Amadeus Star

Ok! We left Prague at 0830 this morning, boarding a bus headed toward the Danube on the German/Czech border. We had one rest stop along the way and arrived at the ship prior to 1300 just in time for lunch.

The plan for the afternoon was a walking tour of Passau. [Please note – I am providing the Wiki links because some of you enjoy finding out a bit more about some of the locations rather than me blathering on, potentially inaccurately.] George happily went  on the tour – I stayed on the ship, enjoying the almost total peace and quiet. I am thinking that we have visited her at least three times before, maybe four. The first time would have been our first tour in Germany when just about all our relations came through. The second would have been a cruise down the Donau when the youngest three were in Elementary grades. Third was I think in 2013 when George and I took a cruise by ourselves over the winter holidays.

So that does make it the fourth time, right? It is a lovely town with a nice yarn shop. But it is not like I need anymore yarn. Instead, I wandered the ship. All of the cruise boats sailing on the rivers are purpose built. They are long, not so wide, very flat with a maximum of three decks above the water line. It is not that the companies wouldn’t want to haul more passengers/make more money, it is that the ships have to be able to navigate the waterways and pass under the bridges. 

So Deck 1 is the lowest with cabins and dining room. Deck two has cabins to both ends of the ships center. Deck three has cabins, the lounge

 

and a forward outside sitting area.

Like every where else, smoking is not permitted inside the ship. Above the third deck is an open seating area with rails from where you can enjoy the scenery passing by on both sides of the ship. 

When sailing from the German border all the way to Bulgaria, there are locks.

About 14 of them as a matter of fact, most of which we will be passing through at night. Since we are headed downstream, it is sink as you go.

This particular ship was built in 2019 – so it is really new and shiny

with one main corridor and everything off of it. Our cabin is on Deck 2 – 

Not large, but adequate with bed, tiny sitting area, closet, bathroom and a huge porthole (which you can see). 

Dinner was most excellent. Did I mention that this particular tour is a combined Alumni/Smithsonian group? Total of 31 people (+ two tour guides – one from Ireland and one from Bulgaria). So the dining room had people well spread out. Just as an example – presentation is obviously important …

I am skipping the live (and too loud) music/dancing in favor of some stitching and early bedtime.

 

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About Holly

fiber person - knitter, spinner, weaver who spent 33 years being a military officer to fund the above. And home. And family. Sewing and quilting projects are also in the stash. After living again in Heidelberg after retiring (finally) from the U.S. Army May 2011, we moved to the US ~ Dec 2015. Something about being over 65 and access to health care. It also might have had to do with finding a buyer for our house. Allegedly this will provide me a home base in the same country as our four adult children, all of whom I adore, so that I can drive them totally insane. Considerations of time to knit down the stash…(right, and if you believe that…) and spin and .... There is now actually enough time to do a bit of consulting, editing. Even more amazing - we have only one household again. As long as everyone understands that I still, 40 years into our marriage, don't do kitchens or bathrooms. For that matter, not being a golden retriever, I don't do slippers or newspapers either. I don’t miss either the military or full-time clinical practice. Limiting my public health/travel med/consulting and lecturing to “when I feel like it” has let me happily spend my pension cruising, stash enhancing (oops), arguing with the DH about where we are going to travel next and book buying. Life is good!
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2 Responses to Amadeus Star

  1. Ron says:

    Are you going all the way to the Black Sea and back?

    • Holly says:

      This cruise ends at the Black Sea. We get a day or so in Sophia – then fly back to Frankfurt

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