Passau, Germany

Burnout is beginning to happen. River cruising is a little more intense than ocean cruising. Everyday is a different port and there are excursions usually both morning and afternoon or evening. Unlike an ocean cruise where you get a sea day or two to rest, the most you can expect is a morning of cruising or an afternoon. When it came to Passau, we looked at the excursions and decided we wanted to go at our own pace and not have to follow a guide full of more information than we could ever retain.

My wonderful GPS My City app took us on a lovely walk through the old town. Many of the sites we had seen before when we did the Christmas Markets cruise several years ago. We picked out the must sees like St. Stephen's Cathedral. The site of the cathedral dates back to 730 AD with several churches established there before the cathedral was built in the late 1600s. 

The cathedral for many years claimed the largest church organ in the world but was more recently demoted by another in the USA. It still claims to be the largest organ outside the US. 

Passau sits uniquely on the confluence of three rivers, the Danube, the Inn and the Ilz. The Ilz is a little hard to see at first since it is just a small river kind of off to one side. They all meet at a point and there is a very nice walkway that goes all the way to the point. 

We strolled the walkway and admired the Schaibling Tower. Built in 1250, the tower was originally a defense structure. In the 15th century it was repurposed as a storage facility and eventually served as a place where boats dropped off their salt cargo. Over the years it has also had the distinction of serving as a residence for security guards and some theatrical performers.

Rounding the point we headed back on the Danube side to where our ship was docked. On the way we passed the old town hall and took note--a short note as our walk had been longer than we planned and I was ready to crash for a bit. 

Bob, on the other hand saw me to the ship and then headed for a Starbucks he had seen. We were both starved for a good cup of coffee. Most everything on the ship and on shore was espresso and Americano only goes so far in satisfaction. Starbucks often has brewed coffee, their light Pike Place blend. You know it's bad when we rely on Starbucks rather than McD's for decent coffee. 

The sunny day provided beautiful scenery for our cruise out of Passau and on to Regensburg.

Spitz, Austria--My New Favorite Place

 The skies were gray and getting darker as we ate breakfast but the impending rain couldn't erase the beauty of our location. Hillsides full of grape vineyards surrounded us on both sides of the river. This is what Spitz is best known for.

As we ate, we watched a small car ferry struggle against the current from our side to the other with a few cars on it. The ferry seemed to almost go sideways as it worked hard to keep from ending up downstream of the dock area it was aiming for. Later we would learn (and see) that a cable stretched high above the river helped the ferry navigate the river crossing. 

It did rain but not hard, as we walked to the buses that would take us for our morning tour. While I'm not keen on museums, at least we would be indoors and out of the rain. 

A short, very short, drive and we were at the Schiffahrtsmuseum. We walked a short distance to the entrance and were divided into two groups. One group would begin by touring the museum and the other would begin with the wine tasting. Whoa! It wasn't quite ten o'clock yet but it was tasting, not drinking.

We ended up in the tasting group first. There were three white wines all from the same grapes but harvested at different stages of ripeness. I like the way the wine expert who was here learning how wines were made to enhance his knowledge explained it. A green banana has a certain taste and a brown overripe banana another. They still taste like banana but with slight differences. 

The best samples we got however were from the apricots that are also grown in the region. There was an apricot liquor that was very good, an apricot jam that would be tempting to baste a turkey with, and "gummy bears" made from apricots. They were the best. Not as sweet as your candy gummy bears in the stores and a great apricot flavor.

Next we were off to follow our second guide around the museum. He was very knowledgeable of the history of shipping and boating on the Danube. The current is quite strong in places and the boats that carried goods and people were fine going down stream. Long hand held rudders steered the boat.

Going upstream was a whole different ballgame. Depending upon the size of the boat, there could be as many as sixty horses pulling it upstream. Once they reached their end point, the horses would be sent back downstream to do it all again.

There were many models of boats on the Danube from the past. They had an expert model builder who our guide said was actually an architect and did the model building as a hobby. The intricate hand made details were amazing and everyone had a laugh over the fellow depicted at the bow of one model sitting on a makeshift toilet of sorts with of course an instant flush--everything went right through.

Some of the costuming from ages past were displayed. I especially enjoyed the handmade bonnets. The larger ones were for the married women and the smaller for the single younger ladies. I stood for a time and managed to get a general idea of the history of the lady who made the ones in the case. My high school German comes back a little. Frau Huebner would be proud.

The rain had stopped and we opted to walk back to the riverboat. We had planned to do do some walking around the little town but decided to drop our umbrellas off first in the room. The morning rain appeared to have moved out.

The night before at dinner there had been schnitzel but it wasn't very good. On the walk back to the ship, we saw a restaurant that featured schnitzel. We returned, got a seat in the small local establishment and ordered schnitzel with fries. So much better!

It appears that we will be shopping for sweatshirts tomorrow in Passau. Today we had all our layers on and it wasn't quite enough. The temps drop into the 40s F overnight and barely recover past 50. It doesn't look promising for the next week as we head further north.

Vienna, Austria

About six in the morning I felt a big bump as if the ship had hit the dock. I assumed we had arrived in Vienna. When we got up a while later and looked out our window we were greeted by a cement wall. There was a ladder embedded in the side going straight up and joked to Bob that it was going to be our way up to shore. The next time I looked out, the ladder had all but disappeared underwater and we were looking straight out to shore. We had been in a lock the whole time!

While we ate breakfast, our ship arrived in Vienna and we began to make plans for our day. We had not signed up for any excursions because what was offered were things we had already done when we'd visited several years ago during the Christmas markets. This time though the riverboat was not as conveniently located as it had been then so we were a little more challenged--but up to it!

About an eight minute walk from the ship was a metro station and we knew that it wasn't a difficult one to navigate. When we approached the ticket machine, there was a tour leader there from a Viking ship who was helping her guests. She was gracious enough to help us quickly purchase our tickets as well. A round trip anywhere for a senior was only 6 Euros.

The stop for St Stephen's Plaza, a central point of the old town, was only a couple of stops away. Once out of the station, we started walking and soon realized we'd headed the wrong direction. We back tracked a bit and found the familiar St. Stephen's Plaza only minus its colorful market booths that had filled the square at Christmas time.

We stopped inside the cathedral for a few moments and then began to pick and choose what we wanted to see. After a pass by of the House of Mozart, we found The Sacher Torte store was interesting and the cafe attached was hugely busy. It's a special chocolate cake with a chocolate icing. Chocolate on chocolate and more chocolate.

A stop for tea and an upstairs vantage point in the cafe helped us to warm up and people watch. The temps were not expected to get to 60F. While we sipped, we planned to visit a couple more places on my GPS My City tour and then get back for lunch.

One place we had not seen before was the Capuchian Church Imperial Crypt where there are now 145 Hapsburgs interred. The crypt has been around since 1633. The ornate and often huge  sarcophagi seem to go on endlessly. Hapsburgs from the 1600s up to 2023 each have a small plaque telling their accomplishment during rule or their contribution if any to the well-being of their country during their lifetime. 

One of the sarcophagi that had some flowers and drawings placed at it belonged to Empress Elisabeth of Austria (1837-1898). She was born a Bavarian princess and became Empress through marriage to Emperor Franz Joseph I. She was celebrated for her beauty and free spirit. Apparently she was a bit of a rebel when it came to the rigid court life of the Hapsburgs. I need to look further as there was mention of movies made about her.

After the crypt, we walked by the Hofburg Imperial Palace and watched a few horse drawn carriages take people for a ride. From there, we found St. Peter's Church with its large green dome. A stop inside revealed an immensely decorative interior. Too much to take in with only a few minutes to visit.

Retracing our steps to St. Stephen Plaza, we found our way back to the metro and back to the ship.

Lunch, a nap, an early dinner and we're ready for a concert.

Our evening concert, dedicated to Strauss was delightful. It was a short twenty minute ride to an abbey that is over 800 years old. We climbed stairs to the refectory where chairs were set up facing a small platform stage for the instrumentalists and performers.

Two violins, a bass, a cello, a piano and a flute made up the musical features. There were two sopranos who sang a couple of arias from Der Fledermaus and a couple who exhibited the wonderful grace of a waltz done well. There were light hearted moments and sweet beautiful music and a light refreshment break in the middle. Everyone was delighted.

Budapest, Hungary--Castle Hill

 This was to be our last morning in Budapest. We signed up for the panoramic excursion that would take us to the Castle Hill, a vantage point on the Buda side that overlooked the river. The bus took us through much of what we'd already seen on our own and with much better views than from a bus window.

We did learn a few more facts and some history. Our guide was a bit self-deprecating indicating that Hungary always seemed to be on the losing side of anything except water polo one year. They had been oppressively ruled for hundreds of years by many different regimes and parties including the Nazis that they had bought into when Hitler promised them prosperity. 

Shortly after Hitler, the Communists took over and things did not get any better for them until 1989 when most of the countries like Serbia, Bulgaria, etc. won independence. The fall of the Berlin Wall in November of 1989 was a much more impactful event than I realized at the time. It represented much more than just reuniting east and west Berlin.

Once we crossed over from the Pest side to the Buda side of the river, we were able to get a different perspective of some of the government buildings and the bridges than seeing them only from the Pest side. And the guide was right. The Buda side did seem a little more affluent. but then it contained more palaces and castles.

Castle Hill is a neighborhood that contains the Buda Castle but what I loved most was the quaint streets and old architectural buildings. 

Our bus dropped us off at an out of the way spot at the end of the main street and we began our walk up to Matthias Church, a church that has been serving the area since 1017. The roof tiles were most impressive but we learned that they were new ones. The old ones however, were for sale in the gift shop if anyone wanted a unique souvenir.

After following our guide into the church and having a look around, we were released on our own for about an hour. There was a Starbucks in a building behind the church, a very busy Starbucks but not only did it hold out hope for a good cup of coffee, it had a "free" bathroom. Starbucks, we found, offered brewed coffee but rarely had it on hand and ready. We ordered Cafe Mochas instead and enjoyed them immensely.

As we sipped our coffees, we also were on the lookout for the chimney cakes we had seen several times in Budapest but had yet to try them. The stand we found was making the sweet treat over a charcoal fire. Ladies inside were rolling out dough into thin ropes and winding them around buttered forms. Then the dough was set on the charcoal grill to bake for a few minutes. Once the outside was browned and crispy, they would coat it with a flavored sugar. The most popular was cinnamon. The chimney cakes were larger than we wanted but we didn't want to pass them up again. We sat and munched a little then knew we had to move on to get to our bus.

From the Castle Hill, it was an hour and a half drive to where the ship was to meet us. We arrived before it did and had to wait for the lines to be secure before we could board. This was only a pickup point but it would have been nice to have lingered in the little town. 

We cruised the afternoon on the Danube, enjoying the countryside with Hungary on one side of the river and Slovakia on the other. Unfortunately we would not have opportunity to stop in Slovakia.

An afternoon meeting to sign up for the rest of our tours, an official welcome reception from the captain and staff, dinner, and we were ready to drop into bed again. Tomorrow, Vienna.

Budapest, Hungary--A Toast To Sunday

Sunday morning, a strange time to be visiting a distillery. 

This was the day that most passengers would be leaving the ship. The small group, about 20, who would stay on to Nuremburg and Prague, were encouraged to take the offered excursion in the morning. It saved a lot of confusion with trying to work around the luggage moving out the door and the business of traffic trying to pick up passengers for hotels or the airport.

There was a long walk from our ship to steps that led up to the street level and there were a few who were schlepping suitcases along it. We found our bus waiting for us and it took us just several minutes up the road and around the block to the Unicum distillery.

Every country seems to have its special drink. I think Hungary has a couple but Unicum is likely the oldest. Production is said to date back to 1790 and the very secret recipe of more than 40 spices had been handed down generation to generation and fiercely protected.

The history of the company is almost like looking into the history of Hungary itself. We watched a video that showed its survival during wartime and the Communist regime. The Zwack family managed to survive during the war in America where they tried to set up a part of the company there. 

When they returned to find the original distillery bombed and in ruin, they vowed to rebuild. Rebuild they did but when the Communist took ownership of all the businesses, they insisted on the original recipe for the Unicum. To save the secret, another recipe was concocted that was similar but not quite right. It was enough to endure and keep sacred the original and now after rebuilding, the distillery is once again pouring out its much sought after drink.

So what does this wonderful elixir taste like? Imagine the worst strongest cough syrup your mother ever gave you. There were two kinds, the original flavor and then we were given a plum flavored one to try. It was almost endurable. As it burned all the way down, I hoped it would help to cure the rest of whatever had made us sick.

As Bob said and I agree, there was quite an extensive marketing and PR campaign for the product and I think a lot of the popularity just may be due to that. Like most things, it's all in the marketing.

We returned to the ship for lunch and a leisurely afternoon watching the new people get used to the ship.

Budapest, Hungary--A Tale of Two Cities

 

St. Stephen's

Back home there is always this discussion over which side of the city (ours is divided by a river and a highway) is the better place to live. We always settle the argument by saying we live on the south side (actually between the river and the highway). It is much like that in Budapest which was originally two cities (actually three, but who's counting?). 

Buda is the hilly west side of the Danube and Pest (pronounced pesht) is the flat east side of the river. In November of 1873, Buda and Pest along with a neighboring town, Obuda, were officially merged to form the new city of Budapest and became the capital of Hungary. 

Opera House

A bridge called the Szechenyi Chain Bridge was completed in 1849 connecting the two sides. The bridge is one of the more colorful features of the illuminated structures along the Danube at night.

It was a busy place for riverboats. We counted twelve, four groups of three abreast tied to the shoreline. Ours was first in so at least we did not have to tramp through two others to get to shore. It didn't look like an easy time for the other boat that was disembarking and embarking passengers.

Budapest is a fascinating collection of architectural design, the most important feature of course being the Parliament building. I found it much more beautiful and intriguing than Parliament in London. 

Best chicken paprikash

This was to be a port where most would leave the ship and we would get a whole new bunch of travelers so there was a chunk of free time where energies were spent more on getting people off and on the ship. I had a self guided tour on GPS My City. The problem was that it didn't come anywhere near where our ship was docked and it was a late afternoon when we started out. I was defeated before we even got started since we were still recovering from the virus we'd had.

We did manage to make it to St. Stephen's Cathedral and the Opera House but the guided walk would take us even farther from the ship and we gave it up to find our was back again and see if we could locate a good place to eat dinner early as we had a night cruise booked to see the buildings lit up along the river.

We found the best restaurant at the base of the Marriott with chicken paprikash on the menu. After refreshing and changing into some warmer clothes for the evening, we returned and enjoyed the best chicken paprikash I've had since my aunt last made it years ago.

In order to get any available tickets for a nighttime cruise at a decent hour, I had to book with a company that was about a 48 minute walk from the ship. We opted to try Uber which was quite a different operation that included taxis rather than private cars. It all went well though. Our first ride was with a female driver who spoke no English but had a translator app on her phone when she needed it. There was no need however to translate what she yelled to another driver as she attempted a U-turn to drop us off.

We arrived almost an hour early but there were people already lining up at the dock area. One company's boat would pull up, unload and reload and be off and then the next on came in. There was a schedule posted at the walkway. It was quite a "well-oiled" production. Ticket scanned, drink handed to you, find a seat, enjoy the 40 minute view (it was said to be an hour but that included boarding and disembarking), glasses collected ten minutes before the docking, disembark and hear the crew scrambling to get everything in order for the people lined up on shore.

All in all though, the cruise was the only time we were going to get to see the Parliament building and others lit up at night as the riverboats are not allowed to cruise at night. No wonder--the river was full of sight seeing tours. It wasn't fairly pleasant, a little chilly at times but for the most part, most enjoyable.

The pictures tell it all.

Ilok, Croatia, And The Street Of Forgotten Time

The only place we visited in Croatia previously was Dubrovnik on the coast so this would be an interesting look into the more interior area of the country. We docked at Ilok and were on the buses and on our way to an all day tour. 

First of all, I have to give credit to our tour guide Doris, easy to remember as she likened herself to Doris Day with absolutely no resemblance. Her humor was subtle at times, at other times not so much. Here are the rules, she would say and follow it with "I am not the police." She was clever and informative, easy to understand and a delight.

Our first stop was in Vukovar a small town with obviously a strong heart. There was a war that took place here in 1991 that lasted almost three months and was significant in the creation of an independent Republic of Croatia. At the time it was considered one of the fiercest battles fought since the war in 1945. 

Vukovar fell to the Serb forces and many of its inhabitants were expelled. Vukovar remained in Serbian hands until 1998 when it was peacefully reintegrated into Croatia. It has since been rebuilt but less than half of its pre-war population and many buildings retain the scars of the battle.

As we first entered the town the prominent symbol of the battle was before us, the water tower. It once held water but as our guide said was a little leaky. The restaurant on the top just under the main tank was popular. It was shelled profusely but still stood. "Just now it is a colander, not a water tower." She laughed and then went on to say it was a symbol of their resilience and a commemoration of what had happened there. To my mind it is a symbol of the strength of the people. I don't know how it is still standing.

We were then taken to a museum in town which showed much of the history of the area starting with bronze age. As entertaining as our guide was, I walked on my own through the museum's rooms. When I met Bob doing the same thing, we both decided we would rather see the little church next door.

We walked out into the sunshine which was beginning to warm the day. It had been a chilly start with temps expected only to reach 68 F. The church was tiny with a few people siting in pews reading their Bible or praying. We quietly slipped into a pew, looked around, said a little prayer and left to sit on a bench outside and wait for our bus to return.

The stop for lunch was the star of the afternoon. It was at a restaurant connected to an open air museum. My kind of museum. We wandered down what was called the Street Of Forgotten Times. Each little cottage displayed old time crafts like shoe making, weaving, carpentry, and a barber shop and tavern.

One man was demonstrating brickmaking with mud and straw and another was stirring a boiling pot of red peppers. I thought it had something to do with paprika since our guide had mentioned that's what all the red peppers we saw were for but paprika is made from dried peppers. There is another dish they make with the boiled peppers I learned later a relish and/or a stuffed pepper.

We were treated to a taste of their famous fruit brandy. It was sweet dark cherry and though I don't like brandy, I have to say this tasted good. As we walked to the restaurant where we were able to sit in the open air, we passed huge jars of pickled products and I'm sure some of the large jars with the cherries in them must have been brandy.

Our lunch was interesting starting off with a delicious chicken noodle soup, then followed with a cabbage slaw that was salty enough to make you pucker, a tossed salad, a plate of pork and chicken with roasted vegetables and it was all followed with a dessert that was sort of like a flat plum jam filled ravioli that was rolled in a sugared coating.

The best part of lunch was getting to meet new people and sharing stories. It's one of the best parts of travel.

We met our ship at a different place so our bus trip back was shorter. Next we are on to Budapest.

Belgrade, Serbia

 

Yugoslavia. What happened to Yugoslavia? I knew my mind was still a bit muddled from being sick but I was certain I had studied the country in history and geography. In sixty years, that history and geography had changed. Serbia had been a part of Yugoslavia as well as Croatia, Slovenia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovenia and a couple other small countries when it was part of the USSR which was still in effect when I was in school. A lot has happened since then and when the USSR broke apart, the countries fought for and established independence. To my mind it's all a bit complicated, frightening to think of those who had to live through it, but it is not my history and my brain is too old to take it all in and sort it out. With that, I tried to focus on the beauty of the Serbian countryside and the city of Belgrade and the magnificent palace we were to see.

Belgrade sits near the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers. We actually dock on the Sava river. When it was time for our tour, we took a short bus ride to the Royal Palace. This is where the family of King Alexander I lived before and after his assassination in 1934. It was built between 1924 and 1929.

The palace is surrounded by a peaceful serene park and the terraced view looks out to a mountain and forest.

Inside, the detailing of the decor, the painted walls, the tapestry, are intriguing and reveal much history that was made throughout the rooms including that of the Communist regime. 

Josip Broz Tito became a communist when captured in WWI by the Russians. He became the leader of the anti-facist resistance movement, the Yugoslav Partisans, who fought the German and Italian occupiers. Following the war, he became the head of government and then president of Yugoslavia, leading it for three decades. 

Tito, our guide quipped, was a nickname befitting him as "ti" meant you and "to" meant that and when he pointed to you and that it meant you better get it done. He did not live in the Royal Palace but he did use it to entertain. There was a movie room where he would seat his guests to watch his favorite westerns and he would watch them from a small balcony or hallway slightly above the room. From there he could observe who would be allied with whom and it would help him strategically as he dealt with others.

There was evidence the communist era tried to erase as much history of the past of Serbia as they could. Places where symbols of the country existed pre-communism had tried to be painted over. Our guide smiled slightly. "Of course they used an inferior paint and the two headed eagle is still a shadow that shows through."

As much as possible the palace has tried to be restored but it is difficult when records of the original artifacts are impossible to find. The lower rooms were unbelievable in the color and detailing of the paintings, the arches and the way one room leads into another. I have seen some impressive places. This was one of the best.

Along the way, we discovered that the palace is only open to groups who book a tour. Individual tours are not available so we felt very privileged to have seen it. When we finished the palace tour, we were taken to the huge fortress of Belgrade. It went on forever. The city has made much of it into a park with tennis courts, basketball and other recreational opportunities as well as just a place to sit and relax and enjoy the view of the river or take a leisurely stroll.

The Belgrade fortress was first built in 279 BC and has been destroyed and rebuilt several times throughout history. We walked through a good bit of the park but did not go into the main gate. There however, we did stop and our guide explained that in her lifetime (she looked to be mid 30s perhaps) she had been a citizen of four different nations, held four different passports, and had never moved from her home once. That statement helped to make us understand the turmoil this area of the world has experienced just in recent history alone. 

View of where the Sava and the Danube meet

After her profound statement (I found it profound), as we walked I wondered why I didn't realize all that was going on. It was my lifetime, my adult lifetime. Wasn't I paying attention? And then I remembered how it was said Nazi Germany had moved forward with their persecution of the Jews and there were those in our country who had no clue until it had gone too far. Was I that oblivious as well to what had been happening in these countries as they fought for freedom? I guess I have to admit my head was buried in trying to raise five children and put out my own fires at home, small as they were in comparison.

Well, that was a lot. But when you travel, you get a whole new perspective of the world and it is a big world with so much going on everywhere. 

The Iron Gates of the Danube

 It was around six a.m. I could hear strange noises outside as my eyes fluttered opened and then closed again. I remembered that we were supposed to go through some locks around six. Bob lay beside me sound asleep and didn't stir. Did I want to get up and experience it? I inventoried the body parts and they all said no, stay in bed. I went back to sleep. We'd been through locks on rivers before, I told myself. While this was quite a lift, 39 meters I believe, I pictured it in my head as I fell back asleep.

The morning would be a pleasant cruise up the river through picturesque rolling hillside with the sun highlighting the foliage which was just on the fringe of autumn color. Bob immediately went back to bed after a light breakfast. He would have a day like mine before, sleeping. The virus was exhausting.

I was beginning to feel a little better by the afternoon tour time and decided I would chance it. It was a nice bus ride to an archaeological site called Lepenski Vir. When we arrived, we had a very pleasant walk down a paved path through a wooded area. This was one location I had not previewed so I had no clue what to expect.

After about ten minutes a large metal and glass structure appeared before us, obviously housing the ancient site. Once inside, I knew I was not going to last long there. I was already tiring out and the temperature was way too warm. Thankfully we were directed to a video room that was air conditioned and had benches to sit on.

The video they showed had English subtitles and was about the original dig around the mid 1960s. The film was old, speckled with black specks and yellowed with age but it told an interesting story of the find on an old farmer's land. Supposedly the farmer was in agreement with their digging there as long as they didn't touch his fields, although in the brief pictures they showed of him, he didn't appear happy. It was the stern Eastern European look of the past. I can't imagine where his field was since this seemed to be on a steep hillside.

You can tell the era from all the cigarettes they all smoked as they dug out the artifacts and began to uncover a strange cluster of homes, each with what appeared to be their own fire pit. When the film ended, I went out and took a look and a picture of the site and then headed for the cooler air outside.

The walk back to the bus was again very pleasant and I was one of the first to arrive. When I sat down I felt exhausted and wondered if it had been such a good idea to come. At least I would have rest on the bus before the next stop at the Golubac Castle (Fortress). 

The ship had cruised upstream to meet us at the fortress so I knew I could take a look around and cut out of the tour when I needed to and with a few steps be back at the ship.

The first record of the fortress indicates it existed in 1335 and was occupied by Hungarian military. It was a strategic spot on the Danube where it flows into the Iron Gate Gorge and is the widest part of the Danube River.

The fortress is made up of nine towers none of which are connected by ramparts except for the two in front where there was an entrance. That was so the soldiers could pour hot tar on any attempting uninvited entry. To access the other towers there were either steep stone steps or just a rocky trail.

The small museum was interesting with some medieval battle armor and weapons. I cut out of the continuing talk and made my way back around to the entrance. I found one lower tower that I took some metal steps to climb, caught a glimpse of the boat and decided "home" looked good.

Back on the ship I found Bob up and dressed, feeling a little better. We were both among the living again.