Vienna
Austrian bathrooms are wondrously clean and readily findable, even on a Sunday when all stores except “souvenir shops” (an amorphous category, apparently) and restaurants/cafes must be closed. This fortuitous fact was relevant because of the 24-hour stomach bug that bit me before dawn on the day we arrived in Vienna. I’ve never been in Vienna before and was not about to confine myself to quarters, so we went on a walking tour of old Vienna plus – and there is video to prove this – a one-hour waltz lesson. Sandy and I had a blast, and we emerged without having caused lasting damage to one another’s lower extremities.
Bratislava
Score one for global warming, probably. Near-record heat and drought rendered the Danube between Vienna and Budapest impassable, even for a shallow-keeled river boat. Consequently, we took a tour bus to Bratislava – a mere 45 minutes in cruise director time, more like an hour and ten minutes in real-world central European time. The old part of Bratislava is charming, but there’s not much to it. After a walking tour with a wonderful guide, we (surprisingly) enjoyed lunch at the Bratislava Doubletree and then took the bus to Budapest. Two and a half hours in cruise director time, roughly four hours in real-world Central European time, with the last four miles or so consuming the final hour.
Budapest
Driving into Budapest from the northwest, the city makes a poor first impression: block upon block of crumbling concrete apartment buildings and shabby, seedy storefronts. Suddenly, to the left, Buda Castle appears – but the impression improves only marginally; the dome is a patchy green and the building itself, while massive, is dingy and drab.
Then you reach the Danube. Ahead, the glorious Chain Bridge tethers Buda and Pest. Across the bridge lies stately Gresham Palace, and off to the left looms the spectacular Parliament building. Look back toward Buda and admire the Castle (improved by the more distant perspective), iconic Matthias Church, and the graceful twin spires of St. Ann’s Church. As attractive as the vista is during daylight, at night it is magically, breathtakingly illuminated.
Budapest is a wonderful walking city, especially along the Danube. Beautiful bridges, ornate bath houses, majestic churches, and teeming indoor markets are everywhere. The markets are crammed with shops and shoppers selling and buying lace, handcrafted dolls, meats, and many other things, including Unicum – an herb-based liqueur touted as a cure-all for indigestion and many other ailments. Being familiar with indigestion, I bought a small bottle. What they don’t tell you about Unicum is that it is so vile you’d rather have indigestion than invoke its curative properties. (It did stop my heartburn, though.)
And so ended our Danube River cruise. The ship was wonderful, the tours were top-notch, and the scenery, food, and wine were terrific.
PuffinlessTravel 