NEW YEAR'S EVE ON THE DANUBE

Passau/Lintz Friday 31 December 2010

As I write this it is next year in Melbourne. As usual the Sydney fireworks display hit the headlines and Matt and family will be heading home soon after what seems to have been a great holiday down at Rosebud.

I woke up at 7.00 this morning after a solid night's sleep. I don't know why I was so knackered yesterday - but I felt a bit better today. We had signed up for a trip to Chesky Kromlov today - a wonderful old Czech town by all reports, but I bowed out and we canned it. I really didn'T fancy another 10 hour trip - 4 or 6 in the coach and another enthusiastic guide pouring facts into my ear through the Quiet Vox machine. I've had enough of castles and kings for the moment, although not of what they have left behind, of course. But I can admire the buildings without knowing the name of the architect or who the bishop was at the time or........ well, you get the drift. (Frank, the excellent guide, said that as far as Australian tourists were concerned this part of the trip was often referred to as the ABC part - "Another Bloody Castle/Cathedral")

We were in time for late breakfast today 8.40 before a 9.00 closing time, but for some reason the staff were packing it all up. Perhaps they thought everyone was going on the the tours arranged for today and that there were none of us slugs left. We got enough to eat, of course and they were pleasant enough, but not quite as charming as usual - the move has no doubt affected them more than us.

Rab and I went into town on our own and just strolled around, looking for shoe shops mainly, although C&A proved to be an attractive spot for good cheap tops for  Rab. I also went into the Post Office to send a couple of cards to the girls which we thought they might enjoy. The one to Stephanie featured a row of small bratwurst sausages and I asked her how many there were and how many she could  eat, adding that we had 12 sausages between us yesterday and asking if Granny ate four, how many did Grampa eat? Nothing like throwing in a small maths problem in a greeting card. Caroline's card was a three dimensional one showing a seahorse and I asked her if she had seen one at Rosebud, mentioning that the Dad seahorse looked after the kids, hoping she'd make the link between them and her Dad.

 

We were due to sail at 11.15 and were aboard before 11. The town was a pleasant one and had been cleared of snow which was stacked in great mounds here and there about the town. Passau is at the confluence of three rivers - the Danube, the Inn and the Ilk so it is very attractive and as we sailed out we saw some splendid views. Had an interesting lunch with Archie, the doctor from Mt Isa and then went back to the cabin. I had intended to catch up on my FaceBook entries, get my pictures sorted for downloading, catch up on this journal etc etc but landed up doing very little in the end. The bloody Internet link kept collapsing which is VERY annoying so I gave up in the end and Rab and I just skinnered about the other passengers and watched the passing show until she nodded off. Even though we are just over half way through this journey, we still find the views amazing. We're in another lock as I speak, so no doubt the Internet will be about to cut out again. No one better tell me that the European services are so much better than the Aussie ones.

We duly arrived at Lintz and met up with the returnees. All said it was a long day. Marjorie and Chris thoroughly enjoyed their visit to ....... While Hugh said he found the town of Cesky Kromof somewhat disappointing. All in all we were glad that we hadn't gone along.

The New Years Eve dinner was an excellent one although I still feel a bit crook so I didn't enjoy it as much as I might. For some reason they cranked up the heat in the lounge and dining room, so I was sweating bullets which didn't help. We had a jolly table with Hugh and the girls plus Shirley who is recovering from her hospital trip. The atmosphere in the lounge was good with everyone settling down for a party and old Tomas playing some decent music. We scuttled off at about 10.15 and were asleep before 11.00, although I was woken up at about 11.30 when KAK led a conga line down the passage to persuade Sandy to join them for a New Year toast.

And so the year ended with a bit of a whimper, for us:-)