August 3 - Durnstein and Melk

This morning, we were up fairly early because we had an early start to our tours. We arrived in a little village called Durstein, which is located at the beginning of the Wachau Valley, one of the major grape producing areas of Austria.  Durnstein is a small village built on the banks of the Danube, below an old fortress that is in ruins. This Fort is one where Richard the Lionheart of England was held captive for 2 months because he had an argument with the king of the castle.

The village was really interesting. The ship’s Cruise Directors took all the passengers on a walk through the village, pointing out some of the interesting things. Apricots are a major product of this part of Austria, so they have lots of items made from Apricots for sale in most of the stores. Apricot liqueur is one of those, and many stores gave away samples to try and entice folks to purchase some.

We ended up purchasing some Apricot jam, and a small bag of chocolate covered apricots. We also purchased some other things, but the apricot jam was the major reason for making purchases.

The village was quite beautiful, and it was easy to picture what life must have been like in the 16th century.

We were scheduled to leave Durnstein at 11:00 to travel through the the Wachau Valley. We got back a little early, grabbed the camera, and went up on the top deck to view the sights in this valley.

We saw the many villages and vineyards along the 40 km of this valley. It was very beautiful, and we learned lots about the history of the villages and towns along the way. One of the Cruise directors gave us the information as we went along.

After leaving the valley, we arrived in another village called Melk. This is the home of a palace once belonging to Leopold III. In the 11th century he gave the palace to the Benedictine monks. They converted it into a fortified abbey and it soon became a hub of intellectual learning.

Now, it is still run by the Benedictine monks, and contains  over 80,000 priceless volumes in the library housed in the abbey. We were able to see 2 of the library rooms, and they were pretty amazing.

From the library, we went into the church. Walking into the huge area was breathtaking. It was very large, and surrounded by gold plated statues and religious painting. Similar to the church we saw in Hungary, it was quite amazing.

After this tour, it was back to the ship and get ready for leaving. We attended the talk about what was happening tomorrow, and then had supper. As usual, it was fantastic. By the time it was finished, it was 9:00, and we were both pretty tired and headed off to our cabin, rather than gather in the lounge to play games.

Tomorrow we stop in Linz and take a trip to Cesky Krumlov in the Czech Republic. This is a pretty full day, so we will be up early again tomorrow.

August 2 - Vienna, Austria

I got up before the alarm went off and had my shower. By the time I was finished, it was time for Dawn to get up. We had to get breakfast in before the tour left at 8:15 am.  We went to breakfast and had what we wanted. We sat with the two women from dinner last night, and another lady joined us, part way through. She was from Seattle so there was lots to talk about. Her luggage hadn't arrive yet, so she spent much of yesterday doing some shopping. She had lots of problems because her debit card didn't work (didn't have the chip), so it took her some time to et the money to pay for the things she bought.

After breakfast, we headed back to our room to get ready for the tour. However, we both weren't too keen on going this morning. We were still tired from all the walking yesterday so decided not to go in the morning. We did have two tours later on in the day.

After lunch, we took an optional tour to the Schoenbrunn Palace. This was the home of the ruling family of Austria over many years in the 16th century and on. This palace was used for various things. One king didn’t like it for a summer palace and started building one near downtown Vienna, the next decided it was great and moved back to the original palace. Finally Marie Theresa, a much loved ruler even now, consolidated everything at the Schoenbrunn Palace.

It is a huge place with over 1000 rooms (the tour guide said we were going to see them all, but then laughed and told us we were only going to see one section.  

The grounds are huge. There is a huge garden behind that goes up to an Arch of Triumph, and apparently there is as much garden on the other side of the Arch. Inside the main courtyard, there are buildings all around, and likely housed some of the guards in the old days.

Near the palace, we stopped and looked down the length of the building. The guard and servant quarters extended for ½ a mile each way. The place was absolutely huge.

Inside we went through a number of rooms, viewing the various things and admiring the value of the things in there. It was similar to the palace we had visited in St. Petersburg. They lived a very rich and pampered life (when they weren’t having babies).

The tour was only an hour long with the guide, and once she was finished with us, we went back outside. It was hot, so we went and sat under an umbrella and had a drink. We were due back to the bus by a set time, and we made it with lots of time to spare.

After that, it was back to the ship for dinner.

After dinner, we had another optional tour to a Viennese Concert. This was downtown in a concert hall of no particular importance, but, one of several in the city.

Inside the building, we had to go upstairs a couple of floors, because there was more than one concert room in this place. The one we were scheduled to attend was in a middle-sized hall, about 10 meters wide by 20 meters long. It had a very high ceiling which was rounded to reflect sound back down into the room. There was a small stage with a number of chairs set up.

For the audience, there were about 40 rows of seats, each having about 20 seats. The seats were padded, wooden seats that were wide, although not overly comfortable. There were also seats ringed around the room, so in all, the hall likely held about 1000 people.

When the orchestra entered, there were 3 women and 8 men, one who was the concertmaster. One woman was on the piano, 2 were on violins. The Concertmaster played violin, and another man did, too. The rest of the men played viola, cello, bass, clarinet, oboe, and flute.

They sat down and began playing. It was great to hear, and they were very good.

The group also included two singers; the woman sang soprano, and the man sang tenor. Their pieces were operetta songs. Along with the singers, there were also two ballet dancers, a man and a woman.

The concert was about an hour and a half, with a 15 minute intermission. Time went by very quickly. We really enjoyed the performance, and were surprised at how the time had gone by so quickly.

Back to the boat we went, and off the ship went for the next day. We would be visiting a couple small villages and sailing through some very pretty country for a stretch of quiet time.

August 1 - Bratislava, Slovakia

When we awoke, we were still sailing. We had breakfast and then settled back to watch the river flow by. About 9:45, we went through the first of 14 locks that are on the Danube. This one is apparently the biggest and the most interesting, at least according to the Cruise Director.

It was very similar to what we saw in Panama and in China. In this lock, there were 4 boats. In front of us was a cargo boat, and beside it on the other side of the lock was the ship that we had caught up to in the morning. Then us, and apparently another boat came in behind us on the other side.

This was interesting because we weren't in a narrow part of the river, and there certainly weren't any hills/mountains around us. Apparently the river was not in its original riverbed. Instead, they had dammed the river, creating a lake in order to have a water drop so that hydro electric power could be generated. Of course, they had to have a way for ships to get up and down the river, so they built a lock to move up to the next level. It looked like there were 2 locks, side by side and I would imagine that one was for going up and the other for going down.

Once through the lock, we sailed on what was a man-made lake. They had built up walls on each side, and we were sailing above the level of the land and the villages that we passed. It was a strange feeling seeing the terrain go by below our level. I wouldn't want to be around there if something happened and the wall was broken. I'm sure there would be a lot of flooding and death, not to mention the river traffic being unable to travel.

At the same time as we went through the lock, there was a demonstration of how to make Apple Strudel. We wanted to go to that, but wanted to watch the passing of the lock, too, so chose to stay on the deck and watch the passage. Apple strudel was on the menu for dessert, so it would have been nice to see how the experts make it.

We had eaten a big breakfast, so chose not to have lunch. Instead, we went to our cabin and had a nap. About 2:00 we arrived in Bratislava, the capital city of Slovakia, and docked.  Then at 2:30 we set off on a walking tour of the old town. This was a guided tour, and each cabin was given 2 machines that would let us hear the guide as he provided commentary on the things we were seeing.

Our guide was Jan. He was a young fellow who clearly knew a lot about the Old City and the history around it. He had quite a sense of humour, and told us many stories about why things were the way they were in the old days, always giving some dry humour sprinkled within his stories. He was fun to listen to, and we learned a lot about what life must have been like in the medieval cities.

The tour was about 2 hours long, and after that we had some free time. Dawn wanted to find a post office, and she asked our guide where to find one. He explained where it was, and pointed out were it was in relation to where we ended the tour. In theory, I understood what he told us, but when we walked off looking for it, it was clear I didn't pay enough attention. We walked all over the place, back to where we had originally toured, but couldn't find where he had told us to go.

So, we asked at a little shop, and even though the woman didn't speak English, she was able to direct us to a post office. When we entered, it was mainly postal boxes, but there were a couple wickets. They didn't sell stamps, and also didn't speak English, but again, this one told us where to go to find the place that did sell stamps. She drew it on our map, so we were able to find this place, which was around the block, and outside the old city wall.

In we went and it was a much bigger place, and clearly there was lots that went on. We waited in line for a bit, then I went to a guard to ask him if this was where we could buy stamps. He didn't speak English, so took us to another lady who also didn't speak English. However, there was a lady nearby who heard us having difficulty and she could speak some English so translated our request for us. She was able to let the lady know what it was we wanted, and then we were able to get some stamps. It is very difficult when you don't speak the language.

After that, we headed back to the ship, despite having lots of time before we were supposed to be back. We spent some downtime, relaxing and generally taking a break. We attended the Port Briefing for tomorrow where we would be in Vienna. We have a couple tours booked there but didn't realize there was also an included walking tour of the old part of the city. It sounded like it was going to be a very busy day.

Then it was down to the restaurant and dinner. We had mushroom soup and a warm cheese in pastry for the appetizers. For the main course, we both selected the pork medallions in a pastry cover (similar to beef wellington). It was very tasty. Of course, the dessert was apple strudel and ice cream. We loved it, but were very full.

We sat with a different group for this meal. This group was all of Chinese extraction. One lady was from New York, another from Taiwan (she didn't speak much English), the other couple was from Perth, Australia. They were somewhat hard to understand, but we had a good time talking with them and finding out about their lives. Interestingly, the lady from Taiwan had also been a teacher. She taught grade 5, so we had some things in common.

After dinner, there was supposed to be some sort of game in the lounge, but we were very tired and decided to forego the pleasure of playing. Instead, we went back to our cabin and were shortly in bed. It was just after 9:00, but we couldn't keep our eyes open.

The ship left at 11:00, heading upstream to Vienna. It was scheduled to be a very busy day, and we were going to be very tired by the end.

July 31 - Leaving Budapest

When we got up, after sleeping in as long as we wanted, we didn't have a lot to do. The hotel let us stay for a couple hours later than regular check-out time, so we had about 3 hours to wait until boarding our ship. We were checked out just before noon, and left our bags for storage at the hotel. Then, it was spend some time walking the streets near the hotel, looking at the shops and restaurants.

The young lady who had greeted us outside the restaurant where we ate the first night there was working, so Dawn suggested I get a photo of her. When she was finished greeting some guests, I asked her if it would be alright to take her picture, she agreed. So I got a nice photo of her outside her restaurant.

Then we walked into the square and decided to sit in the outdoor part of another cafe and have some ice cream and a pop. We were under the awning, so out of the sun, and when the breeze blew, it was quite nice. We watched the people walking by, and listened to the conversations of those around us. There really is nothing different about these folks from us, except the language.

We managed to make this last for about an hour, and then I wanted to have a look at what was just up the way from us. We walked up the square, and found one of the bridges that crossed the Danube. We knew approximately where our boat was docked, so we decided to go onto the bridge (It seemed to be only for pedestrians and bicycles) so see a little farther down the river side. The breeze was blowing down the river, and without buildings blocking it, the breeze felt great and cooled us down. We knew our ship was at mooring place 9, and the ships right by the bridge were at number 6. We could see 7 and 8, but 9 wasn't very visible due to the boats in front.

I walked farther out onto the bridge (almost half way across) to see if it was visible. We knew it was docked outside of another ship, and I thought I could see it, so at least we now had an idea of where to go. I had spoken to someone from Gate 1 to find out exactly where the ship was, and because the area is quite long, they were only able to tell me the number of the gate, and the name of the building close to where it was moored.

About 2:30, we headed back to the hotel to collect our bags and get a taxi to the ship. We probably could have walked, but decided to ride. The driver let us out a ways from the gate because the road didn't go along the shore at that point, so it would have saved us 5 Euros if we had walked, rather than take a couple minute ride.

Boarding was a pretty easy process. We left our bags at the shore and crew members took them aboard. We had to walk through another ship, go upstairs a couple flights, then cross to our ship, and go down a flight to get to the office area. We gave them our passports, they checked to find our room, and then a crew member took us to our cabin and showed us around.

The ship looked new (we found out later that it had been commissioned at the beginning of April this year) and our room was really nice to see. First, the air conditioning was working very well, and it was chilly in the room, which was a welcome relief. Although not large, it was comparable to the rooms we had on the ocean cruises, and very similar to the room we had in China on that river cruise. A very nice bathroom that was bigger than the ocean cruise bathrooms, but not quite as big as the Yangtze cruise bathroom. We did have a large glass door, which was our balcony door, but there was no room between the door and the balcony railing, so it was only for show. At least the door was large, making the whole wall a window.

Once unpacked, we went up on the top deck to just sit around until the Welcome and Safety Briefing at 5:45 pm. This lastest until about 6:45, when there was a talk about the port we would be at tomorrow. They gave us some pointers, and spoke about what was on the itinerary for the day. Then it was time to head down a deck to the dining room for the Welcome dinner.

We had met and spoken with a few people while waiting for the events just mentioned, and so sat with one of those couples who were from Southern California. A couple other fellows from Fort Lauderdale came and joined us, and as we ate, we got to know each other. The dinner was a 5 course meal, starting with soup, then a cold appetizer followed by a hot appetizer. The the main course (there were 2 special items to choose from, as well as one that is available all the time). We chose the chicken stuffed with prosciutto and cheese. Before dessert was delivered, there was a big entrance with the wait staff carrying a cake around the restaurant. We thought it was to show what was for dessert, but as they were passing our table, they stopped, lit a sparkler, and presented it to Mark, the retired firefighter from Southern California. Today was his birthday, and he was certainly surprised that they knew about it. Dessert was actually the chocolate cake, similar to what we had on the tour yesterday, but presented a bit differently. All in all, a very nice meal.

Dinner was going to be followed by entertainment with Budapest Operetta. We decided to forego that pleasure, and instead went up on the top deck to wait for the ship to leave. We would be traveling upstream, and going by most of Budapest after dark. This would be an opportunity to view the beautiful lights on the amazing buildings. Ahead of us, in the direction we would be going, there was clearly a large thunderstorm, and the clouds were building toward us. The light show behind the amazing buildings was spectacular in itself. 

The ship was late leaving because there was some sort of emergency, and they had to wait for an ambulance to come and get someone. The longer we waited, the closer I got to falling asleep, so I finally went back to our cabin. Dawn stayed up on the deck to watch the departure, and she said once the ship started moving, it got quite chilly and windy. Most of the people left, and once we were past the main part of the city, she came back to the room. Shortly after she returned, I could hear the rain hitting our window. However, this was not a problem because we were both trying to go to sleep. A cool room, a comfortable bed, and warm blankets - what more could we want?

June 30 - Day Trip to Danube Bend

We were off again at 8:30 for a whole day tour. This was a tour 3 historic sites and took all day for us to experience them. We finally got back to our hotel at 6:45 pm. We were tired, hot and sweaty and it was good to be back in our room.

Many of the Budapest streets were closed for a Triathlon that was taking place that morning. Our taxi to the tour beginning had a lot of trouble finding a way to get there, but after some doubling back, driving down some streets the wrong way, and generally working hard to get us there, the driver finally made it. We were greeted by a young woman who verified we were on the tour and then showed us to the bus. There were only a couple people on it, and it was quite hot. We were going to get off to try and stay cool when more people started showing up, and the driver started the bus and ran the air conditioner.

Our Bus

By the time we left, the bus was full to overflowing. We thought they might have oversold the trip, but there were exactly enough seats for the 32 paying customers. The tour guide had to sit on the floor at the front of the bus because there was no seat for her.

Off we went. We had driven by the same places a couple times by now, so were able to recognize a number of the buildings and streets we were on. The bus also had trouble finding the way out of the city, due to the triathlon, but he finally got by the road closures. Once on the highway, it took about 45 minutes to get far enough from the city center and we began to see less dense areas and individual homes. The roads were busy (it was Saturday morning and we were going to a place of tourism and relaxation) but we made good time to our first stop.

Entrance of the Cathedral

Main Altar

The first place was the site of the head of the Roman Catholic Church in Hungary. It was at Eszergom which means Center of the Catholic Church. We had a visit inside the cathedral, which is a huge building. It doesn't look what we think of as a church from the outside - tall columns, flat marble walls, and very imposing. Inside, though, was a different story. It was huge with lots of arches and very high domed ceilings. One room was the original chapel which was quite small, but the added on parts were simply huge.

1000 Pipes

There was a pipe organ with over 1000 pipes that only gets played on Sunday at 10 am. It must be beautiful to hear. While we were in there a fairly large group of people gathered and sang what sounded like something from the Renaissance era. They may have been a choir who traveled there to sing. The acoustics were amazing, sounding very clear and loud. I thought at first that it was recorded music because I couldn't figure out where the music was coming from. Finally, I noticed where they were gathered and realized that they were the ones singing.

View of the Valley

After about 45 minutes we moved back outside and looked at the view over the Danube Valley. This was also quite lovely to see. It reminded us of home, with the rolling hills and lush greenery. We took a few photos.

Bridge to Slovakia

From Slovakia

Beside the Cathedral was the Visegrad, the former Royal Residence. We didn't go inside, but it was quite a building. Shortly after leaving here, we went across a bridge into Slovakia, just to get a photo opportunity of the Royal Residence and the Cathedral. In total, we were in Slovakia about 20 minutes before going back across the river and off on our 45-minute drive for lunch.

Fortress on the Mountain

Lunch was at a restaurant on top of a mountain. It was beside what was once a military fort to protect the Danube Valley from invaders. It looked like there was a wedding scheduled for later on in the day. A section of the dining room was set up for the wedding party, and outside, there were 6 identical models of Audi parked in a row. The steps up to the restaurant were decorated with the wedding colours, as well. Lunch was chicken soup with pasta, the main course was turkey and potatoes (lots of them), and the dessert was chocolate cake. It was a filling lunch, but not spectacularly good. The view from the dining room, and outside on the deck was very pretty, overlooking the river valley and the fields below.

Outdoor Cafe

Audi's Gathered for the Wedding?

After lunch, it was back down the mountain and another 45 minute drive to Szentendre, a small town on the bank of the river where we were to catch the public boat back to Budapest. This town was supposed to have a guided walk around the town to see some of the sites. We walked a little way, and then decided to stay near the public boat. We sat in an outdoor restaurant, watching the people walk by and had a pop. We asked for lots of ice, and this place was very accommodating. They don't use a lot of ice in Europe, we have found, and it is somewhat difficult to get cold drinks.
Finally, it was time to board the boat. We decided to sit on the top deck (it did have a cover, but it was outside). The boat was very full, with all the seats upstairs were filled. At least when we were moving, the wind allowed us to feel somewhat cooler. The sun had also gone behind the clouds, so we didn't get the direct sunlight. The locals clearly knew what we didn't, and picked the side that was going to be in shade while we traveled the 22 km back to Budapest. However, they did sit in the bright sun while we were waiting to leave, so in the end, I think we had it a bit better.

Up the Street From Cafe

It was fun to motor up the river, seeing the sites on both sides. It was somewhat sparsely populated for a fair amount of the trip. There were lots of summer places; cabins, small houses, bigger houses, some camping in tents. We didn't see a lot of swimming in the river. The girl at the restaurant said the river was pretty dirty. The part that we traveled in was quite muddy, looking a lot like the colour of the North Thompson as it goes by Westsyde.

Upstairs on the Public Boat

Well like all good things, in and hour and fifteen minutes, the trip came to an end. Once off the boat, we had to find a taxi to take us back to the hotel. We found one sitting at the side of the road and asked if he could take us to our hotel. He told us to wait and called for another taxi to take us there. When it got there in a couple minutes, the driver didn't appear to know where the hotel was. He kept asking us a street name, but we didn't know street names, so weren't able to confirm if that was where it was. He asked another driver who said it was on the street our driver was indicating. I pulled out my phone and used the GPS which basically showed that our hotel was not where he was going to take us, so he used our directions and we got there within about 10 minutes. It cost a bit more than the taxi from the previous day, but was within range. We were out of the local currency (Hungarian Forint), so I paid in Euros and got change back in Forints. After checking with my exchange program, it turned out to be about $12 Canadian.

We were both very tired, and after cleaning up, we relaxed. I began to write this post, but was falling asleep, so rather than end up falling off my chair, I stopped and laid down and had a nap. It was difficult to wake up, but I knew I wouldn't sleep through the night if I didn't stay awake.  I did share a selection of our photos with mom, so got something done before it was time to go to bed.

Tomorrow, July 31, we board our ship, the Monarch Empress. We will have to figure out where it is docked so we can get a taxi there when it is time. However, that is for later today.

June 29 - Tours in Budapest

We were awake this morning at about 6:30. Showered, dressed, and went off to breakfast at the buffet. It was quite a nice buffet (not like the ones in Helsinki and Malmo, but still quite nice). The coffee was good, and so were the scrambled eggs and sausages. It was a good experience and we will be eating here for the next couple mornings.

We had to be ready for our pickup for the tour of the Hungarian Parliament House and Budapest Sightseeing Tour by 9:00, so back to our room. The driver arrived about 15 minutes early, and we hurried down to the lobby, so he could drive us to the tour company office. We had a wait until 9:30, and then boarded a bus. There were about 25 people altogether in our group.

This bus was very comfortable. It was a regular sized tour bus but had large, comfortable seats with lots of room. There were 2 seats on one side of the aisle, and only 1 seat on the other side. Unfortunately, we were only on this bus for a short while until we got to the Parliament House. The guide who took us there got us in, set up with the sound equipment, and then told us where she would meet us at the end of this part of the tour.

Parliament House

We started off by entering through a security area. I forgot my phone and wallet in my pocket so had to be wanded but we still got in. Then we had to climb upstairs to start the tour. They offered us an elevator, but we figured we could make it. After we started, they told us there were about 140 steps, which we soon regretted, but weren't able to turn back. After a few rest stops, we made it to the floor where the tour started.

Ornate Architecture

Like what our experience has shown from other European cities, the architecture is pretty spectacular. It was very impressive to see the domed ceilings, the gold-leaf covered columns, and the beautiful stained glass windows.

We were able to take pictures everywhere except the room where the Crown jewels were stored. In this room, there was a roped-off enclosure where the King's crown, sword, and a couple globules were stored. This was guarded by 2 soldiers who stood very still, only moving once a minute to move their sword from one shoulder to the other. The soldiers were changed every hour. It must be very difficult to stand so still for 60 minutes, especially when it is so hot and humid

Legislative Room

We had a look at the room where the legislators sat during their session. It is like what you might see on TV, very similar to pictures of the US Senate room. Apparently, the sessions are televised, and all the discussion is recorded and made available to the public. It sounds like a very open legislature.

After going through a few more rooms, we were finished here and went to the souvenir shop to meet our bus guide. Once everyone was present, we left and went to where the bus loading area. Here we waited until another bus came, which was to take us on the tour of Budapest. We said farewell to our first guide and met a different one. This bus was not so roomy as the first one, and there were already folks on it who were only taking the sightseeing tour. Some of our first party were only on the Parliament House tour, so they left us, too.

Then it was off to view some of the areas of Budapest. This is a city of about 1.8 million people. The country only has about 10 million people, so it is by far the largest city in the country. Most of the tour took place on the Pest side of the Danube River. This area is flatter and contains most of the historical buildings and architecture. Many of them were damaged or destroyed during WWII, but they are putting things back together.

View Through one of the Gates

We drove by a number of very impressive buildings and stopped at a couple places so we could take photos. Our final stop on that side of the river was at Castle Hill, which was a large castle area where many of the main departments of the government are located. They are still in the process of rebuilding some of the structures,

many of them have been completed, keeping with the original styles. Again, very impressive.

View of the City and the Danube

Towards the end, we crossed one of the bridges to go on the Buda side. There we drove up to the citadel, which gave some very impressive views of the city. This was basically a photo stop, and once this was done, we went back to the hotel where the tour began. From there, it was walk to the market again for a few things, and then back to the hotel room to rest until our next tour, which was a Dinner Cruise on the Danube.

 We paid for transportation to and from the Dinner Cruise, so were waiting for the taxi by 6:30. Our driver showed up, and off we went to this boat. It was one of those tied up along the shore, and when we arrived, a young man came and collected us from the taxi. He gave us the tickets we had purchased online, along with a couple free drink tickets.

Similar to our Dinner Cruise Boat

Then it was a short walk to the boat, and wait until the gates opened to allow us to board. This was a simple process and handled well with a waiter taking us to an assigned table. We were sitting with a couple from France, a couple from Germany, two young women from the US who were in Budapest at the European Lacrosse Championship (one was the trainer for the Scottish team, the other was her friend (a police woman) from New York). The Americans were not shy and spoke to everyone, the man in the German couple spoke a bit of English and was able to speak with us, his wife and neither of the couple from Paris had any English so we didn't learn much about them.

View from the Top Deck

The boat left and moved downstream. The sun was in our eyes and we couldn't see a lot. Like all cruises, there was a photographer who came to take photos of each couple (for sale before the end of the journey). Then we set off to get our dinner at the buffet. It was quite good - fish, chicken, beef of some sort, dumplings, and potatoes. There was also a few different types of salad, but we didn't get anything there, instead filling our plates with the main courses. I also had another bowl of Hungarian Goulash, which was still quite good.

One of the Castles

While we ate, a string group played for the audience - first from the stage, and then walking around and playing at many of the tables. They were good and seemed able to play whatever was requested.

Sunset From the Top Deck

When dinner was over, we went up on the top deck to watch the passing shoreline. The boat only went a short distance downstream, then turned and went upstream for a ways and then turned again, and went back to our river slip. The entire trip took 2 hours and was very enjoyable. The views were spectacular, and as it got dark, and the lights came on to highlight the buildings and bridges, it was very pretty.

Once back at the slip, we disembarked and then were taken by taxi back to our hotel. We are up early again tomorrow for another tour. This one is for most of the day and is a bus tour to someplace called the Danube Bend.

View of the Steeple on the Hill

                                     

Passing under one of the Bridges

July 28 - Arrival in Budapest

After our long flight from Toronto to Budapest, we finally arrived about 10:45 am.  We were about 2 hours late leaving Toronto due to a number of issues, but made up time during the flight and arrived about 40 minutes later than we were originally scheduled.

It took a while to go through immigration, collect our bags, and find the transportation to our hotel, but we survived. It was very hot inside the airport, and outside it was raining and thundering. I saw a bolt of lightning hit the ground a short distance from our plane, just as we touched down. Too bad about the weather as it had been sunny and hot (as well as humid) here over the past while. I don't think this will last too long, but we are forecast to have thunderstorms again tonight.

The hotel is about a 45-minute drive from the airport. We were early for check-in, but our room was ready so they let us in. It is quite small but big enough for us to stay in for a couple nights. Nice bathroom with a shower, a queen bed, and a TV. What more could we ask for?

Our Room

We were pretty tired, so lay down for a rest and were soon snoring away. I struggled awake after an hour, but it was pretty difficult to get mobile. Then, I realized I had left my medication on the sink counter at home. So, we went off to see if there was some way I could get some to last.  We were pointed to a pharmacy, just up the block from the hotel. After finding the pharmacist who could speak some English, he gave us a suggestion about what we could do. Our plan was to find a fax number and I could call the doctor in Kamloops to get the prescription faxed here. Not going to happen.

Then, the pharmacist gave us a card for a company who will send out a doctor who will provide prescriptions for those not here. I cost 230 Euros to get the doctor to the hotel, but he prescribed the medication I needed, checked that the pharmacy had the meds, and provided me with official forms I could present to our travel insurance company in order to get a refund.

Down the street from our hotel

Well, we purchased enough meds to get us back to Kamloops on this trip, so I should be good to go now.

Our hotel is pretty much beside the big outdoor market and walking mall so we walked around a bit. Lots of little tourist shops, much like those in Alaska and other cruise ports. Lots of little restaurants, too. We stopped and had supper at one of these, sitting outside on the sidewalk. The reason we stopped there was because the little greeter girl spoke such good English, and we struck up some conversation with her. They had schnitzel on the menu so because we didn't get any while in Germany, we thought we would try it here.  It was quite good, and we were sure full. We both started with a small bowl of Hungarian Goulash soup. This was very good, just like our vegetable soup that Dawn makes now and again.

Restaurant where we had dinner

Then it was back to our room. We have a couple tours tomorrow, so have to be up early. Hopefully, we sleep well but I'm expecting that we will wake quite early. Right now I'm having a real problem keeping my eyes open. It is only 8:45 pm, but I don't think I'm long for being ready to sleep.Rest