Our drive today was REALLY REALLY REALLY BEAUTIFUL but no pictures where taken. Lovely views of snow covered alps…..end up near the Venice Airport where we will be picking up Terri and Jason tomorrow and going into Venice for several days.
Once we got settled into our hotel we went out looking for a self serve laundry and found one! After an hour and half, we were back to the hotel putting ourselves together for our next big adventure – Venice!
Stuttgart to Innsbruck – on the road most of the day but only went 325 Km (201 miles). But it was a lovely drive through the southern Alps of Germany and into the Alps of Austria. Mostly an uneventful day – but lovely views. Our hotel in Innsbruck seems to be a jumping off point for hikers as there are special packages which include various treks in the nearby mountains.
Tomorrow is Venice – well, not really, but close. We are staying at a hotel near the airport so we can pick up Terri and Jason who will be joining us in Venice for a few days prior to their flight back to Virginia.
Not much has happened over the last couple of days – we have been waiting for TODAY. The planning for TODAY started way last November when we started thinking about a car for our time in Europe and decided it would be best to just buy one. Well, that lead us to look at the four basic car makers who have what is called Foreign Delivery programs: Volvo, Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz. We checked each of their programs, sat in a few different models and decided the Mercedes-Benz GLC-300 would be the car for us.
While we were in Virginia last December, for Christmas with our granddaughter and her parents (Jason our son and his wife Terri) we ventured out to a Mercedes-Benz dealer and put down a deposit for a new car for delivery in Stuttgart late September. When this is now late September.
We arrived at the delivery center only to find out there was a custom’s paperwork that hadn’t been completed. Nothing we could do about it so we were given a voucher for a beverage and tickets to a factory tour. The factory tour was about 2 hours and quite interesting. Having gone on a GM tour in about 1972, things have most certainly changed. Robots do 90% of everything – heavy lifting, welding, screwing, gluing – you name it and they can do it. The human touch only comes in for the fine detail work and finishing touches.
After the tour we were given another voucher for lunch – which was quite nice. After that, we were finally introduced to our new car. As we were going through all the particulars we soon realized it did not have European Maps in the navigation system. Well, another voucher for a dessert and beverage while the loaded the correct maps to the system and ultimately about 2 hours later we able to finish the introduction to the car and take off.
First stop was to the Mercedes-Benz Museum. Started in 1886, this organization has done an extrodinary amount of different things over the last hundred or so years. Cars, boats, motorcycles, airplanes, racing cars, buses you name it and they have had a hand in doing something one way or another.
Along with the various cars presented there was a general timeline listing important events happening around the world – interesting to see and learn about all of this from their (Mercedes-Benz) perspective.
After finding our way back to the hotel I turned the car over to them to put in the garage and we went out for a beer. All in all a very pleasant day.
Thursday – September 21st through Saturday the 23rd.
On Thursday, I stayed on board the boat today while Janeen headed out with the rest of the ship to Salamanca Spain. Sleeping in has its advantages and a restful day was great. After we moved the boat, to the dock of the village, I took myself for a walk. Well, the village of Barca de Alva is about 3 blocks long and maybe 2-blocks wide. I saw about 20 people in total and that included two people from the Boat also on a walking tour.
Not a hot spot of entertainment that’s for sure.
I did stop for a coffee and read my book for a while and then back to the boat. It was a nice relaxing day.
While I stayed on the boat, Janeen went with the rest of the ship to Salamanca. If you ignore the winding 2-hour road ride, the rest stop WC line, and a timetable, Salamanca, Spain is a fascinating city. The University, founded in the late 12th/early 13th century, was one of the most progressive of its day; allowing students to study writings of Moor, Jewish and Christian philosophers. The only thing they consistently agreed upon was the huge temptation for the students in the form of Woman (who is represented by the frog of lust, usually poised over a skull or skeleton). However, if one can find the Salamanca frog amongst the carvings and religious figures, it guarantees a return to the city. The two cathedrals, which share a wall, are unique examples of the Romanesque (simple) and Gothic (soaring and ornate) styles form 11th century to the Renaissance.
The “New” Cathedral (15th cent.) was delayed by massive death count of the bubonic plague, victims of which are buried in mass graves beneath the floor. Today, the city of Salamanca has mostly two sources of income, tourists and students. The University will celebrate its 800th year in 2018.
Friday and Saturday was a nothing day – mostly sailing along the Douro as we made our way back towards Porto. So, nothing really to report beyond the views from the boat.
We did enjoy our evening dinners in the private dining room with all our new found friends.
Saturday afternoon, after arriving in Porto, we head out on our own walking tour visiting around the Ribera area of old Porto, and ultimately stopping in at the Church of Saint Francisco.
After paying our admission price, we walked through the place and particularly enjoyed seeing the Jesse Tree.
The Tree of Jesse is a depiction of the ancestors of Christ, shown in a tree which rises from Jesse of Bethlehem, the father of King David and grows upward from there.
This carved wood piece is quite tall with 12 kings of Judah connected through branches of the tree to the recumbent body of Jesse. On top of the tree is Joseph, under an image of the Virgin and the Child. This was made in the early 1700’s and still looks quite good.
After walking through the church, we headed outside and tried to connect with Janeen’s friend Cherlyne and her husband David. They were in Porto at the same time as us but on a tour with Tauck. After texting several times back and forth we found out they were on a ‘break’ on the other side of the Douro River so we rushed back over the river and found them! It was neat to connect, if only for a few minutes, with them – Cherlyne is a OLD high school friend of Janeen who she sees infrequently as they live in eastern Oregon.
After our ‘quick’ visit we got back on the boat and finished packing for our departure the next day.
OK – it’s Wednesday, I think, and we are off to Quinta do Seixo for a tour and tasting. What a surprise, they make Port! Actually they make a number of wines not the least of which is Port. This Quinta is actually the home of Sandeman – a “most renowned wine estate”.
A large wine consortium that also owns, what a coincidence also owns Mateus where we were yesterday owns this. Sandeman was established in 1790 and has been producing port wine ever since. The logo is meant to make you think of the student robs in the University we visited a few days ago and the hat is a reference to Spain as they also have produced sherry from that part of the world.
The tour was interesting – seems they make a lot of wine – but nothing out of the ordinary having been on any number of wine tours over the years. However, the fermentation area and the crushing system was interesting. They still crush the fruit in open tanks – in this case made of granite and highlight polished on the inside but they use a mechanical “stomper” as seen in the photo.
We tasted a couple of wines both of which were enjoyable – a medium dry white Port and a Ruby Port.
After tasting we re-boarded the bus and headed to lunch at Quinta da Avessada.
This Quinta is part of a consortium that produces Moscatel and we had a traditional lunch to go with it.
All very nice but I didn’t take pictures of the food, sorry. We headed back to the boat and where able to see lots of terraces vineyard along the road. All in all an interesting day. One side note, this trip does not want for wine and food – there is PLUNTY of both!