Dates -- July 21-24, 2016
Cap 'n Baldy here!
This is Travelin' Day! Fueled with an ample breakfast and hyper-strong coffee, we merge onto the M1 Highway and head west ... toward Austria ...
This is Holger ... he's our bus driver ... not JUST a bus driver but a Grand Master Artist behind the wheel of the big red-and gray Volvo bus that stays with us throughout our tour ... he is able to maneuver this great vehicle in and out of unbelievably cramped spaces without mishap or scratch ...
Flag of the Republic of Austria ... we are not there yet!
Heading west on the M1, we pass through rolling Hungarian farmland reminiscent of Wisconsin or upper New York State...
Traffic jam caused by an accident eastbound on the M1 ... it reminds one of Los Angeles at rush hour, doesn't it?
Food fare at a Hungarian truck stop sure beats a 7/11 or AM/PM Store in California!
We get to know everyone on our tour! Several times a day, our group of 51 "counts off" to make sure every one is accounted for ... Barbara is Number 33 and I am Number 34! Look for the white ball cap ... that's Barbara...
Crossing into Austria is uneventful ... soon, we are in tidy Eisenstadt, home of the Esterhazy Palace ... two Bobs pose above (Bob Brislin and Bob Meyer) in the town's shopping street...we are all wearing our tour tee shirts! It's very warm and humid here today...
Pat and Lynn Sheffey enjoy ice cream in Eisenstadt ...here is one couple with class!
We tour the Esterhazy Palace, home of one of the Austro-Hungarian Empire's most influential families...Famous composer and conductor Franz Josef Haydn served here for many years ... we sing a couple of our songs in his famous Haydnsaal ... here, we are in the Private Chapel looking up at the window where the Princess Esterhazy could worship in private ...
Having a relic in your private chapel was Big Stuff hereabouts... it took an "in" with the Pope to make that happen ... here are the bones of some early famous Christian dude dressed up Elvis-style in gold ...
I grieve at having to shatter your illusions about Franz Josef Haydn, my beloveds...but...Haydn was a horndog! We hear it at Haydn's house from Haydn's wife (portrayed by a college-age Austrian girl) ... of course, the gracious lady does not use the term "horndog"... that term is uttered by our ex-Marine basso Jay Temple!
Yes sir, Mr. Haydn had numerous "protégés and acquaintances" in his vast musical world ... there are even reports of a number of illegitimate kids floating around. Haydn is reported to have been ultra-fastidious. He was never seen without his wig ... he received his first wig when he was 6 years old!
Franz Josef Haydn ... A Lady's Man ... to this day!!
Down the road a piece, we enter the Central Cemetery of Vienna where many famous musicians are buried ...
Whoa ... these Viennese folk knew how to commemorate one's transition to the Next Life in a big way ...
Remember this guy? The word is out that he was way too liberal for many folks hereabouts, especially those in the "upper crust",.. he entertained ideas about all folks being equal ... an unpopular idea!
Hotel NH Danube City, Wagramer Strasse 21, 1220 Vienna, Austria
We arrive at our Vienna home base for the next three nights ... NH Hotel Danube City ... a fine modern accommodation as was the case in Budapest ... BUT ... BEWARE OF ONE THING, my friends ... six feet in front of this fine hotel is one of Vienna's bikeways ... we must cross that bikeway to get to our bus ... the Viennese bikers do NOT slow down for crossing pedestrians... with determined expressions on their faces, they POWER ON through ... Jared has given us "a word to the wise" about this situation!
It's time for dinner and a good night's sleep! We've got a big day tomorrow!
Affectionately,
Baldy aka Bob
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