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Bob and Marian near the gangplank of the River Cloud. Marian was the art lecturer on the trip. We also had a superb pianist,
Mordecai Shehori, who gave four concerts on the boat.
Year 2001 Itinerary: Aug 9-- Fly KLM NY to AMSTERDAM. Aug 10-- Grand Hotel Demeure. Secluded, old-worldly, just off one of
the canals. However, drug paraphenalia discarded on the street along the canal. Aug 11 __ Van Gogh Museum. A flock of masterpieces.
Drive to ARNHEIM to board River Cloud. We got a good stateroom with two round portholes to the outside world. Pianist Mordecai
Shehori plays Mozart and Beethoven. Mordecai one of the most humerous people I have ever met. Told endless scandalous stories
about the great artists in the music world. Aug 12 -- COLOGNE. German Museum of Roman antiquities including a recently discovered
fresco in the basement of the museum. Ludwig Museum, German expressionists. Set sail. Aug 13 __ KOBLENZ. Picturesque castle
Burg Eltz in mountains. Met by the grandson of the current count. It's a fairy tale castle owned by the same family since
the 15th century. There was one unique feature: the furniture and other furnishings are original, not copies. Lunch at the
Schleinitz Vineyard. Plenty of hearty food and white wine. Rejoin River Cloud in BOPPARD. Marian's first lecture. Aug 14 --
Marian's second lecture. MILTENBURG, AMORBACH. Abbey and Church of St Maria. Organ recital in the baroque church. Aug 15 __
WURZBURG. The Residenz of the Prince-Bishops. Wonderful baroque palace and staircase. The Tiepelo ceiling illustrating the
continents is considered one of the masterpieces of the world. Riemenschneider sculptures in the Mainfrankisches Museum.
Private concert in the evening at the Residenz. Aug 16. Day excursion along the Romantic Road. Hohenlohe Castle and gardens,
including the Knight's Hall. ROTHENBURG, a 14th century medieval city. Steep gabled houses and stairway turrets with flower
boxes everywhere. Lunch at the Hotel Eisenhut. Riemenschneider altarpiece in St Jacob's Church. Rejoin ship in VOLKACH. Piano
concert by Mordecai Shehori, the Lyrical Passion of Rachmaninoff. Aug 17. BAMBERG. UNESCO city.Lies on the fork of the Regnitz
River. Walking tour of the old town and visit the Dom. Sail to Nurnberg. Lecture by Marian on landscape painting. Candlelight
Gala Dinner.Aug 18. City center and the Albrecht Durer Haus. Seven electors parade on the clock tower of the Frauenkirche.
Visit the German National Museum. Huge selection of old German art.Visit the Burg, Nuremberg's massive 15th century castle.
All German kings between 1050 and 1571 resided in castle. Aug 19. Excursion in the Altmuhl Valley. EICHSTATT. Schutzengelkirche
and Residenzplatz. Patty: lecture on the history and construction of the Main-Danube Canal. KELHEIM. Drive up to Liberation
Hall, built by King Ludwig I in 1842 after the defeat of Napoleon's armies in Germany. Aug 20. REGENSBURG. One of Germany's
oldest towns--Celtic settlement fortified by the Romans in 77 AD. Twin-towered Gothic cathedral compled in 1525. Aug 21. PASSAU.
Three rivers meet: the Danube, the Ilz, and the Inn. Bavarian lunch served on ship. LINZ. Concert by Mordecai. Reminiscences
of Don Jauan by Lizst. Aug 22. MELK, Austria. Melk Abbey, an incredible baroque monastery on a hill. Organ concert. DURNSTEIN.
Glorious roccoco Stiftskirche. Ruined castle on the hill was the prison of Richard the Lionhearted, captured in 1193 on his
return from the crusades. Barbeque on deck. Aug 23. VIENNA. The Ringstrasse. Guided visit to the Kunsthistorisches Museum.
Visit the Hofburg, the former Imperial Palace of the Habsburgs, including the Treasury. Evening concert in the Hofburg. The
Secession Building by Olbricht. A gold crown on the roof and Klimt's Beethoven frieze in the basement. Aug 24. BUDAPEST. Drive
up Gellert Hill. Walk to the Matthias Church. Visit the parliament house, under tight security. Saw the famous crown of St
Stephen upstairs. The cross at the top is bent. Aug 25. Fly to PRAGUE. Check into the Intercontinental Hotel. A suite of
two rooms, each with its TV and bathroom with a great view out over the river. Milos guides us through old town. Visit Cubist
House of the Black Madonna. Performance of Nabucco at the State Opera, a glorious, golden explosion of rococco. Aug 26. Visit
castle area. Visit National Gallery and the Sternburg Palace, including recently uncovered frescoes. Visit Gothic Cathedral
of St Vitus. Lunch at the David Restaurant in the Lesser Quarter. Dinner in the Nelahorzeles Palace, hosted by Prince Lobkowicz,
raised in Boston, but heir to 9 castles near Prague. Collection of old family portraits back to the 15th century. Also Breugel,
Rubens, Velasqueth. Aug 27. Jewish Museum and oldest Jewish cemetary in Europe. Walk to Frank Gehry's Fred and Ginger building
along river. Drinks at the Grand Hotel Europa. Dinner in 1891 Exhibition Building overlooking river and bridges. Visit Mucha
Museum. Aug 28. Morning, St Agnes' Monastery to see Czech Gothic art. Fly back to Amsterdam and then on to NY.
M and Bob on the River Cloud, Bob's 70th birthday
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