DATE: TUESDAY, MAY 29
START TIME: MORNING-AFTERNOON
DURATION: 6 HOURS
Stroll the delightful streets of Szentendre, a colorful village of galleries and artists, and pay a visit to its renowned living museum of historic architecture. With cobblestone streets, pastel facades and a red-roofed townscape, Szentendre overflows with charm. In the 1500s, the Hungarian-Serbian community laid the foundations of what we see here today: a thriving artists’ community, embodied in the richly hued houses and decorated storefronts. Journey here with your guide and amble along the narrow, picturesque streets, pausing to browse inviting galleries that display the work of local artists. After time to explore, continue to Skanzen, a fascinating reconstructed village with structures from all over Hungary. You will arrive in time for a cooking lesson, where you will learn to preparegulyás, or goulash, and enjoy the results during a light lunch. After, walk with your local guide past beautiful village architecture, including a picturesque windmill and a belfry.
That is the description of our tour. It was really as good as it sounded. There was a lovely new bus and a very knowledgeable articulate guide. Our visit to Szentendre ( pronounced St. Andrew was wonderful. The old buildings and the crafts were really worth seeing. Our session to make Goulash was really very good. Ken volunteered to do the stirring. We actually had a meal of Goulash and a great Hungarian dessert. Our last stop was the open air museum. It was not unlike Heritage Village in Calgary or Iona. The bus was great and our concerns about doing too much walking was not necessary
We had a long drive back to Budapest and during the ride our guide answered all of our questions about life in Hungary. They certainly have had a rich history.
We noticed that there are still a lot of smokers in Hundary.
Finally we arrived at the Viking VE ( pronounced Vay)
The ship is beautiful and the staff was very welcoming. Our luggage was already in our room so we unpacked and explored the room. The room is smaller than the ones on Princess and there is noticably less storage. We are glad we packed light, The great feature is the shower. It is twice the size of the ones on Princess and the floor is heated. But the space in the shower was taken from the rest of the bathroom. Your knees are practically under the sink when you sit on the toilet. The balcony is narrow but it runs the entire length or width of the room. It will do.
Each room is equipped with 2 little recorder things. You keep it charged and take it with you on an excursion. It comes complete with ear buds and you can hear everything your guide says. We had that same set up today and it worked great.
At 5:30 we could go for cocktails. I thought it was a welcome aboard party with free drinks WRONG. We ordered MaiTais and they were 9 Euros each. We are fortunate in that we are not big drinkers.
Then at six we were given lots of information about the ship and then upcoming cruise but the directer and the Hotel manager.
Next we headed for dinner. Dinner was at seven. We have been sitting with a very nice American couple from the Erie region. We sat with them for the introduction and for dinner. They seem to be very nice and very friendly. Dinner was very good. Ken and I ordered the chef's recommendation of Hungarian dishes. There were smoked sausages and goulash and a rich dessert they called a Hungarian Triffle. The goulash was very different from what we had earlier. That was was better. Anyway I can't say any of it thrilled me. They served a very nice wine with dinner and it kept coming. My face is quite rosy tonight.
The evening was capped off with a wonderful cruise up and down the river so we could see the city at night. It was glorious and certainly a night to remember. We were on the top deck, the night was clear, the moon was out and the stars were shinning. It could not have been more perfect.
Tomorrow we spend our last day in Budapest, one last excursion and we will sail away
That is the description of our tour. It was really as good as it sounded. There was a lovely new bus and a very knowledgeable articulate guide. Our visit to Szentendre ( pronounced St. Andrew was wonderful. The old buildings and the crafts were really worth seeing. Our session to make Goulash was really very good. Ken volunteered to do the stirring. We actually had a meal of Goulash and a great Hungarian dessert. Our last stop was the open air museum. It was not unlike Heritage Village in Calgary or Iona. The bus was great and our concerns about doing too much walking was not necessary
We had a long drive back to Budapest and during the ride our guide answered all of our questions about life in Hungary. They certainly have had a rich history.
We noticed that there are still a lot of smokers in Hundary.
Finally we arrived at the Viking VE ( pronounced Vay)
The ship is beautiful and the staff was very welcoming. Our luggage was already in our room so we unpacked and explored the room. The room is smaller than the ones on Princess and there is noticably less storage. We are glad we packed light, The great feature is the shower. It is twice the size of the ones on Princess and the floor is heated. But the space in the shower was taken from the rest of the bathroom. Your knees are practically under the sink when you sit on the toilet. The balcony is narrow but it runs the entire length or width of the room. It will do.
Each room is equipped with 2 little recorder things. You keep it charged and take it with you on an excursion. It comes complete with ear buds and you can hear everything your guide says. We had that same set up today and it worked great.
At 5:30 we could go for cocktails. I thought it was a welcome aboard party with free drinks WRONG. We ordered MaiTais and they were 9 Euros each. We are fortunate in that we are not big drinkers.
Then at six we were given lots of information about the ship and then upcoming cruise but the directer and the Hotel manager.
Next we headed for dinner. Dinner was at seven. We have been sitting with a very nice American couple from the Erie region. We sat with them for the introduction and for dinner. They seem to be very nice and very friendly. Dinner was very good. Ken and I ordered the chef's recommendation of Hungarian dishes. There were smoked sausages and goulash and a rich dessert they called a Hungarian Triffle. The goulash was very different from what we had earlier. That was was better. Anyway I can't say any of it thrilled me. They served a very nice wine with dinner and it kept coming. My face is quite rosy tonight.
The evening was capped off with a wonderful cruise up and down the river so we could see the city at night. It was glorious and certainly a night to remember. We were on the top deck, the night was clear, the moon was out and the stars were shinning. It could not have been more perfect.
Tomorrow we spend our last day in Budapest, one last excursion and we will sail away
