I wrote this blog for myself, finding that the expectation that someone might actually be reading it (unlikely as that might be) enough to keep me posting away when there were more laughs to have, beer to drink, sights to see. We made many new friends, but Christi, Robin, Mike, and especially Glenn saw us through some disappointments with good humor and high spirits, making our bus discomfiture quite tolerable. I will miss them all.

Donald Rumsfeld once made a derisive and divisive remark about “old Europe v new Europe,” but the continent continues to unify despite such idiocy. Though the US newspapers keep writing stories about the demise of the EU and euro, about ten countries are in some form of application to join. The EU is the world’s largest (or second largest, depending) economy. It appears to be delivering a higher standard of living to its citizens than any other, if stat tables, doubtless written by socialists, can be believed.

Some speak of “living in the past,” but the wisest of people live with the past. My impression of  the countries we visited (Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Hungary) is one of people taking what has been left to them and enhancing it, perfecting it. The wonderful cities we saw are not reproductions of some time gone by, but are a fusion of yesterday and today. To live in a thoroughly modern world is to spend one’s life no deeper than civilization’s skin—its bones and muscle show how the past has created the present. The modern ancient city is like a Japanese garden, carefully pruned and shaped to look natural and spontaneous, when it is in fact crafted to be what it never was and could not have been without artful planning. The Las Vegas tradition of making copies misses this point altogether.

The most fascinating people to observe when traveling are the young, Their optimism, energy, interests, and behaviors are a vision of a world to come. A vision which may be inaccurate, certainly indefinite, but always compelling. They share one thing in common—the gift of life. Doubtless many will squander it; many will have their potential cut short by injustice and misfortune; but most of the people I met are living joyously in their part of the world with no desire to be someone else or live elsewhere.

Tourism as an economic force is remarkably large. Droves of people gawking at the cathedrals, traipsing through palaces, and meandering the streets of seventeen popular cities, out of hundreds like them, make up a spending engine that has unlimited potential. Viking Cruise Lines is currently building fourteen more ships, and there is plenty of competition on the rivers and oceans from other carriers. Crowds of people at restaurants and bars are enjoying life, each other’s company, and the labors of the less fortunate. The demand for more tourist space is improving these urban centers from the inside out.

Is the US keeping pace? Ironically, the disparity of wealth in America is more like medieval Europe than Europe of today will ever be again. A  few citizens are accumulating massive wealth and are independent of nationality. Their personal fortunes are less associated with their citizenship than any member of European royalty could have thought about their kingdoms.

We are told that our infrastructure is falling apart, but money goes to stadia and airports instead of high speed rail and neighborhood improvements (and needless conflict). One trusted investment advisor recommends shorting the euro against the dollar. It may be a wise strategy, but the signs of the euro’s weakness were hidden from me. A store in Budapest, where I bought a single shirt, had tags with prices in seven currencies, none was the US dollar. Euros are the currency of choice by those countries outside the euro. That might just be proximity, but the absence of the greenback was a small shock.

Who is on this ship of fools?

It is really sad that our ship could not dock here because the landing is so convenient—we could have planned dinner or late evening walks. Instead, we still are using busses. Another disappointment is that we were unable to make it to the Friday concert at St. Stephen’s, which claims to have the biggest organ in Europe, our bus having been 15 minutes late and the doors were found locked to prevent disruption. From outside the thick walls, Rod and I could barely hear what must be mind-splitting sound.

The day was getting warmer and we foolishly wandered the scorched streets on our own. The guided tours have been informative and enjoyable, but there have been many tedious moments waiting for the deaf and lame to click their carefully composed photos and then search the mobs for a guide paddle with their forgotten group number. The guides are apparently scolded for losing a grandparent along the way, so the commentary is regularly interrupted by head counts. I am astonished at how infrequently a passenger was lured away from the group by a window trinket or an unauthorized call to the WC.

Since this whole blog is just so much practice, I am including a movie from scraps of iPad video available. I am unsure whether this will actually play on a computer. To understand the pointless organization of this insert, one has to attempt to understand that at the time of their recording, there was no particular plan as to how it might have been organized.

As I pre-defend my efforts, let me say that one must slog through crude and dull to get adequately discouraged (or blindly waste friends’ time who do not have the nerve to announce, “I’m not going to watch that shit.”).

A sidewalk café gave us a taste of food that the locals eat—the free meals offered as part of the Viking service were decidedly unvegetarian and few restaurants can bring their A game to a variety-free meal served at once to dozens of beer swilling layabouts. Instead, I had a simple, tasty salad with a side of croquettes made from chopped cauliflower and cheese. Having promised myself not to go on about food, let me briefly say that the ability of the Germans to fry almost anything mashable into perfectly shaped, delightfully browned delicacies is astonishing.

Passau was the hardest hit town in Bavaria by the floods this year. The founders foolishly decided that settling at the confluence of three rivers would assure them visitors and potable water. I suppose both are true, but the early visitors were often carrying swords and bad intent while the more recent impede sidewalk use and diminish the carefully honed beauty with questionable outerwear. I found a shop that had used its front window to show the mud and debris that had been piled up on the street directly outside. The recovery was incredible.

Here are a window photo of the aftermath followed by a picture of the same spot during our visit:

Note the restaurant arch in the lower left, which shows the water level.

Though the street was packed in mud and debris, everything was hosed clean.

In the late afternoon, having 45 minutes left to spend, we wandered back to St. Stephen’s where a mass of some sort was going on. We boldly went to the back of the church and shot some video, in the clip above. As part of the service, two organ pieces, both with voice accompaniment, one solo, one congregation, gave us a chance to hear the unmatched acoustics of these pipes in a Baroque setting. It’s a wow.

On the hottest day in Passau’s history, two idiots (a smartly dressed sex change and her elderly mother) delayed our leaving by 45 minutes, pissing off everyone on three stranded busses when admitting that they just took their time because there was “always a delay.” This faux pas will exact a serious drink penalty.