Viking Grand European AMS-BUD Aug 2016 photo journal with pre-cruise Amsterdam

One last picture on the way back to the bus meeting point.

When we returned to the ship, Captain Mellar and another officer greeted us. This was one of the ports where staff were waiting to take our boarding passes before we boarded. For the rest of the day, there was a security officer outside who wanted to see your boarding pass before you were allowed to board.

The Vili is docked right by the Chain Bridge.

Time for lunch. Always enjoyable with good food and good companions.

Poached salmon and a salad from the buffet.

One of the options for dessert was vanilla ice cream with raspberry compote. One of the men at the table said he'd like vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce. When our waiter Buzz said he could arrange it, three of us then said I'll have what he's having.

Because my cold was still bothering me, I changed my mind about my plans for the afternoon and didn't take a bus to the Buda side. Instead, I started out for St. Stephens, passing the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.

In front is a memorial to Toth Zoltan, a hero of the 1956 uprising.

St. Stephen's ahead

Watching out for us.

St. Stephen's Basilica

From under the canopy looking out at St. Stephen's Plaza (Szent Istvan ter).

Guests were arriving for a wedding, so we were allowed in only one area of the church. It looked magnificent.

I asked two people who worked at the church about the chapel of the holy right hand (St. Stephen's mummified hand). Neither spoke much English, but I thought they directed me outside to an entrance at the side of the church. I walked around the entire church but saw no door that was available to open and so no mummified hand. Maybe I misunderstood them, and they were telling me I wouldn't be able to see it and had to go outside.

Back outside

Walking back toward the Danube, I passed this statue of Gabor Svarvas, a linguist who fought for the Hungarian language culture.

Is this the Four Seasons Hotel or a palace?

The Chain Bridge with lions and Buda Castle in the background.

The Viking Vili as seen from the Chain Bridge

Strolling along the Danube again, this time to the Holocaust Memorial.

Between 1944-1945, Jews were forced to strip naked on the banks of the Danube and face the river. A firing squad shot the victims in the back at close range so they fell into the river and were swept away. "Shoes on the Danube" memorializes these victims with 60 pairs of cast iron shoes in a variety of styles to show no one was spared.

A Jewish tradition is to leave a small stone on the grave. Placing a stone on the grave serves as a sign to others that someone has visited the grave.

The memorial is sad to see, and I couldn't bear to take a picture of the baby shoes.

Parliament was next, although from this side of the river it wasn't possible to get the entire building in one picture.

Some passengers had spent the afternoon on an optional excursion. Four were offered. Budapest Thermal Bath (I think they went to Gellert), a Hungarian horsemen show, a tour of the Jewish quarter and Dohany Street Synagogue, and a trip to the Grand Market.

On the ship, I bought a red Viking fleece to use most of the onboard credit I had left. After packing a little and freshening up for dinner, I spent a little time on the top deck to enjoy the last afternoon. He needed a ring in his beak to be another Turul bird.

Our last daily briefing and a farewell followed by dinner. Seared rainbow trout with arugula potato puree and vegetables

Tokay wine mousse and carmelized walnuts

Immediately after dinner, at 8:30, we had a scenic cruise to see Budapest at night. Despite having a lot of photos that didn't turn out, quite a few did.

Margaret Bridge

Parliament at night looks truly spectacular

Chain Bridge and Buda Palace

Elizabeth Bridge and the Liberty statue, erected by the Soviets when they "liberated" Hungary after WWII.

Liberty Bridge

Gellert Baths

Petofi Bridge

Racilo Bridge

And a little celebration for such a great trip.

On the way to our new docking place, there were fireworks.

Then there were hugs to be given and to be had from all the new friends made. It was a great trip. I have a few last posts about our departure from Budapest and a summary of the trip, but my overly-long report is almost at an end.

It's been wonderful following along. I feel like we never left! Thanks for the memories.

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I've really enjoyed reading about your trip. My B & S-i-L will be taking the Viking cruise next month, and I've been telling her about your trip and what you have seen. Thanks for posting.

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Although we cruised in the opposite direction......your pictures mirrored those in my mind (and on my husband's memory stick). It was a wonderful reminder of our introduction to river cruising and a new addiction. Thank you for all of your efforts to post.

Budapest and home, August 19

A few last pictures to share from our docking place between Liberty Bridge and Petofi Bridge.

Gellert Baths (I really need to return so I can try the Baths)

Liberty Bridge with the Liberty statue above

I think this is the Budapest University of Technology and Economics

I was grateful I was not among the passengers who had to disembark at 3:30 a.m., but they did have coffee and pastries available in front of the lounge at 2:30 (I know this only because it said so in the Viking Daily). My luggage had to be outside my room at 7:15, so time for breakfast in the restaurant before disembarking at 8:15. The Prague extension people left at 8:30 and the Budapest extension at 9:30 (although you had to be out of your room by 9:00).

There were quite a few of us on the bus to the airport for our Budapest to Amsterdam flight, and quite a few also who were then Amsterdam to Detroit (as I was). Checking in at the Budapest airport was a nightmare. Imagine, if you will, a large funnel. At the wide end of that funnel are all of us who want to check in to a Delta flight, packed so tightly together you can hardly move. At the small end of the funnel are two Delta agents. No line.

Fortunately, Zofia, the Viking rep who went with us, took our passports and got our boarding passes while we joined this mass of people at the funnel end who were waiting for luggage drop. We all had our boarding passes. It was just bag drop. It amazed me it took so long. A couple of times they called for the passengers to Paris to come to the front so they could make their 10:00 flight. Zofia stayed with us during most of this, which I found reassuring. She left only when the next Viking group came and the new-to-us Viking rep took over from her. We all eventually made it through, even had about 20 minutes before boarding started.

We landed at Schipol in Amsterdam at gate D73. My flight to Detroit showed as departing from gate D1. The walk was even longer than I thought it would be. I walked and walked, went down some stairs, walked some more and came to passport control. I got in one of the lines for the automatic kiosks. I was about three people away from the start of the line when the machine stopped working. I wiggled my way into the line next to me. I doubt I'd have made my connection otherwise there were so many in line.

I still had to get my passport stamped by a person, then there were at least two other, possibly three, security stations. The last was for Delta and my gate was D7. After that, all was uneventful, the flights good. And stepping out of the airport in St. Louis that evening, I was smacked in the face by humidity. I'd only thought it was hot those last few days in Europe.

I'm going to do a last summary of the trip, which I probably should have done first, but going through my notes again solidified my thoughts about it. It will have to wait, though, since after my computer updated itself yesterday, some of my programs won't open, so it will take all afternoon to fix that.

Thanks to all who followed along. I hope some of you, and maybe some for next year, found it helpful.

Really enjoyed following along, as well as seeing familiar stops from our Viking cruise last year. Thanks so much for the post!

Oh, and hello fellow St. Louisan ;)

Jeff

Hi John from St. Louis. Lucky you, signed up for two more Viking cruises!

Trip summary

Pre-cruise information

We opted to go with Viking Air since they had a special price that was much cheaper than what I found if we’d booked ourselves. I was prepared for early departures and possibly too long (or too short) connection times, but we had great flight times on Delta. We had our flight information about two months ahead of our trip, and we were able to go online and change our seats for most of the flights. Loved the online “My Viking Journey.” It helped me get an idea of how long we’d be in each port and how long the included excursions were. You could also choose optional excursions beforehand if you wished, and it gave the length of time for those too. Can’t remember how long before the trip we received our Viking packages (through our TA). It had one red leather Viking luggage tag, a nice cosmetic-type bag, our cruise documents that came in an itinerary-specific booklet (with color photos), paper luggage tags for the transfer from hotel to ship, and a round red sticker to wear so the Viking rep at the arrival airport would be able to identify us.

Had a little mixup at Lambert St. Louis Airport when the Delta agent couldn’t find my reservation, but that wasn’t Viking’s fault. We were on a KLM flight operated by Delta, and the counter at the St. Louis airport was for Delta/KLM/Air France. The agent was looking for a Delta confirmation number. I pointed out the KLM confirmation number but she insisted that was Viking’s confirm number. Since this was the flight I was never able to access online, I sweated for about ten minutes while a couple of agents fiddled around with reservations. I’d handed over the paper I had with the KLM confirm number, so I guess they were finally able to figure it out.

Pre-cruise extension

We signed up for the pre-cruise Amsterdam extension. I know we could have stayed two nights in Amsterdam more cheaply than the Viking cost, but it was so much more convenient to meet a Viking rep at the airport after a long flight. I’m not sure if the special airline price would have applied if we’d arrived early on our own. The Radisson Blu was a nice hotel in a great location, easy to walk practically everywhere in central Amsterdam. A breakfast buffet was included with our price, and I knew from reading reviews that it isn’t usually included with the room price and it is an expensive breakfast. There was also a Viking rep in the lobby who was available if we had questions. The included walking tour of Amsterdam on the morning after our arrival was great.

Viking Vili

Viking Vili is a longship, and what I liked best about it was the Aquavit Terrace. Especially handy the four or so days we were cruising the Main-Danube Canal and couldn’t use the top deck. Also nice for dining al fresco, although most of the time I ate in the restaurant. There was a small selection of Viking products to buy in the lobby, a quiet library corner, and a two-person internet station that I used only once to post for help when my iPad stopped working. The evening entertainment in the lounge was usually Emmanuel on the piano except for two nights when we had outside entertainment. There were also three or four game nights. There were a couple of talks during the day, but I was usually on the top deck or Aquavit Terrace (there’s always something to see on a river cruise) or in the town if we were docked.

My room was on the lowest deck, small with a high window. I knew it would be small, but it was even tighter than I expected. The window was high enough that I needed to stand on the bench to see out. Everything fit, though, and room for empty luggage under the bed. I did miss not having a comfortable chair, so when I updated my journal, I went to the Aquavit Terrace. The TV had movies although I made more use of CNN, the weather/map function, the bow camera, and the lounge camera. The first few days had cooler mornings and evenings, and the heated bathroom floor was wonderful. If something doesn’t suit, just ask. I needed a firmer pillow and it was delivered.

Itinerary/tours

I was really pleased with the itinerary, especially that we were in Vienna for two days. All the local tour guides I had were great. I signed up in advance for the optional tour to Rothenburg ob du Tauber and was very glad I did. I also signed up for the optional afternoon excursion of Art in Nuremberg which turned out to be so popular it sold out. The other optional event I did was the evening concert in Vienna. While it wasn’t the highlight of my trip as it is for some, I did enjoy it.

Food

I like food that I don’t have to fix, so I enjoyed all my meals onboard. I’m not a gourmet who can say a certain dish excelled or disappointed. A special treat was the three tea times we had on afternoons we were cruising, buffet style on the Aquavit Terrace. So much available you could have been too full for dinner. Until dinner, there were always snacks available right outside the lounge, muffins/rolls in the morning, cookie choices in the afternoon, along with coffee, tea and hot chocolate.

Service

I found that every member of the Viking staff gave excellent service. They tried to fulfill special requests and helped with questions about ports. Program director Sam and Concierge Nina worked so hard they sometimes seemed to be in two places at once. We liked sitting in the same section for meals when we could because we thought Buzz and Edwin were the best waiters in the restaurant.

Weather/river levels

Not something Viking can control, but we were lucky. We had rain all day in Nuremberg, but otherwise it was sunny. There was at least one night that it rained, but that’s the best time for it when you’re on a cruise. The river levels seemed perfect, a worry for every river cruise.

I guess I’ve repeated myself, but ending my trip report makes me feel as though I’m ending my trip all over again, so I guess I wanted to prolong it. In case you can’t tell, I had a wonderful time.

Thanks for following along.

Thanks for such a great review! I'm in awe of how well you did posting pictures, too.

Thanks for the great report and the beautiful pictures. Have the Southern France cruise planned for 2017. After reading your report I want to take the Rhine cruise.

Thanks so much, am doing it next October with a different company but looking forward to it. It's a 2nd time for me but first for hubby and our group of friends

Thanks so much for the detailed report. We'll be on the Vili in early December for the Danube Waltz Christmas Market cruise. Like you, we are booked in the lowest room and it was so nice to see pictures of the room. Did you happen to take a picture of the room after the beds were pushed together? I'm sure the heated bathroom floor will be very welcoming in December.

Thanks so much for the detailed report. We'll be on the Vili in early December for the Danube Waltz Christmas Market cruise. Like you, we are booked in the lowest room and it was so nice to see pictures of the room. Did you happen to take a picture of the room after the beds were pushed together? I'm sure the heated bathroom floor will be very welcoming in December.

I didn't think to take a picture of the beds pushed together, but I thought the room looked bigger that way. I know it was more of an illusion but having room on each side of the bed, rather than only room between the beds when each were pushed against a wall, seemed better to me.

I didn't think to take a picture of the beds pushed together, but I thought the room looked bigger that way. I know it was more of an illusion but having room on each side of the bed, rather than only room between the beds when each were pushed against a wall, seemed better to me.

Not a problem. From looking at your picture I can see why it would seem bigger with having space on each side.

I was also glad to see you were able to get decent pictures out your window. Although it looks like we won't have any good shots while we are docked since we are on the starboard side of the ship in room 123.

belle, I don't think it makes any difference which side of the ship you are on. A river cruise provides great views from both sides even when you're in port.

Hi Mimmy. Great review!! Thanks for letting me relive some of our trip while also visiting a bunch of new spots. And really enjoyed your photos! Thanks for sharing your experiences. Happy travels!

Jerry

I paid my ten euros and entered the Old Church. It is mostly bare but had some interesting features.

 

Old Church exterior

 

 

 

 

 

The organ inside Old Church

 

 

 

I never did figure out what these meant. They were behind plexiglass and there was no English explanation.

 

 

 

A view of the interior

 

 

 

There are graves set into the floor, some were honored with vases of flowers.

 

Hello

About the graves set into the floor.That was very common in the middle ages in the netherlands and flanders.The saying"stinky rich (filthy rich)" comes from the smell of the corpses ( after a while ) buried under the floor.

SOME ( not all ) corpses were burried whithout a coffin,just wrapped in linnen.You can also see the graves in the cathedral in Antwerp.

It was very expensive to be burried IN the church.

The closer to the altar the more you had to pay.

So you could smell the rich peoples.

Gilbert

Thanks, Jerry. Your review was one of my inspirations before my first river cruise.

Interesting information, lis1407. Is there a reason they leave flowers?

And just to let people know, my cousin who had to cancel her part of the trip at the last minute got a check for all her money back except, of course, for the amount she paid for the trip insurance. We bought our insurance through our travel agent, not through Viking.