Updates From Fr. Bill's Trip

Sept 26:

I am sitting here in the Albany Airport - next step on the way to Budapest - you are not going to believe this - Detroit - so it will be a long day on planes - keep praying that we get somewhere - stay tuned for more adventures.

Sept 27:

I - and Fathers Riani anBd Sturtz and Flynn- have made it to Budapest - it has been a rather long journey - but we are here on the boat with lots of nice people - just met a couple that graduated from Clarkson - tomorrow - a full tour of Budapest.

Sept 30:

Today it is Vienna - have lost track of days - but know well where we are - will be a tour of the city- and some wandering - and tonight a concert - Mozart and Strauss - the Danube is beautiful but not blue - but this city looks gorgeous.

Oct 1:

Hi, all we are cruising leisurely down the Danube River - yesterday - spent a wonderful day in Vienna - after a tour of the city - Father Vinny and I wandered a bit - saw many of the big buildings and the former residence of the Emperor Franz Joseph - had lunch at the Roncalli Circus - it was just that - a small circus - surrounded by wonderful food booths - had some excellent bratworst - with wonderful German mustard - - then later had some of their traditional sacertorte and wine in a wonderful little cafe - in the evening - a Strauss and Mozart concert - then a drive through the lights of Vienna - back to the ship - where they were serving a late night snack of Hungarian soup - and late to bed - needless to say I didn't get up early this morning - now quietly looking at the sights of the little towns and castles along the Danube - at each town our guide begins by pointing out the Catholic Church in the middle of town - so all is well.

Recap:

The trip has been interesting and a great opportunity for seeing this part of the world that is new to me - we began in Budapest - a fascinating day there - saw the churches- everywhere you go†on these trips you start with Churches - also many intriguing buildings - lots of walking - I was exhausted right off the bat - in the evening - a great show of Hungarian folk music - the next day we were on the boat all day - relaxing and reading - and praying - well, a little bit - then to Vienna - city tour - then on our own - the high light of the day was lunch at the Roncalli Circus - a city circus - with food booths - just like a regular fair - food looked too good to ignore - so Father Flynn and I had lunch there†- then we found a traditional cafe - for sacertorte and wine - it is a great Vienna treat - today - we came to the town of Melk - where there is a wonderful Benedictine monastery - fascinating place - walked up to the Monastery with a delightful young couple from the ship - you constantly meet such good people on tours like this - the monastery has a school - nearly 900 students - the place is beautiful. The only trouble right now is that the river is low - much too low - so it is interferring with our schedule - but they are working around it

Oct: 2:

Hi, everyone - a wonderful day in Passau - which is just over the border in Germany - an interesting old city at the place where the Danube meets the Inn River and also the Ilz river - after an interesting city tour - hightlight was the Cathedrall of St. Stephen's - large - supposedly the largest Church organ in the world - there was a brief organ concert - sounded loud and wonderful - but what do I know - then a quick lunch - and I joined a bicycle tour - while my three confreres sat around having a beer - the bike ride was pleasant ride seeing the countryside - the tour was run by several most delightful young people - stopped for a picnic along the Inn River - great fun - I only failed on one hill - I won't mention how long - but it was substantial - well, 10 miles - but tonight I am aching tonight - but I looked like a youngster today - well, not exactly - but I was in the middle of the crowd - not the fastest - nor the slowest - the boat is going very slowly tonight - the water is truly and dreadfully low - and we are hoping for the best   Here is a note you will enjoy - waking up in the middle of the night - looking out the window and seeing a wall - the side of a lock - most curious indeed - well, now - I am sitting here with Father Vinny - a lady from Rome, Italy who is English - and a gentleman from Australia.

Oct. 4:

Hello, all - today we visited the city of Neurenberg - in the morning, we were cruising - and in this section - there were several locks - these were huge locks - moved the boat almost 80 feet - we are now at the highest point of this trip - now the rivers will head down hill until we reach Amsterdam - fun in Neurenberg - at the Cathedral Square - good food and such - also found some great things in a good gift shop - so spent some money   tonight - I am sitting in the back of the lounge - there is a presentation on beer - the making of beer and the difference and such - I am not the best beer drinker - but this tastes good - he has given us the taste of two different kinds - one more to go - I must admit I have more beer this week than most of my life.    I hope all went well at the parish today - we had Mass this morning with a few of the people on the boat - they have discovered we were priests - so asks to join us at Mass - it was quite nice - such good people- have met many different people - all have their own stories - many interesting people.  

Oct. 7:

Tonight we are in port all night in Melkinberg - so we have rather good service - so a few notes: we have been traveling for the past couple of days on the Main river (pronounced "mine") - most beautiful scenes on both sides of the boat - visited Bamberg, Wurzberg, Wertheim and Melkinberg - some highlights - excellent cathedrals - each a bit different - some covered with frescoes - others rather simple but beautifully done in the spirit of Vatican II - each had a castle - always on the top of the a hill - and always with a tower - I want you to know I climbed up all of them† - usually about 200 steps - but always rewarded with a beautiful view of the whole city - in Wurzburg - we visited the former Bishop's residence - now a museum - with quite gorgeous rooms and such - then in the basement of this residence - a winery - so we had wine tasting in this huge room lined with wine barrels - and tasted some wonderful wines - well, only three - that was enough - so tonight I am a bit tired - lots of walking - tomorrow we go to Heidelberg - should be fun -so keep us†- all four of us - in your prayers that we get home safe and sound.

Oct. 9:

Today we were in Radesheim - pretty town - many shops - but the highlight is a gondola up to the top of a small mountain - with a memorial to Kaiser Wilhelm - gondola goes over a magnificent vineyard - tomorrow cologne - then on to Amsterdam and then back to work.

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Father Bill says…Trip to Europe

A BRIEF (I do mean brief) DESCRIPTION OF MY TRIP

I’m back home – my idea to do lots of email from the boat, didn’t work out at all – so here is a quick – brief – resume. The pictures – Father Vinny and I looking out at Budapest – Father Peter and Father Dick and I stopping to watch the people – the four of us standing before a fountain – somewhere – our boat – one of the rivers – and the wine tasting in Wurzburg – large barrels of wine along the sides – lighted with 300 candles (my father would have been so pleased.)

The boat – our hotel – was truly pleasant – with 130 guests – and 30 crew – wonderful meals – comfortable rooms – we, tourists, were all Americans – the crew was from many different countries. The size was such that we got to know each other quickly – and the other folks were great – we got to know some better than others – but by the end of the two weeks – we knew everyone,

Now I know that you are wondering what the others thought when they did discover they had four priests aboard – and they did find out – in a very short time. I know that I made some very good friendships, simply because they knew I was a priest – I suspect some were a bit shocked – and I did notice that some sort of avoided me – but I caught up with them later.

We sailed in the Danube River (no, it is not blue) - the Main River (pronounced “mine”) – and the Rhine River – we passed through 62 locks (it is quite startling – the first time – when I woke up in the middle of the night – and looked out the window and saw a wall – the wall of a lock) – biggest problem faced by the Captain – low water – seems like it has been a summer of low rain – and so the waterways in some places were low – they had to sail very carefully – but we made it perfectly.

Stopped often – to see some wonderful places – some old cities – many castles – medieval stories and history – but still a lot of World War II history – lots of walking – which was good – because there was lots of eating – and a bit of drinking – beer in Bavaria – wine as we got to Wurzburg – so here is a quick picture of it all.

Budapest - Cathedral and Churches – Farmer’s Market (such wonderful food stuff) – Chain Bridge – walked over the Danube on the Elizabeth Bridge – fancy Captain’s Dinner to get us started well.

A day of sailing on the Danube through Hungary – and into Austria

Vienna – such a startling beautiful city – St. Stephan’s Cathedral – this is the city of Strauss and Mozart – during the evening many of us went to a concert at a Vienna Concert Hall – to listen to the music of Strauss and Mozart – it was truly magnificent – during the day we visited the home of Mozart – who accomplished so much in such a short life.

Melk – the next place along the river is the magnificent Melk Abbey – it looms up over the river from a cliff as we approached – we visited the rooms and also the large church – now the Benedictines operate an elementary and high school for about 900 students –

Passau – the high light here is the magnificent St. Stephen’s Cathedral with a huge organ – they say one of the largest anywhere – at noon we had the opportunity of hearing it played – after the concert – I joined a few others for a bicycle tour along the Inn River – here in Passau three rivers meet – the Danube – the Inn and the Ilz – the ride was about 10 miles with a break for a picnic – I didn’t do badly – the fastest but not the slowest – but I was panting at the end –

Regensburg – a walking tour – we saw the Cathedral of St. Peter – a walked down the many narrow streets and alleys – in the afternoon we visited a private palace – once a Benedictine Monastery – but now owned privately – this is the Thurn and Taxis Castle – this city is the sight of a well known University where many important theologians studied including our present Pope.

Nuremberg – a medieval German city – this was an important headquarters for the Nazis – the interesting thing here was revealed to us when we went up on this high hill where the Castle was – and looked out on the old city with its many medieval buildings – however, these buildings are only 50 years old – this part of the city was bombed out during the war – but they were rebuilt in the style of the medieval city.

Bamberg – again – a magnificent Cathedral where one of the popes is buried – Pope Clement II – who was from Bavaria – we visited a small Inn that is well known – Schlenkeria – famous for smoked beer – Father Vinny and I met a couple from Canada there – that had traveled down to Americade for several years – and were well acquainted with the Lake George and Ticonderoga area. We were also directed to a tower – a bit of a climb – but we saw the whole city

Wurzburg – visited the palace –once the castle of the Prince-Bishop – and then went into the cellar where we had a wine tasting – it was sensational – I’m not a wine expert – but it was a fine experience.

Wertheim – a jewel of a city – I guess the word would be quaint – it was so enjoyable walking the streets of the city and looking in on the small shops there – we also climbed another castle and its tower – overlooking the city and river – the Church there was magnificent – so simple and yet beautiful – so prayerful in its liturgical layout.

Miltenberg – another city near the river – we could walk into the town and see the delightful – place – another beautiful church – another castle – we again walked up the hill and up the tower – the effort was worth it for the beautiful view – then down into the city – and a stop to have a beer with some of the folks from the ship.

Heidelberg – again, a well preserved castle - the ruins are most interesting – a wonderful Cathedral – the Lutheran Cathedral has a wonderful organ – we stopped in just in time to listen to a young man playing the organ – then we searched for a place to have lunch – ended up at an Italian place – would you imagine – the Trattoria Tuscano – the pasta was wonderful and the wine was Montepulciano – we sat at a street side table – and enjoyed the meal – and visited many of our friends from the ship as they wandered by. Then a walk down the pedestrian shopping area.

Rudesheim – another small town surrounded by Vineyards – the village was filled with winding streets and alleys with innumerable stores – we took the time to stop for a taste of the local wine – this time we were joined by so many from the ship as they came by – and then we were serenaded by a local musician – this at 11:00 A.M. – quite a day

Then we sailed down the Rhine – seeing a castle at each bend of the river – it was a quite and pleasant afternoon.

Cologne – this is a busy and very modern city – the Cathedral is large and magnificent – with high spires and many small shrines throughout the Cathedral – after spending time in the Cathedral – Father Dick and I stopped in a rather elegant restaurant for a morning coffee and croissant – now don’t laugh at this – but this restaurant certainly had the most elegant W.C. that we encountered on the whole trip – you will have to call me up to get my reasons for saying this.

Then a quiet afternoon as we sailed down to Amsterdam – and the end of our trip – did not have any time to see Amsterdam – but from the little I saw it looked like a great place.

--------well, no spiritual messages today – although I did discover many on the trips – a different sort of message from the Lord in each of the Churches and Cathedrals we visited – there was a message in all the castles and towers that we climbed and could look out on the river and surroundings – and the blessing of good food and drink – the joy of being with wonderful people – our fellow passengers – so many interesting people – all added to the fun of the journey – many friendly and enjoyable staff, serving us with such joy – truly joy – it was a great time.

One last irony – in the magnificent and elegant city of Vienna – Father Vinny and I had lunch at the Roncalli Circus – bratwurst and salad at a small circus stand – it was fun – and elegant in its own way.

Bastante!! – so much more to tell – and so many more pictures to share – but that is for another time.

Thanks for listening -

Fr. Bill