Sep 13 Off to Budapest, Hungary
Luggage outside our door, breakfast at 7, and down to the lobby to get on the bus at 7:30 AM. After a pleasant bus ride from Prague to Budapest we arrived at the ship at 3:30 and were checked in and in our closet (oops! I mean cabin !) shortly after. The ship looks lovely and our compact cabin has everything we need ; it’s just an engineering miracle the way they have everything tucked in. The expression ‘No room to swing a cat!’ comes to mind! Our luggage arrived minutes later and we were unpacked by 5:00 PM.
Then we were off to the welcome wine and cheese where we met a couple from Pennsylvania who have cruised extensively with Viking ( expedition ships, ocean and river - ca Ching ca Ching! ). That was held in Aquavit - an outdoor seating area on Deck 3, with a few seats indoors in the shade. Both red and white wines were there for tasting! Next an information meeting in the lounge with way too much information! LOL
Following the meeting we went for dinner. No tables for two so we joined a couple from North Carolina and two sisters from New Hampshire. We had lively conversation throughout dinner and will be happy to share with them another night.
Although it’s still early, bedtime will come soon as we are still adjusting to the new time! But before we sign off, here is some cooking trivia from the host on our bus!
Basis for German cooking is fat
For Italian - olive oil
For French - melted butter
For English - water!
Until tomorrow…
:Sep 14 - our day in Budapest
Budapest is divided into two parts, Budapest and Pest, by the Danube River. We are docked on the Pest side, the more commercial part of the city, but looking towards Buda. We can watch the steady stream of traffic and trams crossing the Liberty Bridge.
Today’s Panoramic Tour of Budapest took us past landmarks such as the opera house, museums, Andrássy Avenue ( the Champs -Élysées of Budapest) with a stop at Heroes’ Square, a huge square with Monuments from Hungary’s history.
On the other side of the river is Buda - the more posh part of Budapest. We passed the castle district , Matthias Church and had a great view of the Parliament Buildings, the second largest in Europe, second to London!
After the tour we came back to the ship and had lunch in the lounge. We met a couple from Massachusetts and enjoyed our conversation with them over an open- faced Baby Shrimp Sandwich!
A leisurely afternoon was spent on the Upper Deck watching the traffic go by on the Pest side, and the river on the Buda side of the ship. It won’t be long until a welcome reception by the Captain and Hotel Manager, a description of tomorrow’s events by Tessa, the program director followed by dinner! How can it possibly be time to eat again?!?!
Leaving Budapest…
This will be a whole new experience for us on this small ‘ship’. A tour of the vessel takes 5 minutes at most! The officers are very visible, stopping to chat with guests, and there are no lines for getting on and off. I am getting my workouts, however, going up and down stairs to our cabin in ‘steerage’ and getting off in the port with stairs to the street and a ramp from the ship.
Next time you hear from us we will be in Vienna!
The Longboat Ladies
😁😁
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