Series: 2024 Europe

Lisbon, Portugal

Tuesday, 3 September – Thursday, 5 September

We left Brisbane International Airport at 0155 after having dinner with Ben who kindly dropped us at the airport. We were both tired by the time we boarded but waited until after the meal service to get some sleep (about 4 hours for me).

We landed in Dubai at 0930 local time (1530 in Brisbane). 5 hour wait for our connecting flight to Lisbon where we arrived at 2130. That was 32 hours after we arrived at the airport.

On Wednesday we bought a Lisbon Card and then caught the bus to the Monastery of Jeronomis. Long queues so we decided to move onto the Maritime Museum. Wonderful museum with lots of the history of the golden years of Portuguese exploring. Vasco de Gama is the most famous of these explorers having been the first to discover the sea route to India.

Next stop was the Belem Tower on the Tagus River. Built to shore up the defences of Lisbon, it later served as a prison and now a popular tourist attraction – so popular we couldn’t climb the tower.

Back to the Monastery of Jeronimos to admire the cloisters and the church.

Day 2 began with 2 metro rides to the Lisbon Oceanarium (advertised as best in the world!)

After this it was back to town to visit the Lisbon Story display. An interesting presentation on the 1755 earthquake that destroyed most of Lisbon.

Next was a walk around the old parts of town using a Rick Steves Audio tour.

Our last morning in Lisbon we caught the famous 28 Tram through the narrow streets. Close calls aplenty and stopped at one point by a car parked on the track.

Next was to catch the metro to the train station for a 3 hour trip to Porto!

6, 7 September and 15, 16 September 2024

On Friday afternoon, we caught the train to Porto from Lisbon. About 3 hours and a very smooth trip.

Then a bus to the Hotel Porto Trindade. Next morning, we did some washing before we settled in to watch the Lions play Carlton in an elimination final. With a 60 – 0 lead at one point there were some nervous moments before we came out winners 99 – 71.

In the afternoon, we had a bike fitting with Sergio of Top Bike Tours Portugal (https://topbiketoursportugal.com/) so we are ready for the start of our Camino tomorrow.

After this we were met at the hotel by Johann who took our group on a great walking tour of the old town.

After the tour we went to a bar with new Kiwi friends Mark and Dianne.

After this it was time for a tour of one of the port houses and a tasting of their ports.

Dinner on the riverbank was a great end to the day.

We returned to Porto a week later via a BlaBlaCar bus. Conditions could not have been more different. Hot, windy and lots of smoke from nearby bushfires. I’m glad this was not our first look at this beautiful city.

8, 9 September 2024

Day 1 – Porto to Esposende – 64 kms

Our group loaded our bags on the bus and walked to Top Bike Tours Portugal’s shop to pick up our Scott e-bikes and start our tour. Our guide Sergio led us to the start of the Camino at the Porto Cathedral.

We were led out of town by guide Sergio who negotiated the weekend crowds well. We were met at various points along the way by Telmo, who was driving the van today. He made sure we had plenty of water, fruit and snacks.

First stop was at the beach were the locals were enjoying the beautiful weather.

Telmo said this was a popular beach to learn to surf.

We continued to ride along the foreshore. Lots of cobblestones and boardwalks didn’t make for the most comfortable ride but this was made up by the beautiful scenery.

We had to overcome one obstacle when the boardwalk suddenly disappeared.

We stopped to visit a replica of a Portuguese Caravel

and then had a short ride through the bush where Geoff got a flat tyre. It gave us all a chance to admire the remains of the Roman road next to the “newer” cobbles

Tube expertly changed by Sergio and we were soon on our way to finish at the seaside town of Esposende after 64 kms.

Dinner was at a traditional Portuguese seafood restaurant.

Day 2 – Esposende to Caminha – 51kms

Today started with another flat tyre – to Geoff again!

Another beautiful day. Early sea fog burnt off to blue skies again.

There was more riding through bush which our bottoms appreciated.

Lunch was at the lovely old town to Viana do Castelo. It was decorated for an upcoming festival and we enjoyed tasty pastries from a cafe. Food in Portugal is incredibly cheap.

Headwind after lunch made me glad for the e-bike.

Caminha is situated on the Minho River which forms the northern border of Portugal with Spain.

10, 11 September 2024

Day 3 – Caminha to Baiona – 39 kms

We started the day by riding a short distance to a very small boat that was going to carry us across the Minho river into Spain. 6 riders and 6 bikes per trip. Did I mention it was a small boat?

Half way across we came to a stop. Some concern from the skipper and all caught on camera by Peter, former US Coastguard skipper.

After moving our watches forward an hour, we started cycling to Baiona. More cycling along the coast some on bikeways, some on the road.

We eventually arrived in Baiona where there is a replica of the Pinta, one of the 3 ships in Christopher Columbus‘s fleet.

The Pinta returned to Baiona in 1493 making the port the first to hear of the discovery of America. We spent the night in a castle – a first for us.

Day 4 – Baiona to Pontevedra – 65 kms

Today we were warned that we would do some climbing, but first we rode beside the bay on a mix of bikeways and quiet roads.

We had a morning tea stop in Vigo an old city with a large car free square.

After leaving Vigo we had our first big climb and then followed the path for some beautiful views over Vigo Bay for 9 kms.

There was a steep downhill, then we rode into Redondela for lunch.

After lunch we had some nice riding through forests which kept us cool. There was one last climb of 3 kms towards the end of the day before we arrived at our equally impressive accomodation in the Baron’s Casa.

We finished the day with a walk around Pontevedra with a local guide.

12 – 15 September 2024

Day 5 – Pontevedra to Caldas dos Reis – 26 kms

This was a short day but busier on the trail with lots of walkers. With rocks, tree roots and the walkers to negotiate it was testing but beautiful riding.

Our first surprise was a snack stop in the forest at a waterfall.

Next stop was at a small hot spring pool in the town of Caldas dos Reis.

Then it was time for a special tapas lunch in town with our group. Lots of local food, lots of wine and lots of laughs.

Then after a short ride out of town (mostly uphill of course), we arrived at our very special accomodation Torre do Rio. A spectacular house perched on a hill between 2 streams, one stream fed directly into the pool!

Day 6 – Caldas dos Reis to Santiago de Compostela – 46 kms

Our final day saw us riding through vineyards, forests and some roads. Lots of walkers all glad to be nearing their final destination, the cathedral in Santiago de Compostela. We had 2 stops, coffee and then a stop at the Santiago church in Padron. Under the altar there is a large stone that legend says the boat carrying the body of St James was tied to on its journey to Santiago de Compostela.

We were getting close now so stopped to add a stone to the last marker.

Not long after we finished in the square in front of the cathedral at 1400.

A few photos and then we were off to get proof of our adventure, our certificates. At the start of our ride we were given passports that are stamped at places along the way. These are checked before the certificate is issued.

After eventually finding our hotel, we showered and went for a guided walk and then to the Pilgrims Museum which we enjoyed.

Friends Mary Beth and Rich had invited us to join them at the Pilgrims Mass that evening before dinner. We were very privileged to share their reserved front row seats.

The mass is in Latin so hard to follow however the highlight was the Botafumeiro.

The Botafumeiro (“censer”) is one of the most famous and popular symbols of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. It hangs by means of a system of pulleys from the main dome of the Cathedral and swings toward the side naves where we were seated. It takes eight men to move it, who are known as “tiraboleiros”.

It weighs 53 kg and measures 1.50 metres; it hangs from a height of 20 metres and can reach speeds of over 65 km/hr.

We finished our day with an excellent final dinner with our group.

Sergio surprised us with a video he had compiled over the week. Warning: it is about 30 minutes long!

We can certainly recommend Top Bike Tours Portugal if you would like to ride the Camino or one of their other tours!

https://topbiketoursportugal.com/

Our final day in Santiago de Compostela was spent doing laundry so we are ready for the next adventure and watching the mighty Lions come back from 44 points down to win their semi-final against GWS!

16 to 21 September, 2024

After finishing the Camino, we caught the bus back to Porto where we had a free day. Unfortunately smoke from local bushfires made it quite unpleasant there so we had a quiet day. Tuesday we were catching an early flight to Amsterdam, where we had a 4 hour stopover before the next flight to Budapest. After arising at 0445, we were very tired when we finally got off the plane in Budapest late in the afternoon.

Unfortunately, my bag didn’t make the trip with me! After logging details with KLM, we caught a bus to our hotel (free for over 65s) with hopes that my bag would appear later that night.

The next morning we were up early and went for a walk to check the level of the Danube. While we had been having glorious weather in Portugal and Spain, Germany and Austria had torrential rain from a low pressure system that caused serious flooding of the Danube and other rivers.

The waters were over the lower roadways and no river boats could fit under the bridges or handle the current.

The ship we were due to board today, Avalon Imagery II, was safely docked near Linz, 400 kms away. Avalon had contacted us several days ago to explain our cruise had to be modified. They were going to put us up for 2 nights in Budapest and 2 nights in Vienna where we would do our tours as planned.

We walked to our new hotel, resisting the urge to visit the Cats Museum, and settled in (still no sign of my bag btw so a quick trip to the shops to buy a couple of tops).

That night we were briefed by Tour Director Ingrid of their plans until we joined our ship on Sunday. On Thursday, we boarded a bus to visit the Buda side of the Danube. Luckily my bag had arrived late the night before.

The Fisherman’s Bastion overlooks the Danube here. Rich people lived on the hill so the fisherman bought their catch here to sell.

Our tour finished at the Budapest botanical gardens where we sampled a favourite Hungarian street food – chimney cake.

Unfortunately by the afternoon I was very unwell with a gastric bug so skipped dinner to try to sleep it off. I was a bit better in the morning luckily as we boarded the bus to Bratislava.

We had a guided walk of the old town which was pretty but I still wasn’t 100% so sat in a square in the sun until it was time to go back to the bus.

We arrived in Vienna late on Friday and settled into the Hilton. Getting on and off buses was not what we had planned but Avalon made the best of a bad situation. Saturday morning we skipped the city tour to watch the preliminary final. Another come from behind win for the Lions over Geelong to put us into the Grand Final!

Warren had a cold so didn’t join me for a walk around town in the afternoon listening to a Rick Steves Audio Tour.

After dinner I joined others on board to see a concert while Warren decided on an early night. It was an entertaining mix of classical music, dance and comedy.

We were excited to hear we would be joining our boat on Sunday at Krems.

Sunday, 22 September to Tuesday, 24 September 2024

Melk, Passau and Regensberg

Sunday morning we boarded a bus in Vienna to drive to Krems where we were meeting our ship, the Avalon Imagery II. It was one of only 2 river ships that had negotiated the Danube that far downstream.

We arrived in time for lunch and a cruise up the Danube to Melk, site of a beautiful Benedictine abbey. Founded in 1089, today’s baroque abbey was built in the early 18th century.

There was evidence of quite high flooding here in Melk although the authorities have worked hard to open the river, roads and bikeways.

After arriving back on board, we departed for an overnight passage to Passau.

In Passau, we had arranged to meet friends Scott and Helen who were cycling across France, Germany and Austria. Luckily after the changes to our plans due to the flooding, we were back on track and spent a great couple of hours catching up on each others travels.

After our short stop in Passau we were off for another overnight sail to Regensberg.

On arriving in Regensberg we set off for our first bike ride with adventure host Elena.

We were pleased to discover we were going to Walhalla. This is a monument to distinguished Germans – politicians, sovereigns, scientists and artists.

I think we both earned our dinner that evening.

25, 26 September 2024

On Wednesday morning while cruising down the Main Danube Canal we listened to a very interesting presentation about the construction of this canal which links the North Sea with the Black Sea. Completed in 1992 it is 171 kms long and allows cruise ships such as ours to cross the European watershed.

In the afternoon we headed off for a tour of the Nuremberg rally grounds. We had an excellent guide who explained how Hitler had grand plans for 11 sq km of buildings and grounds to hold his party congresses and speak to the party. She said it took until the 1960s before Germans started to address the past and the rally grounds serve as a memorial to the victims of Nazi repression.

Before wandering the city itself we saw the courthouse where the Nuremberg trials were held. Nuremberg was chosen as it was the only town with a large enough courthouse still standing with a jail next door.

After another overnight sail, we awoke Thursday in Bamberg, where the canal joins the Main river. A city walk allowed us to admire this UNESCO heritage site with its many beautiful old buildings and houses.

After lunch Warren listened to another talk, this time about the formation of the European Union before we both tried our hand, unsuccessfully, at a Cornhole tournament. Some of the Americans on board play this game regularly and won the competition.

27 – 29 September 2024

We decided to skip the city tour in Volkach and instead cycle through the German countryside.

Our guide Elena led 9 of us along the river, beside green vineyards to the very pretty town of Sommerach.

All of these towns are so well maintained, with flower beds and trimmed trees.

On our return to Volkach we headed into town to buy some streamers to decorate the back lounge area in Lions colours for the Grand Final. We had arranged with the Captain to use this area at 0630 tomorrow for the big game.

Our early rising was rewarded with a 120 to 60 win to the Lions. We grabbed a couple of bottles of bubbles from the breakfast and all toasted the great win. We had a quick walk around Wurzburg afterwards before boarding the ship which began an overnight sail to Miltenberg.

We skipped the town tour and decided on a hike in the forest above the town. It was a cold morning but lovely to be out in nature.

Afterwards we wandered around the old medieval town with houses from the 13th and 15th centuries. As it was Sunday, shops were closed and the streets very quiet.

At noon the ship started sailing again, with a violinist providing entertainment as we cruised along the Main which was soon to join the Rhine River for the final leg of our river cruise.

30 September to 2 October, 2024

We awoke this morning to find ourselves in Rudesheim, a picturesque town on the Rhine River. We had visited here in 2015, so decided to skip the visit to the Mechanical Musical Instrument museum and instead hike up through the vineyards to the Niederwald Monument. It was overcast and 6 degrees but the steep track up to the monument soon warmed us up.

Once we got our breath back at the top of the path, we had a chance to take in the massive Niederwald Monument. It was completed in 1883 to commemorate the unification of Germany in 1871.

After lunch on board, we cruised down the dramatic Rhine Gorge. Unfortunately, it was drizzling and low cloud so photos do not do justice to the many castles, vineyards and villages we passed.

After dinner on board at Engers we walked a few hundred meters to Schloss Engers where we were treated to a classical concert by 2 talented young musicians from the Villa Musica that is located here.

While we were sleeping, the Captain and crew sailed down the Rhine so that we awoke in Cologne. Rain didn’t dampen the spirits as our enthusiastic young guide showed us some of the highlights of his hometown. The twin towered Gothic Cathedral is a well recognised landmark of the city.

Our guide told us an interesting story about the town hall clock with a face beneath and a constituent who lived opposite who didn’t like the mayor. Not sure if it is true but we waited for the hour and were somewhat underwhelmed with the tongue poking out.

After lunch we set sail again on the final leg of our trip down the Danube, Main Canal, Main and Rhine rivers. Here is the menu for the Gala Dinner that was served that evening.

We awoke to find ourselves in Amsterdam. After breakfast we all loaded into canal boats to view the city from the water.

We left the cruise at the Gassan Diamond Factory. No purchases for us but we enjoyed a walking tour back to the boat with a local guide.

After lunch we decided to visit the nearby Maritime Museum. The museum is housed in a former naval storehouse built in 1656.

Moored outside the museum is a replica of the Amsterdam, an 18th-century ship which sailed between the Netherlands and the East Indies.

This was our last night onboard the Avalon Imagery II. The next day, we were catching the train to Leuven in Belgium.