Waterton Peace Park

We only spent a few hours in Waterton on our way up to Calgary.    We approached from the east and the mountains come right up without the foothills we are used to 

Waterton Lake

Cameron Lake

Many Glacier

Many Glacier is my favorite section of Glacier National Park.  We spent 2 nights at the Many Glacier Hotel and loved every minute.  The scenery is spectacular and the wildlife viewing is very convenient to the hotel.  In fact we could sit on our balcony or in the hotel and watch the bears, bighorn sheep and mountain goats feeding on the hill.  

We ran across these black bears driving through the valley

We also saw this mama and baby grizzlies.  They were way up the hill but my big zoom manamged to capture them.  

Here is the lakeside view of the hotel.  

This is the view from our room.  

Here I am emjoyig a glass of wine while watching yet another grizzly, bighorn sheep and mountain goats up on the hill.  We had to sue binoculars to see them.  It was cold but we didn't let that stop our fun.  

Earlier in the day we took the lake boat tour which included 2 lakes with a brief hike between the lakes.  Below is the 2nd boat on Josephine Lake.  From this lake we set off on a hike to Grinnel Lake below the Grinnell Glacier.

The falls coming from the glacier.  

Crossing the suspension bridge over a creek.

Here we are in the hail at the lake.  See the falls behind us?

  

Autumn is really showing her colors.

When we returned to the boat dock this guy was there to greet us.  

Going to the Sun

We always enjoy the "Going to the Sun Road, which goes West/East through Glacier National Park.  Here are some phots we took along the way.    We went on the road twice this time. Once on the Big Red Bus tour which we took right from the Lake McDonald Lodge where we were staying. 

And so it begins.....

Bend Oregon was our first stop.  We enjoyed lots of good beer, a nice hike and of course a stop at Stich'n Post for some fabric shopping.  (shopping was successfull)

We hiked Jack's Creek headwaters trail.  It was short, relatively flat and very dusty.  The headwaters are a springcoming out right below a tree.  It was very nice.  

We especially enjoy Deshutes Brewery.  If you happen to be in bend be sure and stop by Deshutes for some brews and the 21 day dry aged rib eye steak.  Yummy!!

Testing 123

We are about to take another trip.  Thinking about using this blog again.  This is a test to see how easy it is to use the ipad to create a post.  

River Cruise Poem (aka the Flood Fahrt)

May 30th we boarded the Uniworld, River Princess for the "European Serenade"  cruise.  The planned cruise was  from Vienna to Amsterdam by way of the Danube thru the Main-Danube Canal to the Rhine.  Due to the worst flooding in Central Europe since 1501 our itinerary was drastically altered.  We had expected the cruise to be a vacation of a lifetime and it was.  One of my favorite sayings is; "Shit happens, it is how you handle the shit that matters." The entire Uniworld staff and our fellow passengers handled the situation with grace and good humor. We know there were many Uniworld employees behind the scenes putting in long hours to enable us to continue with our vacation and everyone appreciated it.   The passengers remained upbeat and made the best of the situation.  Bart Roelofs, the cruise manager, was amazing. He was under tremendous pressure and never let it show. He kept a sense of humor which had us all laughing no matter the circumstances.   I found him to be inspirational.  Below is a poem he wrote about the cruise.  I have inserted some photos so you can get a visual of our journey.

River Cruise Poem (aka the Flood Fahrt)

By: Bart Roelofs

 Uniworld Cruise Manager

In Vienna we all came on board of the wonderful River Princess, this cruise was going to be a big success.

Captain Anton and HM Silvia run a tight ship, a lovely Vienna city tour but then the rain started to drip.

From Tulln we sailed up the Danube River, pouring rain & rising water made us shiver.

Walls were erected by the Austrian fire brigade, hopefully our trip would not be delayed.

Our first stop was the town of Melk in the Wachau, from here we went to lovely Český Krumlov,

Fabulous town in the Czech Nation, too bad that the lunch @ the brewery got lost in translation.

The river was still rising, all hands on deck,  as fast as we could to Krems we sailed back.

We found shelter in the industrial port, here we would always to go and come back on board.

We drove back to Melk to visit "Dear Abby", in the afternoon the wine tasting made us happy.

Salzburg was next in line, this city of the "Sound of Music" and Mozart was far but therefore might fine.

Meanwhile in Krems the same old tune, looking at containers and sand dunes.

This could not go on forever and something had to be done, eventually we would have to move on.

Leaving Krems & the ship was painful and hard to do, though finally reaching Germany was like a dream come true. 

Going to Nuremberg on 3 buses and CM Bart, it looked it would be a magnificent autobahn fahrt.

Oops, the Danube flooded the highway; scenic driving thru the Bavarian hills meant a 6 hour delay.

Just before midnight we arrived at the hotel, little time left for dinner, so please "mach schnell".

Next morning we had the ultimate shock with cold showers and festival hard rock.

Nuremberg was lovely though and the day was fine, we experienced rare weather phenomena called, "sunshine"!

The German language proved to be pretty hard, we learned all about einfahrt, rundfahrt, & "where the hell is ausfahrt".

Rothenburg was next and the town was just right, 100 years of history in that medieval gem are a delight.

Finally our bus ride was no more, in Strasbourg we were boarding the River Ambassador!

The question was whether we would grab our last chance, and actually be able to leave France.

And yes, just after we came on board the ships engines did start, we could finally enjoy the magic of a river cruise fahrt.

Sailing on the Rhine felt so good; walking thru Rüdesheim in the sun surly improved our mood.

Onward we sailed and started our Castle Rally, dozens of spectacular castles in the Lorelei Valley.

In Cologne we hit the town for a drink in a pub, unfortunately the town was pretty dead so we came home & gave up!

Morning walk to the catherdal of this magnificent city, as it is Sunday all shops were closed, what a pity!

the local bathroom industry we did admire, several grumpy grandmas earned enough to retire.

Amsterdam in the Netherlands our last port of call, soon it will be time to say auf wiedersehen to y'all.

HM Jan arranged at night free booze, with a minor hangover we started our lovely Amsterdam canal cruise.

Rembrandt and Van Gogh, now we know it all, some guides explained every paintbrush in great detail.

If you want and still have energy left you can come with Bart, for an after dinner Red Light District Fahrt!

We now have passed the last river bend, and our Cruise/Bus trip thru 5 countries has come to an end.

In spite of the worst floods since 1501 we were prevailing, and at the end of the day we were even sailing.

The chemistry within the group was wunderbar, whenever help was needed: Martin and Petra were never far.

Captains Evert & Anton, HM Jan & Silvia just to name a few, but all crew members loved working with you. 

After this grand trip parting ways is hard, don't forget you'll always have a friend in Bart.

Cherish these memories, we did have a ball, Have a great life and may God bless y'all.

St Sebaldus Church

St. Sebaldus Church is a medieval church in Nuremberg, Germany.  It is one of the most important churches of the city, and also one of the oldest. It is located at the Albrecht-Dürer-Platz, in front of the old city hall. It takes its name from Sebaldus, an 8th-century hermit and missionary and patron saint of Nuremberg. It has been a Lutheran parish church since the Reformation.

The construction of the building began in 1225. the church achieved parish church status in 1255 and was completed by 1273-75. It was originally built as a Romanesque basilica with two choirs.  The church suffered serious damage during World War II and was subsequently reconstructed. Some of the old interior did survive, including the Shrine of St. Sebaldus, works by Veit Stoss and the stained glass windows.


The exterior is undergoing extensive renovation and was covered in scaffolding. The only exterior photo I took was of the entrance.  

  

The organ was installed in 1975.

The Monument of St Sebaldus, a work of Peter Vischer the Elder and his sons.  

Begun in 1508 and complete in 1519.

The Crucifix

Works by Viet Stoss

The archways are beautiful.