that President Milos Zeman was in residence.  This is the only na...

Last night was an “over the top” Captain’s Fatewell dinner featuring filet mignon and flaming Baked Alaska (actually these were sparklers) in a parade by the captain and the kitchen staff.  We arrived in Prague late afternoon following a stop for lunch and tour of  the medieval town of Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic.  Dave found a great lunch spot where we had some local food and watched kayaks on a little river.

Linz is the capital of Upper Austria, and sits on a 1,768 ft high hill on the left bank of the Danube.   Our afternoon was filled with a sobering and informative visit to the Mauthausen Concentration Camp.  This complex was one of the Nazi’s first large-scale concentration camps and was the last to be liberated.  High profile Jewish prisoners and captive Russian soldiers were brought to the camp to work as free labor for the local stone quarry, harvesting and hauling granite blocks which were used to build the Camp. Simon Wiesenthal was a former prisoner here. 

In the beautifully maintained graveyard in charming Dürnstein was a mass gravesite behind iron gates which had thousands of human bones and skulls from centuries ago which had been stacked up. Dürnstein was settled along the edge of the Wachau Valley. This small, quiet, charming town was visited by Princess Di and her beau, Dody Fiad and served as a respite away from the media when they stayed at the Hotel  Dürnstein owned by Richard Gere.  His hotel overlooks the Danube.