We had a lovely evening with plenty of good food, wine and fun company which apparently was better than can be said for M and roomie who said their dinner was just okay. As we head forward on our cruise, we are to leave the Danube and go onto the Main Danube canal which is totally man made, but more of that in a minute. During the night we pass through three locks that collectively raise us 51 metres. Absolutely amazing how they operate. At about 5 am we pass the Continental Divide which was very unimpressive, being marked only by a large concrete slab either side of the river. At breakfast we see that we are actually passing over the top of roads on two separate water bridges. Amazing!!! Mid morning we have Professor Daniel come onboard to speak on the making of the Main-Danube canal and how the locks operate. It was really interesting, even more so as we entered a huge lock (European Watershed) which had us at 406 metres above sea level, so that now all future locks will see us heading down the lock 'staircase'. In all we went through 16 locks from Budapest to the Main-Daube canal, travelling 764 km. when we pass under a bridge the lowest clearing height the bridge will be is 6 metres. As they were built in the 1960s, passenger ships were not even thought about, so 6m was plenty of clearance for barges. The canal is 55m width and has a trapezoid base that is 35m deep at the mid point. I can give you a lesson now on how locks work...
Locks allow a ship to travel from one water level to another in a canal. They were invented by the Chinese in the 10th century and also by the Dutch in the 13th century. The lock consists of two sets of gates or doors to hold the water and two tunnels (sluices) for water to flow into and out of the lock. For a ship to go up the locks the bottom sluices are opened to allow the lock to drain. The lower doors are then opened. With the doors opened, the boat can enter the lock. The lower doors and bottom gates are closed. The top gates are then opened so that the water level rises in the lock, floating the boat up to the next level. The top doors can now be opened. The boat can then exit the lock on the new level. To go down the lock the reverse happens. The lock is filled, the boat enters the lock and then the lock is drained allowing the boat to exit on the lower level. So now you are all experts in lock operation.
For our lunch today we have Fruhschoppen, meaning an alcoholic drink before midday in company. It is a German and Austrian tradition to meet up at a pub in the late mornings (usually on Sundays but we don't mind being a day late). In Lower Bavaria, Fruhschoppen is understood to be a specific kind of brunch consisting of sausage, sweet mustard, pretzels and Weissbier which is an unfiltered wheat beer. I was more than happy to try the sausages and mustard, but wimped out on the beer.
We then had a coach and walking tour of Nurnberg. Our guide Alex was really good, but our driver Bernhardt was a shocker. He tail gated some poor van driver as soon as we headed off and ran the first stop sign we came to less than 500 metres after we set off, even before we hit a main road ... But more on his awful driving later. Weather today was meant to be 16 but the cloud never lifted so I reckon for most of the afternoon it was about 12-14 but no sigh of rain. Nurnberg is a fairly grim, grey place and I suppose it's part in Hitler's rise hasn't provided it with a happy reputation. It is the 2nd largest city in Bavaria. Most of the city was completely destroyed during WWII (in 90 minutes) and if my limited knowledge of the war serves me correctly it occurred in the very final days of the war and really was unnecessary other than 'payback' by the Brits. We saw the colosseum facade structure that was never finished, but was where Hitler planned to hold his speeches.
Also saw the site where he held his annual Nazi party rallies.
Drove past court 66 where the Nurnberg Trials have been held. We walked up to the castle which is undergoing massive renovation and restoration. Great views of the city from there.
Walked down the hill on cobblestone paths to the market square. After a visit to the Apoteke (chemist) for B to get some drugs for her cold she is coming down with, she buys some gingerbread (Lebkuchen) and I try a Gluhwein which is hot spiced wine... Very nice and warming which was just what I needed. Nurnberg is clearly trying to come out from under the memories of being connected to Hitler but I found it a very grey and fairly grim city. Maybe the grey skies didn't help but unlike other cities we have visited there are no flowers in apartment windows fir the most part or much of any colour anywhere until we got into the market square. Don't see the need to revisit here, howevere they lay claim to being very pretty in winter at Christmas. But then you have to deal with huge crowds, snow and jolly cold, so I will pass on that.
Back in the coach and as B and I are sitting in the front seat we again experience first hand the poor driving of Bernhardt. We are minutes from the river where our ship is berthed and have to do a u-turn across a main intersection. The lights turn yellow and he starts his u turn as a semi trailer on the left of us (who would now have a green light) commences his right turn so that we miss having a head on crash by no more than 1 metre. And if that hadn't put my heart in my mouth, our driver gives the poor semi driver the finger and is then cheeky enough to start yelling at him, in what is no doubt rude words in German! Anyhow, we finally get back onto the ship and are much relieved that we are all in one piece to tell the tale. I will be telling Anja about the terrible driving when I get a chance as she needs to know that he was a menace on the roads.
Time for dinner. B is feeling decidely weary so heads for bed, as do S and M... But not to the same bed, you silly people!!! The rest of us head upstairs to the lounge where we are entertained by Valerie May who is a local woman with a lovely, powerful voice who speaks at least 4 languages and sang to us in about 7. She did a musical tour through Europe. It was a really enjoyable evening but it is well and truly time for me bed. Guten nacht.
Locks allow a ship to travel from one water level to another in a canal. They were invented by the Chinese in the 10th century and also by the Dutch in the 13th century. The lock consists of two sets of gates or doors to hold the water and two tunnels (sluices) for water to flow into and out of the lock. For a ship to go up the locks the bottom sluices are opened to allow the lock to drain. The lower doors are then opened. With the doors opened, the boat can enter the lock. The lower doors and bottom gates are closed. The top gates are then opened so that the water level rises in the lock, floating the boat up to the next level. The top doors can now be opened. The boat can then exit the lock on the new level. To go down the lock the reverse happens. The lock is filled, the boat enters the lock and then the lock is drained allowing the boat to exit on the lower level. So now you are all experts in lock operation.
For our lunch today we have Fruhschoppen, meaning an alcoholic drink before midday in company. It is a German and Austrian tradition to meet up at a pub in the late mornings (usually on Sundays but we don't mind being a day late). In Lower Bavaria, Fruhschoppen is understood to be a specific kind of brunch consisting of sausage, sweet mustard, pretzels and Weissbier which is an unfiltered wheat beer. I was more than happy to try the sausages and mustard, but wimped out on the beer.
We then had a coach and walking tour of Nurnberg. Our guide Alex was really good, but our driver Bernhardt was a shocker. He tail gated some poor van driver as soon as we headed off and ran the first stop sign we came to less than 500 metres after we set off, even before we hit a main road ... But more on his awful driving later. Weather today was meant to be 16 but the cloud never lifted so I reckon for most of the afternoon it was about 12-14 but no sigh of rain. Nurnberg is a fairly grim, grey place and I suppose it's part in Hitler's rise hasn't provided it with a happy reputation. It is the 2nd largest city in Bavaria. Most of the city was completely destroyed during WWII (in 90 minutes) and if my limited knowledge of the war serves me correctly it occurred in the very final days of the war and really was unnecessary other than 'payback' by the Brits. We saw the colosseum facade structure that was never finished, but was where Hitler planned to hold his speeches.
Also saw the site where he held his annual Nazi party rallies.
Drove past court 66 where the Nurnberg Trials have been held. We walked up to the castle which is undergoing massive renovation and restoration. Great views of the city from there.
Walked down the hill on cobblestone paths to the market square. After a visit to the Apoteke (chemist) for B to get some drugs for her cold she is coming down with, she buys some gingerbread (Lebkuchen) and I try a Gluhwein which is hot spiced wine... Very nice and warming which was just what I needed. Nurnberg is clearly trying to come out from under the memories of being connected to Hitler but I found it a very grey and fairly grim city. Maybe the grey skies didn't help but unlike other cities we have visited there are no flowers in apartment windows fir the most part or much of any colour anywhere until we got into the market square. Don't see the need to revisit here, howevere they lay claim to being very pretty in winter at Christmas. But then you have to deal with huge crowds, snow and jolly cold, so I will pass on that.
Back in the coach and as B and I are sitting in the front seat we again experience first hand the poor driving of Bernhardt. We are minutes from the river where our ship is berthed and have to do a u-turn across a main intersection. The lights turn yellow and he starts his u turn as a semi trailer on the left of us (who would now have a green light) commences his right turn so that we miss having a head on crash by no more than 1 metre. And if that hadn't put my heart in my mouth, our driver gives the poor semi driver the finger and is then cheeky enough to start yelling at him, in what is no doubt rude words in German! Anyhow, we finally get back onto the ship and are much relieved that we are all in one piece to tell the tale. I will be telling Anja about the terrible driving when I get a chance as she needs to know that he was a menace on the roads.
Time for dinner. B is feeling decidely weary so heads for bed, as do S and M... But not to the same bed, you silly people!!! The rest of us head upstairs to the lounge where we are entertained by Valerie May who is a local woman with a lovely, powerful voice who speaks at least 4 languages and sang to us in about 7. She did a musical tour through Europe. It was a really enjoyable evening but it is well and truly time for me bed. Guten nacht.
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