Burnie, Tasmania, Australia

Burnie was our first stop in Tasmania..and as we approached the island in the early morning we saw a very beautiful green colored area…and as we approached the port…we saw the evidence of a huge timber-lumber industry…..as we docked we were next to a huge wood chip pile….with huge conveyor belts and loading cranes….and even though it was a Sunday….obvious that this is a big port for lumber. We were told we could take a shuttle from the ship to the three stops downtown….and we got on one to the downtown area. Very beautiful small town of 20,000….that has some very impressive exports, such as opium for the medical industry. (Morphine)….largest poppy growing area in the Southern Hemisphere, etc….

the first stop was the Makers market, which, in essence, means an indoor museum where there is some artisans, etc…and a large visitors center….very impressive. From there to stop #2 is a 5 minute bus ride, or you can walk the boardwalk….about a 15 minute walk to stop #3 areas, which is in the downtown. Even on Sunday, some very nice small shops in the old town area…..very attractive area.

Stop #2 has a very fine museum, and we were fortunate to see the National Geographic photo display which the city of Burnie now owns. We had an hour there…very impressive.

So, in summary…

  1. A small town with some great leadership that has compensated for the loss of 3 main industries….by taking advantage of tourism.
  2. Great weather with a low temperatures of 40 degrees….lots of tropical growth….beautiful beach area.
  3. A good example of a small town that is very pleased to be part of the tourism industry…with about 35 cruise ships coming in during the year.
  4. Population has remained constant….replacing the 3 larger industries with small businesses.
  5. The three industries that left…Caterpillar to Indonesia; Chemical company that polluted the ocean beaches to a red color…..closed…. And the lumber mill, which is now a wood chip operation, in that 80% of the island is wooded.
  6. Shuttle bus service is excellent….very friendly and helpful and many around the port and the city to help with answers and tourist tips. The Makers Market info booth is outstanding, with some very nice displays.
  7. Tasmania is a very unique area that has survived as a thriving smaller city in a world wide industry…

 

 

 

Viking Cruises….Ocean and River

Effective January 1st…I am the Redding agent for Viking Cruises, and am very pleased with this opportunity. We just completed our 3rd Viking Cruise…and I am now “a believer” in Viking. They are great. No wonder they are consistently rated #1 among the Cruise lines.

Viking Cruises, both in their Ocean and River Cruises, offers cruises where you truly explore your destination-through its food, culture, countryside, and customs. You learn about the lands through which you travel via informative talks that bring history to life through cultural adventures, in-depth pre-trip materials, and on-demand programing-all designed to help you experience the most from your travels.

So, just send me an e-mail at    ron@ronlargenttravel.com   and I will get you brochures, information, details on the Cruises, both Ocean and River…and we will go from there. Viking is a winner.

Vienna, Austria….Day 6…Tuesday

Vienna, Austria……ship was delayed in the locks leading into Vienna on Monday night…and we first heard about it early Tuesday morning with the daily announcements. Apparently late Monday night the winds picked up on the Danube and by the time we got to the locks….too high to go through….so we were put on hold in the River for about 2 hours….there were then additional delays and finally cleared the locks at 5 AM…which made us about an hour late to get into Vienna. In that it was a full day, plans were changed and we proceeded to dock at another town about an hour drive away from Vienna. We then boarded Viking buses…and off we went into Vienna, through beautiful farm lands and small towns…arriving about 10 into Vienna.We then had the included panorama tour of Vienna, as well as the walking tour of the Old City….a magnificent old city with gorgeous buildings….just a beautiful place to see and walk through, etc.

Being late, Viking decided to give us a 25 Euro credit per person for lunch….and we ate behind St Stephens church at a great restaurant….finishing up by 2 when we met up again, and then went on the optional tour to the Schonbrunn Palace.

The Palace is a showplace for Emperoress Maria Theresa and the Hapsburg Dynasty….and I cannot say enough in this blog about her and her reign…and I bought a book at says it all, including her 16 children. A powerful woman like Queen Victoria in England……Maria Theresa being the daughter of Charles VI. The Hapsburg Dynasty in Central Europe in itself is a Masters Thesis…what a fascinating story of reign for 650 years. This is a MUST visit….

Back to the ship for dinner…then on to our Optional Concert of Mozart and Strauss by the Vienna Residence Orchestra. This is a small chamber orchestra obviously hand picked as they put on quite a show of music and humor to this private concert. Just a thrilling and fun performance with soloists, ballet dancers, and a great orchestra….a fun evening and well worth it…even for non-music lovers.

Back to the bus by 11…a great day in Vienna…one of the World’s Great Cities…and the 2nd one we have been part of on this trip…the other Budapest.

More to come……

 

Budapest and on to Viking River Cruise

We had decided early on to do some “catch up” on our last day so started off by going to the old Train Station that Audy had remembered. Still there and still old…but a new section built on as well as a huge underground West End Mall…that runs back under the entire busy traffic corner. Then went across the street to the Libri Department store…found a good cap for me and some clothes for Audy…great prices.

Back to the hotel to pack and get ready to board the ship…and left the room about 4 PM to taxi to the boat dock about 1/4 mile away. The greeting from Viking starts at the curb when they get your luggage and take it directly to your room (we had it all labeled in advance)….and immediately felt at home and very comfortable. The folks at the front desk were perfect…check in took maybe 2 minutes.

These Viking River Cruise boats, which are also called shipped, and referred to as a ship by the staff…..are specially made long boats made in Germany…and made for this specific purpose…to transport people up and down and around the Rivers of Europe and the world. Initially designed for the European Rivers…they now are used worldwide, and have become very popular. Viking River Cruises was one of the first to do this…and they are the largest fleet now, and voted #1 by a number of Travel rating services. Clearly #1 at this stage for us.

The first night was introductory…dinner at 7, etc…an outstanding briefing on what was planned for Monday….just a great professional opening experience to start the Viking River Cruise.

Monday started with an early sit down or buffet breakfast in the restaurant, and they only have one big restaurant, but there are options for sit down or buffet, and very well laid out. At 8 we exited the ship and boarded the Mercedes Benz busses for the 4 hour Budapest Panorama Included Tour. . Very well done, and saw areas, such as the Hero’s Square, that we had not seen before…and ended up on Castle Hill at the Matthias Church. This in itself is almost worth the trip to Budapest, but the guide gave us a complete tour of the magnificent church, which sits on the top of the Buda hill overlooking Budapest and Hungary, for that matter. Photos, of which I have many, will attest to both the indoor and outside grandeur. I know this will sound like a record, but one of the most outstanding churches we have ever seen, or been in.

So, in Budapest, 2 magnificent churches, St Stephens Basilica and Matthias Church….the overwhelming Parliament Building right on the river, and the Castle Hill area and Gellert Hill overlooking the Danube River….which is the center of the entire area as it goes under the 9 massive bridges, including the historic and famous Chain Bridge.

The 4 hour bus tour ended up about 30 miles to the north, where we caught up with the Ship and re-boarded….lunch was ready…and off we went up the River…and the days activities on the Ship began. A full schedule from lectures  to a Champaign welcome party to the Captains briefing …all very well done.

Our room is more spacious than and on the Cruise Ship….and each room has a full glass window-wall to view the river and the villages and cities  that we pass. The beds are comfortable; the rooms are so quiet….the bathroom is plenty big, and the storage areas are great.

At this point, for us…this is the nicest set up we have had on the Cruises…can’t wait for the rest of today.

And, Viking Cruises will be added to my list of Cultural Events and Activities that I will be emphasizing…as this is among the very best way to fully appreciate the culture and history of Europe and the world for that matter….this will sell, as it has over the years, and I am happy to be part of “this world”.

After the trip I will start listing the upcoming Viking Cruise Ship trips, programs, tours, etc…and having been on 3 of them within the past year…can give first hand experience thoughts…so stay tune…all for now…Tuesday morning, Dec 12th……

 

Eidfjord, Sweden Mountains and Water, Fjords

Located in the middle of these giant mountains, the fjords, which are bodies of sea water that flows in to the inner part of Norway (kind of like our bays)….Eidfjord is a little tiny place literally dwarfed by the soaring mountains around it. Breathtaking is an understatement…. We have never seen anything like it, including the glacier areas of Alaska. The mountains soar 4000 feet almost straight up ….. With sheer cliffs coming down to the water. We went to the museum….saw a video, and then got one, as it is the best way to show this incredible area. Not many of the cruise ships come in here as they can only handle one at a time..but well worth it if only for the natural beauty.

A bit cloudy and colder today as we are getting closer to the North Pole…..but a great day to just enjoy this incredible beauty.

By the day, becoming more impressed with Norway. Very clean, …..very, very progressive, and very industrious…..which is so key to surviving in these cold areas. By the way, leading country in the world for electric cars…all over the place..and all models…

Off to Bergen…the 2nd largest city in Norway and former capital….more later.

Located in the middle of these giant mountains, the fjords, which are bodies of sea water that flows in to the inner part of Norway (kind of like our bays)….Eidfjord is a little tiny place literally dwarfed by the soaring mountains around it. Breathtaking is an understatement…. We have never seen anything like it, including the glacier areas of Alaska. The mountains soar 4000 feet almost straight up ….. With sheer cliffs coming down to the water. We went to the museum….saw a video, and then got one, as it is the best way to show this incredible area. Not many of the cruise ships come in here as they can only handle one at a time..but well worth it if only for the natural beauty.

A bit cloudy and colder today as we are getting closer to the North Pole…..but a great day to just enjoy this incredible beauty.

By the day, becoming more impressed with Norway. Very clean, …..very, very progressive, and very industrious…..which is so key to surviving in these cold areas. By the way, leading country in the world for electric cars…all over the place..and all models…

Off to Bergen…the 2nd largest city in Norway and former capital….more later.

 

 

 

Day 14–Bergen

 

The day in Bergen started out cold and windy and continued though the day…..we got on the mid day included excursion….guide was ok but not up to the par of the others….too young and inexperienced. But this was the Panoramic Bergen excursion…so we did get to see this gorgeous city built around the fjords, with the wharf area being the world showplace. The wooden houses in various colors are on the postcards in the Bryggen area right along the harbor, Marina, etc….and it was busy, in spite of the wind and rain. Bergen has over 250 days of rain a year…so thus was a normal day for the locals…in fact they said it was pretty mild. Oil and gas and the related industries are driving this area, and even with the high taxation, is frequently voted the happiest city in the world. After the tour we told a short walk from the hotel, which was the Radisson Blu right downtown..and this was a perfect location so we walked a few doors and had a great snack in a locally owned place…..very nice. We walked for a few minutes more then decided too nasty so returned to the ship ….Audy had a good rest and I decided to explore more….and went back out to see what we had not seen in the downtown area such as the fish markets and other shopping areas. Rain and wind off and on but got to see their main shopping and tourist areas….very impressive. The plan was to stay on the ship this night and then disembark the next morning….and go on another city tour…which we did and this one covers additional parts of the city..well done…and then to the hotel, as we were then on the Bergen to Oslo extension. After lunch locally we walked through the fish market areas and saw the sights as today the weather turned sunny and the area is so beautiful. Got to the food area and, along with the other thousand tourists got to have our Local pancake and ate it standing along the stores and shops….just enjoying the locals, Etc…

After a rest went down the street to a Brew and Bar…and clearly one of the most delicious hamburgers we have ever had, Norwegian style. Back to the hotel and prepared for the early departure from the hotel to the train to Oslo. 68 folks on the extension so we got on the train early for a good seat..so the start of a good day.

 

In Summary, Bergen is a must, and is a must for many of the Cruise lines…due to the history connections with the Vikings and with the historic trade of the area. Due to its critical location, it was a key player in the Hanseatic League….which established traders the primary reason for being . Bergen was the capital of Norway with the King living here…and being the center of the fishing trade…started out being a wealthy city..and then with the oil discovery in 1969….one very wealthy and affluent place. Well worth the time. Off to Oslo…

 

 

Copenhagen and Denmark

Copenhagen…..and Denmark……what a place. A very full all day….and it was so impressive. Almost ready to move there…kind of place. Bikes galore…..industrious, super clean….and a lot to see. This is another 2 day minimum place…as there is so much to do and see. The city with its port and huge river and being on the ocean….is oriented around water…..and from the Little Mermaid to the magnificent Cathedral….this place is a must. We came within a few minutes of seeing the Queen off on her yacht….but did get to see the cars and the stuff getting getting ready for her trip. It is a major city, but very easy to walk around so we took the tour bus back to the ship then caught the shuttle back downtown to see the churches. More churches than any other European city we have ever seen….and wonderful organs, etc. It became a very hot day…so we were “bushed” when we got back to the ship. A wonderful city……must come back and spend more time….and we have some great stories to tell about the tour leader on the bus, etc…just a very enjoyable day.

Audy can tell you about getting back on ship….but a great day in a great city…we saw a lot in a short time.