Great day in Ravenna - unbelievably beautiful Mosaics in the Churches. Rivals anything we have seen anywhere else in the world. We did not do a tour just took the shuttle bus and really enjoyed ourselves. On the way out a band started playing and they were followed by old bicycles with old men riding them and they were going through all the streets. Great fun!

Today we were in Koper, Slovenia. What a delightful place. Lovely scenery, very lush and green, rolling hills and three seaside towns. We did a hop on hop off bus tour from Regent. Worked out perfectly. We left the bus in the town of Koper and walked back to the ship. Again a delightful day.

Been such a great cruise sad it is coming to an end.

I've loved following along on this cruise -- ship descriptions, port descriptions, and as always Ken's wonderful photos!

Hello from Innsbruck!
We left the Explorer early this morning and drove to Innsbruck. We'll be touring the Alps for the next 5 days. There are only 18 of us doing the post cruise and 14 of us are in Ngaire's group. Needless to say we kind of owned the bus haha. It is beautiful here and now we're leaving for a 2 hour city walk. We have a lot crammed in for the next 5 days.

Tom and I haven't been to Austria for 23 years and then were only in Vienna. After 34 nights on the Explorer that was sure feeling like home. It's such a fabulous ship but glad we're doing this post trip. Austria is really beautiful!

looks amazing Marcie! So glad you had a great cruise..

This was such a busy cruise that I didn't post much, but it was wonderful to see some old friends and make new ones. The ship is fabulous. We fly home tomorrow morning early

June and I are spending a week after the cruise doing a land trip with Mark and Cheron Kneedy. Today we drove to Verona and discovered a wonderful and vibrant city. Did a two hour walk around after some lunch. It is a city I would highly recommend for a visit.
Tonight we had dinner at Maffei Restaurante which is just off the Plaza Erbe in a wonderful setting in part of the old city structure. Had a most enjoyable meal and some wonderful wine.

We are staying at Hotel Academia which is a perfect location to walk the many city streets. A very walkable city.

Tomorrow we travel to the Lake Como area and plan to spend 5 nights there before traveling back to Venice to start for home.

Kotor, Montenegro:









KLT cocktail party with drawing of cruise winner for 2017








And the winner is: Chris & Linda Bailey. Congratulations!!

Behind as usual. Venice was great a sunny nice day. I did a little too much walking but had fun walking around Venice topped off by a yummy lemon gelato.

We left the ship and drove to Salzburg. We got caught in a big traffic jam something I did not expect in the mountain countryside of Austria. The scenery was beautiful, green mountain sides with lots of nice houses and quite a lot of castles. There was a two hour walking tour with a very good guide in the old town of Salzburg. Last night there was a marathon run through the town. We went to a pizza restAurant and had a very tasty pizzas. One big bowl of pasta, two large salads, three super sized pizzas and two bottles of wine, cost per couple $25. Really reasonable.

We have a long day today and I will be ticking Ludwig's castle off my list. Been wanting to see this castle for years. We will not be back tonight until about 7.30pm. We are across from the train station and there is a nice grocery store with a hot food deli. Probably will just grab something there and crash.

Be back tomorrow.

Split, Croatia:

Back in Innsbruck after a very busy day. The weather was perfect today. Hardly a cloud in the sky and very pleasant temperatures.

We visited a charming little German town of Garmisch. There is one Main Street where the houses and shops have paintings, flower boxes, and quaint signs. It was Sunday and some locals were attending church in National dress. We were the only tourists in the town so just a few people strolling around. Lots of cute kids to wave to as they passed by our group.

Still in Germany we then took a Cable car to Zugspitze platform at a height of 10,000 feet, It took about 10 minutes. The line was long but we were able to get ahead of the line as a group. We were crammed in like sardines but it got us to the top and the view at the top was breathtaking. The guides suggested we bring food with us as it can be busy at the top and as it was Sunday they were not sure if all the food outlets would be open. As it turned out we could have eaten at the local eateries but we enjoyed our sandwiches. People were climbing on the sides of this massive mountain without being roped. Unbelievable.

After our time at the summit we took a different cable car down and ended up in Austria. That was kind of fun, still crammed in like sardines. We boarded the bus and headed for Ludwigs Castle.

First sight of the castle did not disappoint. It was a bit of a zoo logistically. You can walk, ride a horse drawn carriage or take a special mountain bus to get up to the castle. Still quite a walk after the bus or horse carriage to finally reach the entrance to the castle. There were Long lines for the bus and the horse carriage with no apparent organization. The guide was trying to help but it was a mess. But eventually we got a carriage and all crammed in together to get to the top. Maddy and Paul walked ( in hindsight the best idea) two took the bus and the rest opted for the horse carriage.

Do not know how many steps there were but A LOT for sure. We walked up from one level to another on spiral stairs. So be prepared for that if you visit this castle. This part of the visit is well organized. A fairly large group enter every five minutes. Our guide spoke well and we could all hear us and got us through very efficiently.

We have been to many castles in our travels but this was really spectacular. Sensory overload for sure. No way to come close to absorbing everything we were seeing. I was not disappointed it exceeded my expectations. One 1.6 million visitors each year go through Ludwigs castle.

We were all exhausted at the end of the day and we did not get back to the hotel until 8.00 pm. Most went back to the pizza restaurant where we ate the night before which was really good. However Ken and I decided to grab something fast and crash instead.

Tomorrow Eagles Nest. Has to be good weather we are keeping our fingers crossed.

Ravenna, Italy:



STUNNING MOSAICS






THE LOCAL MARCHING BAND AND BIKE RIDERS.

Koper, Slovenia.

Next day was EAGLES NEST. The private retreat in the mountains for Hitler. The view was unbelievable. We had a picture perfect day. No wind at all even at the top of the mountain it was a perfect temperature. Everyone really loved the visit. Nowhere near as crowded as Ludwig's Castle.

A special bus took us the last four kilometers then a brass elevator that held about forty people took us to the top. I wish there was more information with some history but it was really just one restaurant and the viewing area. Nevertheless it was enjoyed by all.

We had dinner at the Sheraton that night and that was a surprise. Our expectations were low but it turned out great. Funny fantastic waiter and outstanding food. We were all happy campers.

Next morning we had a walking tour of Saltzburg. It is a nice old town full of shops and places to eat. Then we loaded up and headed for Munich.

Octoberfest is taking place right now in Munich. Maddy and Paul went and said it was great. All the beer drinking in the tents and families and rides outside. They said the experience was something they were glad they did not miss. The rest of us just did not want to make the effort we were all tired

It was a tiring trip with lots of bus riding. The weather was perfect and the sites we saw lived up to my expectations. Hotels could have been better but the company was great. There were 18 people in the group and 14 of them were our clients. One other very nice couple that fit in well. Then one other couple that pretty much stayed to themselves.

Now in Munich airport on our way home

Safe travels home, Ngaire. Thanks for all the posts! I think I need to get on the Explorer
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Helen

We made it home last night. Unfortunately we were up at 3:00am. I sorted 1 month's worth of mail and booked our return flight from Reykjavik so at least got that accomplished.

It was a WONDERFUL trip but it sure feels good to be home again.

Haha, Jonathan is at octoberfest in Munich. You must have missed him. I am sure he is hanging with the young crowd though!