October 22: Budapest

 The Last Day - And Home

On yesterday's tour of Budapest, as we looked out over the Danube from the fortress I had asked our guide if we were going to Fisherman's Bastion which is - in MY opinion - the most iconic spot in this amazing city and easily one of my top two places to visit in all of Europe.  He said sadly no that the city has put new restrictions on going for tours and has made it cost prohibitive.  You not only pay an exorbitant price and you have a narrow window that you must be in and out on time.  But he indicated it IS open to the public.  I asked about going and he explained there is one specific public transportation bus, a small bus that has a pick up right by our hotel and a drop off right there at the site.  AND he added it was free for travelers over 65.  We asked at the Viking desk and they gave us specific and easy directions.  HOWEVER, Kim and I are notoriously famous for getting lost in Europe ESPECIALLY when we hear the phrase "You can't miss it!"  But Tom & Georgina said they wanted to go along so we figured CERTAINLY between the four of us we'd get there.  And besides we had nothing on the agenda until 8:30pm.  We doubled checked at the Viking desk at 11:30 am this morning and got even more specific directions with a reminder to take ONLY "Bus 16" - not Bus 16A or 116 or 161, or any combination....simply bus 16.  Georgina had to purchase a ticket as she didn't meet the age qualifications :)  We found a metro station right on the way and within five minutes we were at the stop.  The small bus arrived and made four quick stops before dropping us off right in front of St. Matthias Church which sits right beside Fisherman's Bastion.  I was simply thrilled - as much that we didn't get lost as we made it to my favorite spot.  After multiple photo ops we climbed back down from the upper level overlooking Tom & Georgina stayed and we said our goodbyes as there is a good chance we won't see them this evening (we have a late excursion) and our departure is so very early. 

The "you can't miss it" Bus 16 - straight (almost) to Castle Hill District

THAT is what I was looking for - and we DID it :)

The mighty explorers!

The Danube from Fisherman's Bastion - the Parliament across the river

The turrets - that's the view I wanted to see....one of my top two places to visit in Europe

I'm a little pleased :)

St. Matthias Church

Budapest After Dark - The Final Excursion

We spent the afternoon doing a lot of nothing and making sure our bags were ready to roll in the morning.  We have a 3:15 am baggage pick-up and a 3:45 departure from the hotel to the airport.  We went out to dinner and we are on a roll - didn't get lost AGAIN.  Of course the restaurant was on the same street as our hotel only 50 yards away...still :)

Italian dinner - Hungarian style :)

The Parliament at night 

Cool (literally) photo op

Best friends....see you in February in Norway!

October 21 - Budapest

A Long Day - Followed By A Great Day

After a nearly twelve hour travel day (left Belgrade at 8am and arrived at Budapest at 7:30pm) we had dinner (provided by Viking) and then did a little bit of unpacking before heading to bed.  We were provided - as usual when in a luxury hotel - with a full breakfast and then at 9:30am we boarded buses to drive around Budapest.  We stopped in two places...the first high atop the fortress overlooking the Danube and the city below and then later at the St. Mary's Church.  We concluded the tour in the Market where we grabbed a light lunch before enjoying a 20 minute walk back to the hotel.

Opera House

Hero's Square

Statute of Liberty

Parliament building

Fisherman's Bastion

St. Mary's Church

St. Mary's Church:  Roman ruins under the floor / medieval original artwork from 1300's

The Market

Inside the enormous market

Found the travel socks!

Overlooking Budapest & The Danube

Traditional Hungarian Dinner Excursion

We met Pam & Bob for happy hour in the lounge at the hotel at 5:30 and met up with Tom & Georgina just before 7pm as we boarded the bus for the ride outside of Budapest and into the woods on the other side of the river for an authentic Hungarian Folklore dinner & entertainment.  Lots of food, lots of fun on our next-to-the-last day/night of the adventure.

Deep in the woods outside Budapest we visited an authentic Hungarian restaurant

Dancers & musicians entertained throughout the dinner / ceramic drink holder with 40 proof pre-dinner drink :O

Hungarian Goulash soup & chocolate cake :)

Group photo :)

October 19: Novi Sad

 Last Day On The Viking Eldir

Today is the last day on the ship and because of the modifications to the schedule due to the low water levels of the Danube today was one of the days that we had a new excursion.  We were told we would ride for about an hour and a half to a small town named Novi Sad where we'd have a walking tour and taste some local pastries.  Then have a concert and free time before returning home.  Through dinner Kim was really reluctant to get on board a bus for such a drive with no real "significant" thing to look forward to.  But I decided I wanted to go.  We'd given up one day's excursion to get an additional day of cruising and I couldn't see the point of staying behind to sit on the ship.  Yesterday's excursion through Belgrade had shown us there really wasn't much more to see.  By the time dinner had ended she somewhat reluctantly agreed to go with me.  Such a sweet girl.  But THE BEST part of the day today....as we were walking during our free time, my adorable wife said, "I think this may have been the best excursion they've provided on this trip."  :)

The thing was we really DID NOT do anything significant.  But all of it was enjoyable and gave us a real taste of local life in Serbia.  And the three woman concert was simply amazing.  We both agreed it wasn't very good, it was EXCELLENT.

Started the day in the Farmer's Market and got to see my favorite food, vegetables!

Serbian treat - Uštipci - a fried dough ball with several options for toppings:  I preferred the apricot and plum

Novi Sad is known for it's many tunnels and passages

Pedestrian street

Local cathedral

Synagogue....at the start of WWII there were 80,000 Jews in Serbia; at the end 8,000 - the rest had been sent to the "Death Camps."  The final group were held captive in here before being sent off to the camps.

The girls concert - truly outstanding :)

Concert Sample

Local Bermet - the Serbian sweet wine :)

Hold on.....there's a story - On our walking tour our guide showed ups a shop with healthy ice cream made of all natural ingredients.  I PICKED THAT shop to return to.  We did....walked in and the girl said "Sorry our electricity is out, so we are not open."  So we went to the alternative - a gelato shop :)  I TRIED :)

Final dinner - but NOT the end of the adventure....on to Budapest!

October 18: Belgrade, Serbia

 The Last Day of Sailing

This morning we sailed early for about an hour and arrived before breakfast in Belgrade, Siberia.  We headed out around 8:30 and met our Siberian local guide "K" who was great.  Her parents and grandparents had all been tour guides.  She escorted us around giving us the history and in a way that felt like personalized story telling while mixing in some aspects of her personal life.  She was very friendly and personable and made the day very enjoyable.  Honestly, even though we were gone about four hours we didn't see a lot or anything that would be so significant to someone outside of Belgrade or perhaps Serbia.  But it WAS very interesting, and the weather was great for walking around and seeing another part of the world and getting more familiar with another culture & way of life.

Roman ruins under the mall

Entry gate to the medieval fortress

The original medieval doors

Inner gate to the fortress

Original Roman ruins within the fortress

Panoramic view of the river from the fortress

The fortress moat has been utilized for public activities....including pickleball!

St. Sevan Church - 100 years in the making

Interior of the church - ALL glass/gold mosaic tiles, no paintings/murals

Daily photo op :)

Belgrade City Tour