Ahoy mateys!...... from the Wandering Berkmans!
We were always on the "never us" side of the cruise debate-- who wants to be trapped with a bunch of crazy partiers just to be vomited out onto a port like the tourists that we are and take over a city center, following a guide with an umbrella? Apparently us, as we have now had the cruise experience twice now, the first time on a large boat to the Caribbean when the kids were teens. To be fair, we really did enjoy being on the water and having our choice of tasty fare on the buffet line. And the shows-- sure, they were fun. We just figured out how to avoid the party animals. And no one succumbed to rotovirus so we walked off saying maybe one day we'll try it again.
River cruises were always of interest to us-- smaller groups, probably less inclined to booze it up, intriguing locales. When our wonderful friends the Outhwaites said they also wanted to give the river cruise a try we knew this was the way to celebrate a couple of our 60th birthdays over the past year. And with Eva's family roots in Slovakia/Hungary, a cruise on the Danube was the way to go.
Choosing the right cruise line for us, we followed a couple of criteria: not longer than a week, leaving in April/May, not exorbitantly expensive, and of course, good ratings. We agreed on CroisiEurope, a French cruise company, because it fit the bill on all counts. Launch date-- April 13 (just in time for Don's bday! Not that he reminded anyone about it or anything...)
The whirlwind 7 day itinerary-- fly into Prague, Czech Republic and spend a couple of days there, then a train to Vienna, Austria where we boarded the boat, spend another day there, sail to Budapest, Hungary for a day and then to Bratislava, Slovakia for a day before sailing back to Vienna. More on the schedule later.
As with most cruises, the cabins were tight and we knew to expect that but it turned out the Outhwaites' cabin was just a hair smaller than ours and that made a huge difference in their comfort level. (The more expensive, more bougie Viking ship mocking us from just outside our window). No balcony but a window that opened floor to ceiling (pic is of another cabin i shot on the way out-- forgot to take a pic of ours!)
We just happened to be in Prague for their Easter market. The Old Town Square was festive with music, flowers and kiosks with all manner of tasty treats like sausage sandwiches or for the sweet tooth-- the chimney cake, a rolled wonder of dough cooked over wood fire and filled with Nutella or cream -- perfect with a cup of mulled wine or, yes, beer. We did not know this but the Czech Republic is #1 on the list of beer consumed per year-- based on all the large groups of party-ing young men we saw day and night we think their tourist base may play a part in that. (FYI the US is #20).
Prague was another one of those cities where the architecture had us saying "Look at that one!" everywhere we walked. From the classical.....
... to the modern. Gehry's Dancing House , aka Fred and Ginger, is a hotel on the river that's even more whimsical in real life. You hope the rooftop bar has an amazing dance floor!
The Central Gallery had a fantastic collection of works from Dali, Warhol (Austrian parents) and Mucha, who hails from Austria.
Don was first in line one morning to see the Old Jewish Cemetery and he said it was, as you can imagine, a very moving experience to see all the thousands of gravestones crammed in a very small space. Equally impactful was the visit later that day to the Spanish Synagogue .
The traditional beef goulash Don tucked into for lunch one day was one of his favorite meals in Prague. Unfortunately it stayed with him into the wee hours of the morning much to his chagrin. The fish dish shown was a bit more forgiving.
I wanted to try something traditional but am not much for beefy dishes so I chose a vegan beef with knedliky, bread dumplings, and sauce. Yeah yeah, some might say I still haven't had this dish but that's as far as I was willing to go. Have to say-- wasn't a fan. The dumplings are heavy as lead and the sauce was just "meh". But I think they got the look right! Db was thrilled with a tofu stir fry thank you very much.
After two days in Prague with the Outhwaites we boarded a train to Vienna where we begin our CroisiEurope cruise. As we boarded we were surprised/not surprised that the average age of the passengers on the river cruise seemed to be mid 70's-80. We knew these types of cruises were popular with the Boomer Generation but wow-- we felt a wee bit out of place! Here's Don enjoying his Welcome Drink in the golden lounge. No, it did not include Metamucil.
On the top deck we gave Eva a belated birthday gift by letting her be taller than the gents for once.
The staff was overall very accommodating, especially when it came to our various dietary needs. And because this was a French cruise line, the food was quite nice, matched up each day with the cuisine of the country we were visiting. Once Don gave them a heads-up on his many restrictions (lactose! Hard C's!) he was able to enjoy variations on most dishes without a problem.
First stop-- Budapest! But not before Richard and I nerded out to watch the boat pass through the locks (there were 3!! So exciting)
We unfortunately didn't have time to go inside the Museum of Ethnography (aka the National Museum) but the building itself was a creative wonder. The outside looks as if it's emerging from the earth...
Head to the "roof" of the building, which is essentially just around the other side, and you find a huge walkable garden! Camera shy, or really just too big to photograph it all-- there is the exact same garden rising from the ground on the other side of the plaza! So immense! So clever!!
The interior of the Hungarian State Opera house was stunning. While we didn't attend a performance we did hear the performers rehearsing-- the acoustics through the hall were amazing.
The impressive view of the riverside -- the question: is this Buda or Pest?? We were hoping we would still be here at night because the way the buildings are lit up gives one the money shot for sure. Alas, our tight schedule had us bidding the city farewell before sundown.
The Parliament building on the Pest side holds the grand prize for that night light show. Maybe another time we'll see that live.
The English speaking contingent of the cruise -- just 8 strong hailing from the UK, Sweden and the US, but as our tour guide Tomas called us, we were "family".
Next stop-- Bratislava, Slovenia. Here, the stunning Opera House.
We weren't huge fans of the food so no foodie shots here but in case you're curious here are some regional favs--
The historic center
Final stop-- Vienna. We had a a great tour of the Opera House (this was the cruise of opera houses apparently!) Featured here-- the VIP lounge.
Not huge sachertorte fans and this one was only meh so not much of a loss here.
Stephansplatz-- yes, loaded with us tourists but still a wonderful area to tour, grab a hot chocolate at the Lindt store and people watch.
We (ok I) didn't try enough of these goodies during our brief stay in Vienna. Forget the Sachertorte-- these jause are my happy place!
Thank you, Eva and Richard, for a terrific first experience together on a river cruise. Would any of us repeat the adventure? Haha not likely or maybe we wait until we hit the true target age. The tight rooms and tighter schedule didn't always make for the most relaxing of vacations. Either way, it's always special when you can share it with wonderful friends. Until then, here's to our next adventure! (Years from now we'll look at this pic and wonder - spouse swap cruise??)
We're currently in Wisconsin and Chicago visiting family and hit NJ next for more fun with friends. A longer stay in Halifax is next-- stop by if you're in the area! Until then, we leave you with a little slap happy fun in the form of Hungarian (Slovenian? someone fact check me here) folk dancing we enjoyed on the cruise. This is very similar to the mating dance Don did for me when we were a-courting. Forget about his mad tennis skills-- this is his true talent!
Next time, we cover our stay in Oviedo, the capital of Asturias, Spain, as we embarked on a family roots adventure. Until then. thanks for following along!
Don and Monica
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