I hope people realize we were strong because we had no choice. I loved my husband and gave my all to help him. I say all this because this strength came from Christ. He brought us both through this valley of the shadow of death. We enjoyed a great breakfast with options for omelets, eggs benedict, pancakes and French toast, assorted fruits, pastries and more on a buffet. We took the four hour included Panoramic Budapest bus tour first through the modern flat side of the city Pest and then across the Danube River to the hilly side called Buda. The bus stopped at the top of the Castle District so we could walk through Matthias Church and the Fisherman’s Bastion. We returned to the ship for lunch and then Pete and I took the excursion to Budapest Thermal Baths. Dilly Court is a No.1 Sunday Times bestselling author of over forty novels. She grew up in North-East London and began her career in television, writing scripts for commercials. She is married with two grown-up children, four grandchildren and two beautiful great-grandchildren. Dilly now lives in Dorset on the Jurassic Coast with her husband.

It didn’t take long before I was Googling “How to make an online dating profile”. I chose some photos that I thought looked OK. I kept my wording short and sweet. Feeling a little shy, I didn’t interact much at first – I just wanted to look. It’s like going to the ocean and maybe just getting your toes wet. Well, I always loved the ocean so I dove right in and started swiping.My criteriawas that he should be taller than me and live nearby. I didn’t want a pen pal who lived far away. I started chatting with Pete who lived nearby and after a few conversations, mentioned that I get hungry around 7. He took the hint and we had a really nice dinner date. So we went on a few more dates. He makes me smile just writing about him and a few years later Pete and I got married. You can read about that here: Kristin and Pete’s wedding. So, after 2 years of visiting family, having fun with friends, working and traveling I was starting to have better days. Mind you, there are still trigger moments and especially times of the year like his birthday and the day he died that I remember and miss Mike, but I try not to obsess about the negative anymore, and refocus my attention on some of the best moments that we shared together. I have five favorite memories that I purposely think about when I start to feel sad or mad or depressed. The happy memories make me smile and that is how I want to remember my life with Mike. Online DatingMy husband was my best friend. He adored me and made me happy. We looked forward to our evenings together even the simple times like eating dinner and watching TV.

All I can say is its flippin’ difficult. Ive been widowed nearly 10 years. I was 57 when my husband died and plunged into ‘widow city’. This means your peers become almost exclusively older women – because before – nearly all my peers still had their partners. Its a very partnercentric world out there. You feel missed out of so many things.new friends male and female and started writing short stories. I am beginning a widow support group. I see so many struggling with their new life. I see this time as a new beginning for myself . My hope is to guide and support other women to learn of the comfort of our Heavenly Father and the help of other widows and their coping skills. The last place we stopped on our bike ride was the Franz Kafka museum. We did not go inside, but there is a funny statue outside of two men having a peeing contest over the map of the Czech Republic. Not really sure the meaning of this one, but it is entertaining. I hope to share my stories and adventures as well as some thoughts on being a middle aged widow. While I have some great experiences traveling to Thailand and cruising to Central America, some of my adventures involve a trip to see a Broadway show in nearby Manhattan and a shopping trip at Bed, Bath and Beyond. If I can inspire anyone to go out and continue to live a good life that would be my greatest accomplishment.

Our morning involved a scenic sailing with commentary from our program director. At 12:30 we arrived after lunch and boarded buses to Melk Abbey, the only excursion this day. We broke into small groups and a guide walked us through rooms filled with artifacts and medieval manuscripts. The view from the terrace of the valley and the Danube river is breathtaking and we enjoyed wandering through the colorful church and wooded gardens before leaving the Abbey and joining the bus in a new location up the river. This evening our director provided us with a German language lesson followed by music from the onboard musician. Day 6 – Passau – Germany We dined for lunch in the Ratskeller but only had a choice of two meals. I would rather have found a better place to eat like the famous Hofbrau house that we did walk through on our tour – if I only knew then… For the amount of money we spent on this excursion, the meal should have been better. After lunch, we had free time, but since it was Sunday the stores were all closed. This is a law in Germany. Turns out it was a huge Pride festival with bands and DJs on every street, lots of people in rainbow colored outfits and just a big old party. Fun to witness as well. Day 8 – Nuremberg – Germany Before the trip, Viking sends you information about the different shore excursions. Each day one guided tour is included but you do have the option to sign up for additional excursions for an additional cost. Day -1 – Budapest Not sure what they expect to hear, but they can’t imagine how I am doing and I don’t want to go into it so I usually would say “I’m Ok” or “taking it one day at a time”. Then I redirect the conversation to my kids or their kids if they have some. Eating out someplace like the food court in a mall Today was one of the longest days at sea since we did not arrive in Vienna until 7:00 pm. The scenic river ride, meals and presentation on coffee and the coffee houses of Vienna kept us entertained.He told us that no one is religious or goes to the 300 churches in the city. During the 40 years of communism religion was basically outlawed. In fact, the police used the church steeples to spy on the people. If they saw someone go into a church or to a government office to request a travel visa, their family would be assigned the “bad jobs”. Wow, what a way to live! One thing he did tell us was not to give money to hobos on the street, even if they have a dog which he said would be drugged. He told us that everyone can get a job so that behavior is just not tolerated.