Melking it

The sun peeked through the curtains this morning, urging us out of bed for a day of exploration along the Danube River. 

Our boat glided gently through the picturesque Wachau Valley, the mist clinging to the vineyards that terraced the rolling hills. After a hearty breakfast, we joined our fellow travellers for a fascinating excursion to Melk Abbey. (Jane was unwell and wasn't able to join us, today).

Founded in 1089 by Benedictine monks, Melk Abbey is a crowning jewel of Baroque architecture, having been extensively rebuilt in the early 1700s.

Our group was divided in two, each led on a captivating tour through the abbey's opulent Imperial Wing, now a museum showcasing its rich history. 

The Imperial Wing was where royalty would stay, when in Melk. It boasts a corridor over 600 feet long with guest room all along it. When the Empress Marie Therese would visit, her entourage would comprise over 200 people - hence the extensive accommodation.

The highlight for many was undoubtedly the library. Here, over 100,000 books and manuscripts whispered tales of the past, some dating back to the 13th century. This is the second library for the abbey as the first burnt down in 1297. (There was a second fire more recently, in 1974. This fire caused significant damage to the interior and artworks of the library, necessitating a lengthy restoration project, which is still underway).

Our guide, Sylvia, expertly navigated us through the halls, her knowledge and engaging delivery bringing the abbey's history to life. Though the abbey peaked at about 100 monks, and at the time of the reformation dropped to 2, it is now home to 22 monks and a public school for some 850 students.

(Note that photography was not permitted inside the building, so this picture of the library was taken from a postcard0.

Following the tour, we found ourselves in the awe-inspiring abbey church. This architectural masterpiece embodied the grandeur of the Ecclesiastical Baroque style, leaving us speechless (and, unfortunately, witnessing a few flashes despite the "No Photography" signs. Again, my picture is taken from a postcard). 

A refreshing Weissbier on the terrace with its breathtaking views provided a welcome respite. We then enjoyed a brisk stroll through the beautiful gardens before reluctantly rejoining the bus.

Melk Abbey was stunning. I would recommend it to anyone touring in this part of Austria.

Back on board, a light lunch fueled us for the return journey through the Wachau Valley. As we retraced our route, the sun beat down on the deck, occasionally punctuated by refreshing gusts of wind. Despite the contrasting elements, the afternoon unfolded beautifully.

The charming villages dotting the Danube's banks were a photographer's dream, and I couldn't resist capturing countless photos of the passing countryside. Jane came up on deck for the last 30 minutes, feeling a bit better, at last.

We docked at Krems at about 17:00. There is an excursion this evening but we have chosen not to participate. We met up with Jane and Trevor and were joined by Carol and Ian for dinner before retiring to the lounge for an hour or so to talk while listening to a traditional Oompah Band.

Oh Vienna

I was awake early, very early. I forced myself to stay in bed rather than risk waking Di. We met up with Jane and Trevor in the Panorama Restaurant for breakfast and made sure we ate well so that we wouldn’t need to stop for lunch. After breakfast, we joined the rest of the passengers for an introductory briefing in the lounge. This was (surprisingly) quite interesting. One impressive gizmo that we all have in our cabins is the QuietVox device. This allows you to read an interactive map by zapping icons on the map; provides a commentary as the ship sails along the river by linking to the GPS to inform you what can be seen at that point; and it provides a link to your guides as they escort you around the various destinations.

We had the rest of the morning to ourselves so the four of us headed across to the Jubilee Church of Assisi. It is the church we can see from the boat so it only took about 5 minutes to get there. It was stunning with buttresses, towers, and domes all seemingly intersecting and creating fascinating rooflines. We made our way around the building and then entered through a side door. It was a large church with a simple but inspiring interior. We spent quite a long time wandering around before we managed to drag ourselves away.

From the church, we crossed the Danube to the island. This island is a green space with walkways and cycle tracks, picnic areas and playgrounds. It stretches for 21km and is used extensively by the Viennese. 

After a walk, we returned across the bridge and settled down on the top deck of our boat. We grabbed a sandwich at lunchtime and then joined up with our respective groups for our tour of Vienna.

The first part of the tour was by bus. We wound our way through the city with a guide pointing out all of the places of note. When we arrived at the historic heart of the city, we left the buses and were split into smaller groups for a walking tour with a guide who spoke to us through the QuietVox. This worked really well and seemed to manage quite a range. We headed up towards St Stephen’s Cathedral with all of the sites of note pointed out on the way. Somewhere along the route, I managed to drop my sweater and though I went back to look for it, it had gone. Doh!

Vienna is beautiful. There is no doubt about it. It is also immensely photogenic.

We made our way back to the pickup point independently of the group. Diane wanted to stop at the Gelateria which was reputedly the best in the city. This posed a problem. The menu was all in German and with the exception of vanilla and banana, everything else was hidden behind German words which I didn’t recognise. This isn’t good enough. They seem to have their own words for most things, you’d think they didn’t speak English!

Back on the boat, we had a quick drink in our room while getting ready for the evening reception. The reception was very similar to the introductory meeting we had last night. The Cruise Director introduced the Captain and he introduced the heads of department, then we had a briefing on tomorrow's excursions. We sat with Jane and Trevor and a couple, Carol and Ian, we had met at the airport. They seem to be positive, funny, charming folk and have just slotted into our group.

After dinner (Caesar Salad then Salmon, if you must know) we wrapped up and headed to the top deck to watch as the boat threw the shackles of Quay Number 4, and manoeuvred out into the Danube. We watched as the lights of Vienna slipped by and we slipped under its bridges to make our overnight escape towards Melk.

Grand Tour

 Like the gentry of old, we have embarked on our Grand Tour. We had an early start so that we could be ready for the driver to collect us. The doorbell rang and as I opened it, I did a double-take. I looked at the driver and he looked at me. "Are you...?" we both spluttered. The driver turned out to be Steve, who is married to Gillian, Pete's sister. We loaded the carriage and set off for Heathrow, chatting about our families the whole way. It was a convoluted route chosen by the SatNav, but the drivers are not permitted to deviate from the route selected by the magic box.

We arrived soon after 10:00 and whistled through the check-in and security procedures before making our way to one of the lounges to await our flight. We suffered the usual inconvenience of being bussed to the aircraft and then settled down in our seats for the flight to Vienna. We hit some serious potholes as the plane climbed out of Heathrow, but most of the journey was fine (though the seats were dreadfully uncomfortable). At Vienna, we were met by the SAGA rep and taken to our transfer coach... where we waited and waited while two stragglers were eventually herded onto the coach and we set off through the rush hour traffic. We were dropped by the gangplank of our our home for the next week, boarded, and were shown to our cabin.

We are sailing on The Spirit of the Danube, which is only 2 years old. It is quite delightful and very long! It has 95 cabins and a crew of 48. We dropped our stuff in the cabin and headed back to the bar to settle down with a cold beer with Jane and Trevor. We sat and chatted until it was time to go for dinner.

Dinner was excellent with a coconut prawn cake to start and a wonderful pork tenderloin for the main dish. We followed this with a Rum Baba. The wine waiter kept our glasses topped up throughout the meal. 

Finishing dinner, it seemed like time for a walk. We met up by reception and disembarked to walk along the dock passing all of the river cruise boats lined up for the night or awaiting their passengers. 

We turned back and headed towards our boat. The Cathedral was floodlit and shimmered across the road from the dock.

FInally, we returned to the boat and explored the top deck before retiring for the night.

It has been a good first day, though the travel consumed most of it.

Great News

 Ellie must have been tired. We were both up and about before she emerged - though she was in a great mood when she did. After breakfast and her ablutions, she sat down to practise her times tables. We dropped her at school and then Diane returned to perform and report her INR test and I settled down for some admin.

The phone rang. It was Kim. She had finished her interview with Portsmouth University regarding a place on a course in the next academic year. After about 20 minutes they decided to call the process to a halt and offered her the place then and there. This was great news and we are absolutely delighted for her.

I switched my focus to packing. All the relevant clothes were laid out on the bed, reassessed and in some cases rejected, then folded and stowed in my suitcase. Diane went through a similar process this afternoon. We are just about set. Our driver has phoned to confirm our pickup time in the morning. It's getting exciting.

I collected Ellie from school and she stayed with us until Zoe came for her. Zoe also had good news today. The stock take for the store, performed yesterday, came well within target.

Afternoon tea

 The rain beat down against the front of the house all night. It had stopped by the time I went downstairs, but it remained very wet for a few hours. We had a few quiet hours during the morning as I started to gather plugs, adapters, and chargers that might be needed when we are away. At midday, Diane headed off to Chichester to collect Kim. They were meeting with Denise, Emma, and Becky for "Afternoon Tea" at Goodwood House.

I grabbed my AirPods and jacket and headed off for a walk. I stayed in the general neighbourhood but explored some streets I hadn't previously been down. I was out for about 90 minutes and realised that I had been so engrossed in my book that I couldn't remember the route I took to get home.

I spent the afternoon with a Kindle book and then prepared a chicken casserole for dinner. This was big enough to cover this evening's and tomorrow's dinner. Ellie is with us overnight as Zoe has a stock take tonight.

Tomorrow I must focus on packing.

Spa Break

I was awake early, much earlier than was necessary. Rather than disturb Diane, I snuck downstairs, made a coffee, and started on the day's news. It was another hour before I heard Diane moving about. Once we had settled into our morning routine, I headed to my study for the weekly Zoom call with the cousins. We had Dominic on the call today. He is currently stationed on an Australian Fleet Auxiliary vessel in Sydney Habour.

Once the call was over, we had some preparation for Jasper's Sap Break. We got everything ready and grabbed him. He was deposited in the carrier and we drove him to the cattery. He wasn't as vociferous as usual but still had plenty to say as we made our way to Sidlesham. Mark, as usual, greeted him (and us) with open arms. Jasper was settled in no time and we headed home. 

We've had a quiet afternoon with Diane pottering in the garden for a while and I finished off a couple more books (that's 50 completed this year - with 2 more on the go).

We have a quiet evening planned.

Excited

 While it wasn't sunny, it was at least warmer this morning when I went to collect Ellie. She was quite excited. They had been asked to bring their dancing gear so that they could perform in front of the school at the Assembly

Once home, I had breakfast and prepared for a busy morning. Well, I expected it to be busy but it turned out to be fairly relaxed. We have the heating engineer coming to sort out (i.e. replace) the boiler and heating controls. He is due to start the day after we return from a short break so I needed to clear stuff out of the way for him so that he could work safely. I expected this to take an hour or two but had finished in about 45 minutes.

After some admin, I set out for a walk. I took a slightly different route to encompass a new development. I had watched these houses going up but had never really explored the site. I must say that there were some very nice homes on the development.

Di had spent the latter part of the morning adjusting a jumpsuit for Ellie. I provided cups of tea regularly before stopping for lunch and retiring to the Orangery with my latest book. When Di had finished and grabbed lunch, she too joined me with her Kindle.

Lorraine was collecting Ellie from school so that she could enjoy a playdate with Maddie. We just had to get her back here in time for Pete to collect her for the weekend.

Not much to report

 It was a quiet start. Ellie slept through until 7:45. This gave us a quiet hour before the usual morning tornado emerged. We dropped Ellie at school and then headed home for breakfast.

Diane had an appointment at the hairdresser, so she headed off to Felpham and I stayed put to start the admin. I then got distracted thinking about Kim. She said she was having laptop troubles and she would need a new machine if she is accepted on her new University course. I started to research possible solutions and that is how I lost an hour or two.

When Diane got back from the hairdresser, we headed to Sainsbury's. While there, we bumped into Zoe who was walking the store and talking with various members of staff.

Ellie was signed up for "Craft Club" which would take place after school. This meant that we had an extra 45 minutes of reading before collecting Ellie. She wasn't with us for long as Zoe finished soon after 16:00.

Dance

 Today's theme is "Dance". 

It was a grey and chilly start to the day but when I went to collect Ellie for school, she was very excited. Today was the dance show that she had been practising for weeks. She had her dance gear stowed in her backpack and her packed dinner in a separate handbag. The group would leave school after lunch and head for Worthing where they would have a couple of run-throughs, eat their packed dinner, and await the show.

Diane didn't go to Pilates. She had a poor night so she wasn't feeling the vibe. We had a fairly quiet morning pottering around the house and I grabbed time for a walk.

After our usual time with our books, Di got ready for her evening and I got ready for Ellie's show (though I avoided glittery shoes, a leotard, and rhinestones). We were heading in opposite directions. Diane was collecting Kim and then heading to Southsea to see Giovani Pernice - tickets that were booked many months before Ellie's show was announced. Zoe and I were heading for Worthing to watch "Dance House". This seems to be an annual celebration of dance for schools and colleges. Having parked the car we strolled along the prom towards the pier and its Pavillion Theatre.

We arrived in plenty of time and managed to sit down for a drink before heading for the auditorium. The show comprised dance routines which had been put together by each of the 14 participating schools. Each routine lasted about 5 minutes - a few were excellent, most were pretty good, and a few were dreadful. Even though the age range was from about 6 to 17, the age seemed to have little influence on the quality of dance. Ellie's school's routine was 2nd on the schedule and was very good, getting an excellent response from the audience. We then had to sit through all of the rest. It was 21:10 before it all finished. We headed back to the car with Ellie clutching her dance medal.

Because it was so late, I suggested she sleep at our house tonight there than have to get up early to be dropped off here at 7:00 in the morning. This was accepted as a good idea and she was tucked up in bed soon after 22:15. It was another 30 minutes or so before Diane arrived home, having thoroughly enjoyed her show. We spent a while catching up with each other's evening and then hit the sack.

Early start

 It was an early start as Ellie was dropped off soon after 07:00. She had only just woken up and was wrapped in a warm onesie. She burst into the house, shed her shoes, and charged upstairs to see Nana. I sheltered in the kitchen and prepared her breakfast while making tea for Diane and a coffee for me. Ninety minutes later we dropped her off at school and headed home for our own breakfast.

Di had a phone call scheduled with her friend Marilyn. I took the opportunity to go out for a walk. I headed around the development and then down North Bersted Street towards Shripney.  I was stymied by the flooding though. I could get almost as far as the bypass, but the stretch of path leading to the crossing was still underwater. I turned around and headed back.

Arriving home, I bumped into Ian, from next door. They had just returned from a long weekend in Sidmouth and thoroughly enjoyed themselves. He commented that he wished they were still down there. (we understand the sentiment).

We had our usual "Kindle hour" after lunch and then went to collect Ellie from school. She wasn't here for long as Zoe finished soon after four this afternoon.

Chilly

 There was a chilly breeze today and when I went to walk Ellie to school it felt quite damp. Having said that, we didn't get any rain until late in the afternoon. Ellie appeared tired and a little under the weather but by the time I collected her from school she was her usual mischievous self.

Diane went out for the day, meeting with Kathie at West Dean Gardens. She had a really good time and completed over 13000 steps - which she couldn't have done this time last year.

I went out for a walk during the morning and stopped off at the barber shop while out. The route just took me around the neighbourhood but, with my audiobook playing in my ears, I wasn't worried by the lack of landscape.

Back home, I completed some admin and then returned to a Kindle book (I usually have one Kindle and one audiobook on the go at the same time). As the time approached to collect Ellie, I set off for another walk with the aim of arriving at school as the gates opened. This worked out pretty well, though I arrived a little earlier than I had planned.

Diane arrived home just before 17:00 and we all settled down to dinner. With dinner over, Darren has just come to collect Ellie and take her home.

Surface

 We had a very lazy start to the day. There was nothing of note. Diane did, however, have a telephone call planned with Jan. This meant that a) she needed to be prepared, and b) I would have an hour or two of relative quiet. Well, that's what I thought. As it happened Zoe called to ask if Ellie could stay with us while she and Darren went to the garden centre. I, of course, said that would be fine and Ellie was duly dropped off to look after Grandpa while Nana was on the phone.

It became clear that her Microsoft Surface (Windows 10) was not behaving as designed. The keyboard was not working at all, and the touch screen gave us the cold shoulder. I left her to play with various bits and pieces while looking for suitable replacements for the Surface. Zoe suspected that it was a charging issue and took it home to recharge. I am less than convinced. We'll see once it has been fully charged. I may have to replace the device.

The afternoon was spent with our books in the Orangery.

The doorbell rang. It was Ellie and her friend Neve. They had baked us a chocolate brownie each, covered with "sprinkles". They looked delicicious and I can confirm that they tasted delicious as well. Now, I just need to teach Ellie how to make a good curry!

Stream

The day started with the mandatory coffee and a bowl of porridge. The Zoom call with the cousins was next on the agenda and was blessed by Sonia and Mel joining the call from Adelaide where they are staying with Rolly. We had the usual cheerful banter and we were all embarrassed (if not surprised) to hear that Tim had attended a rally with Keir Starmer and loony left stormtroopers during the week.

Soon after the call Zoe called in to collect Diane. They were off to the shops in Bognor to exchange some school shoes for Ellie. 

I took the opportunity to head out for a short walk. I wandered around the lake (see picture), up Berry Lane and then down the old road between Bersted and Shripney to see if the flooding had subsided sufficiently to walk the Shripney loop. I could get a lot further than the last time I looked, but there were still sections that were underwater.

Back home I completed some admin (have I said that we have a date for the replacement of the boiler and controls?) and got on with a few chores.

You won't be surprised to hear that the afternoon was spent with our books in the Orangery.

Normal TV (i.e. the terrestrial channels and main satellite channels) is dreadful on Saturdays so we usually watch something we have recorded or find something we can stream. This evening we found a series called "Unforgotten" with the brilliant Nicola Walker as a detective. We binged on the whole six episodes of series 1 and had an excellent evening as a result.

Feeling Tyred

 For the first time in several weeks, I had my alarm set. We we expecting Ellie to be dropped off soon after 07:00. She bounced in and demolished the breakfast I had prepared before going up to wash and get dressed for school. We walked her to the classroom door and left her as she ran into her form room.

Once home, I had some breakfast and read the news while Diane headed off to the Cardiac Rehab session at the Community Centre. When she got home I updated her on the admin (I had accepted the quote for the complete switch of our existing boiler and all of the thermostatic controllers. This is scheduled to start in May). I then headed off to get the front tyres on the Skoda replaced.

While the mechanics were working on the tyres, I took the opportunity to go for a walk and listen to more of my book. The tyre change took about 40 minutes and it was nice to drive home knowing they wouldn't need replacing for another 4-5 years.

After a bite to eat, we settled in the Orangery. I read (and finished) my current book, and Di did some sewing. Just as it was time to go and collect Ellie, the heavens opened and we had a real downpour. I convinced Di to stay put, and I collected Ellie by myself. Once home, she started on some homework until Zoe came to collect her.