Another picturesque German city but this one didn’t grab me like Passau. Throngs of tourists and cruise ship guests it was hard to navigate the city without being trampled by groups of people following various tourist guide paddles. I did manage to slip away into the main cathedral before the hordes arrived . Just as I did the organist started rehearsing. It was a nice moment . I even found the famous smiling angel . All in All not a place I’d head back to. We did visit the Thun and Taxi castle which was interesting and they had a surprisingly great Christmas market set up around the exterior with very different items for sale and some outstanding food choices lol. I see a trend ! That roast pork sandwich was something special!

I love it when a place or experience takes me by surprise. Like most humans I tend to set expectations about places based on previous experiences. So when we docked at Passau I was really surprised.

A beautiful but small college town with quaint streets and squares , wonderful cafes and restaurants and of course world class shopping lol. We strolled around for several hours and definitely this will be a place I will linger longer at next time I’m in Germany. I think everyone in our group felt the same way. We found a great cafe on the square and wrapped ourselves in blankets provided by the cafe and watched the world go by. Personally, I could have set there all day

One of my favorite cities in Europe. Everywhere you turn you see the vestige of their imperial past now gone but still remembered Beautiful majestic buildings, public art,wide boulevards and of course amazing cafes. We only got to spend a day here which is not enough time no matter how many times you’ve been here but I think it was still worth the trip for the cake alone lol

In honor of Christmas Day I thought I’d share some pictures from all the Christmas markets we managed to get to. To be honest after the 5th or 6th I sort of lost track but each of them was unique in one way or another and the food was awesome. Since a big reason we chose to do this river thing in December was to get to the markets it only seems fair I share the pics.

My favorite was probably Vienna but the small markets in Passau and Regensburg were close seconds. Best food ….definitely Budapest. Merry Christmas

More than 3 years ago I took my first cruise. It was a river cruise from Basel to Amsterdam. I wasn’t really sure if it would be my thing as I don’t like group travel or actually groups that much lol

Surprisingly I really enjoyed it. I love casual days watching the world go by as I sit curled up with a book. I also love the fact that on a river cruise you can usually just walk off the ship and you’re downtown in whatever city you are visiting. On this cruise only Vienna and Nürnberg weren’t walkable and Vienna had a U stop literally across the street so you could zip into town. My only regret not enough time in some of these places. However, it was a good sampler and I would definitely want to return to a few of the new places we spent some time in. We were lucky because we had a group of 6 so we had a ready made team for sightseeing, coffees , pastries and apparently Canasta games though I missed out on that.

I still haven’t done an ocean cruise but I’ll correct that in just a few weeks when we go from Singapore to Hong Kong on NCL. Not sure I’ll like that as much but I’m open. Now excuse me while I snuggle up in the lounge with a coffee and a book

We left Budapest and for the next 8 days we drift north and West heading to Nuremberg

Got in on Tuesday and spent yesterday walking the city. It’s been years since I’ve been here and while it’s fresher and more vibrant the feeling of a city from another time still pervades. Everywhere you go there is music played by quartets. This truly was an imperial city and you can feel it in the buildings and the streets and of course walking along the Danube We did 5 miles waking and still too much to take in.

I’ve never been fortunate or unfortunate depending on your outlook to have kids. However I am a world class Uncle if I do say so myself. I met Alix when she was 5 years old and the daughter of my former partner David. I guess she’s the closest thing to a daughter I’ll ever have but she has always refers to me as UJT. Uncle Jim Thingy. It’s a title I wear with pride !

She and partner Chris, who despite my rigorous standards I like quite a bit invited us to stay at their new home in West London and took us to an excellent meal. I really miss my English/Scottish family and love coming to visit them. I’m very proud of the women Alix is and attribute it all to my guidance and teaching , oh and some help from het parents Kate and David lol

A quick two day visit to the Capital. Some Harrod’s shopping and dining and a great one man show by Sir Ian McKellen. Then a great lunch with a Gretta and her wife Mary Ellen. I met Gretta in 1979 when she was my student at the University of Iowa in Freshman Rhetoric. I was a TA and she was the quintessential smart student from the East coast ..they now live in London. Lucky them. Tip; they took us to lunch at restaurant on top of the National Portrait Gallery. Great Sunday Roast and “gob smacking” view

Oh and nice hotel ..all those Marriott points paid off

I lived in the UK for almost 18 years having gone there for a one year assignment and staying. I still think of it as a second home. I’ve known Guy for 30plus years and his beautiful and amazingly hospitable wife for as long as they’ve been together Which must be half that. Guy ended up in Wallingford because he used to like the area so much when he would come visit. They have the most comfy home imaginable. Surrounded by lush gardens overseen by Louise and honey bee hives maintained by Guy it is the most comfortable place to stay in my world..which is sort of bad news for them because I keep coming back!

While there I tried to meet up with old friends but our time was too short but we did manage to have old friend Dave…sorry David Macqueen join all of us for a great take away curry …one of my favorite meals, Why is it we Americans shorten names of people even when they hate it lol. Yes David does look like Father Christmas