Friday, October 30, 2009
Budapest - a city of light
Thursday, October 29
Woke up this morning to the beautiful sights of Budapest. We arrived last night and the Captain took the ship upriver for a night cruise. Budapest from the water is one of the most beautiful citys. The Pest hills, and the buildings are lighted up, and very close to the Danube. With the monuments, bridges, castles, churches and Parliment building, it is a sectaular sight.
We are docked near the Elizabeth Bridge. At the end of the bridge is the spa that Tanya and I visited the last time we were there. Some great memories there!
After breakfast and a brief talk about Hungary from a local guide, we boarded the coaches for a city tour. Unfortunately, the bus was overly warm and we could barely keep our eyes open, and we only looked at everything through the bus windows. We never stopped until we arrived at the base of the hill at Matthias Church and the Fisherman's Bastion. We finally got out into the fresh air and got to walk around.
After visiting the church (as the Brir tourists say "The ABC -- another bloody church!) we climbed the stairs to the Fisherman's Bastion, where we had a marvelous view up and down the Danube. We had some free time for shopping as we made our way back to the bus.
After lunch, we ventured out again with a few fellow passengers to the big marketplace, housed in a huge, ancient iron building. The first floor is the most amazing farmer's market, with the most beautiful display of fruits and vegetables you've ever seen. The second floor is all souvenier shops. We found out after we returned to the ship that there was also a basement that was all fish markets. I'm glad we missed it, others said it was smelly and they saw lots of fish heads.
I followed Augie for a long hike down the Danube so he could find another Cache, and when he said he wanted to walk up the mountain to find another, I told him I would see him back at the ship and headed across the bridge to the other side of the river. He didn't return until almost dinnertime after climbing the hill to the monument.
We enjoyed our "last supper" on the ship and said goodbye to all our new friends. After we finish this last post, it's early to bed as we have a three am wakeup call tomorrow for our flight home.
As vacations go, this has been a relaxing one. The slow pace of a river boat cruise, coupled with the slow pace of moving 40 people from place to place, and all the down time as the ship moves from port to port (I read four books) makes this a trip that we won't need time to recuperate from when we get home.
Woke up this morning to the beautiful sights of Budapest. We arrived last night and the Captain took the ship upriver for a night cruise. Budapest from the water is one of the most beautiful citys. The Pest hills, and the buildings are lighted up, and very close to the Danube. With the monuments, bridges, castles, churches and Parliment building, it is a sectaular sight.
We are docked near the Elizabeth Bridge. At the end of the bridge is the spa that Tanya and I visited the last time we were there. Some great memories there!
After breakfast and a brief talk about Hungary from a local guide, we boarded the coaches for a city tour. Unfortunately, the bus was overly warm and we could barely keep our eyes open, and we only looked at everything through the bus windows. We never stopped until we arrived at the base of the hill at Matthias Church and the Fisherman's Bastion. We finally got out into the fresh air and got to walk around.
After visiting the church (as the Brir tourists say "The ABC -- another bloody church!) we climbed the stairs to the Fisherman's Bastion, where we had a marvelous view up and down the Danube. We had some free time for shopping as we made our way back to the bus.
After lunch, we ventured out again with a few fellow passengers to the big marketplace, housed in a huge, ancient iron building. The first floor is the most amazing farmer's market, with the most beautiful display of fruits and vegetables you've ever seen. The second floor is all souvenier shops. We found out after we returned to the ship that there was also a basement that was all fish markets. I'm glad we missed it, others said it was smelly and they saw lots of fish heads.
I followed Augie for a long hike down the Danube so he could find another Cache, and when he said he wanted to walk up the mountain to find another, I told him I would see him back at the ship and headed across the bridge to the other side of the river. He didn't return until almost dinnertime after climbing the hill to the monument.
We enjoyed our "last supper" on the ship and said goodbye to all our new friends. After we finish this last post, it's early to bed as we have a three am wakeup call tomorrow for our flight home.
As vacations go, this has been a relaxing one. The slow pace of a river boat cruise, coupled with the slow pace of moving 40 people from place to place, and all the down time as the ship moves from port to port (I read four books) makes this a trip that we won't need time to recuperate from when we get home.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Kalocsa and the horse show
Wednesday, October 28
Today we are again docked away from any town. The only thing on the dock is a souvenier shop, which did a brisk business first thing after arrival. Kalocsa, the nearby town, is the paparika capitol of the world, so paparika cooking kits were "hot" items.
After breakfast, we boarded our coaches for the drive to the Hungarian Puzsta, a horse ranch near Kalocsa. We were served wine or apple joice and the local delicacy of bread with lard spread and a sprinkling of paprika. Yum! This was a just a bit much for many of our adventurous eaters.
The horse riders entertained us with their trained horses and skillful use of whips. There were also different types of buggies and one rider who drove 8 horses while he stood on the last two. Then we all boarded buggies which took us out to the pasture where the horses and cattle were grazing and they served us peach brandy.
At noon, we returned to our ship for a Hungarian pork Goulash (different than the usual beef goulash) lunch and to continue up the river to Budapest. GHOULash --the Halloween treat?
Tonight was the farewell Captain's dinner, complete with the required Baked Alaska parade.
Today we are again docked away from any town. The only thing on the dock is a souvenier shop, which did a brisk business first thing after arrival. Kalocsa, the nearby town, is the paparika capitol of the world, so paparika cooking kits were "hot" items.
After breakfast, we boarded our coaches for the drive to the Hungarian Puzsta, a horse ranch near Kalocsa. We were served wine or apple joice and the local delicacy of bread with lard spread and a sprinkling of paprika. Yum! This was a just a bit much for many of our adventurous eaters.
The horse riders entertained us with their trained horses and skillful use of whips. There were also different types of buggies and one rider who drove 8 horses while he stood on the last two. Then we all boarded buggies which took us out to the pasture where the horses and cattle were grazing and they served us peach brandy.
At noon, we returned to our ship for a Hungarian pork Goulash (different than the usual beef goulash) lunch and to continue up the river to Budapest. GHOULash --the Halloween treat?
Tonight was the farewell Captain's dinner, complete with the required Baked Alaska parade.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Mohacs and Pecs, Hungary
Tuesday October 27
The Odyssey arrived in Mohacs, Hungary, fairly early but we had to wait until the customs and immigration people arrived at 9 am. It took a while to complete the formalities, and when the coffee and pastries ran out, we were cleared and the captain backed the boat from the customs dock to downtown Mohacs, about a mile.
Finally, we loaded onto the busses and headed to Pecs, one of the larger cities of Hungary. This was a quicky tour since we were shorted about an hour by the customs delays.
First stop, a very nice cathederal which had a Roman Necropolis under it. After leaving the cathederal, we walked underground and viewed a part of the necropolis, which had been covered over in glass for better lighting.
One of the bits of local color we ran into were the lock fences. Its a tradition of sorts to put a lock onto a fence when one gets married. The red locks indicate you already had a baby when you got married. This apparently is popular in Hungarian college towns.
We walked through the old town, and had some free wandering time, but pretty soon it was bus time. We got back to the boat for lunch, then shoved off fo Kalosca, a few hours upriver.
This evening the crew put on the tradition crew's show, starting with a rendition of YMCA that had passenger toes tapping. Bad jokes and skits, a good time was had by all.
We're docked in the middle of nowhere -- the river changed course and the town is about 4 miles away.
The Odyssey arrived in Mohacs, Hungary, fairly early but we had to wait until the customs and immigration people arrived at 9 am. It took a while to complete the formalities, and when the coffee and pastries ran out, we were cleared and the captain backed the boat from the customs dock to downtown Mohacs, about a mile.
Finally, we loaded onto the busses and headed to Pecs, one of the larger cities of Hungary. This was a quicky tour since we were shorted about an hour by the customs delays.
First stop, a very nice cathederal which had a Roman Necropolis under it. After leaving the cathederal, we walked underground and viewed a part of the necropolis, which had been covered over in glass for better lighting.
One of the bits of local color we ran into were the lock fences. Its a tradition of sorts to put a lock onto a fence when one gets married. The red locks indicate you already had a baby when you got married. This apparently is popular in Hungarian college towns.
We walked through the old town, and had some free wandering time, but pretty soon it was bus time. We got back to the boat for lunch, then shoved off fo Kalosca, a few hours upriver.
This evening the crew put on the tradition crew's show, starting with a rendition of YMCA that had passenger toes tapping. Bad jokes and skits, a good time was had by all.
We're docked in the middle of nowhere -- the river changed course and the town is about 4 miles away.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Vukovar and Osijek, Croatia
Monday, October 26
This morning we arrived in Vukovar, Croatia. After breakfast, we were treated to a lecture from a law student from Croatia. This area of Croatia, known as Slavonia, is surrounded by the Danube, the Sava, and the Drava rivers. Until 1918 it was part of the Austo-Hungarian Empire.
We boarded our coaches for a quick tour of Vukovar. This is where the war with the Serbs began, and the city still shows signs of the devestation, with bombed and bullet ridden buildings everywhere.
Next, we continued on to Osijek, the capital of Slavonia. It, too, was heavily damaged during the war, but they have done a remarkable job of reconstruction. We toured the old city and a church and monestery. The highlight of our day (and possibly the whole trip) was our lunch with a local family.
We were split into groups of 9 or 10 and dropped at the homes of different families. Our host had been an ambulance driver during the war and shared some pictures with us of his house when it was just an empty, bombed out shell. He told us he rebuilt it, and the house next door (where we were having our lunch) with his own two hands. We enjoyed a local lunch of soup, meat patties, rice, cole slaw, and poppy seed cake. And of course, the local wine and home made apricot brandy.
After dinner, another performance by the local Tambura Band.
This morning we arrived in Vukovar, Croatia. After breakfast, we were treated to a lecture from a law student from Croatia. This area of Croatia, known as Slavonia, is surrounded by the Danube, the Sava, and the Drava rivers. Until 1918 it was part of the Austo-Hungarian Empire.
We boarded our coaches for a quick tour of Vukovar. This is where the war with the Serbs began, and the city still shows signs of the devestation, with bombed and bullet ridden buildings everywhere.
Next, we continued on to Osijek, the capital of Slavonia. It, too, was heavily damaged during the war, but they have done a remarkable job of reconstruction. We toured the old city and a church and monestery. The highlight of our day (and possibly the whole trip) was our lunch with a local family.
We were split into groups of 9 or 10 and dropped at the homes of different families. Our host had been an ambulance driver during the war and shared some pictures with us of his house when it was just an empty, bombed out shell. He told us he rebuilt it, and the house next door (where we were having our lunch) with his own two hands. We enjoyed a local lunch of soup, meat patties, rice, cole slaw, and poppy seed cake. And of course, the local wine and home made apricot brandy.
After dinner, another performance by the local Tambura Band.
Belgrade, Serbia
Sunday, October 24
After breakfast, the day began with a lecture by a Serbian economist on the state of modern Serbia. It was very interesting and enlightening. It's a shame what happened to the beautiful country of Yugoslavia, all because of the power hungry, hateful Slobodan Milosevic.
After, we boarded our busses for a tour of Belgrade, the capital of the Republic of Serbia. This city has been destroyed and rebuilt many times in its history. The Celts, Romans, Huns, and the Turks have all left their marks on the city. Finally, the Slavs settled here in the 7th century. Yugoslavia means "land of the South Slavs". Both world wars were also devistating to this city.
We walked around the pedestrian district (the only shops open on a Sunday) and the Kalemegdan Fortress, which overlooks the river.
After lunch, Augie and I took a walk into the city again in search of a T shirt. We walked around the fort again and enjoyed a photography display of beautiful pictures from all over Serbia by a local photographer. We were supposed to take a trip on Tito's Blue Train, but they had to cancel because of technical difficulties.
Later in the evening, we were entertained by the local dance group, Talija. They were very lively and spirited, but I could barely keep my eyes open.
After breakfast, the day began with a lecture by a Serbian economist on the state of modern Serbia. It was very interesting and enlightening. It's a shame what happened to the beautiful country of Yugoslavia, all because of the power hungry, hateful Slobodan Milosevic.
After, we boarded our busses for a tour of Belgrade, the capital of the Republic of Serbia. This city has been destroyed and rebuilt many times in its history. The Celts, Romans, Huns, and the Turks have all left their marks on the city. Finally, the Slavs settled here in the 7th century. Yugoslavia means "land of the South Slavs". Both world wars were also devistating to this city.
We walked around the pedestrian district (the only shops open on a Sunday) and the Kalemegdan Fortress, which overlooks the river.
After lunch, Augie and I took a walk into the city again in search of a T shirt. We walked around the fort again and enjoyed a photography display of beautiful pictures from all over Serbia by a local photographer. We were supposed to take a trip on Tito's Blue Train, but they had to cancel because of technical difficulties.
Later in the evening, we were entertained by the local dance group, Talija. They were very lively and spirited, but I could barely keep my eyes open.
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