First sea day on this cruise, quite a few events we participated..   The chef’s galley tour, lobsters dinner and crew performance

Today we are at the back heel of the boots. . The port is at the eastern most edge of Italy….. It is so east that our mobile thought we were in Greece 😆

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This is where the Adriatic and Ionian seas meet. Located in the sunny Salento region of Lecce, Puglia, Otranto is a stunning white stone town filled with breathtaking coastal views, turquoise waters, and layers of dramatic history.

1. Otranto Cathedral (Cattedrale di Santa Maria Annunziata)

The historic heart of the town, originally built in the 11th century.

The highlight is the entire church floor is covered by a massive, breathtaking 12th-century mosaic of the Tree of Life, featuring biblical scenes, mythical beasts, and even Alexander the Great. It also houses the haunting Chapel of the Martyrs, which displays the bones of 813 locals executed by Ottoman invaders in 1480.

2. Castello Aragonese (Aragonese Castle)

A massive, fortified castle that forms the entry point to the historic center. It famously inspired Horace Walpole to write the world’s very first Gothic novel, The Castle of Otranto.

Its imposing circular towers, deep moats, and ramparts. Today, it hosts rotating modern art and photography exhibitions

3. The Historic Center (Borgo Antico)

A beautifully preserved, car-free labyrinth of whitewashed stone alleyways.

Narrow paths lined with vibrant flowers, local craft shops selling Salento ceramics, and tiny restaurants tucked away in stone courtyards. This town reminds us of Mykonos Greece… So post card beautiful every corner we turn

Church of San Pietro

A tiny, hidden Byzantine treasure tucked away in the upper parts of the old town.

Built in the 9th century, this square Byzantine-style church features a small dome and stunning, colorful medieval frescoes depicting religious scenes.

Beaches

So yesterday we were at the tip of the boot,  today we travel to the arch….

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Benvenuti a Taranto! Known as the “City of the Two Seas” (la Città dei Due Mari), Taranto is one of Southern It is literally split between two worlds: the historic, atmospheric island of the Old Town (Borgo Antico) and the bustling 19th-century New Town (Borgo Nuovo), connected by a swinging bridge.

Castello Aragonese (Aragonese Castle) – Guarding the canal between Taranto’s two seas, this massive 15th-century fortress is the literal bridge between the city’s past and present.

Incredible stone architecture, managed by the Italian Navy, and it’s free.

The Swinging Bridge, this historic hydraulic bascule bridge links the old town to the new town and it’s right by the Aragonese Castle It physically opens by rotating 90 degrees horizontally to let massive military and naval ships pass between the Mar Piccolo (Little Sea) and Mar Grande (Great Sea).

MArTA (National Archaeological Museum of Taranto) – Don’t let the word “museum” fool you—this is widely considered one of the most important archaeological museums in all of Italy.

Cathedral of San Cataldo (Duomo di Taranto) – Located in the heart of the Old Town, this is the oldest cathedral in Puglia, originally built in the 10th century.

A gorgeous Baroque facade, but the real showstopper is the Cappellone di San Cataldo, a side chapel completely covered in jaw-dropping, multicolored marble inlays.

The Doric Temple (Tempio di Poseidone)

Two massive, lone Doric columns standing tall out in the open. They are the remnants of a 6th-century BC Greek temple, making it the oldest columned temple in all of ancient Magna Graecia.

Taranto Vecchia (The Old Town Labyrinth) – The island district of Taranto is a maze of crumbling tufa-stone buildings, narrow alleyways, and arches.

Striking architecture that feels stuck in time, hidden tiny squares, and clotheslines strung across alleyways…. They said some of the houses are on sale for 1 Usd

New Town

Back at the ship, they invited local artists to perform song and dance Tamburellista!Mesmerizing show

And then it’s windstar’s signature sunset deck bbq…. They really rolled out a feast

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Benvenuti a Reggio Calabria! thrilled to be at the “toe” of the Italian boot. Located right on the coast with front-row seats looking across the water at Sicily and Mount Etna.

Lungomare Falcomatà (The Promenade) – Italian writer Gabriele D’Annunzio famously called this stretch “the most beautiful kilometer in Italy.”

A gorgeous, tree-lined seaside promenade perfect for a romantic walk. On clear days, Mount Etna rises majestically on the other shore

2. The National Archaeological Museum of Reggio Calabria (MArRC) – One of the most important museums in Italy, housing a massive collection of ancient Greek artifacts.

The crown jewel of the museum is : The world-famous Bronzes of Riace (Bronzi di Riace). These are two breathtaking, life-sized bronze statues of Greek warriors from the 5th century BC, discovered perfectly preserved at the bottom of the sea in 1972.

The museum regulates temperature and humidity, so visitors enter the Bronze room in small groups via a decontamination chamber

Corso Garibaldi – The main artery of Reggio Calabria, running completely parallel to the sea.

A vibrant, pedestrian-only shopping street lined with beautiful 19th-century buildings, boutiques, cafes, and restaurants.

Villa Genoese Zerbi, 

Built in Neo-Gothic style in 1925

This conclude this short stay at the tip of Italy….. We survived another very hot day in Italy!!

It’s a very  small town and nothing much to see here..  So we heads towards the town train station to take a 30 mins train to Tropea, another town of the Calabria regent but have more things to. It is renowned for its beaches and exposition of Calabrian culture. Its historic city center, while small, features beautiful churches, lively cafes, and restaurants specializing in Calabrian food.

Sanctuary of Santa Maria dell’Isola.

This is a church on top of a little hill right in the middle of a long stretch of beaches

Tropea beach

Super beautiful stretch of beach lined with umbrellas and people.

Tropea is famous for there chili peppers and red onions

Train ride between vibo marina and Tropea features Panaromic sea views

Theres a lot of steps climbing and unrelenting heat everywhere… Thus I’m absolutely burned out after the outing to Tropea today  (already 12000 steps 😉) … P wants to keep on exploring and check out the town of Pizzo

Pizzo

According to P it’s a beautiful town with art elements everywhere you look

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Woke up to a stunning coast line view…. Amalfi is a coastal town in southern Italy, known for its dramatic cliffs, beautiful beaches, and rich history.

Since our ship is anchoring and not docking, we have to take a tender boat to town

Amalfi Cathedral (Duomo di Amalfi)

Stunning Arab-Norman architecture and impressive staircase; stunning interior with beautiful mosaics…. Right in the middle of town center

Paper Museum (Museo della Carta) this is a wonderful tour… The guide at the museum Chiara (means clear in English) explains the whole process clearly. Learn about Amalfi’s historic paper-making industry; see traditional paper-making machinery…. And P got to volunteer and try the process and got a free water marked paper in return

Shopping and eating and people watching at downtown Amalfi

Beach of Amalfi (Marina Grande)

P will never miss an opportunity to swim in any beach thats available to us so here it is

Marina Water sport deck on our ship

Since this ship is also considered a yacht, it has a  water deck at the back of the ship and it’s the first time we checked it out… They only open when the shop is anchoring not docking… They provides lots of water sport equipments, including kayaks and surf boards, noodles and floating chairs, pool and canopies

Captain’s party where he introduced the crew  and serves free drinks

Beautiful sunset

Liking Windstar Windsurf a lot so far 🤔👍❤️❤️

First meal is a genuine pasta and seafood at a nearby ay restaurant near our hotel… The pasta is cooked to perfection… This is our first hot meal after the trying 14 hour travel from Munich to Citavecchia..

After fueling up, we finally gathered up the  energy to proceed to our ship..

It’s a small ship with only 250 plus passengers and no crowds…. Truly a yacht life feel…. Very relax…..A very different feel

Today could be the most challenging traveling day of the entire trip, in order to travel from Munich Germany to Citavecchia Italy  (our next cruise’s Embarkation port) we need to make 4 train changes, going through 6 train stations and takes a total of 12 hours if everything works seamlessly 😅… But the trains were never on time and never behaved as expected…with that fear in mind we were pleasantly surprised

The first leg of the train route will take us from Germany, through the mountain range of Alps, through Austria into Italy’s Bologna and the view is captivating and addictive… We can’t take our eyes off the window view through the Alps range

And the RS 83 train also provide food ordering services so we ordered schnitzel and sausage, beer and wine!! So happy!!

Things get a little hectic after Bologna, there are many connections to make… One in Florence required us to change train stations to catch a train thats only 30 mins apart and of course we missed that one 😅

Marienplatz: The soaring, neo-Gothic New Town Hall dominates the square. It houses the famous Glockenspiel, a massive mechanical clock with 32 life-sized figures that re-enact historic Bavarian events twice every day. We were there for the 11am show and the whole square was packed with spectators

Frauenkirche, an iconic church known for its twin towers.

Karlsplatz

4. Munich Residenz

Don’t let the humble name fooled you, this palace to our opinion has more content than Versailles. The spectacular city palace that served as the seat of government and residence for Bavarian dukes, electors, and kings for centuries. It consists of A massive complex of 130 rooms. The absolute showstopper is the Antiquarium, a grand, vaulted Renaissance hall lined entirely with classical antiquities and breathtaking frescoes. This place needs a whole day to really appreciate it, but we can only spare 2 hours 😅… And that two hours totally depleted our energy…. We were simply overwhelmed by all these beauty

Nymphenburg Palace (Schloss Nymphenburg)

The elegant Baroque summer residence of the Bavarian monarchs, located just a short tram ride from the center… (, we were lucky to book a hotel that’s only 5 mins away from the train station and walkable to all the places listed here except Nymphenburg Palace) We rode a tram there… Grand, gilded pavilions, the famous “Gallery of Beauties” painted for King Ludwig I, and a massive, sweeping palace park bisected by an expansive canal. It’s the summer palace of the Royals

Coffee break before tackling Munich Residence

Hofbrauhaus

We are back to this legendary beer hall for a second round…. This time we sat inside right in front of the Bavarian music band for a beer hall vibe and it’s amazing too…. People cheer and clap with the music and toast each other with beer

Today we are traveling from Berlin to Munich via rail and it’s an easy 4 hour ride… We were in Germany almost 40 years ago and visited Frankfurt and Stuttgart… Loved how clean and organized Germany was and always wants to come back and visit the major cities of Germany.. So here we are!! Berlin is an eye opener with amazing architecture and history… Its Munich’s turn now

As soon as we arrived, we made our way through the Saturday busy crowds to get to the famous Hofbräuhaus: worlds largest beer hall established since 1589…Experience traditional Bavarian cuisine and beer at this historic beer hall. They have Massive vaulted ceilings painted with traditional designs, long wooden tables worn smooth by centuries of patrons, lively Oompah brass bands playing live, and waiters carrying up to a dozen massive glass mugs at once.The place is huge, inside and out, downstairs and upstairs, people everywhere drinking beers, eating, having a fun time!!

Lots more things and places to report tomorrow…. Munich is stunning!!!