Fred’n’Sue’s Peregrinations

Saturday in Athens – crazy, mad, vibrant, colourful . . . And 27 degrees Celcius!!No excursions today so just a ramble around parts of the city not included in the Viking tours.Starting at the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier adjacent to Syntagma Square. Every hour on the hour two…

Little did we know – last day of warmth!! A day to our own devices and we/I had booked a couple of palace visits – in the morning to Topkapi (but the i is not pronounced) home to the Sultanate up to the mid 19thC. Top Kapi as in cannon gate.Sunday and the roads were…

What a contrast – writing this from Den Haag after a day out in Delft – 6 degrees and intermittent showers.Today (7 April) was Acropolis day – Acropolis being the highest point in the city – well not really today but it would have been when the city state of Athens lay in its shadow.…

Some time ago when the weather was warm and sunny – balmy (not barmy) we stopped at Heraklion. The sea was angry and our first stop was bitterly cold. On to a bus again – these bus drivers are amazing – and off to the hills – to the Arkadi Monastery. We wonder what sustains…

And so to Türkiye, docking at the port of Kusadasi. . .Our morning excursion with Tahir, our guide of 44 years took us to the ancient Roman city of Ephesus. While the history of the city predates the Romans, destruction of a previous city on the site has left little archaeological evidence.A map of the…

Saturday in Athens – crazy, mad, vibrant, colourful . . . And 27 degrees Celcius!!No excursions today so just a ramble around parts of the city not included in the Viking tours.Starting at the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier adjacent to Syntagma Square. Every hour on the hour two…

We are back – have you missed us – low internet speeds and other excuses!!!Today was another bus journey, but not so long as some, from the port of Kantakolo(n) to the site of the first Olympic Games in 776BCE – great guide (Babis? – crazy Greek who was very tuned in to the role…

After a flight from Hà Nội with Thuyen and Ut giving up their exit row seats for us, arrived at Sofitel to a hero’s welcome – ha ha! These guys really know how to do hospitality. During dinner we were treated to a 45 minute Apsara dance performance. The dance form is at least a…

Production of golden silk was endemic to Cambodia prior to the years of the Khmer Rouge regime (1975 – 79) is is slowly being rejuvenated after almost being wiped out in those years – a visit to the Killing Fields (one of ca. 360 such locations) and one of the most infamous of prison/interrogation locations…

The locals tell us that there are two seasons – hot and bloody hot – not sure which this is but the roads are frickin’ bumpy as I write this en route Siem Reap to Kompong Cham where we embark on Viking Saigon to navigate the Mekong River. Hats off to our bus driver. First…