Saving the Bucharest for Last: 7/16/2025

Bittersweet, but here we were - the last day of our fantastic trip! This would be along day, but a good one, as so many had been. Of course, we had a wonderful breakfast on the ship, but then disembarked for the last time, boarded a bus and headed to Bucharest! Unfortunately, this day may not get as much detail as the others. There were combinations of fatigue, and feeling unwell, so a write-up in a timely manner never occurred.

The bus ride was long, the drive from the port, across the river from Ruse took nearly two hours. But, our first stop carried significant historical merit! First, we had some good views of the inner city, and particularly the palace at which the Romanian Revolution concluded. During our time there we saw a changing-of-the-guards, and listened to a first hand account of a local who had fought in the revolution!

Afterwards, we walked throughout the down-town areas of the city. We passed through a massive building where photos weren't allowed; it was full of lots of bars with smoking options. It was cool architecture but not a place we spent much time. We also visit a small local cathedral before visiting the Village Museum.

This place was so cool! When I think of a museum, this certainly wouldn't be it. Everything was outdoors, and simply, it was a museum of buildings, villages, and architectural styles of the region from years passed! The exhibits themselves were relocated and preserved buildings from different regions and eras, all around Romania. The diverse architecture and history, in the lovely outdoor weather was such a cool and unique experience!

Our final stop before heading to our hotel for the final day was the Palace of Parliament. Massive barely even begins to describe it. While it's footprint is massive by itself, the materials used in its construction have made this the "heaviest" building in the world. It is now used for far more than just government business, but it is certainly a landmark that stands out.

At this point we arrived at the hotel, and we took some time to repack and take a nap. We had another evening excursion upcoming, and would be needing to leave the hotel in the wee hours of the morning. 

Our final excursion was a chance to dine locally, and experience the cuisine of Romania. We enjoyed local beer and more of the typical brandy that we had experienced throughout our trip. The dinner that was served - to us and the other dozen-or-so guests, began with some small plates. There was bread, meatballs with dipping sauces, and a vegetable-cheese platter. 

The was then followed up by the main course which was a grits-esk style starch accompanying sausage wrapped in grape leaves and a giant pepper (the pepper was maybe just for show... it was quite spicy).

And finally, we headed to our concluding venue - both for the day and for the trip! It was a restaurant where we were prepared to have dessert, a collection of local sweets and drinks. We had a final toast, and thanked my parents as this would never have been possible without them!

With that, the trip came to an end ... accounting for the upcoming 24 hours or so of travel back home, but that is not so much worth writing about. :)

Nautical Term of the Day: No Great Shakes

“When casks became empty, they were "shaken" (or taken apart) so that their pieces, called "shakes," could be stored in a small space. Shakes had very little value.”

 

The Heart of Bulgaria: 7/15/2025

Today we were out for a long day. Most excursions we do are planned for only about 3 hours, but today we were headed for an 8-9 hour adventure. I had my concerns, but spoiler … it all worked out ok. The day started with the usual breakfast on the boat, and again as usual, we joined up the the tour bus for our excursion at about 8:30.

A large reason why our excursion was 8 hours was the travel time. The beginning of our outing today was a roughly 2 hour bus ride, away from the port city of Ruse along the Danube river and the Bulgaria-Romania border, south towards a more central area of the country, specifically the large town/small city of Veliko Tarnovo. The bus ride itself was again pretty, but offered little new narrative for our trip. We once again saw nesting storks, seemingly endless fields of sunflowers, narratives about the rose-bud crops, and general history of the area. 

After two hours of driving we arrived at the outskirts of Veliko Ternovo. Our first stop was a little bit of a silly one; it was a modern building made in the likeness of a castle, but in actuality it was an event venue - seemed great for weddings. This stop was to provide folks on the excursion a chance to have a snack, some coffee, etc before we got to the “main attractions.”

From there we headed straight to the Church of Nativity. For being a relatively unimpressive building at first glace, this turned out to be one of the most interesting churches I’ve ever visit. Unfortunately, photographs were not allowed, so any images provided I’ve simply found online and take no credit for. The church was three rooms, dark lighting, low ceilings. It had no towers or chapels, and new long pews for sitting. It had no chandeliers or statures, no stone or columns. However, every room from floor to ceiling was painted in elaborate murals. 

The inner-most room was the chamber for the men who were observing service. Apparently, at the time men and women could not be in the same venue for their religious practices. This room had rows and rows of different styles of mural, rising to the main images on the ceiling. There were a series of frescos showing angels, saints, and apostles. Another set above them depicting the life of Jesus. The wall at the front of the room included some of the most significant images; and one of the most unusual aspects for me were the two carved dragons atop the wall as a demonstration for the struggle between good and evil. Of greatest note in this room however was a mural in the center of the ceiling depicting the holy trinity in a vertical line, rather than a triangle (apparently that is the more normal thing).

The room just outside the main chamber was where the women would meet. The room was a little more humble but the paintings were no less inspiring. The front wall included a depiction of the judgement day, showing the sinners being taken by a river of flame to a great serpent, angels weighing souls and demons messing with the scales. On the other side we saw people gathering outside the gates of heaven. But my two favorite paintings - perhaps because I have no memory of seeing the likes before - were a complete family tree for Jesus Christ as well as a depiction of 12 haloed characters below them. They were not the apostles as I first assumed, but rather Greek philosophers, being credited for the knowledge that they’d brought into the modern world.

The final room was the last to be build and was where men and women could mingle together after the services. Once more, the paintings spanned from floor to ceiling, but again of their own themes. There were still some frescos depicting holy imagery, but also the months and the days of those months were painted throughout the hall; that was super cool and very unique! But, the most prominent piece here was a painting depicting the circle of life as the steering wheel of a ship. The wheel itself had rings, the inner most being the sun, followed by the four elements of nature, then the twelve Zodiak symbols, and finally the 12 months. Next to the wheel, on either side, was an angle of light and another of darkness. A man traveled around the wheel - gaining everything he wanted at the top, but then falling back down on the other side to age and returning to the earth.

I left the church just reflecting on how different and interesting this building was, and I would highly recommend it if you ever get the chance to see it.

Afterwards we headed to a local bar-like restaurant for lunch. Apparently the owners love animals, and that was clear as we approached. The grounds had many animals in pens, including a goat, many rabbits, lots of birds, and more. Of greatest note though were the various peacocks, and one was really showing off its feathers as we arrived! Lunch itself was great. It began with a salad of tomatoes and cucumbers topped with sirene (a Feta-like cheese). Several folks noted that these were some of the most flavorful tomatoes they’d had in a long time! Next was a small vegetable soup and then we had the main course: a chicken stew-like dish and it too was delicious. As our meal neared its end, we were served a sweet honey-yoghurt dessert, and just as we began a local music and dance group came in! Over the next 10 minutes or so they performed three songs and corresponding dances - pulling in some people from our excursion for the final one. It was a lot of fun.

After lunch we made a few small stops. First we visit a historical house, once home to a wealthy merchant family. It was amazing that it could look both like such a fancy house, and also like it was a shock that folks could live here as they did. The house was only of about 5 rooms (living, dining, sleeping, cooking, and a prepping room for the women). But, the home housed approximately 20 people! Families had upwards of 10 children and several generations of the families would live together, often all sleeping in the same room - if not the same bed! It was both impressive and hard to imagine. We then stopped into a local souvenir shop - but with the specific intention of sampling some rose-based foods. We tried a rose Turkish Delight candy, as well as a rose liquor and a rose brandy. The prior was very sweet and the latter tasted mostly of … alcohol. Finally, we headed towards Veliko Tarnovo “propper” and made a short stop at an outlook for some views of the city and the older parts of it. We saw long castle walls spanning the hills of the town in a classically “castle-like” manner. 

Our last stop was more into the actual part of the city, specifically as a series of streets dedicated to local stores and vendors, many of whom preformed their crafts by hand. This was a really cool area and it was fun to walk up and down the cobblestone roads to see what was around. We saw leatherwork stores and ceramics stores, silver workers and copper workers. The crafts they made were all unique and cool, artistic and colorful. We found a few select things to purchase for ourselves, but if we weren’t traveling it would be tempting to come here all the time!

At last, it was time to conclude our excursion, which unfortunately meant another 2 hour bus ride. But, the ride was both uneventful (as you often hope trips like this to be) while also continuing to give us lovely views of the countryside. The evening was queued up to be mostly like many, dinner etc. But we will be having a toast with the captain as it is our last night on ship, from there we will prep for our final day of adventure!

Nautical Term of the Day: Fly-By-Night

“This large sail, used only for sailing downwind, required little attention.”

 

Views in Vidin: 7/14/2025

Today was a shorter day, with one morning excursion and a simple short afternoon walk. We’d arrived overnight just within the Bulgarian border on the Danube, this time at a port of the small city of Vidin. The sun was shining, and the clouds were sparse - beautiful weather but threatening to reach 100 degrees (it didn’t, we just got to 99)! Unfortunately, our excursion for the morning was not set in Vidin, but rather at the small town of Belogradchik in the Balkan Mountains.

We hopped into a bus to take us on a roughly 1 hour drive to the venue. Along the way we received a monolog of local history. Some of the highlights included local crops like sunflowers and roses. The roses are particularly important to the area; apparently it takes roughly 10,000 rose-buds to manufacture 10 mL of rose oil - commonly used in perfumes. Secondly, the Cyrillic alphabet was invented in Bulgaria, and finally there is a common yoghurt here that apparently has a bacteria that leads to very little development of lacrosse intolerance!

Additionally, the drive was challenging, and my greatest KUDOS to the bus driver, these towns and roads were not made for the buses. The drive was a bit anxiety inducing as the narrow roads and step edges were precocious, and as we got near our excursion site we had to navigate the town traffic, road obstacles, sharp turns and steep hills. It was … a bit stressful.

But well worth it! We’d arrived at the Belogradchik Fortress; at the summit of a hill above the town, a brick rectangular wall surrounding the grounds, and a set of stairs rising up a set of massive red-stone towers. The original outpost built among the stones was constructed by the Romans, supplements to the elevated outpost were made in the Middle Ages, and the more complete rectangular walls and gates were constructed early in the 1800’s. The views at the entrance were already amazing, but nothing like we would be seeing soon.

The massive stones above the ground were each a unique shape; one described as a human face, one an elephant head, and my favorite was a rabbit eating up a cabbage. We climbed the 180 steps up into these rocks; the modern instalments were steep but small and easy to climb while the older stone steps were irregular and large - but could usually be worked though. The views at this point were breathtaking. In all directions we could look out from these rocky spires at the beautiful Bulgarian landscape. Endless forests upon rolling hills. Cliffs of red rock jutting up from the ground and rocky plateus sprinkled amidst it all. Looking immediately downhill we could oversee the uniform red rooves of the nearby town, nestled beneath the fortress itself.

It was one of the more stunning natural landmarks I’ve ever been to.

The drive back was much the same, though I think I found it a bit more pleasant. We returned to the ship for a quick lunch, though it was already approaching 1:00, and discuss plans for the afternoon. 

After lunch we took a short walk through the local town of Vidin. It is a small location, but it was easy to walk. Particularly, there was a dedicated walking-center of the town! We were tired so did not try to do a complete exploration of the town, but we did enjoy the center. The walkways were smooth and well maintained. There were restaurants and small shops on all sides to stop into as we liked. There was clear care given to the beauty of the place with maintained flower beds ands and several fountains. It was a short walk, but a pretty one.

We were unfortunately pretty tired, so we kept it at a short day and headed in. We took some time to rest before enjoying the evening announcements and another great dinner.

Nautical Term of the Day: At Loggerheads

“An iron ball attached to a long handle was called a ‘loggerhead.’ When heated, it was used to seal the pitch in deck seams. It was sometimes a handy weapon for quarreling crewmen.”

 

Good Views from Golubac Fortress: 7/13/2025

In some ways, today set out as a normal day; but it wasn’t! It was mine and Archer's 6th year anniversary, which was of course exciting, but also very fitting for the excursions for the day. That is, the 6th anniversary is apparently themed around “iron” and today we explored and sailed through the Iron Gates! But we’ll get to that later. We began, of course, with a hearty breakfast, supplemented by glasses of champagne before heading out to our first excursion shortly after 8:00. 

We met our guide at 8:10 for our first excursion which would begin with a hike to the top of the Golubac Fortress. This was an awesome excursion! The first few minutes were a gentle walk through the pristine grounds of the national park to the base of the fortress itself. All the while we approached through clean-cut grass and well manicured rose beds. The sun we rising high above the fortress while the Danube flowed along our left-hand side. The fortress stood tall on the cliff faces before us and we learned about much of its history. We learned that the fortress had never been conquered; sure it had been sold or given away from time to time, but it had never throughout history been taken by force. We learned that it was not always a preserved monument, and that at some point a bus-line would drive between its archways. And we learned that part of its design was to keep all nine of its towers independent of internal connections; therefore forcing invaders to conquer each tower individually.

We reached the base of the steps in the fortress and began our ascent to the top. The views along the way, and at the summit, were breathtaking as we climbed the 290 steps to the top. And, these steps were no easy feat; parts were of uniform metal grating, but other sections were a combination of original and restored stonework. The steps were not level, and the sizes of the steps were uneven. While we climbed steeply to the top of the second tallest tower we heard about the variety of historical finds in the ruins as well as how and what weapons were used to defend this place. We saw cannon-balls of all sizes, a catapult, a trebuchet, dozens of arrow heads (including those suited for poison and fire), chainmail and more! Then, the views from the tower we reached were amazing. We could see far down the Danube in all directions, and it was so clear the importance of this junction. Simply, you could not travel the river without passing within range of this fortress! 

The journey was certainly difficult, the excursion was described as “demanding” and that was accurate! But, it was also well worth it. This was easily one of the most interesting visits to a castle, palace, fortress, cathedral, or other in my many trips to Europe. But, be warned if steep steps or heights are a challenge for you, as both are highly present. 

After the visit to the fortress we boarded a bus for a near 1-hour drive along the coast to the Derdap National Park. Here we took a brief hike (roughly 2 km) to a viewpoint over the Danube. The trail included some small hills, but nothing extreme, and along the way we learned more history of the area and of Serbia more generally. Much of the narrative we heard while hiking was about the local wildlife, ranging from eagles and falcons to boars and wolves. The hike emerged from the forest to a stunning outlook over the Danube. We were also looking out over the small village of Donji Milanovac, which has apparently been fully flooded and rebuilt three times. Specifically, the construction of the hydro-electric dam that we would need to pass by later led to a 50 meter rise in the water level, and then the village had to rebuild their settlement notably further uphill. This viewing was also the first time that we learned that the “Iron Gates” referred to the entire region, not just the dam we needed to pass through. The rocks in the mountains here were apparently packed with iron, hence the origin of the name. When we finished our viewing we hiked the 2 km back out of the park to the bus. Of note, we saw a turtle(!), though none of the previously described wildlife. 

We returned to the bus, but before heading back to the ship made one final stop at the small village of Kapetan Misin Breg. Here we had another set of views (and saw our ship – the Viking Ulur – heading to it’s nearby port to pick us up), as well as a brief meeting with a local artist. He was a sculptor, using wood and antlers, and we were treated to a small set of snacks, including a fried leaf, a locally grown plum, and a honey brandy (which was delicious!). But, it was a short stop and we were soon on the road again to get back to our ship. 

The next few hours on the ship were quiet. We had time to relax, eat lunch, and generally rest. Mostly, we were excitedly waiting for the scenic views as the ship left port to sail through the Iron Gates (and the Iron Gorge) shortly after 3:00. We learned on this voyage that the “Iron Gates” referred to this entire strip of the Danube, flanked by mountains and rocks with high iron concentration. Meanwhile the “Iron Gorge” was a much more select strip of the river that was particularly narrow with steep walls. Finally there was (again) the “Iron Gate,” the name given to the dam and the locks that we needed to pass through later on. All this to say, we were sailing through the “Iron Gates” for a long time.

The views were, of course, stunning. Constant greenery on all sides with a light breeze in the air. Meanwhile the river was rocking, though not enough to make the boat uneven, and the skies were clear. As we traveled down the river we were flanked on either side by massive white cliffs and thick forest. There were also the occasional landmarks of ancient plaques, statues, monasteries, carvings, and caves. All the while the crew provided a terrific narrative. Most of the time this came in the form of historical significance to the many areas we passed, but sometimes it was also legends. My favorite referred to a love story between the sun and the moon and the Danube. The story was one of jealousy and became an origins story for the river and the mountains and forests that surrounded it.

Later in the afternoon we finally reached the locks of the Iron Gate. This wasn’t at first obvious, but we were in our room and there was suddenly a wall beside us, and then the wall began to move … upwards! It felt almost otherworldly! But, we quickly realized what was happening and scurried up to the top deck. We were fortunate that no other ships were in the area looking to pass through the locks or we’d have had to wait. Through two locks we descended a total of 115 feet - nearly a complete football field. If you’ve not been through a set of locks before, it is well worth being present and watching, it is an engineering marvel!

Finally, it was time to head inside for dinner. Unlike most nights we were not provided with a menu and numerous options. Instead this was a celebratory meal with many of the local traditional foods of the region. We were first provided with some sliced cheeses and meats, accompanied by a chopped vegetable salad (with no leafy-greens). That was followed by an oyster-mushroom soup, and then an assortment of meats (including lamp, pork, and chicken). Accompanying the meal were servings of honey brandy, and that was really the highlight from my point of view. There was of course too much food, but it was once again, incredible.

 Nautical Term of the Day: Taken Aback

“In this dangerous situation, the wind is on the wrong side of the sails, pressing them back against the mast and forcing the ship astern. This was most often caused by an inattentive helmsman who had allowed the ship to head up into the wind.”

Site-Seeing-Serbia: 7/12/2025

Welcome to Belgrade! Of note as we start this entry, congratulations to my father who has just arrived in his 50th country visited!!! It was nice to offer him a small congratulations at breakfast as we enjoyed our usual assortment of omelets, coffee, cheese, and locks. I do hope we can find an opportunity for a nicer toast this evening – possibly with our spoils from trivia the other night!

As usual, we set out on our morning excursion for an 8:30 departure. Unfortunately, security precautions in Serbia are higher than the other countries we’ve visit so far, so we had to be wary of pickpockets while also traveling with our passports. But that aside, we boarded a bus to take a “Panoramic Tour of Belgrade.” Our guide was terrific, living locally and interweaving personal stories with the historical significance of the locations that we passed. With the overall purpose of “turning around” we were first brought by bus through a local square that had a palace on nearly every corner! This was apparently one of the few areas of the city that has not been leveled frequently due to rotating invasions. Apparently the majority of the city has been leveled and rebuild over twenty times at this point!

The bus dropped us off on the outskirts of Belgrade Castle in Kalemegdan Park.  As a

fortress that was mostly ruins, this place was super cool! And, of note, the dog culture here is super chill; as we walked through the park we saw dozens of well-behaved dogs off leash and we so badly wanted to give most of them pats and cuddles! This was particularly striking as we’d seen nearly no cats or dogs up until now in our trip. But, we learned so much about the fortress and the history of this place as we were exploring this palace.

While most of the setting was in ruins, the wall foundations throughout multiple eras of history all stood visible. We could see the original rectangular foundations and the more recent star-shaped walls. Ramparts included both circular and square turrets to mark different time periods. I particularly enjoyed passing through each wall, and their original doors. The doors themselves were marred with bullet holes and cannonball dents to note their historical significance. I wish I could have gotten a picture of these, but the doors were black and poorly lit so none of this was evident. As we approached the high ground of the palace we both saw and were told about why this land was so important, and also why this country has been devastated by war just so many times.

Specifically, it lies on the high ground at the junction of the Danube and the Sava rivers; on one side stood the Roman Empire and on the other the Ottoman Empire; and two religions at odds no less.  Seeing how the history and the landscape came together was so cool!

Our next stop was the Church of St. Sava, a modern Catholic Cathedral completed in 2004. It is, massive, awe-inspiring, and gorgeous. As we listened to our guide explain it’s construction and practices, we learned much about local culture as well as catholic religion. But the building itself was stunning! The domed ceilings were high and wide,

the floor was beautifully and seamlessly marbled, the mosaic wall murals were huge and stunning, and more. We heard about the efforts to get different marbles from different regions, about how the mosaics were assembled offsite and transported here … with millions of tiles! And we learned about just how big the domes were! This building was glorious in every way and well-worth a stop when visiting.

Other than a brief siting from the bus of the Parliament Building, this was the end of our morning tour. We returned to the sip for lunch and a nap, before heading out again around 2:00 for an afternoon excursion, this time to the Nicola Tesla museum. This museum was small, but well worth the visit. Our time there began with a video presentation that over-viewed the history of Nicola’s life. We learned about his childhood, his mentors, his education, his impacts and inventions. In 15 minutes I felt

like I’d heard an hour of information! We then got a demonstration of some replica’s of his devices including the “Big Tesla Tower” famously just called the Tesla Coil, as well as some of his smaller induction engines. In the demonstration of the Tesla Coil, we all held one end of fluorescent light bulbs and they lit up as the electricity was transmit through the air, the bulbs, us, and finally to the ground.

Beyond that the museum was – as I said – small. It had effectively 3 rooms. (1) The video presentation and his invention replicas. (2) His personal effects – apparently his family and relatives worked hard to donate any/all of Nicola’s personal effects to this museum. (3) his ashes, preserved in a bronze, sphere urn that was molded around his ashes so it cannot be opened. It was a small museum and well worth 1-2 hours of a visit!

At last it was time to return to the ship for a quiet evening. It included a rest, I was able to “spruce up” the room-bouquet that I made, dinner, and of course, a congratulatory toast to my father and his 50th country.

Nautical Term of the Day: Button Boy

“Another term used on English Naval sailing ships. When the ships were either leaving ports or arriving, the sailors would be situated throughout the rigging on the main masts. On the top of the mainmast was a very small circular platform (the ‘button’). The youngest sailor was required to climb to the top and stand on the platform, with only the upright rod to hold. He was the ‘button boy.’"

Croatia; Osijek and Vukovar: 7/11/2025

This morning we awoke in another country, 

Croatia! The river banks of the Danube were short sand beeches before rows of trees on the far side. Our side however was the bank of Vukovar, our small city of port. Our morning routine was much the same as yesterday. A nice breakfast of eggs, cheese, toast, etc, and then an early excursion. We exit the ship and boarded a bus by 8:30, taking us north-west from the banks of the Danube to the small city of Osijek.

Our first stop was the Church of the Raising of the Holy Cross. First constructed in 1714, this was the local cathedral that celebrated its 300th anniversary just recently. Fortunately, through it’s history the original structure has remained standing. However, it did require some repairs to its roof and the stained 

glass needed to be restored after the War for Independence in the 1990’s. After some time to examine the arches, paintings, murals, etc, we were presented with another musical performance, this time from a local piano teacher and singer who had just returned with her choir from winning an international competition. Her performances included Ave Maria and Hallelujah. Both were terrifically preformed. Finally, we were given some time with the gift shop where we were once more offered a snack and some beverages. We tried a pear liquor and a cherry liquor. This prior tasted mostly of pure alcohol while the latter resembled fruit juice. I think mixing them could have struck a good balance.

We got back on the bus and headed (this time on a much shorter ride) to Osijek Citadel complex; in other words the city center. Here we had a great walking tour. The buildings didn’t have the same size or stereotypical beauty that you see in many western European cities, but the way they preserved history – both modern and ancient – brought it’s own fascination. One of my favorite locations we saw was a back ally locally called the Turkish street. This is because the street itself contained cobblestones from three different eras: Roman, Ottoman, and present day. Meanwhile 

the buildings on either side were all marked as historical sites, some had been restored while others remained damaged from the recent wars. The whole collection left us with an admiration for the care and culture that the city has put into their history.

Other highlights of the tour included seeing…

• a variety of University buildings
• a newly constructed town square (which is apparently not very popular by the locals)
• the former town square (which used to be home to a monthly antiques market)
• the original “headquarters” of the local futbol club (not the team and the players – but the fans)

And we learned a whole bunch of history related to the flag, the Croatian involvement in various wars, city restoration attempts, the first city tram/public transit system, etc. It was all-in-all a great tour.

Our final stop of the excursion was a visit to a local home and family. While there we could see a local village home and hear about life, in general, from those who live here. This household was a family of three, the two parents spoke little to know English but made the guests a lemon-apple gelatine cake along with elderflower soda and Turkish coffee. They were a former salesman and teacher. Meanwhile their daughter was a factory worker, currently on leave having just had hand surgery. She generously answered all of the questions that the guests asked and offered us information on topics ranging from education to insurance and healthcare to local activities and trends. We saw their lovely garden where they had a few chickens and split their crops with some flowers for aesthetics and some foods for consumption (in the past farming for consumption was a necessity for the area). On the whole it was a slightly uncomfortable experience for me, but also nice, and a pleasant addition to an otherwise great excursion.

We had a simple lunch on the ship and then set up a plan for our afternoon. We had no “official excursions” planned, but we still wanted to make sure that we made the most of our time in the Croatian cities! So, while docked in the small city of Vukovar we decided to take an afternoon walk and see what local monuments there were. Fortunately, not far from where the ship was moored, we found a map with numbered locations of the best things to see.

Our walk took us up and down two main streets (with just a few small detours). Regardless of the marked sites to see, our favorite discovery was about just how

much time and care is clearly being given to green spaces; we saw new trees being planted, well-tended gardens, flower pots all over, and more! It was wonderful to see so much time, effort, and money, being put into those places. Meanwhile we saw most of the local buildings of interest including the post office, two churches, two statues of crosses, a museum, two palaces, a bridge, and a cultural center. The architecture continued the trend we saw in Osijek – a blend between modern buildings, restored historical structures, and buildings that still preserve the damage that they’ve received through the years.

Our final site was not one that we’d walked to, but we had a great view of it from where our ship was docked; specifically the Vukovar Water Tower – A Symbol of Croatian Unity. It was constructed in the mid 1960s but was notably destroyed by

Yugoslav forces in the Battle of Vukovar during the Croatian War of Independence. Reconstruction efforts were considered when Vukovar was reintegrated into the Republic of Croatia, but instead it has been preserved in it’s damaged state as a memorial to the war in this region. Apparently it is a “Tower Member” of the “World Federation of Great Towers” (I did not know this was a thing, and at the time of writing have done NO research, but that sounds like a fun/cool/silly thing to exist so I wanted to mention it).

And then the end of the day was straightforward. The ship provided a local folk band to play music during happy hour, dinner continued to offer daily local menus, and the company was good. We didn’t partake in any of the evening events, leaving us a more relaxed night and a slightly early flop into bed.

Nautical Term of the Day: Go for the Pig & Whistle

“This term was used in the early sailing days of the English Navy. Once a week, the sailors were allowed a ration of rum (known as the ‘pig’). A young subordinate sailor would be sent down to ‘get the pig and whistle.’ If he stopped whistling while he was out of sight, he was believed to be drinking the rum and so was lashed.”

A Country Perspective of Hungary: 7/10/2025

Our first morning on the boat! As always, we begin with the short story of breakfast; a great but simple start to any day. Omelets seemed to be the name of the game (for me at least ... shocking!), supplemented by the 24-7 coffee service. Note that the lines in the dining area really started forming around 7:15, so getting there early was a great move! Omelets aside, there were also many options for muffins, pastries, fruits, cheeses, spreads, and items to be ordered from the kitchen.

Then, we headed out on our first excursion at 8:30, opening with a 20 minute bus ride to the small village of Kalocsa. Of note, we were far from anything resembling a city at this point. Instead we were in the Great Hungarian Plane and farms stretched as far as we could see. The most notable crop was clearly the sunflowers, but there was also some corn and others we made little note of. The other named crop of great importance is the paprika, but frustratingly, we have still not seen where any of this legendary herb being grown?
 

At last (it wasn't that long) we arrived at our first stop, the small village of Kalocsa. It was a cute town, with a color palate that permeated most of the structures, a pale

yellow finish was applied to most of the houses, the palace (I later learned that the word "palace" is used much more liberally than in western Europe), the cathedral, etc. And with that in mind, we headed straight to the cathedral! It was notably larger than one might expect for a town of this size, but also far smaller than those you'd see in the more populated cities. Some of the prominent features of this cathedral included an organ with over 1000 pipes, and the claim to fame that composer Franz Liszt often came to practice here (a statue of him stood in the gardens outside). This is also the fourth iteration of the same cathedral, having been destroyed time and again through incurring invasions, and always rebuild. They are currently working on an adjacent museum built among the ruins of the former foundations. 

Once inside we enjoyed a color array that we were not as familiar with in cathedrals.

White walls with hues of pink and light gold. It was a much brighter space and felt more open than some of the cathedrals that we were more familiar with seeing. Once inside we were given time to browse and explore, before taking our seats in the pews for a musical performance from a local artist. She played 4 songs on the piano, and sang, and it was a lovely time. But, we did little else in this village so afterwards we walked back to the bus. As we walked, and passed by the palace (basically the mayor's house) we learned that  the archduke here had a passion for collecting rare books, and owned an extensive library of one-of-a-kind books.

Our second stop of the excursion came after another 20 minute drive or so, but it was

well worth it and one of the cooler stops we had on the trip. We traveled to Bakodpuszta, home of the Bakod Horse Farm (I recommend opening the link and watching the 5 minute video included to get a sense of it). This was a local farm of horse trainers, a historical trade in the area. But, they didn't simply "train" horses, they taught them to do tricks! We watched a variety of performances (unfortunately the ground was quite muddy - but at least we were served snacks and drinks!). This started with the huge oxen pulling a cart. We then

saw the riders have their horses lay down, or sit ... like dogs! This was followed by the horsemen playing various games on the horses and demonstrating their control of the whips (don't worry - not hurting the animals!). We also saw a variety of different styles of carts that would be pulled by different numbers of horses. Then, the finally was a single rider standing on the back of two horses with another 10 leading the way! After the show we had about an hour in which we were able to explore the barn, pet the animals, and go for a carriage ride in their fields. Petting the animals was pretty great...

We returned to the cruise ship for a break – little more than an hour – before we headed back out for our afternoon excursion. We departed at 1:30 and would not be returning to the ship … here. Instead, our route would take us south and inland, and we would then meet up with our ship again in the evening at a more southern port.

Our second excursion was also a major highlight of the trip. We would be traveling far inland and southwards to a winery for a tour and tasting and then a cooperage where

we'd see the barrels being made. Unfortunately, this began with a very long drive, and thought the scenery continued to be a beautiful combination of sunflower fields and rolling hills, many of us fell asleep. But, when we finally arrived we had a chance to stretch our legs, and then hop into some jeeps to take us up some trail roads into the grape fields. The views were amazing (though there were times that the drive felt unsafe). Then, as we were sampling 

our first two kinds of wine, the whole growing and harvesting process was explained to us. For such a small crew it was amazing how many acres upon acres of land they were using. Then, some incoming storms hastened our return from the fields but we then got to explore the wine "cellars" which were actually long caves dug into the local hillsides. Apparently these caves could be found at family homes throughout the region as a common way to store cool items. We sampled four more wines, and had some snacks, before we moved on from the venue. 

Our final stop of the day would then be a local cooperage, nearly 30 minute drive away – and the sister company of the vineyard. We received a full tour that described the process of making a wine barrel. While we did not see ONE barrel completed from

start to finish, we did see all the steps done on some barrel. This included:

• Splitting the felled logs
• Sanding a finished barrel
• Attaching the metal rings
• Cutting and assembling all the slats
• Heating and bending the barrel so that it holds its shape
• Having a hole drilled and sanitized
• And being tested for air-tight quality

The process was both fast and enlightening, and all together impressive! The speed of the workers, the custom tools, and the efficiency of the whole process was amazing. And, simply their comfort with manipulating wood, fire, and steam to bend the boards was so cool to watch!

Upon leaving the cooperage we had one final trek on the bus, another 30 minutes a Danube port closer to our current location (I regretfully missed the name of the location). Here, we re-boarded, and before long it was time for dinner. The main courses of note were a mushroom ragout and some New York strip steaks (classically local ... hah!).

After dinner we attended and played a trivia game at the ships bar/lounge room, this one titled “And the Top Answer Is.” This was a fun twist on trivia as being “most correct” was not important, rather it was important to guess the answer that was guessed by the most teams! In otherwards, have the most popular answer. Then, in the end, we won!

Finally, after great excursions and with trivia victory in hand (and the booze that came with it), it was time to head to bed! I hope tomorrow is just as great, but honestly, maybe a little shorter, two full excursions was quite a lot.

Nautical Term of the Day: Scuttlebutt

“A ‘butt’ was a barrel. ‘Scuttle’ meant ‘to chop a hole in something.’ The ‘scuttlebutt’ was a water barrel with a hole cut into it so that sailors could reach in and scoop out drinking water. The ‘scuttlebutt’ was the place where the ship’s gossip was exchanged.”